[Tango-L] Head Tilt

[Ming Mar]

Larry de Los Angeles writes:
>How do we learn not to tilt our heads?  

By not looking at your feet.  If you watch a guy dancing 
apilado, with contact at the head, chest, and (optionally) 
belly, you'll notice that he's not looking at his feet.  
Well, he can't.  The girl's in the way.  In most cases the 
girl's head is up against his head, so there's a limit to 
how much he can tilt his head anyway.

I suggest that when you're dancing, look at the people 
around you.  Do they see where you are?  Are they likely to 
hit you?  If you're busy looking at the people around you 
that means you're not looking at your feet.  And it's not 
just about avoiding getting hit.  It's about communicating.  
You make eye contact with a friend and he gives you a 
slight nod in greeting.  Your next partner gives you a 
wink.

>And: Do we need to look down?  

Generally speaking, no.

Are you looking down to see where her feet are?  The 
greater the contact, the better you can sense/feel what the 
girl is doing.  If you dance apilado, where the contact 
surface area is great, you can sense where your partner's 
feet are with good accuracy.  If you dance open embrace, 
where the contact surface is small, you can still sense 
where your partner's feet are but less accurately.

Are you looking down to see where your feet are relative to 
hers?  There are some moves/figures where you want your 
foot to touch her foot.  You can do this by touch.  Gently 
slide your foot to meet hers.
 
>If so: When?  

When we first begin to learn.  Although I knew one guy who 
never looked down, even at the beginning.  He was blind.  
When he danced his eyes pointed up.  I think that's because 
he was thinking.  You know how if someone asks you a 
question and you have to think about it, your eyes 
automatically look up?  I think the same thing was 
happening to him.

>And if not, How do we learn not to?

I'd say concentrate on collision avoidance.  By which I 
mean, make sure you see the people around you and they see 
you.  And if they don't see you, get out of the way if you 
can.
 
Isn't there a teacher local to you who dances with his head 
up?  You can try taking lessons from him (if you haven't 
already done so).