COURSE DESCRIPTION

Basics    (Beginners / Adv. Beginners)
Fundamental technique for beginners and also more experienced dancers who wish to solidify partnering skills and the basics.  Gain an appreciation for musical rhythms and the improvisational nature of tango.  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

Dancing the Basics   (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)
Syncopate the triple-time walks and turns of the Argentine Tango Vals.  Explore rhythmic lyricism.  Dance with Vals Dynamics: Grounding for turns, Suspension & 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.  M
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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.


Dancing the Music: Musical Dynamics & Embellishments   (Intermed / Adv)
One of Blue Tango's most popular and stimulating courses, this covers one of THE most important skills for improving one's dance!
Topics include:
   Expressing the rhythm & melody
   The follower's musical voice
   Musical dialogues and exchanges
   Keying in on musical phrasing
   Pauses
   Embellishments
   Dancing endings


Musicality: Creating a Multi-Textured Dance  (Intermed / Adv)
One of the greatest challenges is to create a multi-level dance that is rich in texture and nuances.  We will also focus on how followers engage in a dynamic musical role.
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 Fundamentals    (Int)
Social tango is danced close.  Dynamic moves take on greater nuance, whether subtle or syncopated or intense, while retaining the beauty of the embrace.  This is the most popular social form of tango that one finds in Buenos Aires, international festivals and experienced communities.  (Recommended pre-requisite: at least 2 Basics Series)

Cadence, Presence & Classic Figures  (Buenos Aires Tango)      (Intermed)
The milongueros of Buenos Aires step with special timing to the music.  Experience the cadence and presence that give a special quality to one's dance.   We will cover classic figures of tango, milonga and vals common to the milongas of Buenos Aires. (Recommended: Close Embrace Fundamentals.)

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 Happy Feet    (Int / Adv)
Dance milonga with little effort, and with the musicality of milonga lisa or traspie.  Develop the technique for rapid and syncopated movement.  (Recommended: Close Embrace Fundamentals.)

Milonga & Tango Con