[Tango-L] Head Tilt

[larrynla@juno.com]

Osvaldo Zotto and Lorena Ercimoda taught here in L.A. a few years ago. 
In one class after presenting a pattern he would have us practice it 
for a minute or so to music.  And he and she would go around to various 
couples and point out mistakes.  One was tilting our heads.  Osvaldo 
corrected the men by lifting our chins with his fingers, and pointing 
at his eyes and looking down to indicate that it's our eyes which 
should tilt, not our heads.

Yet here he is making the same mistake.  It's only a slight tilt, but 
watch after about 40 seconds in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zet-EKeo8

Most of the tango nuevo performers do this, except perhaps Gustavo
Naveira.  But so do most milongueros.  Here are just a few of
a couple dozen I found who do this, starting with Puppy Castello.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OxyYHZTcUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKV_34J5Ay4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KhBuOwJPcU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSMtZzTwWI0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucLFoUHcp-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymCuObEUlmM

Who does NOT do this?  Professional dancers who have trained from 
childhood.  (This does not include the Zotto brothers, who learned 
tango in milongas, though some of their rough edges were likely ironed 
out when they hooked up with women who did have that training.)  They 
look down only rarely and then only for dramatic effect.

They know even a slight head tilt can make their shoulders hunch and 
that plus the tilt looks bad.  It also shifts their body center forward 
and makes it harder to dance well. Plus, they are doing choreographed 
performances that they have practiced dozens of times and performed 
hundreds of times.  They KNOW to the split second where their and their 
partner's feet are, because they received painful bruises and cuts when 
they didn't.

All of this is leading up to this question: How do we learn not to tilt 
our heads?  And: Do we need to look down?  If so: When?  And if not, 
How do we learn not to?

Larry de Los Angeles - novelette "Lady Death" added to
http://ShapechangerTales.com 

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