485  Generic Tango Discussions are hard for me to follow

Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 20:01:33 -0700
From: Brian Dunn <brianpdunn@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Generic Tango Discussions are hard for me to follow

Stephen Brown wrote:

>>>

In watching people dance tango in a number of communities, however, I have
noticed a number of dancers who have adopted one of several generic styles
of tango and use complicated moves to separate themselves from the rest of
the dancers...
<snip>
...If one is interested in personal expression, it would seem fairly obvious
that the use of a generic style has little to recommend. What seems to be
less obvious is that the addition of complicated moves does not transform a
generic style into one that is uniquely personal.
<<<

Stephen, could you flesh out your commentary with a few specifics? I'm
finding it hard to visualize what you're describing, and for me your point
is somewhat muddied by the "generic" terms you are using. For example,
which "generic styles of tango" did the dancers you observe choose to adopt?
What "complicated moves" failed to de-genericize their chosen generic style?
Perhaps an example of a well-known dancer who has successfully transformed
"a generic style into one that is uniquely personal"?

Regards,
Brian Dunn
Boulder, Colorado USA
www.danceoftheheart.com

Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 10:07:28 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Generic Tango Discussions are hard for me to follow

Brian Dunn wrote:

>Stephen, could you flesh out your commentary with a few specifics?

Because the conversation has moved forward without a my definition of a
generic style of tango, I would prefer not to try to create a tight
definition even if I were able.

We might agree/argue that there are three or four major styles of tango
used for social dancing: salon, milonguero, nuevo, and a salon-fantasia
blend. What I had in mind is someone who learns the basic movements of one
of these styles and then proceeds to learn and use complicated movements
within one of these styles without any sense of personal expression. The
result looks generic.

In contrast, many dancers work within one of the major styles of tango and
do achieve a sense of self-expression. What is the difference between
those who dance generically and those who achieve self expression? Martha
Graham said, "Great dancers are not great because of their technique;
they're great because of their passion."

Frank Williams did a better job presenting what I had in mind than I did.

>What IS generic style? We could all recognize dancing that
>might seem very generic, but we might not agree well about
>what that is...

>I read Stephen's conclusion as: dancers who are saying, "look at my
>flashy technique" often show that they are NOT well developed in tango.

>The insecure dancer who thinks that their stature depends on how many
>figures they know is like the insecure teenager who thinks that their
>attractiveness depends on what they wear.

By the way, I do find the phenomenon I am writing about as being confined
to tango or even dancing. I find the same thing listening to guitar
players. There are many technically competent guitar players who have a
decidely generic sound which they attempt to disguise with fancy licks.

With best regards,
Steve

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

Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 12:13:06 -0500
From: Natarajan Balasundara <rajan@EMC.COM>
Subject: Re: Generic Tango Discussions are hard for me to follow

Stephen Brown wrote:

> By the way, I do find the phenomenon I am writing about as being confined
> to tango or even dancing. I find the same thing listening to guitar
> players. There are many technically competent guitar players who have a
> decidely generic sound which they attempt to disguise with fancy licks.

My anology(not totally correct, perhaps) would be that
it is like an american sandwich-- there are a wide variety by a wide
range of providers. All these sandwiches are made with more or less
same ingradients and consumed on any occassion. If there is any
difference(apart from names in which may be strikingly different), it is
only in the quantity of each ingradient(as in 'how much of lettuce')
in the overall composition.

A potpourri rather than adozenlongstemmedredroses ;-)



rajan.