931 Larrydla's comments
Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 18:46:15 -0800
From: "Larry E. Carroll" <larrydla@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Larrydla's comments
I have more free time during the holidays (which aren't quite over
for me yet) so I don't feel so guilty about signing on again to
TANGO-L for a few days & reading & even writing a bit. So here are a
few comments.
TEACHERS
All the talk about improving the way teachers do their job is wishful
thinking. None of them are going to change. Instead I found that all
but the worst teachers have something that I can learn. So I went to
several teachers, getting steps from one, technique from another,
musicality & feeling from a third, etc.
Also, different students need (and want) different things, so one
teacher may be great for some & rotten for others. And a year later
the "rotten" teacher (who hasn't changed) may be a "great" teacher -
because your skills and your needs have changed.
I also found after the first few years of studying tango I began to
learn more from the other students in group classes than from the
teacher. Not because my partners lectured me, but because they were
different & (without intending to) challenged me to treat each as an
individual & sharpen my ability to communicate with them with the
silent language of my body.
BEGINNERS (& OTHERS) & LEADING/FOLLOWING
The talk about the leader giving a lead, then following the follower
oversimplifies & obscures what actually happens. It suggests that
each signal exchanged between partners is a discreet signal like a
word or number, when the signals are actually more continuous &
flowing. It suggests that a dancer is a unit, a block. We are
actually complex & flexible bodies, and different part of us acts at
different times.
Before anything happens, both leader AND follower have to have a good
connection to the other. The connection is partly physical (the
"frame") but it's also an emotional & intellectual connection that is
more important than the physical. Among other aspects, both partners
have to be aware of the other, focussed on the other partner & alert
to their mental & emotional states as well as physical ones.
For instance, if I notice that my partner is very willing but also
tired, I know her reflexes are going to be slower & her muscles
unable to do fast & intricate actions. I also know that she wants to
dance nonetheless & may want more of an emotional & less of an
acrobatic experience. So I know I will have to adjust my dancing for
this.
The first act of a movement/step/figure is that the leader DECIDES to
move in a certain direction. Unconsciously he prepares for that
motion in perhaps a dozen ways, such as shifting his weight from one
foot to the other, breathing a little differently, tightening his
embrace very slightly, and so on. A good follower feels those
unconscious signals (if the connection is good) & prepares herself
(usually without conscious thought) to move in that direction.
And neither one has yet moved a step.
The leader has to have a clear idea of what he wants the two of them
to do, so that he doesn't intellectually vacillate between two or
more actions and confuse his follower. To do this he has to be
confident in himself, which is the reason why a woman should never do
anything to undermine his confidence. This does NOT mean not to
criticize him or suggest improvements when they are practicing. If a
man & woman respect & like each other criticism can be easily and
even eagerly taken. But it has to be done right, and not when
actually dancing unless an action will hurt or harm someone.
Then the leader moves his upper body in the direction of motion,
without moving his feet. He is actually unbalancing himself, and
beginning to fall in the direction of motion. His partner feels
herself going off her balance and moves her legs and feet in that
direction, catching herself and moving back into a balanced position.
Finally the man moves his feet and legs to follow his body & go back
into a balanced position. And the cycle begins again with the next
step and the next.
In short leading & following is not only motion but also
communication, in a continuous two-way flow, and a heightened
awareness of one's partner's body & heart & mind.
Now how do you teach all that to students in a clear & simple way?
Ah, but I quit teaching tango when I put my tango book on line & left
it to do that job!
Larry de Los Angeles
https://larrydla.home.att.net
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Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 01:32:04 -0800
From: "Larry E. Carroll" <larrydla@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Larrydla's comments - 2
LEADING/FOLLOWING
In my comments on leading/following I put the process under a
microscope & talked quite a bit about the details of the process.
Now I want to go to the other extreme & speak as simply as possible.
The most important part of dancing is your connection to your
partner. Connection is physical, which includes (thanks Barbara)
your posture and balance and frame. It's also spiritual: focusing
your mind and heart and attention on your partner. Both partners
must have a good connection; the world's best leader can't do a damn
thing if his partner has a rotten connection to him - and vice versa.
