Category Archives: Tango

Tango

Tango Druggy Songs and who had the most violins anyway??

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So .. I have been wondering for a while why many Tango songs sound like prescription drugs.

For me the latest one is ‘Danzarin’ – surely this should be available in blister packs of 12, 24, 48 and 96 pink, film coated tablets?

But no – it is in fact a great side that goes so well in a tight Tanda with Quejas de Bandoneon, Melancolico, Responso .. so many wonderful 1960’s Troilo’s

And when we dig around on this dubiously inspired quest we are in fact rewarded by a chance to watch Troilo in action.

I have read so many times that he could make you cry with a single note from his bandoneon  – at that passage from about 3:10 we can just see that skill in action and perhaps get a sense for what it must have been like to have actually been there on the night.

What a drug free pleasure.

 

 

Tango

Visual Aesthetics in Tango – who are they for?

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At some point in our Tango development we begin to care about what we look like when we are dancing.

Why?

We are not professionals. The crowd, certainly, is not focussed on the aesthetics of every heartbeat of our dance. There is – in fact – no crowd at all – but yes – there are people that are watching.  And they might want to dance with you.

Beauty needs someone to appreciate it. And the person that you are dancing with cannot see very much of you at all – they can certainly feel your skill, your focus – but in the moment your visual appearance is largely lost to them.

And this I think is where the circle is squared. I feel your beauty through your technique, your balance, you connections to the floor, to me and to the music. It is indeed absolutely beautiful. Someone watching cannot yet feel you – but they sense the same qualities that I am feeling – because when they watch you they see the years of effort, the balance, the grace and the connections.

So in fact you look beautiful precisely because you can express each moment with technique, without noise, purely and appropriately.

True beauty comes from deep within us – and Tango is a wonderful light to show that to the world.

And who would not want to dance with you when you look like that?

Tango, Tango Learning

Tango conversations – who is talking to whom?

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All of us that have been dancing for a while will have enjoyed the moments where there is an interplay between lead and follow that we often refer to as a ‘conversation’.

Until very recently I never thought to question who was having the conversation – there are only two of us after all. But now I am experimenting with the idea that in these moments I am often listening – and the real conversation is often between the follower and the music.

But the key – I think – is that word ‘mostly’ – when she dances with the music she needs to know that I am there – that I have not abandoned her. There is a moment when I give everything over to her – and I remain as a stable engaged structure – but never should she feel lost – just playing with her own responses to the emotional landscape in isolation.

One of my wonderful teachers talks about the fact that the music knows nothing about dance, and our job as dancers is to introduce the music to dance. We take this role on as a couple – we accept the musical landscape and together we negotiate our response. It is natural that the focus of our relationship – the two dancers and the music – shifts in all possible combinations. Sometimes the music might suggest a walk, and the leader responds – he has listened and the conversation is between him and the powerful rhythm of the music. For a musical phrase the follower might just enjoy the result – and be walked. But then the focus changes – there is a wonderful series of complex tumbling notes that the follower responds to.

I think this role of the leader – to be always there – to always be dancing even in stillness – to never abandon her – to participate as the focus shifts again and again – is so important.

The skill is to jointly agree who has the focus, and to exchange our roles from leader and follower between the two dancers and the music so as to create a work that is creative, natural, balanced and spontaneous. And – ultimately – musical in itself.

As we all learn after a few years – the semantics of leading and following simply demonstrate a lack of vocabulary for what beautiful Tango consists of – the continual exchange and creation of meaning between two people and the music – with a constant flowing and shifting of the role of all 3.

 

Embrace, Tango, Uncategorized

When ‘Correct’ is not good enough

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For so long as students we all strive to be correct.

We learn figures, we watch performers and teachers. We work hard – trying to be ‘right’.  Trying not to make mistakes.

To learn to be more correct seems to be why we go to classes.

Recently I have began to feel that correct is boring. That the woman is in danger of disappearing – of loosing her individuality to the correct and familiar execution of what is asked of her.

As a leader I have been studying the footage of milongueros – building up video resources and notes – and the one thing I do not see is any sense of uniformity. They share fantastic musicality and creative skills, which they express in such extremely individual ways.

And who among us would have the temerity to describe them as wrong?

Just one example – I have been learning from clips of Pibe Avellande – particularly that wonderfully creative dance with Luna Palacios at salon Canning to Rodriguez.

Is there anything at all that is “correct” about the posture of El Pibe?

