The DNI Technique

Today I had a technical lesson at DNI (the tango school I am studying at). I didn't know quite what to expect but I did know that the teachers are demanding and the technique they teach is very different from the fundamental technique I have studied for the past 5 + years. So I knew it was going to be a challenge.

In the private lessons I have taken at DNI so far, I have felt OK with my progress and my abilities but today's lesson shattered all of that confidence. I ended up skipping the group lesson I was planning to take after the private and instead, spent a couple hours sitting in a coffee shop on Av. Corrientes, taking notes and trying to absorb the concepts. I'm still not sure I understand it all but here are some of the more prevalent technical aspects of the lesson.

1.Before you even consider taking your first step, you must master the following:
a.) Push into the floor with your feet to create a connection. This pushing is generated from the lower abdomen and pushes all the way down, through your legs and feet until the connection is made.
b.) Simultaneously, as you push into the floor, you reach your energy up, generating again from the abdomen, but his time extending up through your chest and out through the crown of your head. This creates space and expands your core, allowing you to freely move within the generated space.
c.) Maintain the space in your abdomen by contracting your stomach muscles, to protect your back and your core. Do not let your stomach or lower back collapse.
d.) Breathe into your sides, not your belly. This will expand your diaphragm sideways but will not make your belly fill and expand.

2.Keeping all of the above in constant practice, you can prepare your body to actually take the first step. Here goes:
a.) Make sure you are well grounded, your stomach muscles are engaged and your center is stretched vertically.
b.) Bring your chest, which is representative of your axis, over the ball of your standing leg, by expanding forward and up. This creates a forward intention through your chest.
c.) Keeping your chest and axis forward, extend your hips back (without collapsing your lower back or sticking out your butt) – try rotating one of your hips back to see how it affects your other leg and then allow your hip to go further back by rotating it circularly around your axis.
d.) Relax your shoulders.

3.Once you have mastered all of this, you may take the first step. Ready?
a.) Ground yourself by pushing into the floor, expand up, allowing a forward intention while keeping the lower body relaxed.
b.) Project your leg (heal first and at a slightly open angle– see below) in the desired direction by pushing your standing leg into the floor and allowing your hip to rotate back to create space for the free leg to move, but do not allow your axis to follow the projected foot (keep it over the ball of your standing leg).
c.) All steps should be taken heal first, as this allows the hip to go back to create space for the free leg to return to center without popping the hip of the free leg up to accommodate the movement. In addition, opening the angle of your foot when you step, allows you to open the hip even more without pushing you onto the outside edge of your foot. This will be very helpful in steps that require you to pivot.
d.) Transfer your weight to the projected leg by pushing into the floor even more and receiving the weight into the other foot as you move your center over the new standing leg (push through your standing foot and allow your heal to rise as you accept the weight into other foot), relax the newly freed leg and drop your hip.
e.) Simultaneously rotate the hip of your new standing leg back and around your axis to create room for the newly freed leg at the center point, but make sure that your chest does not rotate, and remains up and forward. Pulling the hip back will allow your standing leg to straighten and your free leg to naturally “collect” through your center (do not let the hip of your free leg pop up as you collect). Maintain connection with the floor through your big toe, creating a line as your foot is drawn back to your center.
f.) Check to make sure you are still grounded and prepare yourself for the next step.

4.Repeat.

This is the DNI technique in a nutshell. I challenge you to try this technique and see if you can string it all together into a couple coherent steps (whether or not you actually dance tango). Let me know if it makes you want to cry.