You must practice so much that you DON'T THINK when you dance.
Thinking & analysis is crucial when practicing. It's poison when you
dance. You must "walk the miles" to be a good dancer, there is no
shortcut. After enough time (which varies from person to person),
you will find you simply pay attention to your partner and your
fellow dancers and to the music, and the music will take you over and
dance you.
Talking about the leader following his partner is a rotten way to
describe leading. Instead I say: know what you want, be sensitive to
your partner, and adapt to her. But foremost, know what you want and
be decisive. It is her job to follow you, not yours to follow her.
You can not do her job, you can only do yours. That is what being
partners means, that you both have different responsibilies.
DRESSING
At a milonga in a foreign country dress the way the others dress, or
even more conservatively. But when you are at home in the comfort of
the milonga you go to all the time, dress the way that makes you
happy. If someone else thinks it makes you look like a tart or a slob,
to hell with them.
THE CABECO
That's the way they do it in Buenos Aires. Do it that way there, or
you will not have any good dances - unless you are so stunningly
gorgeous and such a terrific dancer that you can ignore customs.
After a few hours of discomfort (unless you are totally dense or
inflexible) it becomes to feel natural, and you can have a great
time.
Here in the US I never strike up conversations with a strange woman
at a dance before asking her to dance. If she seems interested in
dancing & friendly, I walk up to her, smile, on rare occasions say a
single sentence that establishes that I'm friendly, & hold out my
hand with a question in my eyes.
Almost never do I get turned down (and not because I am totally
gorgeous!). Then when we dance I do my damndest to not only have a
good time myself, but to ensure she does also so that she will dance
with me the next time I ask her to dance.
THE AUTHENTIC WAY TO DANCE THE TANGO
In Argentina I respect all their customs, of action and dress and
dance style. But elsewhere I do not care. All this stuff about
imitating the wonderful Argentines is crap. Tango is a world dance.
I will not be a slave to Buenos Aires .
Speaking of BsAs, if you have not been there, be aware that
different milongas have their own minicultures. In some places every
man comes in shirt sleeves and women in modest everyday dress. In
others they dress up, in others yet they dress funky. Some places
most everyone dances close, in others dancing with your bodies
touching is vulgar, and where Gustavo and Fabian and Chicho hang out
they often do what used to be called nuevo tango.
In practicas you are usually there to work and gym clothes are OK.
Also the cabeco is not used; you are all there to work and with rare
exceptions you are expected to dance with strangers. And you are
expected to make mistakes because you are pushing the envelope of
your skills; there is no indignity about mistakes. In fact, perfect
dancers are probably too gutless to risk error.
AAARGH!
There just went a couple of hours away from my latest novel! TANGO-L
is a disease! I need a doctor!
Larry de Los Angeles
https://larrydla.home.att.net
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Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 20:15:07 +0100
From: Chris Luethen <christian.luethen@GMX.NET>
Subject: he's back ... Re: Larrydla's comments
he's back! never believed he'd make it away from tango anyway. *vbg*
christian
On 8 Jan 2003 at 18:46, Larry E. Carroll wrote:
> I have more free time during the holidays (which aren't quite over for
> me yet) so I don't feel so guilty about signing on again to TANGO-L
> for a few days & reading & even writing a bit.
christian@eTanguero.net
https://www.eTanguero.net/
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 13:30:32 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Larrydla's comments - 2
Larrydla wrote:
>Here in the US I never strike up conversations with a
>strange woman at a dance before asking her to dance.
Yes. You must remember that most people are at milongas to dance. One
who observes the Argentine custom of chatting a bit on the dance floor
until the tango reaches the point where everyone dances will have a bit of
an opportunity to talk.
Recognizing that people are at a milonga to dance can readily explain why
people feel free to ask others to dance even if the person they are asking
is engaged in a conversation.
Some milongas have break areas, such as a kitchen, where a local etiquette
has developed such that those break areas are "no ask" zones. It may be
better to try to engage in conversations in such areas.
With best wishes for 2003,
Steve