I can just hear the teachers now – ‘stand up straight’ ..  ‘don’t hunch’  .. ‘be more gentle’ .. ‘don’t stretch the woman’s arm like that’  .. ‘walk properly not like a crab’ – in short – stop being amazing and just dance Tango like everyone else in the class.

Of course I don’t have the 40 years – or the talent – to be so creative and so connected to the music as this.

But I am already so enjoying it when people that I am lucky enough to dance with express their own individual interpretation, when the energy flows back and forwards between us. When neither of us are following or leading – and when right and wrong don’t exist between us in the same way that they used to.

It is so exciting when you feel on the edge – when you take risks, enjoy the moments of surprise – and stay with the emotional landscape of the music however the dice fall.

Tango

Tango Workshops are gym sessions but we should be dancing

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There is a growing tendency – I think – for tango classes and workshops to feel like physically demanding exercises and for leaders in particular to loose the end goal.

That end goal for all of us is the Milonga. And her pleasure.

We are never going to be on stage. So that impressive tortuous repeating back secada based complex figure of the moment is perhaps something that we should only be working on as part of a creative exploratory analysis that unpicks spatial relationships and technique. In this way these complex figures and dynamics are indeed so useful – challenging and enjoyable.

But it’s just a class.

For her, when we dance together – if I turn my back on her and threaten to kick her – perhaps I have broken the moment?  A cold shower comes to mind.

Surely we want to be brilliant social dancers. That is a goal I personally was so specific about when placed under pressure to define my objectives a couple of years ago.

Social dancers create something with this woman or man, to this music, in this space and time. It is most unlikely that your parter – or indeed yourself – could pass even the most basic of gymnastic qualifications

Personally I am spending so much  more time on the music, the energy flows and finding pleasure through well danced figures that we can enjoy equally.

Dance. With her. To the music. It’s such fun.

Don’t kick her.

Tango

Too many pieces in my Tango Jigsaw

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Sometimes I feel like a child trying to fit everything into place. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to work on everything, to keep mindful of it all, to keep improving and fitting everything together to eventually build something beautiful and complete.

There are just so many pieces – musicality, posture, technique, aesthetics, axis, balance, emotions, interpretation, walking, figures, sensitivity, listening skills, the embrace.

And her.

Maybe I should just put her in the middle of everything, care for her absolutely and let everything else sort themselves out.

Nothing else really matters.

Tango, Tango Learning, Thoughts, Travel

Meeting my Tango Idols

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As a Tango student of just 3 years I am so fortunate to have teachers that I respect so much and with whom I love to work with.

But as someone who so wants to learn I have of course also a few idols – dancers that I had never met, never seen in the flesh – but have watched so many hundreds of times on Youtube, astonished that anyone can ever get to be that skilful.

And although there are many world class dancers – for me two couples have always stood out – for such different reasons – Chicho Frumboli with Juana Sepulveda – and Carlitos Espinosa with Noelia Hurtado.

When the chance came to travel to a 4 day festival in Zurich last weekend and not only watch them perform but also to study with all of them in  workshops every day – of course  I had to go.

Actually I was scared – because an idol is just that – and to meet someone, to see their imperfections,  to touch the reality of them might destroy an illusion that has been so incredibly inspirational for the last couple of years.

carlitos-noeliaa-teaching

My fears were misplaced – they were my idols and they are still exactly that – just more human and real. More alive. They showed humour, playfulness, pathos, grace, poise and a 3 dimensional beauty that was at times breathtaking in both the perfect detail and also the balance and flowing improvisations of the moment.

But what moved me by far the most was being taught by Chicho Frumboli. Even being in the same room felt like being in the presence of Tango itself.

Paradoxically I had thought he would be the least interested in the role of a teacher – but in fact it was the complete reverse. Before every workshop he would compose himself, reflect, and then start to speak in that low voice  – setting everything in the context of decades of his personal experience and in the history of Tango. He describes Giros from a milongueros perspective of containing within that sequence so much of what Tango has to offer – rhythm changes, dynamism, embrace flexibility – energy flows and rotating axis points – sacadas, reversals and level changes.

He has a deep, broody presence – creating an expectant silence as soon as he ambles into the room. Dark sunglasses, rock star clothes – he was a hard but fair task master as he walked us through the exercises and the various concepts he wanted to explain. He appreciated us when we concentrated – and made it clear when we were allowing old habits to rule our movements and not the purity of his teaching.

He seems to have the highest of work ethics – urging us to work again and again until we finally understood.

