Standard Technique: Stretch Left Up and Forward

Here are a couple of things to review - mostly for the Lady:

• Getting into frame: Use the 10-point system described in Standard Technique. Note that Lady put her left hand on Man's right arm last, it is after Man put his wrist under Lady's left shoulder blade.
• Lady's shoulder: do not drop left shoulder, really stretch left side forward and upward, and counter balance with muscle under shoulder blade crunching diagonally.
• Head: do not wrinkle back of neck in order to appear looking up. Start standing straight, turn head 1/8 left without creating wrinkles in the back (elongate back of neck), bend left knee forward, pull 2 shoulder blades together to center of your back, counter balance the forward bending knee by leaving head, upper body as one unit behind (bend 'back' if you can, but as one unit and without gapping with Man), think about presenting your collar bones.

Tipple Chasse to Right:

• Though step 4 is listed as "side, slightly back" in the Ballroom Technique book, the Lady should step to the step, and because of changing direction to BDW, it will become a "slightly back" step. If Lady really steps back, it will gap with Man.

Natural Turn:

• Step 4: Lady be careful not to dip left shoulder. Keep left shoulder flat.
• Step 5: LF to side, some leaders like to shape a lot, by turning shoulder to right to wind up and connect with Zig-Zag.

Standard (Waltz) Basic Technique Points

Weight distribution in standard dances: the center is 'heavy', it has half of Man's and half of Lady's weight. So it is especially important to not lean to right and becomes 'right heavy'. Example:

Natural Spin Turn:

• Step 1: Lady LF back, CBM - upper body turning to R to open up for Man to pass. Hip is pretty straight, stays with Man. Head stays left.
• Step 2: Lady RF to side - this "side step" is actually more forward to "keep up" with Man, otherwise, Man and Lay will gap. Hip turns, but upper frame stays as previous, This is where "body turns less" comes in.
• Step 3: settle, collect.
• Step 4: Lady RF forward (hips forward Man, so it doesn't gap), CBM - upper body turning to R, really keep left side up and forward. Think about following left elbow. This is a pivot step, the LF doesn't track to RF, it stays where it is and pivot.
• Step 5: Lady LF back, slightly to the side and give enough room for Man to step forward in between Lady's legs. RF brushes to LF as a result of rising.
• Step 6: Lady pushes off LF, RF forward. Hip follows the Man, don't gap here.

Reverse Turn, Progressive Chasse to Right:

• These are all reverse turning figures. Step 1: Lady RF back, rotate upper frame to L (CBM), keep spine to left and avoid leaning to right and become 'right heavy'. It's very easy to tip toward center. Avoid that. Think about head following L elbow.

Top frame: 

• A lot of how it looks at the top is driven by what the legs are doing.
• If we are standing straight at each other, the top will be close. Now, bend the legs, top will appear to be bigger.
• Lady: stand more to the left which will give even more room. (Don't turn foot to avoid bumping knee. Move to left.)
• Lady: the right side should not "crunch up". As a matter of fact, it should stretch with the right arm that's connected to Man.
• Lady: tight up diagonally from left shoulder to lower right side, this makes the left shoulder forward toward Man. But pay attention to keep hip position and not have R hip rotate away from partner.
• Neck: no wrinkles in all directions. Think about long neck.

Quickstep Silver Choreography

Starting the routine on short side of wall:

1. Running Right Turn (SQQ S SSS SQQ) start on the short wall, ending new LOD
2. Natural Turn With Hesitation (SQQ SS hold S)
3. Chasse Reverse Turn (SQQ)
4. Reverse Pivot (S)
5. Double Reverse Spin (SSQQ)
6. Chasse Reverse Turn (SQQ)
7. Reverse Pivot (S)
8. Closed Telemark (SSS)

More Newcomer and Bronze routines at http://www.dancecentral.info/ballroom/international-style/quickstep/quickstep-choreography

Rumba Technique Practice Routine

Practice the Rumba routine below with a piece of paper under both feet. A couple of technique points to remember:

• Try to keep paper moving with feet at all times. It's difficult to do, but it trains the feet to be 'sticky' (have pressure) on the floor.
• Keep upper body 'lifted' at the same time.
• Use inside edge of feet, "break the ankle inward"

