2102  10 count basic

Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 19:23:30 -0800
From: Philip Seyer <philipseyer@ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
Subject: 10 count basic

>From what I'm hearing there are many ways to count the Argentine tango

basic.
Many refer to an 8 count basic.

Daniel Trenner likes a 10 count basic. He leaves out that back-step that so
many of you dislike so much. His #1 is the same as the #2 of the 8 count
basic.

He ends up doing the cross at step #4, not step 5.

He finishes up with two tango Foreward/side together steps (FST)
The first FST starts with the left foot; the second, the right foot.

This way, you never need to walk against the line of dance. He changes
weight on every step in the "academic" version of this 10 count basic.

One disadvantage is that the pattern doesn't match musical phrasing as well
as an 8 count basic.

http://www.argentine-tango.com


----- Original Message -----

Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 10:05:54 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: 10 count basic

Daniel Trenner was quite creative in developing the 10-count basic about
8-10 years ago, but I am not sure that he still teaches it. The 10-count
basic eliminates the back step, but it still does not eliminate the
problem of treating tango as a series of memorized figures. If we
recognize tango is an improvisational dance, learning to dance it as a
series of rote figures is a problem, particularly when people venture out
onto a crowded dance floor and try to execute a 10-step sequence only to
find that another couple is in their way.

Even if one is willing to accept the use of choreographic elements in
social dancing, the 10-count basic is hardly compelling choreography. The
10-count basic is created by adding what Daniel called a reversed tango
close (a three-step movement) to the end of the the 8-count basic that
starts on the side step . The 8-count basic ends with a standard tango
close. So we see a standard tango close followed by a reversed tango
close.

If we are insisting on teaching/using a basic-step pattern like the
8-count basic, why not replace the first backward step of the 8-count
basic with a weight shift onto the man's right foot and woman's left foot.
This approach has the advantage of eliminating the back step and relying
on a smaller choreographic element.

If we expect our students to be able to improvise, how about breaking the
8-count basic into three elements that are taught separately and later
combined: walking to the cross, a tango close, and a salida that consists
of a weight shift and a side step?

With best wishes for the holidays,
Steve

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
http://www.tejastango.com/