[Tango-L] Choreography

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

--- "TangoDC.com" <spatz at tangoDC.com> wrote:

> But I'm also interested in the more delicate question of
> where we separate choreography from improv. 

The first class I ever took on contact improvisation might
provide some insight.  The instructor was exploring ways of
improvising within a strictly choreographed dance. 

Students were first paired, with one student sprawled out
in a random position on the floor.  The other student would
trace an outline around their partner, using their foot,
elbow, hand, etc.  Then the first student (the sprawlee)
had 3 choices:
1 – to step cleanly out of the outline,
2 – to deepen the outline (rolling into it without erasing
it),
3 – or to blur the outline (wriggling on the outline).
In the next exercise students did the same thing
individually, as we were dancing.  We had to stay in a
clear position long enough to create a snapshot (outline)
of a particular pose, and then use one of the 3 choices. 
Eventually, we moved into a contact jam, in which people
dance improvisationally in groups of 2-4 people using the
same idea.  The point was to find improvisation in a
strictly choreographed performance through the sense of
touch.  Otherwise, a choreography could become stale and
rote for the performers.  Perhaps improvisation requires  a
level of intellectual involvement (as opposed to habits of
movement).

Could performers in non-tango dances could share their
experiences?

 
> 4.
> It also occurred to me that we could teach beginners,
> provided they had sufficient athletic ability, jumps and
weird showy stuff as readily as we teach them ochos. 

Last fall, Sean began teaching an intermediate class mostly
by himself to my students.  One night I walked in late and
thought "Ohmigod, what did he do?!".  My carefully taught
social dancers (some with less than 6 months experience)
were practicing showy lifts and jumps, including one couple
well into their sixties.  They all looked terrible, but
they were having fun and were learning how to use their
bodies better.  In this case, it made the men more grounded
and the women more connected through their arm structure.

The complex sequence approach succeeds when teachers use it
to hone a basic technique, not to teach a step.  One time,
we hosted Diego DiFalco and Carolina Zokalvski who taught a
sequence that included an extremely difficult pivot and
multiple turns.  Diego created the sequence just to get us
to work harder on our balance.  Other instructors do the
same thing.  

This method works if:
a) students realize that practicing the technique is more
important than learning the actual step (though it makes a
nice goal), 
b) students already understand what good tango is
(connection, clean technique, musicality, etc.), and
c) students can make informed decisions regarding what they
like or dislike about tango or about different personal
styles.

When these elements are not in place, I find that those
beginning with a "start-big" approach are not enjoyable to
dance with (men or women).  I think it’s a question of
developing the physical sensitivity for small, subtle
movements, which can be missed in "big movements". 
Developing this sensitivity early on, I think, is what
really makes partners learn tango quickly.  This based on
experiences of dancers with "natural" abilities that I have
seen in my community.

Perhaps small classes with lot of student/teacher
interaction might work with a "start-big" approach.  The
trick, I think, is to make sure that students already have
regular vocabulary that they can use and are used to
building things up from small elements.

I do agree, though, that a "big" movement can add some
adrenaline and excitement to a class.

Trini de Pittsburgh


PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society 
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance. 
http://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com