Practice Routine:

1. Start with LF in front, weight on RF.
2. '2': rotate left hip forward
3. '3': rotate right hip back
4. '4': point LF back, left toe behind right heel, hold position
5. '1' (half beat): hold position
6. '&' (half beat): put weight on LF
7. '2': move RF back, settle
8. '3': replace weight on LF,
9. '41: RF forward, settle
10. '2': Cucaracha, LF to left side
11. '3' (half beat): replace weight to RF
12. '&' (half beat): LF closes to RF
13. '41': RF to side, settle
14. '2341 (half beat)': Alemana
15. '&' (half beat): spiral to R (lift up, tighten inside muscle)
16. '2341': RF forward Rumba walk
17. '2': Rumba walk LF fwd
18. '3' (half beat): RF fwd, slightly cross LF
19. '&;': 1/2/ turn to L, ending LF in front
20. '41': LF back, settle
21. '2': RF closes to LF (like starting Hockey Stick step 4)
22. '3': LF forward
23. '41': RF forward
24. '2': LF forward walk
25. '3' (half beat): RF forward
26. '&' (half beat): full turn to R
27. '41(half beat)': LF forward (traveling same direction as before the full turn)
28. '&': 1/2 turn to R

Waltz Bronze Practice Routine

Waltz Bronze Practice Routine:

Start (Man) DW:

1. Natural Spin Turn  (123 123)  
2. Reverse Turn  (4-6)  
3. Double Reverse Spin  (1 2& 3)  
4. Whisk  (123)  
5. Chasse From Promenade Position  (1 2& 3)  
6. Hesitation Change  (123 123)  
7. Reverse Turn  (123 check)  
8. Basic Weave  (123 123)  ending PP
9. Chasse From Promenade Position  (1 2& 3)

More Waltz Bronze choreography on the web site.

Waltz Technique Notes

Tips for today:

• [Waltz, Lady] Double Reverse Spin: step 1, straight back, don't turn hip either or turning foot to side which will be in partner's way.
• [Waltz, Lady] Chasse From PP: pay special attention to stay on Man's R side, not drift to center or R side.
• [Waltz, Lady] Lady's left hand should stay at the same place on Man's R arm, especially after whisk.
• [Waltz, Lady] Back Whisk: Step 1 and 2, really drive, as Lady is on the outside.
• [Waltz, Lady] Natural figures: after step 1, the shoulder should not stop, it needs to keep rotating and continue the flow.
• [Waltz, Lady] Whisk: Promenade Position: lady should not pull her R arm back, leave it to Man, tuck R shoulder under and in.
• [Waltz] CBM/Torque: when hips turn with body, it's not CBM anymore.

More tips at http://www.dancecentral.info.

Waltz technique: Frame and Movement

Frame:

• Instead of putting arms strictly to the side to make frame wide, think of making it round, holding a big ball in front of you using the arm and body. Keep it that way throughout the figures.
• Coming into frame: Lady starts with R arm in front, keep that position when Man draws his L elbow back, i.e. lady should not move upper body forward making R shoulder/upper arm start going back. Keep upper body back and allow lower body to connect with partner, bend knees forward.
• Be light on Man's arms: think of dancing holding a cup of water, hold your own arm/weight, body absorbs bounces.
• Counter balance: 
• In order to go more left (left arm), the muscle on left side of the body is crunching sort of diagonally to the right. "counter arms going left"
• To go up, let free the lower body, bent the knees and stretch upper body up.
• To "bend back" more, counter balance by moving knee, lower body forward.
• Head:
• Look 1/8 to left, do not overturn, that won't look natural. The eyes should be able to see the tip of the right fingers. Otherwise, either R arm is too far behind, or head is turning too much to left.
• Because the upper body is bending back, the head should follow that bent line to create more volume, (neck straight with the line, don' break/bend neck, don't do straight upright either.)
• Leg: Lady's R leg should be more close to Man's R leg (than to Man's L leg) - in general, move to left to allow more free movement.

