[Tango-L] tango schizophrenia

['Mash]

On Wed, Jan 09, 2008 at 12:27:52PM +1100, Victor Bennetts wrote:
> To take one extreme example, someone who comes to tango after a long period dancing ballet in their teens is going to dance very differently from someone who has never danced before. They are going to tend to be turned out, for a start, which has an impact on the way they step and the way they feel. Also, a tall person's dance is going to be shaped in many ways by the efforts they make to deal with the issue of height difference to most partners, so this will impact their embrace and hence the way they feel. There was a thread a while back talking about how jazz drummers interpret music differently - another example :-).
> 
> So I apologise in advance to all the teachers out there, but these observations lead me to conclude that this ineffable thing we are calling 'style' actually has a lot to do with body shape, aptitude and attitude rather than what you may or may not learn in lessons.


I agree that ones background and even body shape has a huge impact on style, I am 6'4 :)

I am personally under the impression that one should learn Tango like the great visual artists or even in terms of martial artists. That only out of disciplined copying of a master will you be able to then create your own style and add your own inspiration. Of course this does mean you need to choose your teachers accordingly. The couple that I am taught by both have ballet backgrounds and this is one of the main reasons I choose them. Both of their footwork is impeccable and attention to detail is something I truly admire. As one learns to copy I believe it opens up the doors to experimentation and inspiration. I realised that trying to do things my own way (at my current level) is actually self-defeating as really one is just encouraging bad habits or sloppy form justifiying it by saying it is "just my style." I think it is harder to copy someone else's style to perfection then just making up your own.

I do know though that since my background is in a music form far removed from Tango this comes out in my dance but I do keep it within the boundaries of what I learn from copying my teachers style. 

Once I have mastered the foundational style I can then build upon it. I truly believe you need to choose foundational style, much like the martial artists and great painters and then out of that find your own.

'Mash
London,UK