When we teach Molineta in our courses, there are always two questions from the gentlemen. How do I take the lady to the molineta? How can I change the direction of the molineta? The first question “How do I take the lady to the Molineta?” is easily answered: from every, really every position imaginable. No matter whether from forward, back or side step, whether from open or crossed step. The only thing the gentleman has to do is open the door for the lady and then continue to turn around his own axis with his upper body as calmly as possible. As long as the gentleman turns, the lady follows th ..read more

One of the first things we explain to participants in our tango classes is that the gentlemen (or whoever is “leading”) must tell the ladies before they want to do anything new. But what exactly does that mean? First example: As long as the dancers are still standing in front of each other, i.e. have not yet taken a step in the room, the gentleman has to prepare the lady’s step. From standing to walking, no matter which direction always means “something new”. If the lady doesn’t get any impulse from the gentleman that she can adapt to and the gentleman just marches off without prior notice, th ..read more

Everyone who learns tango sooner or later hears that whoever dances the male role transmits the movement impulses to the lady from the chest. “You have to lead with your chest, not your arms” is one of the instructions you often hear from tango teachers. This is a standard sentence, especially when leading ochos. But is that really true? Of course it is right that a man should not pull the lady with his arms, tug her or force her in the direction he wants. But on the one hand, “leading with your chest” is far too imprecise and doesn’t really describe how the impulse for the lead really works ..read more

“And then we just sat there in frustration” I hear that far too often from tango beginners who have realized to their chagrin that what they learned in their beginner’s course doesn’t help them at all in real life on the dance floor. Therefore, at this point a little help in choosing a course, especially if you are still at the beginning of your tango career. Are you looking for a tango beginner course? Then you should ask yourself the question why you are doing this. Why do you want to learn tango? Here are some answers: You love tango music and want to dance to it in good company. You are ..read more

Anyone who starts dancing Tango Argentino will inevitably hear the term “milonga” again and again after a short time. Milonga! Fast, rhythmic footwork. Fear not! It is not as difficult as one might think at first glance and it is useful when you dance in small spaces. So the question arises, what actually is “milonga”? Since milonga means several different things, one can get somewhat confused, especially as a tango beginner. However, the answer is not too difficult. Originally, the milonga was a form of musical message transmission. News was spread by traveling singers, the Pajadores, simila ..read more

One of the reasons I like tango is that I associate it with a certain feeling for style. Conjuring up a time that was not better but certainly more elegant. More elegant certainly not everywhere where people danced in the streets and courtyards, but certainly in the milongas of the “golden age” of tango. Back then it was unthinkable to go to a milonga badly or carelessly dressed. And this wasn’t just valid for women. With the blatant excess of women at that time, a man who was not well groomed and did not have a minimum of good manners had little chance of ever dancing with a woman. Today tha ..read more

Professional tango ladies are not easy to impress, especially when they have traveled extensively in the tango world. Sometimes the dancing skills of the other milonga visitors and the up-and-coming stars are ridiculed. However, one dancer who can be found regularly in the milongas of Perugia and the surrounding area always receives great praise, even from the most critical tango divas. And of course every lady wants to dance with him. Stefano Who the heck is Stefano? Now a gentleman in “the best age” as the saying goes. Graying, mustache, alert look. He could play the experienced, cunning det ..read more

In my last article I wrote about how important it is for women to have a relaxed free leg. If the free leg is not relaxed and loose, it cannot “perform” all the beautiful, sometimes spectacular movements in which the leg actually flies without effort. All the movements become very cramped and can be performed only with a lot of work. Even the caminada, normal walking in tango, becomes cramped and unnecessarily exhausting with a “working” free leg. However, the difficulty for many dancers at the beginning of their tango career (and for dancers who want to learn the lady´s role) is that it is n ..read more

In my courses I see again and again that the women believe that they have to work actively with their free leg. But this is almost never necessary and makes tango dancing less smooth and unnecessarily difficult. Let’s look at a few examples. Voleo At a voleo, the lady’s leg flies more or less high. This works practically by itself due to impulse that the lady receives from the man (impulse to take a step + counter movement before the lady can complete the step and put her leg down) if her free leg is really loose. However, many ladies believe that they need to actively perform the voleo with ..read more

No, now it doesn’t get esoteric, although I am asked that again and again, somewhat mockingly, when I bring the pendulum motion into play. But many movements in tango can be perfectly explained with the pendulum movement. So, let’s take a look at a pendulum. I’m neither a physicist nor a mathematician, so I’ll keep the description simple. The pendulum is suspended from one point and, once set in motion, swings from side to side. At the highest point, the turning point, it pauses for a moment and then swings back again. Each of us has probably seen this before. At the turning point, the pendulu ..read more