Movement:

• CBM (i.e. Torque): for turns, shaping: when hips turn with the body, it's not CBM anymore. 
• Whisk, ending promenade position: Lady: pay attention not to pull R arm back, leave it to Man, tuck R shoulder in.
• Natural Turn: 2nd half, step 4: CBM; step 5: really drive, big step.
• Double Reverse Spin: keep body contact with Man throughout the figure, stay left.
• Back whisk: count "2": need to really drive, big step, otherwise, the ending alignment will be funny and Man needs to use Chasse from PP to adjust alignment. Preceding half of Natural Turn could over turn, ending Man backing DW.

Cha Cha Cha: Basics, Turns, Alemana, Hockey Stick

Back basic step on count "2": ack step on count '2': put body weight on LF and settle, which pulls the RF in and back to 'catch' the body.

Switch Turn (Left or Right): 1/4, 1/2, then 1/4 

Spot Turn (Left or Right): the difference from Switch Turn is all in the amount of turn.

• "2" - almost 3/8 turn to R, LF cross RF tight
• "3" - over 1/2 turn to R to almost face partner, feet positions are not changed. Think of pulling up the body, 2 thighs tight together
• "4&1" - side chasse to L side.

Underarm Turn (Left or Right): like Switch Turn, but done under Man's raised arm.

Alemana - turn to R. This is a 3-point turn. 1/8 to partner's side, then 1/2, brush RF to LF, away from partner, then LF brushes RF, 1/2 turn to R toward partner's R, LRL lock step.

Hockey Stick - turn to L. On count "3" put Man's hand on Lady's Left shoulder and then turn.

Shoulder to Shoulder - do not turn upper body much, just step foot behind the other.

Cha Cha Cha: Basic, Alemana, Closed Hip Twist

Cha Cha Basic Movement: when stepping back, the size of the step is just as big as what the ball of foot can reach when 2 knees are together. Then, straighten back leg first, before putting weight on it. (This is different from American style which is more like "pressed walk".) More technique on backward step in Latin dances.

In International style, the feet are a lot more "grounded" (constant pressure) than in American style. It's not good to see feet "loose" without tone under the knee.

Cha Cha Alemana to Closed Hip Twist: 

• Alemana
• step 8, count "4", Lady's LF fwd step, this is already facing Man.
• count "&", lock step (with ball of RF, not just toes, L leg should still be straight, a bit awkard feeling)
• count "1": LF fwd, small step - don't start turning to Man at this step yet, step fwd, not toward Man. 
• count "&": Wait for Man's signal to turn on count "&". 
• Turn should always be sharp (even when music is slow).
• Closed Hip Twist:
• count "4": This is pressed with RF fwd (it's really a fwd step, throw L hip back. hip should not be flat), knee bent.
• count "&": LF closed to RF, both knees bent.
• count "1": RF to side, slightly back, still facing Man at this moment.
• count "&": turn 1/2 to R.

Cha Cha  Closed Hip Twist to Alemana:

• Alemana step 3-5 is a lock step passing Man, then a sharp turn to do step 6, LF fwd to Man's L side.
• Lady's steps are the whether the follow is cHockey Stick or Alemana. The way Man can give hint it how his LH holds Lady's RH.

International Standard: Contra Body Movement (CBM)

Contra Body Movement (CBM) is usually used to initiate turns. Here are some technique that would help to dance CBM correctly:

• CBM on a forward step: the person (either Man or Lady) that does the forward step is on the outside of the turn and travels more. The step itself should be straight on the line. The opposite shoulder would be turning toward the moving foot (remember to keep shoulder level, no dipping).
• CBM on a back step: the person would be on the inside of a turn. Instructor often says "toe slightly turned in" - in fact, the hip and foot are "connected" together. The hip should also turn. Foot is always perpendicular to the hip. Man should always do a straight back step on the line. Lady follows the Man. (If Man does his forward step correctly, Lady would step back straight with CBM.)

Different types of cha cha chassés, checks and cuban crosses.

