Awhile ago, I attended a tango workshop held by a visiting tango teacher who is also a physiologist.
While her workshop was about the basics of close embrace tango, she spent most of the time focusing on posture and alignment to create the right “connection” (the most important element esp. in close embrace as connection is harder to form and the tight space between the partners demands a higher level of synchronicity). Of course, many experienced tangueros and tangueras were able to benefit from it, for the most part, because posture and alignment is the basis of movement itself, whatever form it is.
In the workshop, she taught us about what a healthy tango posture is like, and how a good connection means that we can feel each other’s legs even when we’re
During my first few months of tango, I had struggled with balancing and other connection issues.
It took me awhile to try and decode the dance itself. I was frustrated about being stuck in the beginner class, as I am more than astute with musicality and steps and basic stuffs like that, being a dancer.
I stopped going for classes and focus on practicing on the dance floor instead, while I try to decode the dance and because I don’t believe in just learning the steps.
The first turning point was when one popular, regional tango teacher visited, conducted one class and subsequently a workshop. I felt so relieved to realize that what was wrong was really my posture. The hand hold wasn’t right, the shoulder too stiff and what not. Of course, I was also being either too strong, trying to lead the leader or I totally lost my balance and control of my centre (I will write another article about tango and relationships)
I changed a couple of things about my posture and my dancing improved. But I still wasn’t very balanced. One other teacher during another workshop commented that my bum was sticking out. Hmm… it’s really hard to know what you’re doing when you’re just trying to focus on what you leader is trying to get you to do. So later, I learned to suck my bum in while I danced, and surely, I found much more balance in my steps.
However, my posture and alignment at that time was still pretty rubbish. There has always been a serious posterior tilt in my pelvis and tight posterior hip muscles, making my bum look like it’s always dropping behind. I have tried strengthening my core muscles, but somehow, it just failed to include the support for the base of my torso. At that time, I seemed to have accepted it as a natural state of my posture.
Until one day, a fellow tanguero shares a post from tangoandchaos.org on facebook about tango etiquette and the like. I started browsing around the site and found that the author of the website have a really deep and insightful knowledge and understanding of the dance, having an Argentinian girlfriend who is a very good tango salon dancer and having spent some years studying old milongueros closely, documenting their technique, their style and each of their uniqueness, which may vary, as tango salon is a truly improvisational and open for interpretations and independent development.
What is common however, is that the techniques of the dancers has evolved over the years, from their beginnings in the 1920’s to a very efficient, effective form. That the alignments and the postures the dancers adopt would be the most comfortable and healthy for their routine daily doses of dances, that can go on for hours. You can imagine if they don’t have a good posture, they may not even be able to dance anymore, as most of them would be around their 70s.
Studying his articles on posture, weight placement and style, I started practicing some of it, and found a strange disconnect between my torso and my hips (which I first started noticing when trying to improve my ochos). But now I realised that I can’t do a lot of things because of the disconnect! It’s still hard to balance myself, I can’t feel my leader’s legs, and I followed badly.
So I spend many hours, pushing my pelvis forward, finding that hip-torso connection, perfecting my walk, and finding a new muscle, my illiop psoas. I must say that finding this group of muscles was life changing to me, (or at least my posture). These muscles has been so weak and so underutilized, no wonder my body keeps compensating by tightening other muscles.
In the process of realignment, I also found and tightened my pelvic floor muscles and truly understood the meaning of “zipping up my core muscles.”
The realignment of my pelvis was a wonderful experience for me. I felt, for the first time, like I had a physical enlightenment, I was so thankful, so joyful, and dancing felt so different and wonderful! For the first time, my arms felt so free and long, like it can reach out to the world! I was also starting to feel more flexible, more balanced, and when I went back to tango, I was having the time of my life! I no longer need to worry about balance, or fearing what my leader is expecting me to do. I was just gliding along the dance floor, all the way…
Warning!:
1. The realignment procedure will demand much greater core strength than when you are maligned – because your muscles have been trained to be wrong for so long.
2. When we correct one problem area, other related problems that have been able to hide will tend to surface itself. So if you did realign or is consider realigning your posture, and if a different problem surfaces,:
a. Check to see if you are doing it right
- Some muscles might need to tighten, but stiffening yourself up is not the right way either. Remember, our body is meant to be relaxed, lengthened, firm and flexible, not stiff and rigid.
- Learn to ask your body questions – What is right? What is natural? What do you need to do? What is the right way to do this? Learn to be an observer and let your body answer you this.
b. If you’re doing it right, you don’t have to worry. Just focus on correcting the new problem instead. It might be strengthening or releasing certain muscles, or healing old injuries. If you can learn how to allow your body to do it right for you, then you should know what feels right and what doesn’t.
Until next time,
Happy dancing!
Jennifer
