Dancing apilado is not the first idea that comes in mind to many people when they think about creating a more pleasant embrace or deeper connection. This is because there aren’t many teachers helping them learn how to avoid mistakes when they try to lean with their partners. I really hope that this article and other similar online materials can be a good starting point on your journey to discover the experience of apilado tango. A month ago I received an email from John, a reader who said he agrees with many things I write, but he didn’t liked that I use Gavito as an example of apilado dancing. “His so-called apilado is a commercialized exaggeration for show, not an example to be followed … [Read more...] about Most common mistakes in apilado
Embrace
Apilado!
Last month when I wrote the “My mission” page I wanted to explain to my readers why I am working on Tango Mentor, what is the purpose of all these articles and pictures? I didn’t expected that I will have to explain it this directly… and even more I didn’t expected some people to become so emotional about it. Since many of them took time to write long comments to my article about close embrace, for sure they deserve answer – please consider this article as the answer. The styles and the dogma When Canadian Steve Collins entered the world of big international ski-jumping competitions, his competitors questioned whether he should be allowed to the big hill. He was so small and so young. He was … [Read more...] about Apilado!
Dancing in close embrace
There's no real tango if there's no real embrace. Yes, I am one of those hard core huggers: if there is no real embrace I prefer not dancing at all. Let me start this with the question what is the origin of the embrace? Why is it the way it is? Well, there are many stories about this and not real evidence for any of them, so you can pick and choose. Me own choice is the story that Osvaldo Natucci told to Monica Paz's "Practimilonguero": that the embrace was created so close and so intimate because tango was created by lonely emigrants. They arrived in Buenos Aires alone, leaving behind their country, their wifes or girlfriends, their mothers and fathers… Most of them were … [Read more...] about Dancing in close embrace
Anatomy of a Perfect Embrace
What is perfect embrace? It is like a kiss – different people will give you different answer. Some like it soft and tender, others long and passionate or short and playful… There are no rules there. That is the beauty of tango – it is not a standardized dance. The way you create your tango embrace depends on what you want to achieve. In my article “Flavors of tango: motion vs emotion” I tried to explain the difference between different flavors of tango. https://tangomentor.com/motion-vs-emotion/ Here I give you a visual guide how to create an embrace which is optimized for emotion – the one I prefer. This is very intimate way of embracing the partner: optimized to maximize the … [Read more...] about Anatomy of a Perfect Embrace
Learning how to connect is a losing game
Tango is a losing game – there are things you should lose if you want to connect with your partner. It might sound like I am some kind of Zen teacher, but I really believe that when people learn tango they should be more focused to forget some things, rather than to learn something new. As master Yoda said: “You must unlearn what you have learned!” if you want to connect with your partner. It is easier said than done. Why? Because it is so much part of our nature that many are not able to easily let it go. The problem is what is "it?" How can we let it go if no one tells us what should we let go? Lets get in to it! We had a private class. She was an experienced dancer and I was teaching … [Read more...] about Learning how to connect is a losing game
Why a man in tango is a follower?
If a man wants to become a good tango dancer, he has to become a follower. “Of course, I’ve heard that learning how dance the follower's steps can help”, you might say. No. I'm not saying that at all. I believe that it's not necessary for you to learn how to dance the female role to become a good dancer: my point here is that you have to be able to read the woman in your embrace and to follow the information you get from her. I got inspired to write this post by a comment on my Facebook Page. My article “Four ways to lead better” was shared a lot, mostly by people I don’t know personally. Bellow one of the shares a guy named Daniel said this: “The leader monitors the speed and … [Read more...] about Why a man in tango is a follower?
