Vince and His Magic Eye

Vince misses nothing. Mike gets thrown off balance and Vince sees why as he carefully corrects my slight lean forward or my head sticking forward - that solves that problem. Vince never insults or hurts my feelings. Vince twinkles. Vince sees me studying my "Ways to Improve" list (now up to 17 items) from many talented instructors in Argentina and doesn't need to look at the list. I tell him what I'm working on and he tells me what I NEED to work on first. For me this usually comes back to posture and axis. All our efforts bounce back to Vince and his ability to analyze, correct and enjoy our enthusiasm as we all learn together- preparing us for our November trip back to the real world of tango.
Sometimes the dance is so comfortable and natural I can't do any better. What a joy to feel the music and get lost. All our Thursday night men are better- even the weak left arms that drive me crazy-feel more like the Zotto embrace. Matt moves like an Argentine. I like his pace. Mike A moves with a solid embrace. Tonight we announced the return of Oliver and Silvina in 2 weeks. This will become such a whirlwind weekend. Dance, food and and flying lessons somewhere in the mix. Their showcases left us breathless in October. Getting ready for the weekend has been moving forward thanks to Roscoe showing up here to work and to help us with the extras- the deck, the mulch on mulch, the garage and on and on. The weekend after the workshop on Sunday, June 7 our tango tent opens every Sunday for this summer. 5:30-8:30. We have more room this year and a few extra surprises for the season. Bring friends. Bring VINCE!

Making Videos

Since we'll be closing our space in Clarks Summit in 16 days- only 2 more Sunday milongas, Mike and I decided to set up our video camera and take a good look at what we've learned before our April trip to BA. My dancing looks stiff. The long leg that reaches back isn't so long after all. Why do I think I look like Silvina Valz?
Balance and footwork seem fair, but the dynamics aren't there. Cecilia Gonzalez and my other wonderful instructors gave me a list of 7 ways to improve my dance. If I'm in a practice mode and not lost in the dance ( which is rare)I pick just one to work on. Yesterday it was a deeper knee bend on my standing leg and a push with the toes to propel back. Certainly looks different on the video than it feels. My best guess is that I need to relax more and let the dance happen. HAH!
Mike had a wonderful hint from Vince- to stop thinking about walking and think about where he wants to go- where he wants to take me. This made a huge change in his lead. He feels like Chiche- just taking me along for the ride. Most of our dance is just walking and thinking about Miguel Zotto's emphasis on embrace. Figures we save for another day.