[Tango-L] followers expressiveness

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Hi Jackie,

That's something we've been trying to encourage here.  One
barrier to expressiveness is not knowing the music.  I've
noticed around here that generally, women do not tend to
study the music as much as the men.  Around here, at least,
it's the men who work harder at knowing the music.  Part of
this, I think, is that they become more aware of it as they
are try to load their laptops with tango music.

So I'm experimenting to get my students more discerning
about the music.  I gave my more experienced students an
assignment of creating tandas to be played at our weekly
practica.  I became much more aware of musical differences
when I had to choose music for my classes or began to
deejay.  So I am hoping that the same process I went
through will help them develop an ear, too.  If one can't
hear the differences, then how can one dance them or be
more expressive?

This is one area in which I think alternative music can
help.  At least the music that people are already used to
hearing.  Some of the alternative pieces are not good at
all for this.  But I think that having them dance to pieces
that they may associate with an emotion (happy high school
days or whatever) can encourage them to dance more
expressively.  

Trini de Pittsburgh


--- jackie ling wong <jackie.wong at adelphia.net> wrote:

> as most people on this list know, i lead and i follow.  i
> have been  
> told that one of my best qualities as a dancer is my
> ability to  
> express myself musically.  to quote someone... "you dance
> the music".   
> this is not through only embellishments.
> 
> now, i have led many followers... and there are followers
> who just  
> follow which is nice and then there are followers who
> dance with  
> you....  who dance melodically... and hear the notes that
> are   
> emphasized and can translate that to their dance.  it
> feels like they  
> are reading my mind because my expression in the dance
> becomes so  
> easy.  her/his boleo considers not only the time of the
> movement but  
> the energy, how the beat is used (emphasized at the beg.
> of the  
> beat...etc)...  it feels like painting.
> 
> i probably am not expressing this correctly and please
> don't give me  
> grief for that.  in fact, if someone can express it
> better, i would  
> love to hear it.
> 
> my question...  how do you teach this?  is there an
> exercise that can  
> help people understand what i am saying?
> 
> thanks
> jackie
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PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
  Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh’s most popular social dance!
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