[Tango-L] Music or no music at Practica, etc

[TangoForum]

In my opinion, this particular thread really should be called "choreographed
Tango versus "improvised Tango.

If Tango is to be rather authentic then it is all improvised, consisting of
single
elements such as: stepping forward. back, side, ochos, inserting some
embellishment(s),
a low boleo, even a high boleo, etc, etc. all being considered as single
independent
movements that can be inserted when the music the mood, the moment, the
demeanor,
the partner, the traffic, etc allows, suggests, permits. This requires the
music to be
absolutely present regardless whether that is a "practica" or of course a
milonga.
An accomplished couple can find the opportunity to "compose" some figure or
figures by concatenating single movements according to the music, etc. or
create
on the fly some figure by removing or adding some elements into some figure
that
they know or they have seen already. The key is "IMPROVISATION"
The music is a "must have"

If Tango is to be choreographed, then it is all about "pre-arranged" figures
and it
may make sense to learn figures without the music. This is what is done for
dancing
choreographies in the stage. After the mechanics is mastered, then the music
is
"inserted".  The figures are developed almost frame by frame to fit the
music.

There are many teachers who have been for years teaching "choreographed"
figures, that may look very nice. This is "choreographed Tango".
Choreographed
figures is what attracts a lot of people to Tango. It is also what makes
many
people have a difficult experience when visiting milongas, (Buenos Aires in
particular), when
they see that people are not dancing the "familiar" choreographed figures"
they
learned.

Many teachers expect students to learn some choreographed figures in the
beginning phase until they can wean off and begin dancing a more improvised
Tango.

Some teachers, (e.g. I can recall Osvaldo Zotto) He was teaching a workshop
several years ago and he took the following approach: Here is a figure
consisting
of 16 individual steps. I would like every couple to learn this figure
reasonably
well. After an hour or longer the ten couples present; all could do the 16
step figure.
Then he surprised everybody by saying; Now I want every one to dance the
same
figure and remove (delete) some steps or add others in between. After a
while
most people could do it as he asked. Now I want you to think of this figure
as
a skeleton crutch, where every time you dance it you change it, so it not
the
same "ever" . The he played music by different orchestras. He went on saying
now I want everybody to dance this core figure, improvising by adding or
deleting, single movements, so they fit the music; so that no two couples
will
dance it the same way ! Then this slowly becomes authentic "improvised
Tango"
and it requires the music whether in "practica " or not !
He finished by "teaching".. Now you know many single elements "listen to the
music carefully and decide on the fly on movements that fit the music
accordingly,
which viewed as a whole comprise "figures, never done before or never
repeated again.

When Osvaldo Zotto dances in the stage, he looks wonderful and he does
some choreographies to perfection. When he dances at the milongas you would
not see him doing any recognizable choreographed figure. The same I can say
About Eduardo and Gloria, Nito and Elba, Mingo Pugliese and Esther, etc.
(This is not when they do a demonstration at milonga)

It is very difficult to "teach" improvisation right off the bat.
People want to learn choreographed figures and should and can for at least a
couple of years until the student is able to compose his own combinations
while dancing and begin dancing improvised tango based on leading every
single movement.

So the discussion is not about music or no music. It is about learning
choreographed
Tango or improvised Tango.

Spencer