[Tango-L] New "nuevo tango" Sacrifices Tradition and Grace

[Tango Society of Central Illinois]

On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 11:08 AM, Jeff Gaynor <jjg at jqhome.net> wrote:
> Joe Grohens wrote:
>  >> On to another important question. On a side step, should you evert
>  >> the free foot or not?
>  >>
>  >

>  The idea is to use your body's kinesthetic sense to tell you where your
>  feet go.  It is better to ask the body what it knows about itself than
>  ask the person since, as I'm sure you've noticed, many people start to
>  do funny things when you ask them to consciously move.
>

The importance of the body's kinesthetic sense is not stressed enough.
Dancers walking need to be comfortable with their own bodies. In
practice the body often finds the most stable walk for the person's
physical characteristics. The instructor's role can be to correct
errors that result in imbalance or other physical problems (e.g.,
pulling or pushing your partner off balance). While there is a place
in instruction for detailed description of technique regarding how to
place the foot, change weight, etc., I believe it is more important to
guide students in recognizing their kinesthetic sense and using the
information it provides. We have all seen people walking awkwardly
after a technique class. Save this for the most advanced dancers, who
have the experience to decide for themselves what applies to them and
what does not. Most of the rest need to be comfortable in their bodies
dancing first.

Ron