Some Comments on Tango 2 in Copello

It turns out that tonight I'm going to see the Ballet Folklórico Nacional in the Teatro Empire (Hipólito Yrigoyen 1934, I would put a link here if Argentina cared in the slightest about its most prestigious state-run ballet, but its website hasn't been updated since 2004) so I'll skip class with Jose and Virginia at Copello and head straight to Tango Cool at 11 or so.

While I'm here, though, some notes about the teachers of Tango 2 in Copello, Virginia and Jose. Their classes are very cool because they split the groups up into men and women and work on the figure they are going to teach separately. They are technically excellent and aware of everything that is going on with tango nuevo and all that stuff.

Their interaction with tango nuevo affects how they teach giros for instance, because in a left turn they say that the man's ("leader!" -- we're in Argentina, so if you're a woman doing the man's part we assume you're smart enough to translate) left hand has to "pull" the woman forward (as opposed to the right hand pushing the woman's back). Obviously it's not "pulling" so much as "inviting," but the point is that the right hand just has to stay out of the way unless you want the woman to not follow el código del giro (for instance, to do all forward ochos).

This jives with what the teachers at DNI said the other day about right turns, which is that the right hand leads the woman and the left hand just follows so as not to "modify" her movement (so that she follows el código del giro).

My personal problem is that at my level, even if it comes from torso you want to move the woman around, when in fact the idea is to open so that she moves into the space. But sucking in tango isn't bad! Most women will even dance the entire tanda with you, especially if you give them the option not to after every song.

One other comment: Elsa from Holland sms'ed me today that la Confitería Ideal was pretty cool last night. Didn't see it so I can't comment, but it might be a Thursday bet. I'm going to try to find out if La Catedral is happening or not.