WEEKLY TANGO DRILLS

Monday - Thursday

12pm & 5:30pm Mountain Time

Sign up and also get links to video reviews of the classes

so you can learn to dance tango in your own time.

Dig deep, and power through this Tango drought with online tango drills

Each session is 13 songs long formulated with 4 drills, followed by a stretching song, & finishing with 8 more drills songs. Each session day and session has a theme. Jaimes starts the meeting 30 minutes early and and streams what we like to call "Tango TV" where Jaimes shares videos of famous Tango performances from some of his favorite & most influential Tango dancers!

THE CLASSIC FIVE

Saturdays September 12th - October 10th

11am - 12pm Mountain Time

Sign up and also get links to video reviews of the classes

so you can learn to dance tango in your own time.

These five old school Tango sequences have been universally taught in some form or another to beginners since the 1950’s. The sequences will be pre-recorded and shared with registered students in the days before the class. The actual class will focus on four aspects within the sequence: technique, embrace, musicality, and floor-craft.

9/12-La Salida Basica

The longest lived tango training pattern, La Salida Basica (The Basic Exit) ingeniously covers at least one example of each of the basic movements without pivots.

9/19-Los Ochos

Forward Ochos danced from the cross, this sequence introduces crucial communication skills, balance and axis, and poses a far greater challenge to the continuity of the embrace. 

9/26-La Parada

This third classic training pattern was traditionally either sped through in one phrase or used to introduce phrase-and-a-half timing. We have slowed it down to two phrases and added a beautiful abanico for more communication and torsion practice (and, because it’s beautiful).

10/3-Los Ochos Atrás

This sequence marks the point when talented dancers who have had an easy time thus far really start to respect Tango. The essential skill of dancing a graceful back ocho is so unique to Tango that no one can really be well prepared for it without significant training. This is a crucial part of that training. 

10/10-La Media Vuelta

La Media Vuelta (The Half Turn; really more like three quarters) has remained the perfect intro to Classic Turns with Sacadas. Our interpretation is used to introduce turn communication while reinforcing timing and a comfortable embrace.

TURNS WITH SACADAS

Saturdays September 12th - October 10th

12pm - 1pm Mountain Time

Sign up and also get links to video reviews of the classes

so you can learn to dance tango in your own time.

If a dance anthropologist were to study tango dancers in their natural habitat in order to determine what the go-to basic default movement of tango could be, their answer would not be “La Salida Basica” or even “La Caminada” (The Walk). In observation of the most experienced dancers the scientist would have to conclude that Turns of all sorts comprise the essential basis of the dance. This series explores the inextricable relationship between Turns and Sacadas with depth and clarity.

9/12-The Four Sacadas

All four of the classic forward and open Sacadas (and the forward and open media lunas) in the Turn, in both directions, to the phrase.

9/19-The Full Turn to the Right

The full two and a half revolutions entering from the cross. Super classic.

9/26-The Full Turn to the Left

An introduction to the powerful yet challenging entrance to the left, used frequently by accomplished dancers to set up countless musical expressions.

10/3-The Left Turn Right Turn Combo

Reinforcing the classic entrance to the left, we will dance a forward ocho to change the direction of the turn. 

10/10-The Right Turn Left Turn Combo

Returning to the cross, we will explore the reversal of the turn with a forward ocho in the other direction.

CHANGES OF DIRECTION

Saturdays September 12th - October 10th

1-2pm Mountain Time

Sign up and also get links to video reviews of the classes

so you can learn to dance tango in your own time.

Often confused for changes of “direction through space”, “Changes of Direction" refers to the various possibilities of reversing an ocho. It is a broad family comprising everything from rock steps to boleos and ganchos. We will be diving deep into one perspective on Changes of Direction that tends to “reveal the matrix”, so to speak. Very useful for Milonguero, Salon, Nuevo, or whatever you’d like to call your style.

9/12-The H-Frame

This training pattern takes the dancers through four essential position in cross-system.

​

9/19-Quadrant One

Easy and hypnotic, transitioning through this position is a go-to for experienced dancers of all styles.

9/26-Quadrant Two

Nearly as accessible as Q1, dancing through this position is great for challenging and improving navigation for both roles. And, yes, navigation is a both-roles kind of thing. 

10/3-Quadrant Three

This lesson introduces a forward pivot in the “switch” between open and crossed positions, which brings more of something we all love: flow.

​

10/10-Quadrant Four

The most unusual and challenging of the transitions; a back pivot adds considerable dynamic and rhythm.