[Tango-L] Musicality - teaching the base

[hbboogie1@aol.com]

Sergio
I agree with you. I was also taught  the main reason for standing and 
talking for a few seconds before the dancing  starts is for the man to listen to 
the music and "mark the beat" to determine  how he's going to dance that 
song.
David

In a message dated 1/16/2010  2:31:22 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, 
sergiovandekier990 at hotmail.com  writes:


"Not to argue, Sergio, but more interesting to me than nuevo,  nuevo, 
nuevo."  John said.

I fail to see what "Nuevo" has to do with  anything I said.

"Amenabar lives and works in Buenos Aires too  Sergio,"  John Said.

Amenabar is primarily a musician and a  bandoneon player, who also dances 
tango. IMO he wrote that book for the benefit  of everybody but primarily for 
those outside Argentina that do not understand  tango music.
If I had to write a book about teaching tango musicality to  people that do 
not have good teachers I would probably do the same.

As I  said before if talking about tango phrases helps your teaching or 
your learning  this is fine.

Again in my experience of over 18 years of learning,  dancing and teaching 
tango, all that it is needed to teach musicality is to show  the student 
where the beat is, walk with them on every beat, on every second  beat on every 
third beat, combining later these different walks to constitute  what is 
called double timing, etc.

Tony says "maybe i am missing  something here, but when i dance the tango 
isubconsciously am aware of the 8th  beat. for me it signals a newround, a 
new adventure, a new figure, steps,  whatever."

I agree with you and with Tom in this respect, as you learn  where the beat 
is and you learn how to step in different ways dancing becomes  something 
natural and as you say subconscious.This goal may be acchieved earlier  if 
somebody walks with you as described above.

I say natural and  subconscious as you do not have any distractions such as 
thinking about tango  phrasing.

A good example of what I call unnecessary distractions is what  happens 
with "latin motion" teaching in ballroom.

Latin Motion in central  America (Rumba for instance) is a natural 
undulation of the hips done as one  steps.

The motion is dissected abroad into its components in order to  teach it to 
foreigners that frequently end up dancing in a robotic form that is  
totally ridiculous.


I just reported that in my own experience I had  never heard anybody here 
to talk in those terms, it is just a report of my  experience only that if 
this has any value.

Martin says:
Sergio wrote:  What you cannot do is to step off the beat. "If he meant 
this literally, I  respectfully disagree, and I wonder whichpart of the beat he 
is talking about. I  also have observed many greattango dancers and 
teachers over the years, and most  of them will playwith the rhythm ".

Yes Martin, I teach the beginner to  walk on the beat, on a beat it does 
not matter which, after a pause you start on  a beat, while walking or dancing 
you step on a beat, on every one of them (very  fast) on every second one, 
on every third one, combining and alternating to  create variations. What 
you describe is the same I do (I believe) except that  you think that some of 
those moves are done off the beat. There is nothing more  pitiful than 
somebody dancing off the beat.

Dancing is to move  rhythmically usually to music, using prescribed or 
improvised steps and  gestures.


Summary: Talk about music phrasing if it is useful to you.  

Tango has a beat but gives you the unique freedom to step when you wish  on 
any beat that you wish, every beat at times, every second beat occasionally 
 every third beat most of the time when dancing to Di Sarly or other 
orchestras  like Pugliese.

Naturally you dance differently to every orchestra,You  cannot dance the 
same way to di Sarly as you do to D'Arienzo or to Pugliese...  but that is 
another subject.

Best regards,  Sergio




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