[Tango-L] Choreography and why tango dancers should know what it is.

[Igor Polk]

I guess some of the "splitting hairs" comes from me.

I'll try to make myself a little more clear on the subject.

Only one example.

Use of light.

Even at the most respected tango gatherings like Portland Tango Festivals
they do not use artistic light during performances ! Incredible !!! If you
do, your shows, guys, will finally become of a professional level, and those
dancers who know how to use it in their "predefined" "choreographies" will
shine !!! And we will be delighted. Or they also think that choreography is
just memorized steps?

Using "Choreography" in a loose, metaphoric sense, greatly diminishes the
efforts of the artists who entertain us at some performances.

Knowing choreography is more than knowing how to dance.. it is a different
art, art of making the dance ! Visual dance, yes. Movements of arms,
expression of faces... do we learn it in tango classes?

Everyone has a video camera now. Do you really think that when you record
your potluck party you are making a movie?

Paradoxical time we live in ! Our informational space ( art is there too )
is filled up so much with greatest performances of all times, so we are fed
up with them ! Television made us take the art so easy, as if it is nothing,
transparent... relaxing in a char, no even need to applause... Perfect
background for advertisement !

And at the same time, anyone who can draw a line with paint calls himself an
artist..

Igor Polk.

PS. There is a strange idea ( widely expressed in books ) that Art requires
audience.
Absolutely not! Making art is a process of creation. During this process an
"artist" experiences pleasure, trance, which is the value in itself. Not
matter what you create: Mona Lisa, Relativity Theory, or perfect order in
your file cabinet.

We as tango dancers experience the same when we create our little dances
right on the spot.


PSS. Shortly, choreography is not a memorization, or repetition. It is an
art !