Good Technique – makes you look and feel good, but its real purpose is to protect your body. Followers are at the greatest risk from poor technique, but leaders are not immune either.

Ladies – there’s more about practicing to become better followers – here

Foundation Movements – all the foundation elements of Tango, walking forwards and backwards, side steps and pivoting, are vital to do correctly to protect your body and your dance.  Everything thereafter – which needs devoted time to practise – will be built on these foundations.  Make sure you get good technical coaching.

The more you dance the more likely you are to get RSIs (Repetitive Strain Injuries) if your technique isn’t sound enough to protect you.  The potentially most vulnerable parts of your body are the neck, shoulders, lower back, hips and knees.

Different types of movements pose different risks.  Poor posture in the embrace can lead to back pain, whilst ochos, giros and any decorations that involve pivoting can put a strain on your back, hips and knees.  Complex moments like enrosques are particularly risky.

Being Aware of your Body
Being aware of how your body moves is essential.   Be realistic as your age, medical conditions and general fitness will have a direct effect how your own body moves.  Don’t try to copy or mimic those young beautifully trained dancers you see performing at Milongas / Workshops / Shows and on YouTube.  Trained dancers will have completely different ways of moving from their years of dance experience.  If they have balletic training they will have developed their body accordingly.  Their knees, hips, feet and lower back will have evolved over the years to cope with those movements. They’ll also be able to take much longer strides.  That said, even trained dancers are prone to RSI through overuse, as modern training techniques have only relatively recently evolved beyond excessive and relentless exercise.  Another factor that is important to understand: muscles respond quite quickly to exercise, joints take much longer to adapt and need more careful treatment.

If you come into tango later in life and try to mimic the steps and movements of experienced dancers, the chances are you will find this very difficult to achieve, uncomfortable and potentially harmful.  There are simple, elegant and effective ways of introducing your body to Tango without risking injury.

Core Strength
Your core strength is a fundamental part in your dance to support you.  This is essential, and especially so when you begin any pivoting or off-axis movements.  Ladies, remember, any weight that sags forward will stress your body and be transferred onto your partner.

Developing your core strength is vital to becoming a good tango dancer, and can be achieved with time, exercise and practice.  If you’ve done Pilates or similar exercises, you’ll know what this means.  This can all be achieved in your class with good tuition and practice at home.

First and foremost, it’s about ensuring you remain in control of your body so you’re not compromised or put at risk.  This is important when developing your Tango skills – both with a technique and a style that’s right for you and your body.  Even more importantly, it’s about protecting yourself from damage as you try out new and unfamiliar movements.

Ladies – even an experienced leader may be over enthusiastic at times, or even out of control, paying more attention to how he wants to dance and how you should dance with him, rather than focusing on you and how you are dancing.  Other well-meaning leaders will try to ‘teach’ you moves not yet covered in class.  However well intentioned these individuals are they are potentially dangerous to you and your body.  This will not improve or accelerate your progress; it will just hinder and confuse.

If you’re in class or a practice session then just say “you don’t want to learn anything new at this stage”. If you’re at a social event, it might be wise to have a sentence or two up your sleeve something like “I’m fairly new to tango, can we please keep it slower and simple”.

Tall or Short – Fat or Thin – Young or Old – does it matter?
No!  What does matter is your core strength and how you use your body, size and weight.  You cannot do anything about your age, but your core strength and flexibility will improve with practice.  But within reason –  be realistic.

High leg kicks, wrap-rounds etc. are not welcomed at most Salon-style Milongas, but even at an ‘anything goes’ type of event, they can look ugly and, frankly, embarrassing if not done well.  They are also dangerous especially if you have a bad lead or if your body is not technically trained to execute them – no matter what your age and size.  A simple analysis is knowing the difference between a gancho and a sacada, including how they should be (differently) led!

How heavy are You?
Ladies – this isn’t about what your scales show!  It’s how heavy you are on your partner.  But how do you know?

The best way to practise is at home alone.  The humble forward ocho is perfect for this. A simple sequence of a side step, and two forward ochos is not one continuous sequence.  It’s made up of at least 15 individual elements.  Slow executed movements of every element will develop your technique.  Especially do not use speed to “hoick” yourself around.  Speed and balance come from sound technique where there is absolutely no stress at all through your back, knees, ankles or hips.

Use a support like the kitchen worktop as this will indicate the axis line you’re keeping and how much weight you’re pushing through your hand / fingers as you pivot.  Even here, the kitchen worktop is for fingertip support not as a lever to pull or push against.  The force you’re putting on the worktop is the weight your Leader will feel.

Peter, as a musician, has always said “If you want to play fast, practise slow”.  The detailed work of observing, with slow practice and listening to your body are what will develop a strong core technique as well as elegant style and expression.  The magical decorations for both followers and leaders are fitted in and around these basic movements.

Energy – this is the energy that comes as using your core as a spring that unwinds. Using too little energy and you will stop short of coming back into your axis.  Too much and you will over-rotate over the top and fall off your axis on the other side. Using exactly the energy required is another key element of your technique.

Ladies – whatever your shape and size, you need to take responsibility for, and be in charge of, your body and your own technique.  You cannot expect your partner to carry you.  Responsiveness requires you to be able to move freely, well, and at short notice.

So, practise until the movements become a natural part of you.  Don’t be in a rush to forsake practice for content – the more complex moves will depend on your ability with the foundation elements, so it is a completely false economy to rush them.

Caution – Ladies if your back is hurting, look to see if the small of your back is sagging forward.  Often caused when you artificially push your bottom out or not engaging your pelvic floor muscles to support your back.

Do what feels natural to you and work within the confines of your body.

Not all teachers can coach effectively. If your current teacher cannot help you, find one that can.

Or – contact us for Private Lessons – here

Dance Beautifully but be Safe