[Tango-L] Serpentine youth in Zagreb..look out!

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

--- On Wed, 11/19/08, David <dchester at charter.net> wrote:

> posts, but not so much with this one.  I can accept that it's not your
> cup of tea, as we all have our personal preferences.  IMO, elegance (as you put it) is not the "end all be all" to a good dance.   


I didn't say that elegance is the "end all be all" of a dance.  But it is an important characteristic of tango, as opposed to, say, the chicken dance.  And it's important enough that dancers ought to incorporate it into their studies just as much as they do the latest fancy steps.

I also agree with Alexis' comments on elegance.  Children on a playground can have a certain elegance as they move freely, swinging on the bars, uninhibited.  A cougar hunting it's prey.  A bird in flight.  Free-moving, and elegant.

Here are some definitions from my dictionary:

Elegant
1.  tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.
2.  gracefully refined and dignified
3.  nice, choice, or pleasingly superiour in quality or kind
4.  excellent, fine, superior, 

I would say #2 applies the most regarding tango.  However, words are important and they still have a definition.  So, while people may describe things differently, things aren't totally in the eye of the beholder.  I think what tends to happen is that people don't explore the different shades of meaning that different words can provide.

Also, concerning canyengue, in the videos that I saw, the posture is different but necessarily bad.  The man bends at the waist but he still has a straight spine.  The woman may have a slight bend due to her left shoulder being raised.  That seems to be a function of the steps or possibly height differences.  Not being a student of canyengue, though, I can't comment too much more.


Trini de Pittsburgh