[Tango-L] et tu trini, only on the beat ?

[newtonr@mscd.edu]

Bravo, Martin (wrote)! << Tango is not about a "beat". It is a music 
rich in nuance and texture. You can dance rhythm, melody, or the 
narrative theme of the piece, the linea de fuerza.>> 

I once overheard a tango dancer comment, during intermission at a 
classical ballet that the dancers were not dancing on the beat. I think 
we often tend to think of dancing as “on the beat.” In Argentine tango, 
due to the many layers of the music, we find that we may prefer to 
dance to the melody or play with the various instruments which give 
body, nuance, and drama to the melody, such as those comprising an 
orquestra tipica. 

What overlies this play may be referred to as phrasing. A dancer may 
use a musical phrase to add an individual bit of interpretation of 
character and drama by playing within the 8 (or 16, etc.) counts. At 
first, this may be somewhat disconcerting to the observer, until one 
sees that the dancer is in control of the movement showing clarity and 
precision. 

Antony Tudor, known for his influence in contemporary ballet, would 
often say “Dance lies in the transitions.” Between the first note and 
the 16th, one may instinctively succumb to the feeling emanating from 
how the music moves one. Whether the leg quickly moves to and then 
pauses on, and then lingers beyoud a note, or slowly moves across 2 
notes expanding them together giving texture to the movement. Beats, 
whether on the 1st or 3rd, are a single element in a musical phrase as 
a step is only one element of movement. Placing too much focus on 
stepping on the beat may detract us from enjoying the journey of 
tango.  

Richard