The routine we were working with consisted of

1. Forward break to back lock.
2. Three cha chas forward.
3. Split cuban breaks
4. Cuban break to the right
5. Cuban break to the left.
6. Forward break to Rondé Chassé
7. Back break to Hip Twist Chassé

Points of Chasse technique:

• Feet always have pressure into the floor.
• On a check step, go to split weight, back foot has ball pressing into floor. Back knee bends, knees touch, as weight transfers to back leg, heel stays up, ball pressing into floor. Back leg straightens, hips go back over leg. Step on 2, knee bends on &, back leg straightens on 3. The ball of the back foot does not move. This was emphasized repeatedly, whether for forward breaks, New Yorks, Cuban Breaks, the ball of the back foot on the checked step stays in the same spot. The instructor said she began to appreciate over the last few months how "sticky" the feet of the best pros are.
• On Rondé Chassé, when left foot releases on 3, momentum is used to propel the left leg into the rondé. On 4, the foot lands under the body, straight leg, on the ball of the foot. On &, RF moves to bring feet together, on balls of both feet, knees bent, height of head hasn't changed. On 1, push off RF, straighten both legs, pushing off inside edge of ball of RF.
• On Hip Twist Chassé, on 4, hips rotate around spine, so RF is forward in a pressed walk. On &, bring LF together with RF, on balls of feet, knees bent. On 1, push off LF to step back on RF.

Exercise to develop flexibility of the foot: Stand on balls of feet, shoulder width apart, and then bend knees, and squat, keeping heels elevated.

Upper body is light, feet are heavy. Feet press into the floor, body is light.

Newcomer Samba and Foxtrot

Some points of Foxtrot technique:

• We've become accustomed to trying to fix our frame into position. Actually, the frame has to be flexible. The most important thing is that the body contact is good, so if the man moves his arm out of good frame, for example, it doesn't cause the lady to lose contact, and thus the lead. There are some ladies who get into a beautiful frame at the start, wide elbows, shaping left. But then, as the dance progresses, they can't make adjustments as needed during the dance, so that when things start to go wrong, they just keep getting worse. On the other side, there are ladies who are able to adjust, sometimes the feet are not doing the right thing at times, such as passing the feet when she should be locking, but it doesn't matter, it could still feed very good to dance with the lady, because the connection is always there and is always good. If the frame and the connection look good, the audience could hardly tell what's wrong.
• When the lady steps out of a heel turn, the rise and fall should be gradual. She rises as she steps forward, and lowers as she completes the step.
• When a man makes a heel turn, he does not rise until the end of the second step, in contrast to most figures in waltz and foxtrot where the rise begins at the end of the first step.

Samba practice routine:
It includes an "alternative side basic" step: start on the right foot, step in place on right foot on 1, step side left with partial weight on 'a', replace weight on RF on 2.

Natural phrasing of Samba is 8 beats, indicated with (8) below.

1. 2 complete reverse basics (8)
2. Side basic to left and to right
3. Whisk to left and right (8)
4. Whisk to left
5. Lady's left turn to PP
6. Two samba walks in PP (8)
7. Forward Samba Walk in PP
8. Side Samba Walk
9. Turn to face partner for Two Stationary Samba Walks (8)
10. 2 Alternate Side Basics
11. 2 Boto Fogos, hand to hand (8)
12. Boto Fogo, man stepping with left foot first
13. Five Voltas to mans' left, with Boto Fogo ending. (8)
14. Two complete natural basics, a quarter turn on each, to complete a half turn. (8)
15. Alternate Side Basic
16. One Boto Fogo
17. Five Volta's to man's right, with Boto Fogo Ending. (8)
18. Alternate Side Basic
19. One full reverse basic, turning 1/4
20. Forward Half of reverse basic, turning 1/8 (8)
21. Back Half of reverse basic, turn 1/8
22. Samba bounce in place to complete count of (8)

Interestingly, both of coaches talked about Phyllis Haylor, who apparently had a large part in creating modern ballroom dance. As a little bit of history, our coach mentioned that all turns were to the right, and the standard dances were all fairly linear down the floor. Phyllis Haylor introduced the idea of dancing diagonally across the floor in the 1920's, and introduced turns to the left, or reverse turns. Other patterns, such as the Telemark and Telespin, were introduced when Haylor's partner made a mistake, such as overturning. The resulting mistake was attractive, and so was done intentionally after that. Our instructor says that she and her partner are one of the few couples that do the Telespin as originally done by mistake, and it has become one of their trademarks.

