Definitely. The Eight Figure is an important contribution of Tango to Pilates. It is also a crucial movement in Tango and one which gives it its particular cadence and sensuality.
Enter the “bolea”.
The “bolea” is nothing but a smooth, fluid kick of one leg back that accompanies the Eight Figure. Try this.
Imagine that the floor you are standing on is a giant notebook and that the balls of your feet are rounded shaped pencils.
Try to draw the figure eight on the notebook. Start at the top and draw a circle, clockwise, the top loop, starting from the waist, and going all the way back to the starting point. As you go inward to the “waist” of the Eight Figure, bend your knee and lift your foot back as if trying to touch your derriere with your heel.The instant you touch it, you lower the leg and continue with the Eight figure. The bolea is always a fluid movement that acts as a “wrapping up” of the exercise. It’s like an emphasis you put on your Eight Figure.
Continue outward and start the second (the bottom) loop, this time counterclockwise. Come back to the center of the “waist” again and, one more time, throw your leg back, bent at the knee, as if you wanted to make heel and derriere meet. End the Eight Figure there. Now, try with the other leg.
Try to draw both loops, the top and the bottom one, the same size. When you are finished with the first Eight Figure, start drawing both loops again, but this time in the opposite direction. Of course, the “bolea” should be done with both legs, to keep the parallelism.
The Figure Eight is a very important movement in Tangolates that tests your balance and your core stability. It requires that you balance your weight from one side to the other. The Eight Figure can be done in a standing upright position as well as in a lying down position, supine or sideways, as well as with the:
- Balls of your feet
- The outer part of the big toe
- Your arms
- Your legs.
Last cue on the Eight Figure: try not to engage in sudden twists, or jerky movements. Rather keep a natural and fluid movement, a smooth and flowing motion to “slide” into the two full circles. Remember, we are talking Tango here, not rock.
Nice and Integrated
The beauty of Tangolates is that you integrate the best of Tango with the best of Pilates in a perfectly harmonic and natural manner. Go for the advanced “Corkscrew with Bolea” in these steps:
1Lie back on your mat making sure that you are well anchored and that your navel is drawn both to your spine and to the floor. Your hands should be at the base of your abdominal as if you were trying to hold your center still. The shoulders rest away from your ears, your chin is up.
2Raise your legs in a 90o angle from your trunk, heels and knees glued together and feet pointed.
3Inhale and as you exhale start drawing small circles with the tip of your toes. Try not to let your hip get off the mat.
4As you exhale finish drawing the entire circle. Once you finished, start all over again, but in the other direction.
Now repeat this time adding the “bolea”:
5. As you close the circle bend and lower one leg at the knee and draw a smaller semi-circle with the foot, this time at the level of your thighs. And, again, with the other leg. The “bolea” should have a rounded swing to it. Try to pay attention to this fact if you don’t want to make a nice movement into a simple kick. Concentrate on drawing a controlled, circular movement from the knee down. Do three reps with each leg.
The Corkscrew with “bolea” looks pretty much like a combo Open-Leg Rocker. It strengthens the abdominal muscles while challenging your coordination and your trunk stability. Remember that the “Bolea” is done from the core, not from the knee, and that you must get the impetus with the exhaling.
Now, if you want to go for a more fancy figure, you can add a double “Bolea” to your Corkscrew, and it goes like this:
6. After you finished the first bending and lowering of one leg at the knee level and with the same exhale repeat the lowering of the same leg one more time this time a bit faster, so that you end up with one slower and one faster “Bolea”, one after the other and in perfect sequence. Inhale to lift both legs again and start the circle again on the exhale. The double “Bolea” makes it really look as if you are dancing on a lying position and while your back rests comfortably on the Mat.
The Corkscrew with the double “Bolea” is an excellent exercise to challenge your coordination, rhythm and also strength. You may find that you do the leg swing better with one leg than with the other. If you are right handed, for example, you most probably do a beter double Bolea with your right leg, while if you are left handed, your left double Bolea will probably come out nicer. Don’t worry. After some practice you will match this imbalance because, as you know…your muscles have memory and once that they learn a new movement can repeat without much effort.
Make a Bud of yourself
Enough. Your abdominal muscles have worked hard and now they need a rest. Here is what you do next: turn over and lie on your back. Slowly, inhale and raise the right leg towards yourself until your knee gets cozy under your armpit. Exhale and do the same with the left leg. Now accommodate and breathe normally.
Now let your but swing from side to side until it finds a balanced position between and just above your heels. Arms go down by your side, your hands can grab your feet. Inhale up into your back, and, as you let the air out, lower your belly even a bit more until it rests on your thighs. Your face should be resting on the Mat, either looking to the left or the right side. Even better, if you can try to have your forehead rest on the Mat.
Some people find it difficult to breath in this position. If this is the case, don’t force yourself. But, if you can, do it because it is the best way to rest the muscles of your neck.
In this position, you look like a little bud and feel like going back to the womb. A nice feeling indeed.
What have we got so far
You are making progress and there is no better incentive than that. Still there is a long way to go in the road to a perfect boddy and you know it. So breathe deep and give it one more try, this time with feeling!
