775  advice on learning tango

Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2002 00:45:17 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: advice on learning tango

The following was excerpted from "Teaching Argentine Tango in New York,
1914" by Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Castle. Chapter V of their book Modern Dancing
can be found in The Dance at www.todotango.com

Among the many points in its favour, not the least is this: that it not only
commands grace, and especially repose, but it develops and even creates
these endowments. The only drawback in America to this lovely dance lies in
the fact that nearly all teachers teach it differently. A variety of steps
which do not belong to the dance at all nor to the ball-room, for that
matter-have been taught and practised by inefficient teachers. In order to
give the dance the absolute popularity it deserves it must be
"standardized."

The Argentine Tango is unquestionably the most difficult of the new dances.
Perhaps that is why some people still maintain that they "do not like it."
Others, never having seen it, declare it "shocking." On broad general
principles it is human to disapprove of that which is beyond our
understanding or ability. We like best the games we play best. And so for a
long time society looked askance upon the Tango. Here and there in the
corners of ball-rooms one saw a few hardy couples tripping a tentative
measure. But usually as soon as the music slides into the wailing, seductive
notes of the South American dance everybody developed a sudden interest in
supper! Moreover, it was rumored that the. Argentine Tango was composed of
one hundred and sixty different steps. Enough to terrify the most inveterate
dancer!

There may be one hundred and sixty different Tango steps, but I doubt it. I
have never seen so many, and Mrs. Castle and I do not dance anything like
that number. For the average ballroom Tango a knowledge of six fundamental
steps is quite enough. One may work out variations of these. But you will
find that when you once have mastered the Cortez, the Media Luna, the
Scissors, the Promenade, and the Eight Step you can dance with any exponent
of the Tango you are apt to meet.

Nor is the Tango as difficult as it was at first supposed. More difficult
than the old-fashioned Two Step, yes. Certainly more difficult than the One
Step. But once you get into the swing and rhythm of music more alluring than
a Viennese Waltz -well, you are lost. You have become a Tango enthusiast.
Personally I believe the Tango and the Maxixe Brisilienne are the dances of
tomorrow. The Maxixe is described in the next chapter. More and more people
are becoming proficient in the variations of both these South American
dances. In the smart ball-rooms of New York, London and Paris the One Step
and the Hesitation Waltz lead the dances this season. Next season it will be
the Tango and the Maxixe.

I would like to add a word of warning to those who take lessons in the
Tango, and that is: Take your lessons, if possible, from some one who has
danced professionally in Paris, because there are so many good dancers there
that anybody who can dance the Tango (and get paid for it) in Paris must
really be a good dancer. American teachers go abroad for a few weeks, take a
few lessons in the "Abaye" or some of the other places which live on the
American tourist, come back home, and, having forgotten all they learned
coming over, start in teaching. There are others who go to one of our
seaside towns, such as Narragansett, and read of a new dance and begin
teaching it. There is, unfortunately, no way of stopping these people. You
can only pay your twenty-five dollars an hour. If you don't learn the dance,
you get a little exercise and a lot of experience.

The most important thing about the Tango is its tempo. You must, before you
can dance at all, understand and appreciate the music, and the best way to
learn this is to walk (with or without a partner) in time to it. By doing
this you impress upon yourself that it is a slow dance, and that it should
be simple, and not full of jerky and complicated steps.

This walking to Tango time is not as easy as it may seem; it should be
practised frequently, so as to make it smooth. The shoulders must not go up
and down, the body must glide along all the time without any stops. It is
correct either to walk on your heel and toe or just on the ball of the foot;
but the Argentines nearly all seem to walk flat-foot, or else they step out
on their heel first. I advise dancers to do what is the easiest for them,
for when one is walking comfortably it is easier to do the steps naturally.
The first step to master, and one of the most difficult, is the Cortez.
________________________

What he wrote then can certainly be said today about the tango:
1. All teachers teach it differently.
2. It's difficult so people don't like it.
3. American teachers take a few lessons. . . and start teaching.
4. Before you dance, understand and appreciate the music by learning to
walk in time to it.
5. It should be simple and not full of jerky or complicated steps.

Pichi