Newcomer Samba and Foxtrot

Break down the samba walk in great detail:

• Start with feet together.
• Straighten the legs on 'and'. 
• Step back with the right foot. 
• Keep weight forward. On 'a', land with split weight, heel does not touch the floor.
• On 2, in order for the weight to be returned completely to the left foot, the left foot needs to slip a little so that the left knee can bend.
• Do this very slow. To help understand the motion, watch Joanna Leunis do a slow motion stationary samba walk in an exhibition. I found examples of it here and here. In particular, notice that the hip starts moving before the leg, because the bounce action precedes the foot movement.

On the basics, natural and reverse stepping forward, and on side basic, the trailing foot has the instep facing front, line of ankle bent, pushing off on ball of foot.

Some technical details on the balance and body position for the latin dances.

• Rumba: weight is low, below the navel, and the body is pretty straight up and down.
• Chacha, weight is held above the navel, same balance as rumba.
• Samba, weight is held at the sternum, body leans forward, heels just "kiss" the ground.
• Jive, weight is held high, in the chest, body leans forward until just short of the point where you fall forward. Then the hips go back to restore balance.
• Paso, the weight is held up in the base of the neck, and the balance is far enough back so that you can lift your toes off the ground.

Our instructor also broke down the feet, for the purpose of dance, into the heel, the arch, the ball, the platform, and the toe. The platforn is what one is standing on in releve in ballet. The instructor said you could tell which Latin dance was to be performed just from the posture of the dancer, based on these principles.

In foxtrot reverse turn, the way a heel turn is led is that the man steps on a practically straight knee. This stops movement forward. This is what is meant by early rise.

Lesson on Waltz (Bronze Level)

Bronze Level Waltz, including a routine for practice.

Some practice exercises:

• Step toward mirror, soft knees, keeping shoulders and hips flat, with CBM. Our coach said one of his coaches wanted him to practice this 10000 times between sessions. (Well, he only sees his coach in English once every few months.)
• In partnership, practicing all the possible leads, from man's perspective:
  
  
  
  1. Step forward straight, LF
  2. Step back straight, RF
  3. Step straight left
  4. Step straight right
  5. Lower on right leg
  6. Step forward, LF, turn frame right
  7. Step back, RF, turn frame back to straight
  8. Step Left
  9. Shape Left
  10. Shape Right
  11. Step Right
  12. Shape Left
  13. Straighten up
• When stepping through a routine, step back and forth through the steps, particularly on steps that require CBMP.

Some points of technique that are called out:

• The hips need to remain flat. Do not tilt the whole body forward, including the hips. This is as opposed to keeping hips in the right position, and bending forward at the waist. Through the hips and the lower spine the body is erect. This is especially important when turning the frame, as it is not possible to turn the frame properly at the same time it is tilted.
• When stepping back into a turn, the instructor cautioned us that the step back should be straight, toe is only turned in a little if called for in the figure. When one tries to make room by stepping to side while turning, it defeats the purpose of CBM, and if the forward stepping partner does their step correctly, it will also result in losing connection between the partners as they drift apart.

Lesson on Samba and Foxtrot

Samba technique review:

• Feet stay in contact with the floor
• On the up part of the samba bounce, the bottom sticks out. This powers the slip step of the samba walk, and allows the back foot to pass around the front foot on Voltas.

Foxtrot practice routine:

1. Preparation step LF, S, slightly left of LOD
2. Feather Step   (SQQ)
3. Three Step   (SQQ)
4. Feather Step   (SQQ) 
5. Reverse Turn   (SQQ S) checked, end BDW
6. Basic Weave   (QQ  QQ QQ)
7. Three Step   (SQQ)
8. Natural Turn   (SQQ)
9. Closed Impetus and Feather Finish   (SQQ SQQ) - changing LOD
10. Three Step  (SQQ)  
11. Natural Turn  (SQQ SSS)  

• It's important to collect before a slow step. Slow steps are driving steps, we coast on the quick steps. 
• Three Step footwork is special: as the second step is taken Heel-Toe (in the chart, it's listed as first step, the first Q. The previous S is the last step of Feather Step.), rolling up onto the toe. 
• Caution on the Natural Turn: After a lady learns the Natural Weave, it is very easy to go outside partner after 1-3 of the Natural Turn, but she should be careful to do that only if it is lead. 
• Where the Waltz is like being on a swing, the Foxtrot is like a monkey swinging from vine to vine, including the turning of the frame from left to right. Another way of describing it is that it's like rowing a boat. The need to collect and drive on the slow gives the image of the stroke of the oars in the water propelling the boat, and while the oars are out of the water, preparing for the next stroke, the boat coasts. Similarly, all the power to move across the floor comes on the slow step in foxtrot, and one coasts on the quick steps, until it is time for the next slow to drive further down the floor.

