COURSE DESCRIPTION

Basics  (Beginners/ Adv. Beginners)
Fundamental technique for beginners and also more experienced dancers who wish to solidify partnering skills, musical rhythms and the basic figures of tango (e.g., caminata, cruzada, contrapaso, ochos, corridas & molinete).  Basics is the most challenging material in tango to learn and dance well.  It is recommended that beginning dancers take Basics level courses for at least a full year, and that experienced dancers revisit Basics regularly  (Basics is free for students who have taken at least four full Basics series and who are registered in a concurrent series).Tango

Transitions  (Adv Beg / Int)
How do we link basic figures to create an interesting dance? What elements make a dance enjoyable?  Find transitions to enhance your improvisational skills and vary your dance.  Highly recommended !

Milonga and Vals Basics    (Adv Beg / Int)
What makes a dance a milonga or a vals? How do we use tango steps to dance these?  This is a course on how to dance milonga and vals with respect to musicality, movement dynamics and figures.  Recommended: 2-3 Basics Series.

Tango Vals   (Int)
Explore rhythmic lyricism of the Argentine Tango Vals.  Syncopate walks and turns in triple time.   Dance with vals dynamics:  Grounding for turns, Suspnsion & Lilts.

Intermediate Technique     (Int)
Learn techniques for dancing intermediate level figures (giros (turns), barridas (drags), paradas (stops), sacadas and boleos) and their incorporation into a social dance.  Various topics, e.g., Ins & Outs of Boleos & Social Ganchos, Turns & Extra-Revolutionary Turns.
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Advanced Fundamentals - Hard Core Technique for Experienced Dancers: Turns    (Intermed / Adv)
They say that it takes an average of 9 years to do a great turn.  We will work on technique to execute a great one in 7 (!)  The course covers exercises for balance, coordination and connection in walks, turns and selected figures.  Recommended: >1.5 years of dedicated dance experience.


Advanced Fundamentals - Hard Core Technique for Experienced Dancers: Dynamics & Engagement    (Int / Adv)
Exercises and drills for leaders and followers will focus on grounding and balance to achieve multifaceted expression in one's movements: intensity, subtlety, strength, softness, suspension, quick agility or dramatic slowness. We will also work on how to create and modulate forces in out-of-phase motion and contra turns. The ENGAGEMENT OF FOLLOWERS is critical to bringing out one's voice and for dancing as a full partner. The follower can express all of the above qualities and enrich the dance. This material is valuable for both open and close style dancing.


Musicality   (Intermed / Adv)
One of the greatest challenges in tango is to create a multi-textured dance that is rich in musical nuances.

This course explores the following topics:
   Distinguishing the Orchestras and how to dance to them
   Survey of tango rhythms (marcato, sincopa, 3-3-2, habanera)
   Interweaving of rhythm and melody
   Musical dialogues
   Musical phrasing
   Pauses and Suspensions
   History of Tango Music


Musicality: Tango Orchestras & Musical Expression (Intermed / Adv)
 Tango is danced differently depending upon the orchestra. Even within a song, there are ways to vary the dance musically to inspire one's partner.
Topics include:
   Dancing D'Arienzo - Bringing out the soul behind the beat
   Dancing Tanturi - Finding contrast in lyricism
   Dancing Laurenz - Surges, suspensions & slingshots
   Dancing Pugliese - Phrasing & building intensity

Musical Rhythms in Tango, Milonga & Vals   (Int / Adv)  From an understanding of musical  rhythms (e.g., the marcato and sincopa of tango, triple time variations of vals), we will explore how to dance in distinctive musical styles, using accents, syncopations and dynamic range. 

Experienced Figures: Changing Dynamics   (Intermed/Adv)
Learn how to generate dynamic changes in your dance, from precise rhythmicity to flowing lilts to dramatic suspensions to fast spins to sweet lyricism.  Play with elasticity and engagement in both closed and open style dancing.

Challenges in Tango   (Adv) 
Challenging material on musciality, dynamics and technique for experienced dancers.  The course incorporates the following themes:   Mirror, Invert, Revert, Reverse, Revoke, Contra, 2's & 4's.

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CLOSE EMBRACE SERIESa

Close Embrace Essentials   (Intermed)
How does one dance close with ease?  Learn proper technique for posture and connection.  Study classic milonguero-style figures.  Dance dynamically for greater nuance, whether subtle or syncopated or intense, while retaining the special quality of the embrace. This is the most popular social form of tango in Buenos Aires, many festivals and experienced communities.  (Recommended pre-requisites:  at least 2 Basics series).

Cadence, Presence & Classic Figures  (Buenos Aires Tango)   (Intermed) how to dance in the close embrace style of Buenos Aires milongas.  Dance with cadence and the ability to mark the music.  Explore the many figures that can be done in small spaces and their innovative variations.  Figures include giros, cortes, milonguero-style ochos.

Experienced Close Embrace: Classic & Classy Milonguero Figures    (Int / Adv)
Dance magic in a small space in the style of the milongas of Buenos Aires.  Classic milonguero-style figures & variaion  (Pre-req.  Close Embrace Fundamentals or equivalent, may be concurrent).

Off-Axis "Leans" - Cradled, Suspended & Dynamic Figures  (Intermed / Adv)
Explore dynamic off-axis figures, and how to improvise musically within a social context.  
Focus on Follower's Technique –
   Dynamic pro-active engagement – WITHOUT passive “leaning”
   Free leg decorations
Topics:
   Syncopated Calesitas
   Invisible Colgadas
   Suspended Elasticity
   Incipient Volcadas & Volcada Variations
   Reversals
Pre-requisite: Close Embrace Fundamentals or equiv. 

Close Embrace Vals   (Int / Adv)
Dance the rhythm and melody of the Argentine vals (waltz) with syncopated walks and lyrical turns. Prerequisite: Close Embrace Fundamentals.

Close Embrace Milonga - No Sweat Fancy Feet    (Int / Adv)
Dance milonga lisa and milonga traspie with little effort.  Vary milonga rhythms and dance with cadencia.  Learn Leader's and Follower's technique for rapid, syncopated and coordinated movement.  (Recommended:  Close Embrace Fundamentals.

Buenos Aires Primer   (Int / Adv)
OR  "Creating Magic in a Small Space".  This course is for all who want to enjoy dancing in experienced communities, where the floor is generally PACKED, whether it is the milongas of Buenos Aires, at a festival in Denver or the Netherlands, or in Boston at the Zeitgeist.
Topics include:
   Creating rhythmic & lyrical magic within a small space.
   Contrasting dynamics.
   Cool on-the-spot figures.
   Creative slow traveling moves.
Dancing with Musicality is one of the most prized skills among experienced dancers.  We will cover how Followers and Leaders both can musically enhance their dance together. Recommended pre-requisite: Close Embrace Fundamentals, may be concurrent.

Nuevo Milonguero     (Adv)
Find innovative ways to add to your vocabulary while keeping the close connection to your partner. Incorporate nuevo tango elements and avant garde moves into close embrace!  This material is exquisite because it can be done even in the most crowded floor. Advance material includes alteration of direction, single axis turns, and some of the more unusual figures for dancing in close embrace.   Prerequisite: Two Close Embrace series or equivalent.

Changes of Direction  Advanced)
Investigate how to dance changes of direction comfortably within close embrace, leading to a tremendous expansion of movement possibilities.

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