[Tango-L] Candencia

[WILL MORROW]

Thank you for your thought provoking muse post, Mario. I would offer a couple of added thoughts to it. First, your speculation that the 'something' you allude to in the cadencia is a result of a person coming from the culture leaves out the importance of the Teacher out. It is the AT "Teacher" that incorporates the culture into their teaching of the cadencia (or not)  in such a way as to make the cadencia more authentically cultural. The deeper the understanding the Teacher has of the influence of the culture in the cadencia and how to infuse it into the student when teaching, the more authentic a dancer's cadencia will become, regardless of their culture of origin. Having participated in beginner classes in BsAs, my observation was that everyone must be taught the walk of AT. Most of the locals we observe and dance with in the venues BsAs are well beyond the beginner stage. Secondly, your proposal of how to listen to the music as a method of study leaves room for discussion. Not to dis Waylon, or country music, but when the only dance steps done to country music are the Texas Two Step and the Slide, well, you get the idea. AT music, on the other hand, has a much greater dance variety to work with. Most of it is so expressive in its own right that lyrics are not required to enhance it, like the bagpipe music of the Celts. I agree with Romero, listen to a lot of it, all of it - a lot. Imho - it is still the bandoneon that is the heart of AT music.
Will