2347  New Topic(not new anymore, but still fun)

Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 03:16:55 -0800
From: H Dickinson <hyladlmp@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: New Topic(not new anymore, but still fun)

Ilene wrote a very nice post which has started some
good dialogue. I like it so much I want to put in my
pennies, too.

>"But the moves you've been learning- all those
>seemingly necessary steps and figures that make
>tango, tango, are not second nature yet....the
>experienced dancer will often keep it_ too_ simple,
>rather than leading into basic figures which you may
>already know and are looking forward to dance."

Ummm, this reminds me of a misunderstanding that I had
when I first started, which was that there are somehow
certain basic figures that everybody learns, and
everyone keeps a file of those figures, and as you get
better, you just have a bigger filing cabinet of
figures or step combinations, and a good follow has a
good indexing system so she can pull up the relevant
file upon the correct signal.

In fact, every teacher has a different set of figures
which they teach as "basic". Tango is an improvised
dance, and there are hundreds of "basic figures" with
endless variation. So the better leads actually
probably CAN'T lead you into "basic figures which you
may already know", because they themselves never
learned those particular ones, or can't remember them,
or don't know which ones you have learned at this
point.

Instead, they have to concentrate on finding a
connection with you, so that you can follow what they
do lead, whatever that may happen to be. This is
actually very advanced dancing, not a case of
condescending to a beginner.

They may also be trying to break you of that very
common bad follower habit: executing a memorized
figure all by yourself. If you are really eager to do
those figures you have learned, and keep inserting
them any time there is a chance that the lead might
want them, then the lead will eventually try to keep
the dance so simple that there is no chance you could
insert some rote pattern of "basic steps".

When you see a couple who are dancing a beautiful
flowing series of complex movements, it is not because
they each have filing cabinets of figures and the man
presses the button that signals for "Basic molinete
from Joe's Advanced Turns class with variation 42A
plus leg wrap, followed by modified cruzada in
parallel with variation from Cynthia's 4th level
Advanced Tango workshop from the Greater All Cities
Tango Extravaganza 2002", and then she does her part
and he does his, but they synchronize it so it
fits....

No, no, what is happening is that the lead is
communicating with his body that the follow is to go
there, in that direction at such a speed, with wieght
on this foot, and then the placement of bodies at a
certain juncture causes a certain change in direction
or velocity and twining of legs or whatever, and this
happens continuously throughout the dance. And the
follow answers back by choosing to get slower or
denser for drama, or linger here, or speed up there,
or add a little tap or embellishment there to
highlight a part of the music that is especially fun.


And so we have this lovely conversation--but that
level of conversation cannot happen unless first both
have left behind the idea of the filing cabinet full
of "moves" or figures, and begun instead to
concentrate on how to be able to clearly lead, and
clearly follow, in the moment. This is much more fun,
and actually much less complicated, than the filing
cabinet approach. It does require a lot more of the
less visible, less glamorous work on technique
(posture, balance, axis, etc) though.

Anyway, that's what I aspire to!

Hyla

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 06:55:08 -0800
From: luda_r1 <luda_r1@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: New Topic(not new anymore, but still fun)

Hyla wrote:

"...And so we have this lovely conversation--but that
level of conversation cannot happen unless first both
have left behind the idea of the filing cabinet full
of "moves" or figures, and begun instead to
concentrate on how to be able to clearly lead, and
clearly follow, in the moment. This is much more fun,
and actually much less complicated, than the filing
cabinet approach...."

Amen. One of my more memorable dance experiences
happened when I was first starting to dance. I was
fortunate enough to take a workshop with Nito and
Elba, whom I still adore and admire. Nito was
demonstrating some element of technique and I happened
to be standing next to him. He just reached out,
grabbed me (could have been any other student in the
class), and led me through some complicated moves I
had never done or even seen before, and actually made
me look good. Sometimes ignorance can be bliss. I
trusted him so completely I thought he walked on
water, so I just forgot the fact that I didn't know
what I was doing. It sure was fun! And it taught me a
valuable lesson which substantiates what you're saying
about the filing cabinet business. :)

Luda

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