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**JonD** · 10th-January-2006, 02:24 PM

I've got a feeling this is going to be a great thread - well, I'm going to enjoy it anyway!

I've been dancing AT since April 2002 but haven't attended classes or practiced as much as I'd like in that time. In the first couple of years there were some periods of two or three months where I didnt' dance AT at all despite having been really bitten by the bug. I think that was partly due to the frustration factor - I was used to being reasonably competent at MJ and found being unable to express myself on the dance floor really difficult. The fact that we were taught the "grammar" (technique, feeling, connection etc.) of AT without much, if any, "vocabulary" (moves, figures) made it very different to learning MJ. I used to bemoan my lack of "shapes" and wish someone would teach me flashy moves! Now I realise that AT is pure lead/follow - any part of any step can change at almost any moment. That, combined with the intensity of the connection with your partner, is what makes AT so special to me.

Now that I'm more confident and more competent I'm glad that we spent so much of the early lessons working on grammar. I was dancing in the South of France in August and there were people there who'd been dancing for more than 8 years who really did not have any "quality" in their movement: they had been taught lots of figures but with no underpinning of basic skills. To be frank, they didn't look that good on the floor and were pretty terrible to dance with. It's worth being patient and working on the basics. I practice my balance and pivots in supermarket queues; I think about where the weight is falling in my foot and being grounded as I walk down the street; I do "adornos" at the photocopier. I need to practice my backward ochos but I think doing that in public would attract too many strange looks.

I'm now a total AT junkie - it's become my passion. I love MJ and still work hard to try and improve my MJ dancing but if I had to choose only one dance it would be AT. Thankfully I don't have to make that choice!

Oh, and everyone nag John who runs Southport. I emailed him and it looks like we might have the "4th room" for a milonga one night at Southport in June. We need to remind him that there is significant demand. Anyone want to DJ?

10th-January-2006, 02:24 PM	#4 (permalink)
JonD Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Exeter Posts: 537 Rep Power: 3	Re: Learning Tango I've got a feeling this is going to be a great thread - well, I'm going to enjoy it anyway! I've been dancing AT since April 2002 but haven't attended classes or practiced as much as I'd like in that time. In the first couple of years there were some periods of two or three months where I didnt' dance AT at all despite having been really bitten by the bug. I think that was partly due to the frustration factor - I was used to being reasonably competent at MJ and found being unable to express myself on the dance floor really difficult. The fact that we were taught the "grammar" (technique, feeling, connection etc.) of AT without much, if any, "vocabulary" (moves, figures) made it very different to learning MJ. I used to bemoan my lack of "shapes" and wish someone would teach me flashy moves! Now I realise that AT is pure lead/follow - any part of any step can change at almost any moment. That, combined with the intensity of the connection with your partner, is what makes AT so special to me. Now that I'm more confident and more competent I'm glad that we spent so much of the early lessons working on grammar. I was dancing in the South of France in August and there were people there who'd been dancing for more than 8 years who really did not have any "quality" in their movement: they had been taught lots of figures but with no underpinning of basic skills. To be frank, they didn't look that good on the floor and were pretty terrible to dance with. It's worth being patient and working on the basics. I practice my balance and pivots in supermarket queues; I think about where the weight is falling in my foot and being grounded as I walk down the street; I do "adornos" at the photocopier. I need to practice my backward ochos but I think doing that in public would attract too many strange looks. I'm now a total AT junkie - it's become my passion. I love MJ and still work hard to try and improve my MJ dancing but if I had to choose only one dance it would be AT. Thankfully I don't have to make that choice! Oh, and everyone nag John who runs Southport. I emailed him and it looks like we might have the "4th room" for a milonga one night at Southport in June. We need to remind him that there is significant demand. Anyone want to DJ?