I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we dance Tango because of the way it makes us FEEL.
We may start dancing for various reasons: to be more social, to learn a new dance, for exercise, to meet the opposite sex, but we would not continue if it did not make us feel good. We even choose our dance partners by the way they make us feel. How many of us avoid people that are uncomfortable to dance with and seek out partners that feel nice?
So the big question is, how do we make sure that we feel good to others? One of the most obvious, is to learn how. Not everyone naturally feels good in their own bodies. If you feel awkward in a movement, most likely you will feel awkward to your partner. This is why we need to practice these movements until they feel comfortable and natural. Moreover, we need to learn how to perform these movements correctly.
The upcoming workshops with Mauro Peralta and Jennifer Olson will aim to help us discover how to move so that we feel good in our bodies and to our partners.
Mauro Peralta is originally from Buenos Aires and now lives and teaches in Saint Louis, Missouri. Previously, Mauro taught at the Gotan dance school in Montréal with Marika Landry.
Mauro Peralta began his studies of Argentine tango in 1998, in Buenos Aires. While studying Tango he also trained in modern dance, classical dance, jazz and yoga.
“Mauro Peralta is dedicated to exploring the communication and connection of the couple through his practice and his teaching. Incorporating techniques from ballet, jazz, yoga and gyrotonics, his focus is on the sensual embrace and walk of traditional tango. His dancing has brought him recognition as a performer for its creativity, unique style and an embodiment of the emotion and wholehearted abandon of tango as danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires.”
To learn more about Mauro, visit his website: mauroperalta.com
When Jennifer first mentioned these workshops to me, and I asked her what was special about dancing with Mauro, she finally admitted it was the way he makes her feel. This says a lot for someone who has danced with some of the best leads around.
I wrote a Teacher Spotlight on Jennifer Olson when she first moved to the Bay Area about a year ago, but for those who don’t know her, here is a recap:
Starting her tango career in Portland, Oregon, tango has taken Jennifer all over the world: to Europe, to Argentina and Uruguay, and extensively throughout the United States and Canada. She has taught regularly with known tango masters Alex Krebs, Robin Thomas, Evan Griffiths, Damian Lobato, and Martín Bel.
“Jennifer’s dance is characterized by her desire to strive for versatility. Since tango is a social dance, she believes it is integral to master not only close and open embrace, but also everything in-between. Furthermore, after having a connected and comfortable embrace, nothing is more important to Jennifer than the music. This is transmitted in her teaching, as she approaches every class with a strong command over the music.”
Speaking from personal experience, it also FEELS great dancing with Jennifer.
Mauro will be in the Bay Area December 3-16 and they will be performing several times while he is in town.
Workshops will be held Saturday December 14 and Sunday, December 15th at Symbolic Dance, Studio 2 (672 S. Van Ness Ave.) in San Francisco.
Workshops topics include: “Playing with Gravity”, “Perfect Pivots”, “Action and Reaction” and “Turns and Sacadas in a small space.”
Learn more and register for the workshops here:
http://tangojennifer.weebly.com/group-classes.html