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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Pattern Building Blocks

If you take lessons from several tango teachers and go to all the tango dances in a large city, you will see literally hundreds of step patterns. This can be very discouraging until you realize that these complex patterns are made of a few simple ones by varying and combining them in a few simple ways.

The simplest, most basic tango pattern is la Caminata (the Walk), which you've already been doing. But now you will see how it is part of a system of dance patterns. Knowing this system will help you learn new patterns quickly. It will also help you make up your own patterns.


The building block of the Walk is the Two-Step Walk. There are several versions of it; the most commonly used is el Paseo (the Stroll). To do it, start from the Ready position. This means that your feet are close together and most of your weight is on one foot, leaving the other free to begin walking. If you're a woman step backward with your right foot then backward with your left. If you're a man step forward with your left foot then forward with your right.

Don't leave your legs apart after the second step. Instead bring your free foot (the woman's right, the man's left) up beside your supporting foot. Don't put any weight on the free foot. This brings you back to the Ready position, poised to do another Two-Step Walk or some other pattern.

el Paseo (the Stroll)
Woman's
Man's

Patterns can be varied in several ways. One is by varying the length of each step.

For instance, if you do both steps of the Two-Step Walk in place, so that you go nowhere, you've done la Cadencia (the Cadence-Counting step). This is an important pattern, though it might not seem like it now. Don't forget it; we'll spend more time on it in later lessons.

la Cadencia (the Cadence-Counting step)
Woman's
Man's


If you do the second step of the Two-Step Walk in place beside your other foot, you've done la Caza (the Chase). In ballroom dancing this is called the Chassé (French for "chase") because one foot chases the other.

If you reverse the direction of the second step, so that you return to your starting position, you've done la Cunita (the Cradle, or Rock step). Don't stand with your legs apart as you do the rock; bring your feet close together at the end of each step.

la Caza (the Chase)
la Cunita (the Rock Step)
Woman's
Man's
Woman's
Man's

Practice each of the four types of Two-Step Walks for a minute or two, pausing between each to make sure you've done each one right. By focusing on just one at a time, you'll be able to master it faster.

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