The lift (elevate) is an important element of the Tango Acrobatico, which is enjoying increasing popularity. But not all acrobatic performances with tango music belong in this category. In my understanding, it is not tango, as long as there is no tango-typical connection danced in the couple. And as long as the lady is not levitated in a controlled manner, it is not acrobatics. The border is certainly fluid, because a good couple of acrobatic will always have a good connection and a good tango couple will generate the hovering with ease. Ultimately, everyone has to decide for himself whether he finds the emotion of the tango and the sensation of acrobatics in the shown performance, which in particular for me characterize the Tango Acrobatico.
Lifts have long been seen on tango parties (Milongas), but they are still the exception. In the Tango Escenario (stage tango), there are almost no more couples who do not come up with spectacular lifts …
Mostly they are very simple acrobatic elements that are very effective in the music. The actual fascination of the lift is reflected in its lightness, musicality and grace, which the audience and jurors also reward accordingly. Sometimes the quality of the Caminatas suffers. The step approach is rough and the weight transfer shows no beautiful leg lines more … here differs in my opinion, the expert from the professional.
The man elevates the lady with his shoulder, thighs and forearms. The lady braces herself with her shoulder, hip or even her hands.
Dynamic lifts:
After a short tempo together, the lady jumps off actively and is held in the air by the man for a short time. She uses this moment of high relieving to paint the music with her feet. In particular, lively passages of the music might be interpreted very nicely.
Of course, this moment is not a fixed position, but only a brief moment, which, however, seems weightless if implemented well. This hovering created by the centrifugal forces of the previous rotation and requires a good common axis of rotation. However, the real balancing would only be possible if the man’s contact point is under the center of gravity of the lady, which is a real challenge in dynamic tricks. The center of gravity of the lady is very close to the center of gravity of the man, so that the occurring shear forces have minimal effect. Nevertheless, the lady should not correct, but focus on keeping her upper body stable…
Static lifts:
Static positions use the technology of the libra. The pressure point is usually the lady’s hip (on the thigh or the forearm of the man). As a pulling point, the hand of the man has a large selection on the body of the lady, usually at the height of the waist. The lady can be presented impressively, which suits particularly well to dramatic moments of the music very well.
In this example, the lady is supported on the thigh and under the left armpit of the man. The man accompanies the lady into the pose with his right hand. For the actual balancing, the man (→ thigh) uses the knees. The couple merges optically into a unity, with the expression of sensual and almost erotic emotions, which fuels the imagination of the audience …
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