article: Timing and Touch Steps · changes
diff --git a/src/tango/timing-and-touch-steps.md b/src/tango/timing-and-touch-steps.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..afd3e21 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/tango/timing-and-touch-steps.md @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ +October 13 2026 + +In class today we learned about tango timing (quick quick slow), +and about touch steps. + +Already I feel like we’ve opened up a floodgate of information and conceptual details, +and I missed a few things by missing the first class. +Probably I’ll just need to fill in my knowledge through practice, repetion, and persistence. + +Things I learned or re-learned: + +* Partners stand directly in front on one another, +as opposed to more fusion-y dances like Zouk +(and yes, the lead is expected to move their knees out of the way to account for this when it matters) +* Argentinian Tango can be very imrovisational +* There is an eight-count basis to the music +* Micro adjustments in the posture communicate a lot, +like magic +* Asking “what step pattern should I use” is a matter of art +and fully debatable + +# Posture + +Tango posture is very upright. +Heels are close together. +Weight changes can be communicated through a mere “10%” shift of the body, +where feet receive at most a 60-40% split of the weight +(this allows for the quick parts of the dance to happen because the body does not need to move very much). + +When practicing touch steps Homer noticed a small forward “roll” of my chest +(my shoulders come forward, chest caves in, etc) +and told me that this muddies the signal going to the follow +– it suggests to them some movement in the direction of progression. +Just by standing up straight and tall the lead can convey a much more stable and planted feeling. + +# Timing + +**A “slow slow quick quick slow” pattern fits nicely into eight counts with some time to relax out of the fast bit, and in Argentinian Tango you can do anything you want** + +Sar and I got all riled up about timing and patterns and math and counting, +and we only feel kinda confident that we got anything sorted out. + +We’d somehow both gotten the impression that it would be normal to use a syncopated step pattern of two slow steps followed by two quick steps (“slow slow quick quick”) +and that chaining these together would just repeat this; +two slow steps for every two quick steps. + +The dilemma was that this is only six counts and so doesn’t fit nicely into Tango‘s eight count measures, +but somehow it still felt more natural to do this pattern with others. +(Sar told me about a class that spent many sessions drilling exactly this pattern into muscle memory.) + +Playing around with it the next morning we found that a “slowing down” step after the two quick steps feels pretty nice. +Turns out if you look it up this is pretty standard. + +At the same time the Argentinian style is much more improvisational, +so it is possible to really mix it up and move with the music. +Homer pointed out that even a single slow step on the right beat could come across as “profound” given the right context and usage. +I imagine you could also prance all around in a maelstrom of quick steps if you felt so moved. + +One concrete takeaway from Homer was that the one and the three beats are traditionally emphasized, +and at the very least this matches up with the two slow steps at the beginning. + +# Touch Steps + +Touch steps seem to be a basic ingredient that you can use to concoct an interesting dance. + +You've got to stand tall, weight on one foot or the other, and then definitively lower your frame. +If you go straight down then the free foot moves to the side, +and if you have a micro forward or backward inclination then the free foot goes the same way. + +I've noticed that there‘s a little lag between the lead and the follow +– there must be! +In such an improvisational dance the follow has to be athletically prepared for a wide range of movements +and has to react as they happen. +I don’t think there's any getting around that. +Perhaps you just need to set up a motif early in a dance and come back to it as a way to hint at what might come next +– in a sense playing with the musicality. + +Touch steps can be all sorts of ways and depths. +One big step on a major beat +or a staccato burst of small steps. + +A touch step can transition into a side step or even a traveling step. + +The key thing is to keep the torso / frame very upright in order to not signal any forward, backward, or lateral movement that you don’t mean to lead. + +It also helps a lot to definitively strike the floor with the foot. +The vibrations that come through your body +(probably from the change in muscle tone as much as the reaction force on the floor) +signal a finality that helps the follow know not to transfer weight.