Sunday, June 7, 2015

Return to the Canasta Tango

Miss Bianaca takes out her Magic Marker of Doom and makes a mark on the center line a few feet from the center dot.

"When you skate the tango, you need to end that left forward inside slide chasse' right here." She taps the mark with her toe pick. Then she skates 10 feet away, "This is where you're hitting it."

I know this routine...


I try it a couple more times, then we move on to back threes. I'm not getting any closer. Probably as I try to remember the steps, I tense up and slow down.

Today,  I try it again. I'm more relaxed and I've got the steps firmly in my head. Here's my distances--and my excuses.

6 feet. Little kid got in my way.
4 feet. Had to slow down so I wouldn't knock over an adult skater who panicked and nearly fell down anyway.
3 feet. There'a a hockey guy going backwards, not looking behind himself, who might--if he speeds up---possibly get in my way.
2 and a half feet, and that's as close as I can get. I get a straight shot in.
Then I go home and pull out the canasta tango drawing,



You know, after that first LFO- swing roll, the RFO stroke and the LFI Slide chasse' are supposed to be two beats? 

I've been doing one.



2 comments:

  1. I just went through a similar thing with Coach2 and Swing Dance. My end pattern is completely in the wrong place and it's driving him nuts. Unfortunately I can't blame timing (crappy mohawk, yes, timing, no).

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  2. Babette-- check out Kseniya and Oleg's YouTube channel. They break down the dances by the beat. I tested the first three dances (which include the Canasta) by learning them all on one day and then testing them the very next day. I spent the night before on Kseniya and Oleg's channel so I could see the dances in detail and hopefully not forget the steps during the test. Mercifully, I did not, and passed, but warmup was another story....

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