3898 Developing a style
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 09:37:43 -0500
From: Michael Ditkoff <tangomaniac@CAVTEL.NET>
Subject: Developing a style
There have been a few posts about developing a personal
style. This is how I developed mine.
At a tango festival in Montreal in 1999(?) Daniel Trenner
danced a waltz BY HIMSELF. I thought it was absolutely
hilarious. About a year ago, my private teacher, Joe, put on
a tango and told me dance -- by myself, just like Daniel. I
felt paralyzed because I didn't understand what he was
trying to accomplish. He then danced by himself. The point
he (and Daniel) were trying to make was that you have to
feel the music. Clearly, I missed Daniel's message
completely. By dancing with myself, I no longer had to worry
about the follower's skill level because there was no
follower. The connection was soley between myself and the
music. I could do as many open boxes as I wanted. I could go
forward or backwards. I could dance as a leader or follower.
This exercise opened my BODY to feeling the music better.
My definition of style is NOT figures by themselves but WHEN
to execute the figures. Sometimes, I'll slip in a pause and
wait a beat. For example, I can open side left, PAUSE, and
walk to the cross or lead an ocho. I like to finish dances
by leading a leg wrap. One woman who I dance a lot told me
"it's become my signature." I interpret signature as style.
Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
Waiting for confirmation I'm going to the Big Apple Nov
10-13.
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 08:16:41 -0700
From: Yale Tango Club <yaletangoclub@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Developing a style
Hey
it never occurred to me that people didn't dance by themselves. How extraordinary NOT to.
I am a DJ so I have the music on 24/7. I have my house and workplace rigged with cables, speakers, cordless earphones, everything, I drag along my laptop, plug in and there I go, I dance, by myself.
I dance when walking around the lab, standing at my bench, I eject pipet tips on the downbeat. Biagi makes for some powerful moves. I dance at home when walking around, even when doing dishes (then it's mostly a long thoughtful pause).
I've always done this, even as a kid, long before tango.
I even dance without the music. I punctuate my sentences with chan, chan!
You can see I'm a little nutty.
About style. I'm a girl but I've been learning to lead although my repertoire of moves is simple and limited. I think the girls like my style, whatever it is. In my community, before I can even start thinking about an alternative set to play, girls come to me and reserve me for a set of alternative music, all my alt sets are often booked before I even play the first one. I really don't know why that is. I like the traditional stuff I play so much better so I am probably more inspired/inspiring then. Maybe they feel the musicality issue more acutely with alternative music, and lack of musicality in other leaders becomes more of a problem with alt stuff. It certainly isn't because of my snazzy moves, I don't have any. Well just possibly it's because I shake the followers bottoms just so when the music calls for it. Hehehe. But that's minor. I'll ask them sometime.
Ladies, about followers style. Some of the fun is YOUR responsibility! I have done some careful observing and I have seen two totally bland dancers (a bland follower I know well from dancing with, and a bland leader I avoid like the plague) find each other and total bliss. I know a leader who's anything but bland but prefers blandness in his follower so he can fill in all the blanks. If you take any initiative he gets really thrown off. Then I know leaders with whom I have a conversation with a lot of banter and kidding. They never know what I'm going to do next, like sneak in or return a gancho, block their feet or suddenly slow down, and they love it. New moves are invented every set. I get high-fived after the set. I don't do this on guys with a delicate constitution, don't worry. I'm not scary or anything. Style is also participation, initiative, courage.
Musicality is king. Style is very much musicality.
Tine
Michael Ditkoff <tangomaniac@CAVTEL.NET> wrote:
There have been a few posts about developing a personal
style. This is how I developed mine.
At a tango festival in Montreal in 1999(?) Daniel Trenner
danced a waltz BY HIMSELF. I thought it was absolutely
hilarious. About a year ago, my private teacher, Joe, put on
a tango and told me dance -- by myself, just like Daniel. I
felt paralyzed because I didn't understand what he was
trying to accomplish. He then danced by himself. The point
he (and Daniel) were trying to make was that you have to
feel the music. Clearly, I missed Daniel's message
completely. By dancing with myself, I no longer had to worry
about the follower's skill level because there was no
follower. The connection was soley between myself and the
music. I could do as many open boxes as I wanted. I could go
forward or backwards. I could dance as a leader or follower.
This exercise opened my BODY to feeling the music better.
My definition of style is NOT figures by themselves but WHEN
to execute the figures. Sometimes, I'll slip in a pause and
wait a beat. For example, I can open side left, PAUSE, and
walk to the cross or lead an ocho. I like to finish dances
by leading a leg wrap. One woman who I dance a lot told me
"it's become my signature." I interpret signature as style.
Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
Waiting for confirmation I'm going to the Big Apple Nov
10-13.
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