Saturday, December 13, 2008

Boleos

Alex is talking about them, and so is Limerick, and MsHedgehog too. I guess I'll jump in too.

Someone please explain how I would do one, and when, that is unlead? Not that I necessarily want to, but I feel like the only eejit in the field that hasn't figured this out. I see it happen on the floor, but I just don't seem to be able to compute how they know to do one.

Even when they're lead, I still don't feel like I manage them gracefully or attractively or even in the expected timeframe. It's on my list of things to work on during a private, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I guess I think of it as an embellishment and so it sinks a bit on my priority list. But the more comfortable I get the more I would like to at least *feel* like I did it right when they ask me too.

sigh.

4 comments:

Debbi said...

My thought is, unless you are performing and there is not one else on the dance floor, and unled boleo is recipe for disaster. An unled front boleo could land you and your leader on the floor in a tangle of legs, creating a road kill road block on the dance floor. And an unled back boleo could impale the couple behind you, and then you have to deal with removing your stiletto and dressing wounds.... not to mention the blood stains on your shoes....

For me - Boleos are led. They are not an embellishment, not even a little one is an embellishment.

And I highly recommend taking a private on how to properly and elegantly execute a boleo. That is what I did with Carlos and Tova Moreno about a year ago, and it was the best money I ever spent. Also, go to You Tube and watch Jennifer Bratt's instructional videos on boleos - they give you a great insight on what should be happening when, and then you can practice against a wall or chair on your own. You should be able to execute a boleo without leaning on your partner, and practicing on your own will help strengthen your core.
:-)

And after all of that.... how are you feeling??? Hope things are blooming well within you! ;-)

Mtnhighmama said...

I hate blood stains on my shoes.

I will take a private on boleos. Your comment is kinda making me think I should do it soon, too. I just feel like I want it to be the right one to teach me, and I'm not sure who that will be. I haven't seen that one person (or couple) yet that makes me think...Oh! I want that person to help me with boleos. At least not who is in my area. Perhaps I can solicit opinions from local dancers about who to seek out.

Thanks for asking how I am. I am doing pretty well, finally. I think about food obsessively and am surprised at how limited I feel in my body with this twin pregnancy, but the second trimester is always fun. Babies start moving, I get round and full and beautiful, people tell me I glow. I love this part of pregnancy.

Tango, though, has been an adjustment. I absolutely CANNOT dance if I don't like the music, or I don't feel a connection. And my stamina is down. but, at least I am actually dancing again.

Anonymous said...

Alright, you're dancing again, congratulations! :-))
I will be curious to follow you as your center of gravity changes - I am sure there must be a way to work with it, and on the other side, you'll come a stronger Tango dancer, if only because you'll have to get a better understanding of the moving dynamics of your body, so hang on, Tango friend! :-0))

msHedgehog said...

I don't know how people do unled ones, or why they want to, although I often see it done.

As for the real thing - when it does work, it happens quite naturally, though. I had to think for a while about holding my thigh joint relaxed but in such a way that my knee would hang inwards rather than outwards - and now I can do them - but mainly it just took quite a lot of time. And it might have been the time rather than the thinking. It really did help to have a leader I could trust to be good lead some for 5 or 10 minutes, though, so I could figure out what my leg needed to be doing. I still didn't know, at the end, but it sort of came to me the following week.

It would be interesting to know if the effects of pregnancy on how your hips behave make any difference to this.