[Tango-L] Fwd: Embellishment Queens

[WHITE 95 R]

>Too true! It's so upsetting when you dance with a
>woman who thinks she can only assert herself by
>cramming in as many times she can the same 3-4
>embellishments as often & as mechanically as possible
>without paying any attention to the music! Only 5% of
>the population are tone deaf [amusia]; do they all
>dance tango?

The problem with too many "adorno queens" is not so much that they perform 
so many adornos in a repetitive and autonomous fashion. This is bad enough 
to be sure, but the real problem behind this symptom is that they have not 
learned some basic tango steps and have not learned the core of tango. I 
think that some ladies overdo adornos or do them regardless of the lead 
because they simply don't know how to dance very well. They've learned to do 
adornos in lieu of learning the lead & follow or the code of the tango.

This is also a problem with men who confuse the lead & follow and the tango 
dance with a the performance of a bunch of disconnected or poorly placed 
steps. Usually something they learned in some workshop by a famous 
teacher/performer. I do not blame the teachers of these workshops, after 
all, most of these workshops are geared and advertised to the more advanced 
dancers who can learn more technique and perfect their dance by applying the 
principles behind the workshop material. The problem is that the over-eager 
beginner or intermediate level students rush to these classes, mimic the 
instructor without true understanding of the technique and principles, and 
then proceed to make the half learned figure a part of their repertory.

When I have students who are really talented or who dedicate themselves to 
learn, I often ask them to make their figures smaller, more subtle and 
precise. It's amazing how much of a challenge that can be. This is of course 
much more important to the less experienced student. Personally, I really 
believe that the key to the tango dance is the music and the understanding 
of the music. I spend a lot of time teaching and explaining the simple parts 
that make the heart of the dance. For me, if a person can reliably walk a 
few steps, lead or follow back ochos and simple partial turns to the left 
and the right, he or she is well on their way to being a good tango dancer. 
Practically all the firuletes, amagues, adornos, etc. are actually 
impediments to learning for a beginner. These are generally very difficult 
to do properly if the students don't have a command of the rhythmic dance.

When I dance with a woman who exhibits these undesirable traits, I try to 
accommodate her and give her places to do her shtick so it does not look bad 
or feel bad. The main thing for dancing the man's part in these cases is to 
make sure that her dancing interferes with the lead in the least perceptible 
way from the inside. Also, try not to lead anything that produces unexpected 
of awkward results. This can be done after a few leads are misinterpreted of 
ignored. Just go along with the woman and try to finish the dance (or tanda 
if you're chivalrous) without looking too bad as this hurts both partners.

Cheers,

Manuel