Why the knees?
Yes, focusing on how we move our knees when dancing is a little peculiar but I think there are at least a dozen good reasons.
Typically emphasis in Tango movement is placed on the feet and the chest. The feet define the step and the chest communicates lead and follow. Both are very important. However, this narrow focus seems to suggest that the chest and feet are detached from and move independently from the rest of the body.
Silly notion of course. The body moves as an integrated unit. Comprehensive instruction pays attention to the core, the spine, hips, arms, contra-body, etc., to understand how movement is interconnected and how to dance in a fluid and full-bodied way.
So then why focus on the knees, instead of say, hips and spine?
Simple reasons. The knees are easy to move, easy to identify and isolate and mediate, through leverage, the interplay between feet and shoulders.
Gavito/ Duran
My first inclination to focus on the knees came from watching instructional videos by Carlos Gavito and Marcela Duran*. Snr Gavito emphasized extending the knee of the advancing leg when initiating the step. * (Tango celebrities from the last half of the previous century. Un Tal Gavito is a fascinating instruction video still on YouTube.) From this encouragement, I began to explore how moving our knees is central to every part of the Tango movement.
Here’s what I discovered:
Male leads vs. female follows
Male leads and female follows are often taught to move differentially, even though male and female bodies move almost identically in walking, turning and balancing. Women are typically given very sophisticated instruction on how to use their entire bodies in pivoting, adorning, and the like. Instruction given to male leads, on the other hand, is often more limited and almost wooden, restricting the focus to such concerns as providing direction and support to their partner.
What if we liberated men to dance as expressively and creatively as women? What would this look like? How would it change our dancing? Where would we start?
Starting with the knees.
Attention to the knees is a type of physiological shorthand. It makes steps simpler, more fluid, more powerful and creates better communication between the dancers.
How do we make this work?
Soften the knees. This enhances balance and puts power and range in the step.
Collect the knees. Bring the knees together with a slight overlap one over the other.
Collecting is typically restricted to bringing the feet together. If we emphasize collecting the knees it does bring our feet together and at the same time, accomplishes several other positioning concerns:.
- It displaces the space between our thighs, i.e., brings our thighs/ legs together – important tango stylizing.
- It raises the heel of the free, “dancing” leg (another stylistic concern) and differentiates the set leg.
Protrude the knee of the dancing leg.
This is the first motion of a lead into the walk. The knee leads the walk step, not the foot. The foot follows and falls under the knee. This preserves the forward lean and ensures that the follow has enough time to step back and avoid getting kicked.
Contra-body.
There is a natural contrary motion between the upper torso and lower torso that makes possible all human movement. This dissociation involves the spine and hips but it is most easily accentuated by extending the knees through the principle of leverage.
Cross crawl exercises are often taught in Tango classes and all movement classes in general where you extend the knee or leg and tap it with the opposite hand. Right hand taps left thigh, left, the right. This is excellent exercise but also emphasizes the essential contra body motion essential for walking and dancing.
Accentuating the contra-body through the protrusion of the knee affects:
- Balance in walking. We fall over without it.
- Weight change. When knees are collected, a simple shift of one knee to the other effects a very smooth weight change, very useful when shifting into the cross walk.
- Leading. Extending your knee automatically turns your chest in the opposite direction. If the contra-body is locked in, collecting, chest lead, foot placement are all instinctual. The lead becomes instantly clearer and stronger for the follow.
- Connection. Your partner reads your entire body motion, not just your chest. A pronounced contra-body/ knee projection provides a lot more information about intention and positioning.
So that’s it. All this focus on the knees may sound complicated at first, but the ultimate effect is that your Tango dancing becomes clearer, stronger and simpler.