[Tango-L] musicality

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

It sounds as if you know what you're doing, Randy.  It is
possible that the author made a general statement to keep
things simple and readable.  He doesn't go into what the
great dancers do. :)  It seems that he is focusing on a
specific context, as well, accenting the heaviness of the
DiSarli's bandoneon.

And actually, it's bringing the knees together that is more
important than bringing the ankles together, as I have been
told several times. 

And thanks, Laurie, for your fleshing out the 4 elements
more.

Trini de Pittsburgh

--- rockies at comcast.net wrote:

> 
>  -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: "Trini y Sean (PATangoS)" <patangos at yahoo.com>
> > Hi Randy,
> > 
> > You're correct in thinking that always having ankles or
> > knees together on the half-beat (upbeat) limits one's
> > musicality.  But that guideline is useful for teaching
> > people how to time their leg movements and help them
> stay
> > balanced.  However, if you watch how experienced women
> > ornament, you know this guideline can be broken.
> 
> Hi Trini,
> 
> Thanks for your thoughts. I based the question on
> something I read at
>
http://www.tangoandchaos.org/chapt_2secrets/6%20Essential.htm#EssenTop
> Here, the author states that all good dancers always stay
> 'en el compas' and his definition of it is
> that the ankles go exactly past each other on the half
> beat. I realize that this is valuable for 
> teaching beginners, but the author also makes it sounds
> like this is the way *all* good dancers dance.
>  Actually, he also mentions that good followers don't
> adorn a lot, if at all, less is more, but 
> that's digressing.
> > 
> > If you're interested in expanding your musicality
> toward a
> > more advanced notion, here's a suggestion.  Think of a
> step
> > has having at least 4 distinct parts:
> > - leg extension,
> > - weight transfer,
> > - leg closure,
> > - pivot (if needed).
> > In general, the leg is fully extended on the strong
> beat
> > (downbeat) and the weight transferred/leg closed on the
> > half-beat (upbeat).  Most dancers do this without
> realizing
> > it.  One might think of a pre-lead as a 5th part, but
> let's
> > not get into that for simplicity.
> 
> Ah! Well, perhaps I have been doing this all along
> without realizing it.
> > 
> > Each of these parts can have their own velocity and
> express
> > the music differently.  Each can occur over several
> strong
> > beats or be more impulsive.  For example, a man can
> lead a
> > woman to do an impulsive leg extension but a slow
> weight
> > transfer and leg closure.  Or the woman can choose an
> > impulsive leg closure as an adornment.  And she can do
> a
> > languid or impulsive pivot, as well.  Try playing with
> > these pieces to the music, and you'll discover a lot
> more
> > options.
> 
> 
> I do in fact vary foot speed greatly
> and do virtually all the things that people have
> suggested. This came from experience rather than
> analyzing 
> technique of other dancers. I will, for example, start a
> step quickly, slow it down as the feet come together, and
> then accelerate to the end of the step. The velocity of
> the step does not stay the same in any one place. If it
> stays completely consistent, to me, it feels like
> marching rather than dancing. Actually, many followers
> have said my musicality is very good, but I certainly
> wondered about the article above, if what I was doing was
> 'bad technique,' even though it was musical. When I
> introduce beginners to musicality, I try to show them
> that there is a quality to the *way* that one takes a
> step, the step is not necessarily just getting from a to
> b. Being very balanced allows rapid changes in direction
> (good for crowded milongas of course). So I teach that
> when balanced, it is possible for both leader and
> follower to extend without committing to the step, and
> that in turn allows them to vary the speed of the step
> and be musical (of course, an absolute beginner sometimes
> has a
>  hard time even hearing the beat, but at least if they
> learn to walk in a balanced fashion, they will learn
> musicality later).
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Randy F
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 



PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society 
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance. 
http://patangos.home.comcast.net/ 


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