As he put it so well when we were all stumbling to achieve what he wanted :

There are no secrets in Tango – just hard work and practise

I have many images, thoughts and emotions to treasure from those 4 days. But one of the strongest was early evening in glorious low sunshine. I looked out of the studio window and saw the unmistakable figure of Chicho walking slowly across the empty  square, the ever graceful Juana by his side. They were moving away from me across the square and already in the distance – but as I watched I could still sense his heavy, weighted, bear-like presence and feel the ground under him yield to every step.

Such is the presence and pedigree of this man – if you can, find a way to be a student of his – even if just for a few brief hours. You will feel changed by the experience – and he will for sure remain an idol – but a three dimensional one.

Tango, Tango Learning

What matters as an Intermediate Tango Leader?

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I think it is fair to say that I am now an intermediate Tango dancer and not a beginner. Although these things are of course extremely subjective.

I have been thinking carefully about the 10 most important things that I have learned, processed, distilled and now want to focus my learning on – what really, really matters if I am to progress.

And I so want to move forwards.

1 Humility.

I put this as number one because I think it is essential that I personally continue to be crystal clear about the enormous amount that remains unknown, and how terribly messy I am about so many things.

There is literally not one single element of Tango that I can yet perform to an acceptable standard.

This is a source of inspiration not negativity, and I need always to be mindful of this.

2 It’s all about her.

Everything we do as leaders is for her. If I loose this focus then I am indeed never going to move forwards.

To give every woman the chance to be her best to every piece of music is such a big ask for a leader – but when we dance tango every single decision we make, every invitation, every moment – is for her.

Nothing matters as much as her comfort, trust, and creating opportunities for her to show how she wants to dance to this music – with me – right now.

I hope to learn so much more about this – and how to make her smile. It is such a wonderful feeling when she does.

3 The Music.

For the last year I  have been gradually  understanding what musicality is when we dance tango – this has been an inspiring journey.

As a beginner I thought I was in fact musical because I naturally had a sense of rhythm.

I now understand the enormous depth to understanding Tango music.

I have briefly experienced what it is like to dance with a woman who can loose herself in the dance but yet still be so clearly aware of – and able to respond to – every nuance in the music.

This for me is an enormous field of study that must be a foundation for further progress.

4 Moving from moment to moment.

We talk a lot about figures. They are such useful constructs and the best of them have been danced by wonderful milongueros for so many decades.

As I aspire to build on my abilities as an intermediate dancer being able to think rather on the level of connected moments of balance and imbalance, of invitation and response – is very important.

We need together to explore how we might – to this music – join these particular moments of beauty through space and time. Sometimes what we draw might correspond to a classic pattern – at other moments we might change, build upon and together even create entirely new figures.

5 Not being a big fish in a small pond.

It seems to me to be an unfortunate truth that if you are a leader in the UK and you have some modest level of ability you can indeed have the chance to dance with more experienced followers.

Although exciting this in itself creates a trap – I need to travel and to push myself.

6 Less is more

Another concept that as an intermediate we might interpret simply as pauses – but if I need to push on it becomes a whole new word of muscular control, technique and musical stillness.

7 Technique and Solo Practise

I amaze myself in that I have been shown the importance of solo practise, totally believe in it and yet do so little of it on a consistent basis. This simply must change if I am to become significantly better at controlling my own axis, balance, presence and listening skills.

8 Never, never teach.

I have been at times tempted to try to explain things to beginners, and I have seen other leaders do this. It is something I must completely avoid – as non-professionals we should simply offer sensitivity and a positive experience to followers with less experience.

Our well intentioned but amateur words can rarely help and have the power to cause a lot of unintended damage.

9 Great teachers

Stay the course with the great teachers that I have found.

10 Friendship

And finally – I think a lot about friendship. It is a wonderful thing to find friends, mutual support and individuals that you respect throughTango.

Enjoying their company, respecting them and helping them in their own Tango is positive in itself but also softens the challenging world of learning as an individual.

Tango

Dance with me in between the stillness

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I was reading yet another great blog from Veronica Toumanova and I was struck by one particular phrase –

Tango is a conversation and in order to have a conversation you need silence.

How very true. And the more I think about this the more interested I become.

When it happens it does so within just a few moments of taking the embrace. We know that this is one of those rare times – we are going to be able to listen to each other. And this excites us.

We are using everything we have ever learned to make sure we can hear the smallest of whispers.

For me the first thousand days of learning has just gone by – and it seems I am just beginning to understand how exactly to not do anything at all.