[Tango-L] Rock step?

[ceverett@ceverett.com]

Deby,

I believe we have a confusion about terminology.

When I was going to Marta Fama's group class in Palermo on Wednesday 
night, she was teaching some milonga traspie stuff that looked awfully 
like what I learned as a "rockstep" here in the USA.  As Manuel says, 
it's also known to many as an "arrependita".

The rockstep (as I understand it) isn't a core piece of tango by 
itself, because the woman isn't being led to collect.

However, there's a important kernel of wisdom hidden here: a man 
needs a surprisingly small number of basic elements on his part to 
dance tango adequately.

This same number of basic elements is also all he needs to be a 
great dancer, if we believe the distance between adequacy and 
greatness is measured in terms of embrace, posture, technique, 
musicality and quality of movement as well as repertoire.

Christopher

On Sun, 22 Jul 2007 23:25:27 -0300, "Deby Novitz"
<dnovitz at lavidacondeby.com> said:
> Well when I learned to rock and roll 1000s of years ago we were taught a 
> rock step.  In tango? Hmmm....well none of the milongueros I have ever 
> danced with ever did any rock step stuff with me.  But then I am blond 
> so maybe I just didn't notice....I have never been rocked stepped to 
> return to a closed position of the feet.  To be honest Ron, reading your 
> post I was trying to figure out just what is being danced.  It sounds a 
> little complicated.    The only thing I can think you are thinking of is 
> the giro.  Giros should be smooth.  There is no rock steps.  They just 
> go.  When done correctly, there may be a slight pause for the woman.  I 
> have my own style where I am suspended on the side movement on one leg 
> (don't try this at home....). Could you be confusing a back step to the 
> music as a rock step?
> 
> On another note Janis and I were at Celia's together tonight.  We were 
> talking about this rock step thing. Neither one of us knew what it was. 
> Then she danced with a man.  When she came back to the table she went 
> "He rock stepped me!!"  It was a unique experience.  So I guess I would 
> have to stay, rock stepping with the milongueros I dance with is not a 
> core structure of the dance.  Who is coming up with these words "core 
> structure?"  God, it sounds like a positional paper for a management 
> consultant not people who are supposed to be enjoying dancing.
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