[Tango-L] Lots of questions

[Steve Littler]

Ming Mar wrote:
> Pat Petronio writes:
>   
>> As a woman in tango, the feeling of being transported in 
>> the dance is absolutely the result of quality of movement, 
>> and my partner's connection with me & the music
>>     
>
> What is good quality movement?  What is bad quality 
> movement?  How can you tell if your own movement is high 
> quality or low?  Can people be trained to do this?  If so, 
> how do you train people to do high quality movement?
>   
Yes. Dance with your teacher or an intermediate partner in a private 
lesson, practice or practica environment and get immediate feedback on 
what you are doing and you can be trained. It can be discouraging at 
first, but the rewards are worth it.
> What is connection with someone?  What is the difference 
> between good connection and bad connection?  How can you 
> tell if you're giving good connection?  Can people be 
> trained to do this?  If so, how do you train people to do 
> good connection?
>   
Connection starts with good posture, a mutual warm embrace,  and feels 
good and comfortable to both partners. Poor posture breaks the 
connection (standing vertical or back on heels, not forward like you 
should.) Holding the partner too tight, lifting partner up (except on 
certain steps that require it), dropping your weight on your partner 
break connection. Bad basic technique breaks connection. Good technique 
enhances it.

And as Sergio said, there is the Spiritual aspect. Where the lady 
surrenders to you. She does this when she trusts you and she can tell by 
your embrace, certainty, confidence and respect that you will take care 
of her on the dance floor and she will be safe in your arms. You can 
feel the surrender when she relaxes in your arms and responds to your 
signals/lead/mark. My first care for the lady is that I protect her, 
that she will not get bumped or stepped on in a crowded dance floor 
(because she is dancing backwards in heels with her eyes closed.) She 
will sense that. Then I care for connection and musicality. Then with 
all that buzzing in my head, I have to detach from the mental noise, 
relax and enjoy the dance myself. Then we are really connected and 
dancing together as one.
> What is connection with music?  What is the difference 
> between good connection and ban connection or no 
> connection?  Can people be trained to do this?  If so, how 
> do you train people to do good connection with the music?
>   
Get into a musicality class or workshop. Typically in the classes I've 
been in, we listen to the music (Tango has a 4 beat measure) and then 
the teacher has us practice stepping on the 1, or the 1 & 3, or 1-2-3. 
Then we practice pausing at certain points, either at the end of a 
phrase, at slow points, random points. Drills like this train you to 
feel the music. And if you don't speak Spanish, finding translations of 
the songs titles and words helps deepen your understanding of the song 
and adds extra feeling and dimension to your dance. (

I've had troubles finding translations of many songs. Maybe someone else 
can post a comprehensive list of translations at some point.)

El Stevito de Gainesville