Bonnie Stockman came up to me in my technique class last December, and said, "You know, you really should call this class Body Dynamics instead of Heel Camp, because this is stuff guys need to know, too." She was right, so I changed the name to reflect the real aim of this class.
Body Dynamics is about learning to dance tango with elegant, sensuous power. It is about learning to use your body efficiently, so that you have reserves to pull out when your partner and/or the music demand more from you. It is about mastering balance, axis, breath--all the challenging parts of tango. It is about finding your own voice and energy within the dance to make it YOUR dance.
What do we do in Body Dynamics? If you look at my recent posts with videos, you can see some of what we have been working on recently. This is a serious class that yields major results in flexibility, technique and dance level, in a short time. We start with about twenty minutes of tango-specific stretches: a combination of what my teacher, Georgina Vargas, taught me; with other stretches culled from my 25 years of teaching dance. Then, we do drills and exercises for the remainder of class. Each week, I focus on something that will be used in the advanced class, so that the dancers who take both are really ready to take the underlying work and DANCE it for the next hour. I also work on something for my students who take my intermediate/advanced intermediate class on Thursdays at 8 PM.
For example, one week last session, we worked on lapiz for the leaders. My advanced intermediate class then learned to use lapiz in a turn with a parada, while the advanced class incorporated it into a three-turn combination with an enrosque and leader adornos. That week, we focused on back pivots for followers, to make both turn combinations work with more power. We also learned a fun adorno for giros that helps the follower stay aligned better on tight/fast turns.
It's not too late to join the current session, even though it's the second week of the session. Sign up for Body Dynamics and the advanced class at 8 PM for $90, or take either session for $60 for six weeks; or drop in and check it out for $12. The Om Studio is at 14 NE 10th, just off Burnside. See you there!
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