Dissociation

09 Dec 2024 - by Graham (from Newsletter)

At some point during any tango class it is very likely you will hear your teacher talking about dissociation, but what is it and how does it help your tango?

In tango terms, dissociation is the ability to isolate the behaviour of one part of your body from all the others. It can refer to how you project your standing leg without affecting your balance, how you lead a height change without bending forwards or backwards, but most usually it refers to the technique of letting your shoulders turn into a pivot before your hips and legs follow.

Allowing yourself to turn in this way, with your shoulders and chest beginning to turn before any other part of your body starts to move, is also called a corkscrew effect as your body briefly spirals around your axis. This helps create the flow we look for in tango, but most importantly it adds stability as you turn and move.

Dissociation is one of the most important skills to learn in tango, and there are some exercises on our Reminder Videos page to help you practice it at home.