Top Tips on Tango - By Anthony Hurley

Have you ever wondered why some couples have a natural aptitude for creating the true atmosphere and control of the Tango, but at the same time producing the staccato action and reflex speed without visible force or stiffness?

Only then can the qualities of classical Tango be produced. All these qualities should always be coupled with a typical leg action described as a walk. These qualities typically characterise good Tango dancers who never overstride in the desire to cover the floor.

The acknowledged Tango exponents all have one common denominator: ultimate stillness between their bodies. They never look rough or harsh, never show swing dance rise and fall, and above all they maintain the compact shape that is required to be successful.

Tango was a very successful competitive dance for Fay and I throughout our amateur and professional careers. Therefore, I feel confident in sharing my firm beliefs regarding techniques and certain special requirements that make a couple stand out from their fellow competitors in this dance.

The problem I so often see is the man preparing by himself a sitting down position with his left arm extended and forward of the right side. Now the lady must find a position for herself. This often results in the lady dictating the degree of knee flexion. This will never produce the compact unit required to bring the two bodies together in the true Tango character.

The question is: how do we endeavour to master these necessary ingredients?I have the following suggestions and teaching hints that hopefully will make instant improvements.

The Tango Hold – This is a practice method

Man: Standing in a normal upright position with a long feeling of the spine facing DW, weight on LF, make a light contact with the lady and extend the arms out to the side with the palms of the hands facing the lady.

Lady: Backing DW, weight on RF, also with a long spine, extend the arms out to the side with the palms of the hands facing and touching the man's palms.

Man: Now transfer weight to RF slightly back, compressing the supporting leg, making sure you do not sit down. Make sure the LF is now to the side, rather like having danced a brush tap. Always think “sit up.” As the transference of weight is being made, make a slight body turn to the left, at the same time absorbing the lady into the desired compact position, now facing between DW & LOD, ready to move DW. The lady's role will naturally be the normal opposite. The important point to remember is that the compressing of the supporting legs is produced simultaneously between the two bodies.

Man: Now bend the arms from the elbows so that the right arm fits around the lady's back. Do not hold the lady tight. The best thought is “your body to hand,” not “hand towards body.” The left arm is more condensed than in the swing dances, and because of the slight right-side lead now produced (lady left-side lead), the left elbow will naturally be behind the right elbow.

With the bodies set up correctly in true Tango style, the first walk forward on the left foot will automatically be in CBMP, and the second R.F. forward will have a right-side lead, stepping comfortably between partners' feet.

Special Note for the Ladies:Your posture must be natural without excessive back bend, and your head weight must not be behind your feet. Remember it’s a partnership and allow the man to absorb your weight position as described above to create the togetherness that is so important in this dance.

In Part One, I discussed the Tango hold and body position. If you practice these fundamentals, you will feel a difference in your comfort zone, which is energy saving.

Tango is based on a walk, so the legs should articulate exactly as we would walk, albeit they are always slightly flexed, not bent. If they are bent, you are sitting down instead of sitting up (refer to Part One – Tango Hold). When we complete a walk, there should be two feet under the body. Never dance from open to open. Sadly, this over-progressive modern development seems to be changing the character of the Tango.

It should be understood that Tango is not considered to be a progressive dance compared to the Foxtrot or Quickstep, for example.

When walking, we are always comfortably on our feet. This allows the body to be naturally aligned with good balance. Large steps or over-striding place pressure on the lady and will create unwanted pressure and suspect balance between the two bodies. This will result in the man visibly working very hard, especially in the arms, to lead the choreography, and the necessary reflex speed so important to the Tango is lost—not to mention the all-important Tango shape. In moving actions, the base or distance between the feet should never be outside the topline.

Shape is special in this dance. The compact body position, arm settings, and the styling of the legs and feet are easily assessed and instantly recognisable by the experienced adjudicator.

The lady has a special reaction to the overall styling and the body positions. When she is walking backwards, her feet and ankles differ from those of the swing dances. For example, if she is dancing back on her RF, the foot styling will shape from the outside edge to the whole foot as the weight is taken in full. Her LF back will see the inside edge of ball heel used. This is controlled by CBMP RF and left-side leading on L.F. This is a direct result of the man’s body position. The foot shaping is developed from the ankles. If the partnership is over-striding, the lady will not be able to create the attractive and expressive footwork that good Tango dancers strive to produce. It is often noticed that many ladies use Foxtrot ankles, which delays the combined weight changes between steps, and the partnership creates a swing dance timing, losing the true relationship of the Tango music.

Technically, the dance has no rise, but that does not mean the feet are flat and unsupportive. There must be much use of the ankles with precise foot placements as described earlier, regardless of the complexity of the choreography. The expert will show footwork using the ball of the foot, inside edge of ball heel, or whole foot, for example—but never toes. Certain figures or actions require to be on the balls of the feet, but there should be no visible rise. This is achieved in the adjustment of the compression in the legs.

When Fay and I used to practice Tango, we imagined we had a triangular shape. Standing in Tango hold, imagine you have danced the perfect brush tap. The base of the imaginary triangle fits from the man’s left elbow through to the lady's left elbow. The imaginary sides move down to its point, which should meet at the back of the knees, so the legs are under the bodies, with the left knee veering in for the man and the right knee for the lady. This will also produce the perfect ankle shaping. The triangular shaping should be visible throughout progressive movements and especially lines. However, if large steps or uncharacteristic body positions are present, coupled with over-progression becoming the priority, then these qualities will be impossible to maintain.

We often talk about the necessary characterisation and musical qualities required for the Tango, but if the moving action and shape is lost, so is the character and atmosphere that separates the Tango from the other test dances.

Anthony Hurley