Women's Walk in Tango

The tango walk is performed in a close embrace by two dancers in a chest-to-chest posture. The man walks forward while the woman steps backward, and they must maintain matching alignment, CBM (Contra Body Movement), dissociation, timing, and pace, achieving perfect coordination, balance, elegance, and harmony. Many students struggle to walk properly because they lack the required stability, flexibility, and technique. Their posture and habits fall short of tango standards. Additionally, their legs and feet are not strong enough to sustain balance, and their individual practices conflict with one another, leading to instability and disharmony in their walk.

There are more exercises designed for women than men in tango, just as there are more fashions, shoes, jewelry and cosmetics designed for women than men. This is not surprising given the significance of beauty to women and the fact that, while men lead women, it's women who beautify the dance. How women walk, therefore, matters more than how men walk in tango. (See The Gender Roles in Tango.)

Muscle Development
In order to walk well, you first need to develop muscles that enable your feet to suck the floor and stay very grounded in the walk. Dancing a lot certainly helps. Supplementary exercises can also be beneficial. One exercise that I found particularly helpful is demonstrated by Vanessa Gauch in the following video.

When done in slow motion, this exercise can effectively build foot muscles and improve stability and elegance in women's walk. The exercise can be summed up in six steps to help you memorize the sequence: (1) Stand on one leg, stretching the other leg forward. (2) Transfer weight forward to rest on the heel of the front foot and the toes of the back foot. (3) Shift weight back and forth a few times in this position. (4) Transfer weight fully onto the front leg. (5) Start the next step by swiveling the hips to move the leg - which gives women's walk a feminine grace. (6) Repeat the sequence with the opposite leg.

Walk Backwards
In tango, women mostly walk backward, which is a challenge since that is not how they normally walk. To learn to walk backward, you almost need to start from toddle. The following video, demonstrated also by Vanessa Gauch, can help you understand how it should be done.

Walk in Leaning Position
It is important to note that the embrace significantly affects the walk. Walking in an A-shaped frame is very different from walking in an H-shaped frame. A woman using an open dance hold cannot stretch her leg back far enough because, without leaning on her partner, it is difficult to maintain balance on one leg while the other leg extends as far back as possible. Here is an example.

The two teachers are competent dancers, I believe, but the H-shaped frame hindered their performance. In contrast, walking in a close embrace, or an A-shaped frame, is much more stable, balanced, and elegant, as demonstrated by Jennifer Bratt and Ney Melo in the following video.

Note that Jennifer leans on Ney with an increased incline. She slightly bends her standing leg and incorporates a bit of dissociation—tilting her hips upward and downward to allow the free leg to extend further back. Additionally, when her hips turn, she uses the thumb of her foot, rather than the ball, to make contact with the floor. It is also worth noting that her leg is swayed slightly sideways by her hip, in contrast to the forward walk, where the leg is swayed by the hip toward the center, as demonstrated by Vanessa Gauch in the first video. All these elements contribute a feminine touch to her walk.

Hip Sway
Experienced tangueras use the hip, rather than the thigh, to initiate leg movement. Here is a good example danced by Mariana Montes and Sebastian Arce.

While their style is too exhibitionist to suit the milonga, in my humble opinion, the opening walk (0:15 - 0:28) is absolutely gorgeous, appropriate in social dancing, and worth watching again and again. The walk is done in close embrace that enables Mariana to outstretch her leg far. Her beautiful hip sway, with a subtle dissociation and very straight leg line, contributes to the unequivocal beauty and elegance of her walk. Note that her leg is also swayed slightly sideways as a result of using the hip to move the leg.

Maintaining Balance and Lightness
As comfortable as it is to lean on your partner, it is essential to stay light and avoid placing too much weight on him. To achieve this, you need to maintain your own balance by slightly bending your standing leg when stretching your free leg back, as explained by Vanessa and demonstrated by Jennifer and Mariana. This ensures that most of your weight is supported by your standing leg rather than your partner. Additionally, this technique allows you to extend your free leg farther. Personally, I found that when a woman leans lightly with her chest rather than heavily with her stomach on me, she becomes lighter.

Pushing with the Standing Leg
You stretch your free leg back until the thumb of your foot makes contact with the floor. At that point, you should not simply wait for your partner to push you. Instead, activate yourself by pushing off with your standing leg. Failing to do so is one reason why some women feel heavy in the walk. However, be careful not to push so hard that you lose torso contact with your partner. Apply just enough force to make yourself feel light while maintaining your leaning position and, consequently, the connection with him.

Walking with Straight Knees
Walking with bent knees is a common issue among beginners. While your standing leg needs to bend slightly to allow your free leg to stretch back fully, the free leg should remain straight until the weight transfer to it is complete. You should avoid using the thigh to move the leg, as this can cause the knee to bend. Instead, move the leg from the hip and keep it straight as you transfer weight to it. Walking with straight legs enhances the elegance of the movement.

Alignment
When walking backward in the parallel system, the free leg should move in line with the hip rather than crossing over the standing leg, as crossing can create a distorted line. Even in the cross system, excessive crossing can lead to a winding path. Instead, you should swivel your hips slightly and move your leg in line with the hip. The hip rotation should be minimal since you are simply walking backward along the line of dance in the cross system, not performing a back ocho. Overturning the hips can disrupt stability.

Synchronization
Tango walking is a synchronized movement. The two partners walk not as independent individuals but as one cohesive unit. Their legs should start, move, and arrive together with exactly the same timing and pace. The woman must closely mirror the man's movements and avoid landing her foot too early, before he completes his step. A common issue is that she walks on her own and lands her foot on the floor before he lands his foot, causing him to step on her toes. The correct way is holding her free leg outstretched in the air to allow him to push her, along with the push of her own standing leg, so that their active legs land on the floor at the same time and with the same pace.

Improving Your walk Is the Key to Improve Your Dance
One's walk defines one's tango. The following video, dedicated to Andrea Misse, a brilliant tango dancer died too young in a car accident in 2012, is a good example. Please pay attention to Andrea's walk and see how it relates to her dance. Walking is not only a significant part of tango but also the foundation of the dance because other tango steps are but variations of the walk. For a woman, elegant walk is a guaranteed eye catcher and proof of her ability. By learning to walk elegantly, your tango can be improved in more ways than you can imagine. (See Walk.)