Opening and closing the embrace with grace
Transitions in tango can be hard.
Going from slow to fast, or from a close embrace to an open one, can often create problems and miscommunication.
Worse, it can break the feeling of connection with your partner.
I hate breaking connection, so I investigated which are the best ways to open the embrace.
Now, I won’t discuss the technical part (things like being more or less compact, bringing in your elbows, increasing tension etc.)
These require a more visual explanation which goes beyond the power of the written word.
What I will focus on is this:
There are instances when you can open and close the embrace easier.
Once you identify them you can make your life easier.
Before we get there though, let me share this:
There is beauty when your choices have a ‘why’.
Doing a movement just for the sake of doing it doesn’t have a ‘why’ and might feel empty.
A close embrace is often more intimate, and for some people it is the only way to dance tango.
If you are one of those people, I get it, please enjoy tango the way you like.
In my perspective, opening the embrace serves different functions:
Sometimes you just want to explore a movement that requires more space.
Sometimes you want to interpret an expansion in the music with an expansion in the embrace.
Sometimes you feel very uncomfortable with a specific partner and want to maintain your physical integrity.
And sometimes the feeling is so strong inside the embrace that you feel like you want to release part of it.
Many more reasons might be there for me to open the embrace.
And my -opinion- is this:
Do it, if you have a reason.
Now, beginner leaders often use a trick that I personally don’t like to open the embrace:
They move forward fast and abruptly stop.
The follower, due to the momentum, continues a bit more, and the embrace is now open.
It works well with some followers, but most often it feels to me like I am throwing my partner away.
I prefer to use one of the four following instances.
The first two are more dynamic, while the second two can be done extremely slowly if you choose to.
Centrifugal Force
Whenever there is centrifugal force (aka your partner rotates around you) you can relax and expand your hand.
The force will move your partner further.
May the force be with you.
Cross
When she crosses, a movement that most followers know relatively well and (un)fortunately is often done a bit on autopilot, you can stay a bit behind by making a smaller step, or leading a bigger step to her.
This is similar to the momentum trick I said I don’t like, but it has a small difference that makes it better for me. I can combine it with a bit of a rotational movement (for example by leading here to a sideways forward step -backwards for me-). This rotational quality ‘washes away’ the feeling of simply throwing my partner further away.
Of course, you can come closer to her during the cross, so that you can close the embrace.
Sacadas
If you step closer to the soon-to-be base leg, then you will be closer to your partner when she transfers her weight, and you can close the embrace.
If you step closer to the soon-to-be free leg, then you will be further away from your partner.
Don’t forget to relax the embrace when you do it, so that she can go away on axis.
Side steps
I love the simplicity of this, and the fact that you can open the embrace extremely slowly if you choose to.
When you project for a side step, step further away from her to open the embrace or closer to her to close the embrace.
You can do it in two ways:
-You- can step further away or you can lead -her- to step further away (and of course you can do both).
If you are a leader and want to learn more ways to improve your dance, don’t miss the next Curious Tanguero newsletter.