[Tango-L] Type-A Tango Salon or Show ?

[Gordon Erlebacher]

Notice also the following differences between the two videos: in the second, there is the need of cramming in as many different types of steps as possible within the duration of the song. That in itself is not a characteristic of show tango, but is a characteristic of many dancers of the current generation. The older generation execute man variations on a small number of fundamental steps, thus leading to elegance, and continuity. 

    Gordon


----- Original Message -----
From: HBBOOGIE1 at aol.com
Date: Saturday, December 25, 2010 10:30 am
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Type-A Tango Salon or Show ?
To: sopelote at yahoo.com, tango-l at mit.edu

> For those of you that don’t seem to be able to  separate salon 
> tango from 
> performance tango here are two videos that clearly  show the 
> difference. The 
> first video is Orlando Paiva dancing at Sunderland.  Orlando was 
> the master 
> of smooth elegant tango. Balance, axis, timing and  connection. The 
> definition of Salon tango is to dance closed and open embrace  
> within the music. 
> Notice how they start off in closed embrace and walk then he  
> gently releases 
> her to execute a figure, you barely notice her arm slip from his  
> shoulder to 
> his arm and then back again. Their feet are always in contact with  
> the 
> floor, they don’t look down at the floor…..blah,blah,blah….the 
> point is if  
> you can dance salon tango you now have the skill to effortlessly 
> dance close  
> embrace or milonguero tango or whatever you wish to call it.
> 
> In the  second video Murat and Michelle perform a show tango. With 
> no 
> disrespect to  Murat and Michelle a large number of tango dancers 
> are taught a 
> lot of the moves  you see in this video. You can see the same open 
> and closed 
> embrace being danced  but that’s pretty much the only thing the two 
> styles 
> have in common. It’s Show  or Performance tango and it’s not 
> intended to be 
> danced at a social  milonga.   
> 
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in8rG2BHnwo  
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrhlyM-_yos
> 
> 
> In a message dated  12/25/2010 6:51:40 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, 
> sopelote at yahoo.com  writes:
> 
> Hi David,   yes i have lots of opinions....and  probably don't 
> 'know' much 
> about classes...but im trying to distiguish  between what goes on 
> in a 
> social 
> dance and what goes on in a class..they  seem to be different.. 
> like the 
> 'class' 
> is about a different dance.
> I  agree that the leader here pretty much dictates the follow but 
> there is 
> a  
> deadliness to their 
> 
> dance that is very disappointing to me...if i  were hoping for such 
> mastery 
> ,  
> I'd 
> 
> quit because I'm simply not  interested in this dance.
> whereas watching videos from tango and chaos   simply AMAZES me! .. 
> sure, 
> theyve 
> been dancing umpteen million years..but  can't WE go for expression 
> and 
> individuality too?   or just cookie  cutter dullness...  one has to 
> start 
> somewhere... maybe im being too  harsh but if you read Bora's 
> blog..it 
> seems to 
> me that, she is going  
> 
> down the performance path without even knowing it... i say that 
> 'salon'  is 
> performance..it is only danced in  performance dances that i have  
> ever 
> seen...  
> where else is 'salon' danced?  ok its a word for the  general dance 
> floor 
> dance 
> but i say it is already co opted ...that the  non-Nuevo performers 
> have 
> already 
> slipped in their palative
> covert-  performance dance as THE authentic one..calling it 
> SALON...it is 
> NOT the  
> Social dance...
> I want to champion the SOCIAL DANCE as it is danced  socially...no 
> one 
> seems to 
> be interested in this.
> I was just talking the  other day to the wife of Ricardo Bellozo 
> (of 
> AbreTango) 
> they are preparing  to return
> to BsAs instead of continuing to live and teach in Italy because  
> stage 
> tango has 
> usurped the interest in the social dance there.  We are  witnessing 
> the 
> demise of 
> the social dance everywhere except in BsAs....so  far.
> sincerely   M..
> 
> ...
> http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=734224171
> www.youtube.com/user/nacotete
> www.tangoandchaos.org
> www.theopendoorway.org/audiovisual.html
> "The  music makes you dance. It is so simple when one gets it. 
> Connect with 
> my  
> partner and then connect with the music, let the music tell me how 
> to move  
> my 
> body rather than me tell my body how to move to the music. With the 
> right  
> music 
> and right partner, I am contented to have just one tanda a night"  -
> Pedro 
> Sanchez
> 
> 
> 
> 
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