The Yoga4Tango classes are now being held at Fitness first, just around the corner from Angel Station, at the new time of 4:30pm; which is straight after the LPTA (Leandro Palou Tango Academy) Tango class, held in the same venue, starting at 2:30pm. I decided to attend both the Tango class and the Yoga class to get a feel for the complete Sunday experience, and feedback to you.

Firstly the new location is very good for me. It is central and there are plenty of transport links. It’s also great for post-yoga socialising as there are plenty of cafes, restaurants and bars in the area, which are open when we finish, despite it being late on a Sunday afternoon – don’t you just love being in Central London? I wasn’t able to make it for a drink and bite to eat this weekend unfortunately, but I think a few of the others got together and went out. I think that going for a chat and a beverage is a nice perk of the yoga class, especially now that summer is approaching, (Let’s just ignore the dreary rain we seem to be getting this week!)

Fitness First offers great facilities for those who like to get changed and freshen up after the yoga session; especially if you intend to head out for dinner and then go straight to Tango Etnia in Camden for dancing afterwards. The ladies changing rooms are very pleasant with modern showers, hair dryers, lockers etc. Being the first week there were a few hiccups regarding class timing because the gym closes promptly, and so there was not much time to get ready and leave at the end. I believe this is something that is going to be taken into consideration for the future though.

The space we practiced in was bright with strong lighting, and spacious enough for the amount of people who attended the classes. There were plenty of mirrors too, which was good for self-observation during both the Tango and the Yoga practice. Admittedly there were a couple of inconvenient pillars which obscured the view sometimes, but that’s easily rectified by repositioning oneself. I don’t think it would prove to be a problem with the current class numbers.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Tango class, which was taught by Martin Ojeda and the lovely Laisa Souza. I don’t attend Tango classes very often I have to admit, because I find them disruptive to my general dancing enjoyment. You might think that is an odd thing to say, and in fairness it is somewhat juvenile for a dancer of nearly three years; the truth is that while I love to dance and enjoy myself at milongas, as soon as I turn dancing into an education and attend classes I find that the spontaneity and my ignorant enjoyment disappears. I do realise of course that the underlying issue is a personal fear of losing enthusiasm for something that makes me feel good. I don’t like dealing with the inevitable discomfort of realising how much hard work it is going to take if I want to improve my technique and become a better dancer! Unfortunately if you do have aspirations to improve your dancing, which I suppose we all should have if we want to make dancing in London better for everyone, you will have to face up to the hard work involved at some point; and it is better to deal with it sooner rather than later when you have developed a selection of bad habits that will then have to be unlearned.  I have written about this issue in a previous post:

You can read more about the topic here - http://www.yoga4tango.com/blog/item/23-the-importance-of-body-alignment-in-yoga-and-tango.html

I have to say though, that attending Sunday’s Tango class has actually encouraged me to take another look at my dancing. I really did enjoy the way the class was taught, and the way it made me think about myself as a follower. Self-improvement is always very satisfying in the end, but you will always have to go through those initial stages of discomfort, insecurity, frustration and basically hard work before the changes begin to take shape.

What I specifically enjoyed about the Tango class was the attention paid not only to the anatomical detail in applying the dance techniques, but also to the care that was paid to the beauty of the execution of each individual step and adornment. I really like the way Laisa encouraged followers to apply elegance to each adornment by slowing down the movements, and focusing on using core strength to take control of each movement rather than falling into each step. It reminded me of how Yoga4Tango encourages us to make mindful transitions into each yoga pose, using core strength and taking the time to achieve the right body alignment first.

In the Tango class there was a strong emphasis on leading the movement of the body with the chest first, and then letting the body spiral naturally down through to the hips and finally the legs and feet. One thing I know I am going to have to work on now is being much more conscious of using my core muscles in order to take control of my movements rather than letting my legs swing about of their own free accord, doing their own fancy thing. It is hard work to keep focused on the idea that all parts of your body are connected to one another, and that every movement each part makes is consequential of a movement a different part of the body has made previously. You really do have to develop quite an intimate relationship and awareness of your own body; it is quite strange to have to pay attention and concentrate on the way your body naturally moves, you would think that any natural movement would be left to the subconscious, but initially you have to bring it all into the forefront of your mind so that you can learn and understand what is happening with your body, how it works and why. Again Yoga4Tango draws important parallels with what was being taught; it was interesting to have a source of reference from the yoga sessions to aid my understanding of what was being taught in the Tango class.

Developing core strength and developing an awareness of the body in terms of it having segments that work separately but simultaneously together, as a whole, is a concept that Yoga is good at reinforcing. Practicing yoga on a regular basis can help to develop and maintain core strength, but I don’t think that attending one Yoga4Tango class a week is enough. The Yoga class provides a very good basic practice session, but I think that the most benefit comes when it is combined with regular practice at home and perhaps also attending one or two Tango lessons a week as well as dancing at Milongas or Practicas.

I think it is a great idea to intertwine yoga practice and dance practice. Being able to attend the Yoga4Tango practice session straight after The LPTA Tango class provides this opportunity. I have to say that personally I found it physically and mentally quite challenging to go straight into the yoga practice after such a mentally intense Tango class. Some of the other students also commented on the fact that they found the Tango class a challenge, which is a good thing of course, because it means we are all learning something! But I was too tired to dance in the evening. I guess stamina requires practice and patience.

What I would like to see more of in future Yoga4Tango practice sessions, especially now that they are positioned straight after the LPTA Tango classes, is a more streamlined experience in terms of how the yoga session relates to what we are learning in the Tango lesson beforehand. I think that the continuity will help to keep students switched on, and we will find the yoga sessions even more relevant and useful. I would like to see more Tango references in our yoga practices too, to help maintain the fact that these yoga sessions are unique and important for our dancing development. What do other Yoga4Tango (or potential Y4T) students think?

Many thanks to Martin Ojeda and Laisa Souza for the Tango class, and Winston as usual for the Yoga practice. It was lovely to meet all of the Tango students too.