Tango lesson 5

And here is your weekly dose of 'things Adriana learned in tango tonight'. If there any real life applications to these experiences, I leave it to you, my perspicacious readers, to sort them out.

1) I am now at a crucial point. That point where I've learned just enough and am a touch too confident. As a result, lesson 5 was spent over-thinking everything, taking too-big steps, and leaning my torso too far back. There were some moments of brilliance, but they were inevitably followed by some cocky over-flourishing.

So why is this point so crucial? It is precisely at this point that I either (a) get back to basics by practicing more and letting the movement sink into my bones, my flesh, or (b) decide that it's too hard, chalk it up as a fun experience and move on to knitting (or something).

I'm booked for an extra practice on Friday.

2) I have a low centre of gravity and I'm willing to use it! This evening, I finally learned the key to making ochos sizzle. I was following the instructions as given, but somehow my ochos lacked the flow and sensuality they so richly deserve. Bulent strolled by and said, "Bend your knees slightly, shorten your step, move all your weight downward, and then pivot on the toe."

What? Shorten my step?? That's new. Okay, let's try that...

Suddenly, my hips swivelled through the air with a saucy smooth snap, my feet were hitting the mark, and my partner's next signal was *that* much clearer.

Right now I could say something about the importance of listening, but I am too stoked about practicing more ochos on Friday. Short steps, Palanca, short steps...