How to Notate Tango steps. Issue I.

How to Notate Tango steps. Issue I.

This is the first section of a notation system for tango steps that I created in 1997 and have perfected over the years. The system makes it possible to notate every possible tango step and every possible combination of steps without ambiguity or duplication. The system is copyrighted.

Steps

The basic unit of movement in tango is the step. All steps can be described by three terms:

d = adelante or forward step

t = atras or backward step

a = apertura or open or side step

Systems

Most steps happen in one of two systems:

p = sistema paralelo or parallel system (when one partner completes a movement with the right leg at the same moment that the other partner completes a movement with the left leg)

c = sistema cruzado or cross system (when both partners simultaneously complete movements with the right leg, or both partners simultaneously complete movements with the left leg)

Although it’s possible for one partner to execute many steps while the other is not moving, this is not ideal. In fact, it is the completion of movements in perfect synchronicity that opens the door for great complexity in lead and follow.

Feet

When we describe a step, we need to start off by stating two things: 1) which system it is in (parallel or cross) and 2) which foot the leader is moving. We notate the legs (left and right) with their abbreviations in Spanish:

d = derecha or right

i = izquierda or left

Before notating any step, we write a “p” or “c” to specify the system, and a “d” or “i” to specify which foot the leader is moving. With that information, we can determine which leg the follower is using. The following chart shows the 4 possible combinations of system and leg.

System & Leg	Leader’s foot	Follower’s foot
pd (paralelo-derecho)	right	left
pi (paralelo-izquierdo)	left	right
cd (cruzado-derecho)	right	right
ci (cruzado-izquierdo)	left	left

Clarification about Forward & Backward Steps

There are two ways to execute both forward and backward steps: 1) with the exterior side of the leg facing the partner (as in an ocho or giro); and 2) with the inside of the leg facing the partner (as in the first step of the 8-count basic). These steps have different functions so we name them differently.

d = adelante = forward step in which the outside of the leg is facing the partner (as in a forward ocho or the forward step of a giro)

di = adelante interior = forward step in which the inside of the leg is facing the partner (as in the follower’s first step of the 8-count basic)

t = atras = back step in which the outside of the leg is facing the partner (i.e. a backward ocho or the backward step of a giro)

ti = atras interior = back step in which the inside of the leg is facing the partner (i.e. the leader’s first step of the 8-count basic)

Initially, we’re going to work more with d and t (the forward/back steps seen in ochos and in the giro) than with di and ti.

Basic Notation of Steps

Steps are written from left to right, as in musical notation. The leader’s step is written on top and the follower’s step on the bottom. As in music, two steps arranged in a vertical column occur simultaneously.

For the first step of each sequence, we need to designate the system and the leader’s foot. These are written above the first step. For subsequent steps, we assume that leader & follower move naturally from one foot to the other as we do when we walk. We therefore do not have to specify which leg is used for any step after the first.

For example, consider the following sequence.

ci
a	a	a	a
d	d	d	d

The “ci” specifies that the step is in cross system and begins with the leader’s left foot. Since it’s in cross system, we know that the follower will be starting with her left foot as well. The leader first takes a side step (“a”) with his left, while the follower executes a forward step (“d”) with her left. Then, the leader steps side (“a”) with his right, while the follower steps forward (“d”) with her right. The third step of the sequence is exactly the same as the first, and the fourth is exactly the same as the second. As you can see, the sequence denotes a simple set of forward ochos.

When we want to specify the rhythm of a sequence, we place a number over each step to indicate which count of the phrase it occurs on. The following is a grapevine sequence, executed one step per beat.

pd
1	2	3	4
d	a	t	a
t	a	d	a

As you can see, in the grapevine sequence above, each time the leader steps forward (“d”), the follower steps backward (“t”) and vice versa. The sequence is in parallel system and moves in a line.

You’ll notice that, if we change the system to cross and have the leader and follower step backward simultaneously and forward simultaneously, then the sequence becomes an example of a giro:

ci
1	2	3	4
t	a	d	a
t	a	d	a

In the next issue, we will analyze “open forward” steps (“di”) and “open back” steps (“ti”). We’ll also look at the links between steps and go into more detail with reading and writing a “score” of tango steps.

How to do a volcada

How to do a Volcada. Or how to not do a volcada. Or don't do a volcada!

1 Leader: lead the basic step until the 5^th step (the cross).

2 Take a back step with your right leg on a 45-degree angle behind you (behind you to your right), while leading the follower to step forward with her right foot.

3 Now you are going to execute the volcada itself. Take a side step with your left at a 90-degree angle. This side step will take the follower off-axis and swing her left leg forward. The key is to move smoothly through this position without stopping. (Please do not stop and hold this position!)

4 Now step forward with your right leg. Your step should land about 6-8 inches from the follower’s right foot. This will give her room to cross her left foot in front of her right, bringing her back on axis and finishing the volcada.

This step is dangerous!