Lesson on Rumba Technique (Bronze)

Timing and footwork:

To sharpen the look, one should wait to step until the last possible moment. The foot moves quickly. Without the appropriate accompanying movement in the body, this will look robotic, like stop motion filming, but it is a necessary foundation. This applies in Rumba, Cha Cha, Pasodoble, and Tango.

Lead and Follow for the Fan

 Starting from Open Basic, man facing LOD, the man turns 1/4 left between steps 2 and 3, allowing the lady to walk past him against LOD. As she walks past, even though she may feel some tension in the hand to walk diagonally toward the man, she continues straight, and may turn her ribs and shoulder 1/8 L, to avoid having her right arm tight against her body. Then, between step 5-6, the man lowers her right hand to lead her to turn on her feet. On step 6, the man steps diagonally forward, so that the couple form a V. This is the Fan shape.

Three endings for Alemana

 The Alemana, for the lady, consists of three steps. One toward the man, one way, and one back toward him. On each step, she brushes her feet with a half-circle motion of the stepping foot, which also aids in turning. The three endings are closed, open, and right side position. For the closed ending, the steps in front of the lady, forcing her to step side instead of forward. For open, on the last step, the man steps strongly forward with low right hand, forcing the lady to step back instead of forward. For right side position, he leads the lady to step forward on her last step, and he steps up so that she is on his right. This last is the only ending that allows the lady to complete a "true" alemana.

On the difference between Closed Hip Twist, Natural Opening Out, and Opening Out Left and Right

Man must remember to maintain a big frame, round arms. On closed hip twist, from closed position, the lady is lead to turn 1/2 to right and step back. The man needs to turn his frame, and allow his right hand to slide down the lady's arm a little to give her more room for the turn and step. First step of Natural Opening out is the same as the Closed Hip Twist. However, rather then stepping into press step on step 2, she will turn a quarter L on step 2, with feet underneath her, and then another quarter on step 3, to face the man again.

No open space between legs

The lady should strive to always keep her legs together. That means that in many steps that would call for a side step, the lady instead steps back, and turns her ribs and shoulder. This has a much more attractive look.

Frame

Strive to maintain a round, horizontal frame. Imagine having balloons under our arms. The big frame this creates will create space, particularly on a social dance floor, and make it easier to dance.

Lesson on International Standard Technique

This is mostly focused on what Ladies should do.

• Always remember to keep upper body to left throughout figures, leave right side to the Man. It's especially important to stay left for turning figures, otherwise Lady will end in front of Man and block him.
• Elongate front of body (crunch back muscle), shoulder roll back down, head up (don't break neck) to left.
• At end of each step "settle" - hips underneath, free to move again.
• sway: always sway forward, the upper body goes with the forward sway motion, do not bend upper body back to create sway look - that's "broken sway", which will make Lady block Man. (Broken sway is  used in some higher level figures)

Now applying these principles to some Waltz figures.

• Natural Turn:
• step 2, Lady RF point LOD, leave upper body to left, open up hip to let Man go through, then body catch up.
• hips sway from underneath forward.
• then settle to normal position "sit", then move again.
• Reverse Turn
• sway: remember to go forward, don't do broken sway which gets Lady in front of Man.
• Keep shoulder, head position all the same, relative to the spine. Spine sways. In Reverse Turn, step 2, it will appear that left elbow is aiming upward, be careful not to raise shoulder.
• Closed Impetus:
• After side step, stay left, leave the right side to the Man, brush and then out.
• Natural Spin Turn
• Do not anticipate spin turn and start shifting body to right and block Man. Stay left. RF forward, spin, L leg trailing, and then LF does a back and slightly side step.
• Brush RF to LF and collect R hip, so Man can pass over. Keep R side to Man.
• Double Reverse Spin
• Timing: do 1 2 &3. 
• Man's early rise signals Lady should do heel turn. Lady does RF "back", L heel closes to R heel, turn, rise and "forward", then RF "out" to side (after turning) and "cross", stay on left.
• Progressive Chasse to Right: stay left, same as Quickstep
• Back Lock: outside partner, stay with partner, don't open up.

