[Tango-L] Navigation (was: Using the social dance as THE model)

[tony parkes]

a funny thing happened to me tonight in maipu444 .....

i was dancing and decided to overtake a porteño who was just about to
begin a tanda after everyone else, and like ruben lopez he was facing
the tables and like ruben he began with a backward step.... and guess
what, he bumped into me just as i was trying to dance around him...
me, a poor innocent just trying to avoid someone who had lately joined
the pista.

i have commented on the youtube clip of ruben dancing in lo de ciela,
but neglected to mention that he had siezed the opportunity to take,
in my opinion, opportunities of an uncrowded floor. i have no problem
with that when the floor is not crowded, i do the same

i really do like ruben's style of dancing with lineal steps both
backwards and forwards.  but on any crowded floor including lo de
ciela, lineal progression both forward or backward is simply not on.
once a floor is crowded, to take your partner into a sequence of
forward or backward steps demands a circular direction.  and that
includes not stepping backwards into the second ring of dancers. it is
fine when the floor is almost empty as we can see in the video, but i
would not recommend such a strategy on a crowded floor

cheers
el tangoroo






On Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 12:54 PM, Tango22 <tango22 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hey Anton, we have consistently taught students to enter the floor
> respecting to the ronda, preferably with the lady's back to the
> tables.  Marching to the centre of the floor, following or followed by
> the lady is really ugly, but I think comes from our old social dance
> tradition where the men invited the lady and then escorted her to the
> floor.  The difference is that, back then, the dance brackets were
> announced, so everyone was on the floor before the music (usually a
> band)  started.  So it does not work very well with Tango, when
> couples enter the floor after the music has started.     BUT, I am
> guilty of passing.....I just hate tittering around behind couples
> rooted to the floor while they go through figures.  Maybe you'll have
> to give me a yellow card.  Oh, and I can't abide the way we all feel
> bound to affect the "Buenos Aires" interminable chat at the start of
> every song.  Sorry, I like to dance, so I just listen for the music
> and go.  That usually results in passing 5 couples, deep in
> conversation.  Guys, it's not like the women are chaperoned by their
> mothers any more, or that you must leave them at the ladies tables,
> BsAs style.  Can't you chat somewhere else?
> John
>
>
> From: "Anton Stanley" <anton at alidas.com.au>
>
>  From a recent post:    "in the video is a good example), the men start
> the dance facing the tables, with the woman with her back to the
> tables."
>
> I can't say that I've noticed this as being the norm at Lo de Celia or
> anywhere else in Bs As. ....... The greatest impediment to good tango,
> in my opinion, is overtaking. (I'm sure most dancers at Lo de Celia
> would agree).   ------ Again in my opinion, anyone guilty of either,
> except in the most extreme situations, should be banned from the
> floor. They are a menace. These practices, very typical in Australia
> and US and increasingly so in Bs As and I suspect elsewhere in the
> world makes good tango very difficult. If you can't trust the people
> around you it's just not tango!
>
> Anton
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--
cheers
tony
www.tangomagix.com