[Tango-L] Style "vs." technique

[Nina Pesochinsky]

Hi, Igor and everyone,

I will explain...  But first, a little bit of my own background - 
Argentine tango was my first dance, modern & ballet came later, along 
with other body-centered work.  It is important to know from which 
context my argument comes from.  I am not a classical dancer who 
tries to fit tango into a paradigm which ground other dances.

The technique to which I refer to is internal to the dancer.  At the 
core, it is a dancer's ability to know his or her body and how it 
moves in a very intimate way.  That means that when a teacher, any 
teacher, says something, like "do your ochos in such and such a way", 
the dancer instantly has an internal point of reference about what 
he/she needs to do and how to achieve that movement.

In tango, the embrace is so essential that it is really not about the 
"lean" or a degree of architectural perfection.  It is about dancers 
being able to embrace each other from the core of their being - body, 
spirit, etc.  Of course, there is a continuum to how much of 
themselves one wants to put into any particular dance 
experience.  But the only way a dancer can choose that is by 
mastering all possibilities.

I advocate technique being something that is about the dancer, 
internal.  It is NOT about dancer+partner, dancer+music, etc.  It is 
not about the dance couple.  All that comes later.  The technique is 
about mastering the movement of one's own body to achieve what tango 
asks for.  It is the intimate knowledge of one's own body.

It is impossible to find that while focusing on the other things, 
such as a partner and music because that brings other requirements 
and obligations.  Also, one's own technique does not fall apart when 
dancing with a less skilled dancer.  Instead, it allows dancers to 
wrap around the imperfections inherent to the social dance.

I hope this explains it.  One of the greatest discoveries of tango 
may come from taking a beginner modern class and then sitting for may 
hours in the cafes of Buenos Aires talking with Argentine people who 
do not dance tango.

My best regards to everyone,

Nina





At 11:51 AM 11/5/2006, you wrote:
>Nina, please, I'd like you to clarify what is the style and technique in the
>professional world? I do not know that. To me the style there is overimposed
>upon technique to make a certain visual effect. Tell me if I am wrong. (
>Yes, yes, of course, it feels good too.. )