Newcomer class on Tango

Progressive Link

The man steps forward in CBM. He steps beneath the lady. There is the effect of a windup before the second step. When he takes the second step, it is to the side of the left foot. This step release the tension of the CBM of the last step. 

Closed Promenade

Man's first step needs to be side, not forward, i.e., he does not turn his left foot out to point the direction he is stepping. The ladies were tending to step away from the man as they performed the figure. The lady, in promenade, should always step forward toward the man. She should always stay connected. 

Tango Frame

The book says that the man's right hand should reach to the lady's spine. Our instructor said that Man should place his hand so that his thumb touches the bottom of the lady's shoulder blade. The main point is that the point of the man's elbow should be in the crook of the lady's elbow. The lady's elbow should extend the man's frame. In the context of the Promenade close, the instructor said that the lady should stick to the man's right side at all times. If she ever loses contact with his right side, she has no lead.

Bronze Tango Class

Choreography and technique pages have been updated on the web site.

Posture

As we have heard before, elongate the body between the hips and the ribs in the front. Man also extends through his right side. The knees are soft, but the torso is elongated. While the lady does look left, the man does not. He extends his right side, in order to shape to the left, but his head always faces the same way as his spine. He also has a "strong" left side, to keep the lady to his right.

Footwork

Slow steps are "stalking" steps, and quick steps are "attacking". The slow steps should take the length of the beat to complete. If you are saying the time aloud, you begin the step when you say "slow", but don't change weight until after you have said it. Otherwise, you will have stepped, and then have to weight for the beat to complete before the next step, so it just looks like a quick with a hesitation. The other way of counting it out would be to used numbers, e.g., "1, 2, 3, 4". If the first step is slow, start the step on 1, but don't land and change weight until 2.

Left Foot Rock

Maintain the body position, rotate only on the man's back steps.

Outside Reverse Turn, Lady Inside

For the lady, this is the Tango equivalent of a heel turn on the first two steps.

• All heel turns are characterized by early rise. On step 1, the man uses body rise at the end of the step to signal that a heel turn is coming. The rise should induce the lady to straighten her knees, which in turns signals her to bring her feet together.
• The man steps across the lady on step 2. In contrast to the outside partner version, where step 2 is oriented BDW, this step should end backing LOD.
• The man keeps his weight forward on step 2. When he places his right foot, it should be on the ball of the foot. If the man were to stop on step 2, he would be pushing off the ball of his right foot. If his weight carries too much too quickly to his heel, he will pull the lady off her balance, and prevent her from executing the heel turn.
• The man stays on his side (the left) on step 2, lest he knock the lady over on his right.
• The lady keeps her head left and back on steps 1 and 2. If she does not, she will not be able to bring the feet together beneath her on step 2, she will need to step to the side to maintain balance.
• In contrast to the swing dances, the lady does not drag her left heel, she places it. That means that at the end of step 2, her feet will be turned out, the right foot pointing DW, and the left foot facing LOD

Newcomer lesson on Tango

Nothing new in terms of technique that hasn't been seen here before, but sometimes it's worth repeating till it gets down into the body.

• Man's body is turned 1/8 to left relative to hips and feet in closed position.
• Lady positions head so that she is looking out over her left elbow.
• Man positions head so he is looking at his left hand.
• Walks should be distinct from side steps. In a progressive side step, man's right foot is placed directly to side of left foot, relative to foot's orientation. Instructor said that directions in The Ballroom Technique, (RF to side and slightly back) refer to feeling more than to foot placement.
• When stepping backwards, step is initiated by standing knee moving forward (bending) and hips moving back. Body moves before feet.

Practice Routine:

1. Two walks (SS)
   
2. Progressive side step (QQS)
3. Rock Turn (SQQSQQS)