[Tango-L] Social Tango

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

--- On Wed, 8/6/08, Dubravko Kakarigi <dubravko_2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> The way I understand what Trini is talking about is that
> every dancer eventually (the sooner the better) finds his or
> her own body which then, to a large extent, forms the basis
> for his or her own style -- unique in time and space. We all
> draw from the same bag of technical and choreographic
> concepts, but given our unique physique, psyche, and ways to
> feel and interpret the music and connect with our parters,
> we dance our unique dance.

Yes, and even if one tries to vary or tries to dance differently with other women, it will still be within a subset of all of the possibilities, right?  So one may imitate the embrace or movements but the energy can't disguise itself.  

I don't know how I can explain this energy.  It's something that comes from experience and feeling it.  I've been fortunate to dance with enough excellent men who are prototypes of their styles and have grown accustomed to recognizing the different energies in these specialists.  I suppose it's the same way a football coach can sense if a player would be better as a quarterback or as a tight end.  With male students, I can often tell early on whether he is more suited to a milonguero style or salon and will teach accordingly.  He'll make the final choice, of course, but as a teacher, it's my responsibility to help him with that choice.

For me tango is an emotional, artful expression and I don't want to intellectualize when I dance.  Do you really want your partner to think "he's preleading a boleo" or "he's setting up for a back sacada"?  The second she thinks that takes her away from dancing or focusing on you and she'll start anticipating.  Thinking is for the practicas.  At a milonga I expect the music and my body to take over.  

As for my personal style, my base is milonguero.  Though I dance all of the others pretty well, I recognize my limitations, physical and otherwise.  And I would say not to be afraid to be categorized because it can also expose you to what you do not yet know and can choose to explore further or deeper.

Trini de Pittsburgh