[Tango-L] Kinisthetic sense - reply to Ron

[Tango Society of Central Illinois]

On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 11:46 AM, Jay Rabe <jayrabe at hotmail.com> wrote:

>  True, but OTOH, the foundation of Alexander Technique is the observation that movement or posture that feels comfortable is often wrong from a structural standpoint, and though it arose as a consequence of the body's appropriate adaptation or accommodation to an injury or bad shoes, it progresses to feeling comfortable and natural through months or years of habitual repetition. The instructor's role then becomes a bit more complicated and difficult, in bringing the dancer's attention to the issue so they can correct it if possible.
>

Each dancer needs to be comfortable with their movements. Different
anatomical characteristics, including injury, will make a 'one size
fits all' approach inapplicable. Dancers who are made to feel
uncomfortable in their bodies will stop dancing tango.

Where the instructor needs to intervene in particular is where one
dancer's position of comfort makes another dancer uncomfortable,
whether  that 'other dancer' is the partner, or some other dancer on
the dance floor.

If is also noteworthy that different instructors recommend different
technique, much of which has been a source of debate on this list
(e.g., heel first vs. toe first, position of the woman's head in the
embrace). Some of these technique differences reflect personal
preferences and some reflect stylistic differences. There is no one
optimal technique for every dancer or every style. For example, to say
that the same technique is used dancing in a close embrace versus an
open frame is erroneous and misleading. Rather than focusing on
details, one should focus on the common ground of technique, e.g.,
balance and stability, coordination of movements between partners.

Remember, tango has been danced for over 100 years by people in Buenos
Aires who have not had extensive training. Most good dancers developed
on their own, by many kilometers of walking on the dance floor. Innate
body knowledge (kinesthetic sense) is an important evolutionary
adaptation in developing physical skills. However, it doesn't sell
classes like Alexander technique.

Ron