[Tango-L] Counting steps or beats while dancing tango

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

There might be some confusion of issues, here.  I've seen lots of Argentine teachers use counts, but they use them to teach patterns not musicality.

Argentine instructors seem to use nonsense phrases to indicate musicality, including rolling their r's.  Americans don't really have any good phrasing.  Fa-la-la-da-de-da doesn't quite work.

I believe the counting of beats arose from trying to understand musical notation and using language that musicians use.   I've found it quite useful for learning/teaching things like syncopas or the milonga rhythm.  But other methods work well, too.

For understanding cadence, a very effective device is using sentences or words.  When teaching the ocho cortado, I'll sometimes use a local radio joke "partly cloudy in Allegheny county" (the weather forecast any day of the year) to help students get the timing right.  

Trini de Pittsburgh


--- On Fri, 10/17/08, Sergio Vandekier <sergiovandekier990 at hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Sergio Vandekier <sergiovandekier990 at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [Tango-L] Counting steps or beats while dancing tango
> To: "Tango-L List" <tango-l at mit.edu>
> Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 3:21 PM
> ,,,"But counting can be a useful tool while learning,
> and I'm
> sure, long ago, most of the old milongueros spent at least
> some time
> counting beats and counting steps."
> 
> IMO counting steps or beats is totally useless when
> learning tango musicality.
>  
> I grew up in Buenos Aires, I have known many dancers, I
> have seen many tango instructors teaching, I have never seen
> anyone counting beats or steps.  
>  
> Counting steps is a custom of ball room dancing.  IMO
> counting helps to remember all the steps of a figure, if you
> know the total number of moves that compose such a figure
> but is detrimental in the sense of distracting your mind
> from the dancing itself.  Once you learn to count you will
> do it for a very long time.
>  
> In Argentine Tango, you show the steps, you teach exercises
> to acquire the necessary skills to execute them, you allow
> the students to do them, you correct and add technique and
> style.
>  
> Argentine tango is unique in the sense that you do not have
> to step on every beat, you have the freedom to step on
> "any" beat .
>  
> At times you may walk on every third beat, or every second
> beat, or do a run using every beat, or pause and do nothing
> for several beats.
>  
> >From this perspective IMO, all that you need to do is
> to recognize where the beat is.  This should be taught by
> the instructor, walking with you and stepping properly on
> the beat. Once you recognize the beat, you step as you wish,
> you dance slow or fast, you pause. the only concer is : you
> must step on "a" beat, any beat, you cannot step
> off the beat.
>  
> You dance the slow moments (adagios) differently from the
> fast moments (variaciones), you use different dynamics in
> your dancing as you feel the music. You learn to use some
> moves at the precise time.
>  
> Counting, IMO is useless but if this is a valuable
> teaching/learning instrument for you, by all means continue
> to use it.
>  
> Analyzing the music is more useful (IMO) from another
> perspective, such as knowing that a tango has a beginning, a
> mid portion , a preparation for the ending, and an ending.
> That each portion has its own characteristics.  Learn to
> recognize those characteristics.
>  
> To learn to recognize each instrument, as each one takes
> turn to come to the front, and how they seem to interact or
> "talk" to each other.
>  
> To learn that the beat may always be present, but that at
> times it disappears and you still step on the
> "Imaginary" beat. You may learn to dance to the
> melody at times to return to the basic beat, back and forth.
>  
> To learn how "contrapunto" is used where two
> melodies interact or fuse, etc.
>  
> Summary: IMO counting has no place in tango.
>  
> Best wishes, Sergio
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