Tango22 <[email protected]> says: > Since when can't you execute a front ocho in a [closed] tango embrace?
[He was referring to a statement by "Richard" (which appeared to be private email that was subsequently quoted to the list--as an aside, do make sure you have the permission of someone to quote personal email to the list).] That was my reaction as well when I read Richard's statement (to be fair, he only said that the embrace "needs to breathe," which doesn't necessarily mean that it opens). But it's nonetheless a good example of the ways that Tango is done differently in Buenos Aires from the way it is taught outside of Buenos Aires (even by most of the teachers from Buenos Aires). Tango22 is absolutely right that you can be in a completely closed embrace and execute a front ocho. It IS more difficult and requires better technique, but it's much more satisfying to dance as you remain connected with (not just "in contact with") your partner throughout. As the woman is taking her forward step on the right foot, the man needs to step forward into the space occupied by the woman just as she is vacating it, while rotating to the right with the woman. It's the dynamic effect of the man doing this that then creates the woman's lead and done this way it allows the couple to remain in an entirely close embrace throughout and they move naturally together. (Sorry, it's not really possible to explain this entirely in words ... .) This as opposed to the way most beginners seem to be taught the ocho, where the focus seems to be exclusively on what the woman is doing, to the detriment of the man's technique. The man ends up using his arms mostly rather than his body, and the woman ends up not feeling enough of a lead and often develops an unfortunate tendency to complete the ocho on her own. On a related subject, the business of automatically switching from open to close embrace in the middle of a figure also seems extremely artificial to me. Yes, I took workshops from famous (and well-respected, including by me) Argentine teachers where the subject of the workshop was something like "How to switch back and forth between close and open embrace." But in practice, I find the effect jarring and entirely unnecessary (except when I realize early that a woman is uncomfortable in a close embrace and I need to open it ONCE for the rest of that dance and that tanda). Particularly jarring is when the woman AUTOMATICALLY pushes away into an "exhibition-style" hold at the first sign of an ocho or giro coming up (by that I mean her left hand moving from around my shoulder down to my bicep, and then using that hold to push herself away from me as "preparation" for the ocho or giro). It is completely unnecessary in social dancing (not to mention destroying the feeling of connection), unless one is switching back and forth between salon dancing and exhibition or nuevo-type figures (and even then the change should be led). Shahrukh _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