If you are not a really good traditional dancer you have no businesses trying to learn volcadas. If you’re practicing volcadas badly, you can easily injure the follower’s lower back and/or the leader’s knee.

Common mistakes

There is a very common mis-understanding in tango learning & teaching that the leader and follower should work to maintain parallel lines between their shoulders. Nothing could be farther from the truth. While there are steps in which the leader’s and follower’s shoulders will be parallel to each other (if both are doing side steps, for example), very often in the dance, their shoulders will form angles anywhere between 45 and 90 degrees in relation to one another.

The shoulders of the leader and follower will be parallel neither during the preparation for the volcada (during the follower’s forward step), nor during the volcada itself. During the volcada, the follower’s right shoulder will be quite far from the leader, so that the leader’s and follower’s shoulders will form a 90 degree or nearly-90 degree angle.

Leaders, there’s a tendency to think that you have to tense the bicep in order to support the follower during the volcada. However, the biceps have almost no role in this step. If you tense the bicep in order to hold the follower, everything goes wrong. She slips through your grasp and it feels like you’re not strong enough to hold her.

Instead use your triceps muscle. Lock the right triceps in place. Have you ever felt how the lateral upper part of your triceps engages when you lift a bucket or a suitcase that is about a foot away from your body? Ok, that’s the muscle you have to tense to hold her in a volcada! So now run and lift something sideways so you know what I’m talking about. When you engage the triceps muscle in this way, your right arm becomes a platform on which the follower can support herself (by tensing the muscles of her upper back, side, and triceps).

Leaders, make sure that when you take the side step with your left foot, in the moment of the volcada, that the left leg is in a clear side step and also turned out. Your foot will be facing at a 90 degree angle or more AWAY from the follower. If you place your left foot so that it is facing her, she will feel much heavier to you and you’re more likely to hurt your knee or back.

At the end of the day

These are only a few tips for executing the easiest volcada successfully. Obviously, there’s more to it. But remember: volcadas and colgadas are NOT important. Isn’t it much better to have a pleasant dance doing the basics well?

Disclaimer: This note is for people who are already familiar with traditional Argentine tango language and steps. This is not a detailed description for beginners.

What to do

The Fastest, Most Effective Way to Learn Argentine Tango

The best way to learn Argentine tango has already been invented. You can recognize it by its results. No one can say absolutely where the traditional method came from. It evolved over time, by trial and error, as the dance was passed from dancer to dancer throughout the 20^th century.

The syllabus is simple. You have to learn in a logical order all of the tango steps that are so famous that they actually have a NAME.

Basic step

Hamaca

Forward Ocho (from the cross)

Cross Basic Step

Back Ocho

Sandwich

Cuadrado

Molinete

And others...

In addition to providing a basis for navigating the dance floor and expressing the music, these steps condense an enormous amount of learning about tango technique and structure into compact, manageable sequences.

But people ask me: “How you can learn an improvised dance by memorizing sequences?”

And I respond: “Is it possible to sit at the piano and play jazz improvisation without having studied scales first?”

Just look at the list of artists at any international tango festival and find out how they first learned Argentine Tango.

Confused grasshopper

Yes tango is based on walking. But that doesn’t mean that you are going to walk forever, and that the more you walk, the more Argentine you will look.

I have a friend who heard that and got up early every mornnig to spend an entire half hour walking forward--with no results for his learning process! I’m not making up this story.

I told him that if he wanted to practice alone, he should instead practice the basic step, ochos, the hamaca, etc. as much as he wanted. And to stop walking forward, for god’s sake! The results were obvious and he started dancing something resembling tango!

Musicality and Line of Dance

Many teachers preach the same drill to raw beginners. “Music and line of dance!” And if you don’t do it, the tango god is going strike you down.

Musicality and line of dance are very important, but it’s not worth changing the logical structure of tango in order to make it possible for beginners to follow the music and line of dance immediately. A clear example of changing the logical structure of tango is the prevalence of teaching 45-degree back ochos in order to enable couples to continue moving around the line of dance while executing back ochos. However, the traditional back ocho is 90-degrees and it’s very important for followers to learn how to execute a 90-degree back ocho and default to that, instead of defaulting to a 45-degree-angle. When followers are initially exposed to 45-degree back ochos, it’s very hard for them to learn to do a correct back ocho later on.

Yes, it’s a bit harder for the beginner to move around the dance floor with a dance that is based on the traditional steps (basic step, cross basic step, 90-degree ochos, hamaca, sandwich) than on pure forward walking. But if we invest the time and energy to teach the beginner to do the traditional steps correctly, he or she can within the space of a few months learn both to navigate the dance floor and begin to express the music through traditional tango steps. And when it’s time to add on to his or her repertoire of steps (by adding boleos, barridas, ganchos, etc.), he or she will have a strong foundation of tango technique and structure to support his or her continued learning process.

Finishing

The speed and quality of your learning process depend on what you practice and how you practice. This applies to tango, and to any art form. If you want to be great you have to do what the great did.