Tango Connection:  An Afternoon Argentine Tango Intensive

****  SATURDAY, JULY 18th, 12:00 to 5:00 pm ****
Allegro School of Dance, 3750 N. Montana Avenue

12:00 to 1:30 - Session 1: Connection in the Dance
2:00 to 3:30 - Session 2:  Expressiveness and Receptivity
3:45 to 5:00 - Guided practica, fine tuning concepts and steps with instruction and guidance as needed
Cost:  $40

To Register Contact:

Patrick or Grace or Add to Cart.
or Send in the Registration Form.

Grace Hodges and Patrick Marsolek, instructors with TangoHelena, are offering this workshop for intermediate and advanced dancers who wish to develop a more fluid and connective dance.  The workshop will explore a couple of interrelated themes:

1. How we feel connection in the dance with oneself, with one's partner, with the music, with the floor.
   • How do we initiate connection with a partner, then shift out of it again at the end of the dance?
   • How do we handle disconnect when it happens (from self, partner, music) during the dance?
   • What are the fundamentals of a good frame and how it affects connection at different levels?
   • What are some creative changes in the embrace, and how does this affect our connection?
2. How both leaders and followers can play with the interchange between being receptive and being active/expressive
   • What happens for both partners when the leader waits for the follower to complete a step before leading the next?
   • How can the follower be fully attuned to the lead, yet still responsible for her own axis, energy, and stepping on the beat?
   • What's it like for both partners when the follower does something the leader didn't expect?

This workshop will include body awareness exercises for deepening connection with yourself, your partner, the floor, and the music.  In small groups we'll explore possibilities for linking different steps and patterns, such as sacadas, giros, ganchos, molinetes and cadenas.  Dancers will work together to discover what can flow into what else, providing material and encouragement for improvisation.  Our intent is to explore concepts and techniques with an emphasis on integrating them into the flow of a connective and expressive dance.
 

If you're coming to this workshop: Here are some musical selections you can listen to in preparation.