5620 Head Tilt
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:23:08 GMT
From: "larrynla@juno.com" <larrynla@juno.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] Head Tilt
To: tango-L@mit.edu
Osvaldo Zotto and Lorena Ercimoda taught here in L.A. a few years ago.
In one class after presenting a pattern he would have us practice it
for a minute or so to music. And he and she would go around to various
couples and point out mistakes. One was tilting our heads. Osvaldo
corrected the men by lifting our chins with his fingers, and pointing
at his eyes and looking down to indicate that it's our eyes which
should tilt, not our heads.
Yet here he is making the same mistake. It's only a slight tilt, but
watch after about 40 seconds in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zet-EKeo8
Most of the tango nuevo performers do this, except perhaps Gustavo
Naveira. But so do most milongueros. Here are just a few of
a couple dozen I found who do this, starting with Puppy Castello.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OxyYHZTcUI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKV_34J5Ay4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KhBuOwJPcU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSMtZzTwWI0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucLFoUHcp-g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymCuObEUlmM
Who does NOT do this? Professional dancers who have trained from
childhood. (This does not include the Zotto brothers, who learned
tango in milongas, though some of their rough edges were likely ironed
out when they hooked up with women who did have that training.) They
look down only rarely and then only for dramatic effect.
They know even a slight head tilt can make their shoulders hunch and
that plus the tilt looks bad. It also shifts their body center forward
and makes it harder to dance well. Plus, they are doing choreographed
performances that they have practiced dozens of times and performed
hundreds of times. They KNOW to the split second where their and their
partner's feet are, because they received painful bruises and cuts when
they didn't.
All of this is leading up to this question: How do we learn not to tilt
our heads? And: Do we need to look down? If so: When? And if not,
How do we learn not to?
Larry de Los Angeles - novelette "Lady Death" added to
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Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:41:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Trini y Sean (PATangoS)" <patangos@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Head Tilt
--- On Tue, 4/21/09, larrynla@juno.com <larrynla@juno.com> wrote:
> All of this is leading up to this question: How do we learn
> not to tilt our heads? And: Do we need to look down? If so: When?
> And if not, How do we learn not to?
My Alexander Technique teacher has been very helpful with this. She teaches us that the head should be free as it sits on top of the neck, sort of like a bobblehead doll. The problem for most is that they cannot separate the movement of the head from the movement of the neck.
The bones that the skull sits on are curved to allow the head to glide forward and backwards. If you finger the back of your neck upwards until find where the skull sits on top of the neck, you'll realize how far up the skull sits and where it moves from. The problem is that many people engage too many neck muscles when trying to just tilt their head. If people relax their neck, they can move their head quite freely.
To help people get the feeling of this, she uses both hands, placing her thumbs on either side of the chin and the tips of her other fingers lightly behind the ears. She then simply glides the head back & forth and then side-to-side. She does the moving of the head while the student concentrates on relaxing the neck muscles. The feeling of having a free head is so clear, that it's actually pretty easy to correct oneself later. I am able to help student myself using this same technique.
So, it's not the tilting itself that's the problem. It's HOW one tilts the head.
Trini de Pittsburgh
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:02:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jack Dylan <jackdylan007@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Head Tilt
To: tango-L@mit.edu
> From: "larrynla@juno.com" <larrynla@juno.com>
>
> All of this is leading up to this question: How do we learn not to tilt
> our heads?? And: Do we need to look down?? If so: When?? And if not,
> How do we learn not to?
>
Susana Miller teaches very strongly that the man should look
straight ahead with no looking down,?or even glancing down.
The problem I have is that I start to feel very self-concious seeing
all the faces in the crowd who are sitting out the tanda. And, yes,
I know they're not looking at me but I still feel more comfortable
glancing down even though I now know it's better to look straight
ahead.
Jack
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:35:27 -0400
From: "Michael" <tangomaniac@cavtel.net>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Head Tilt
To: <tango-L@mit.edu>
I think the correct question is "Why is there is a need to tilt the head?" Tilting the head is probably a compensation. I remember when I'd reach for the woman's cheek, pulling my head ahead of my chest. My teacher told me not to reach. It's the woman's decision if she wants to make cheek contact. In other situations, tilting of the head is a compensation for difference in height of the dancers. My BA guide reinforced the importance of seeking women my height.
The focus has to always be on the partner. Yes, I saw Argentines looking at me dance, especially since I was a stranger. I couldn't let that impact my dancing.
I suggest Alexander Technique which will improve your posture and head position.
Michael
I dance Argentine Tango - - with the Argentines
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2009 12:02 PM
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Head Tilt
> From: "larrynla@juno.com" <larrynla@juno.com>
>
> All of this is leading up to this question: How do we learn not to tilt
> our heads? And: Do we need to look down? If so: When? And if not,
> How do we learn not to?
>
Susana Miller teaches very strongly that the man should look
straight ahead with no looking down, or even glancing down.
The problem I have is that I start to feel very self-concious seeing
all the faces in the crowd who are sitting out the tanda. And, yes,
I know they're not looking at me but I still feel more comfortable
glancing down even though I now know it's better to look straight
ahead.
Jack
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 08:00:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ming Mar <ming_mar@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] Head Tilt
To: tango-l@mit.edu
Larry de Los Angeles writes:
>How do we learn not to tilt our heads?
By not looking at your feet. If you watch a guy dancing
apilado, with contact at the head, chest, and (optionally)
belly, you'll notice that he's not looking at his feet.
Well, he can't. The girl's in the way. In most cases the
girl's head is up against his head, so there's a limit to
how much he can tilt his head anyway.
I suggest that when you're dancing, look at the people
around you. Do they see where you are? Are they likely to
hit you? If you're busy looking at the people around you
that means you're not looking at your feet. And it's not
just about avoiding getting hit. It's about communicating.
You make eye contact with a friend and he gives you a
slight nod in greeting. Your next partner gives you a
wink.
>And: Do we need to look down?
Generally speaking, no.
Are you looking down to see where her feet are? The
greater the contact, the better you can sense/feel what the
girl is doing. If you dance apilado, where the contact
surface area is great, you can sense where your partner's
feet are with good accuracy. If you dance open embrace,
where the contact surface is small, you can still sense
where your partner's feet are but less accurately.
Are you looking down to see where your feet are relative to
hers? There are some moves/figures where you want your
foot to touch her foot. You can do this by touch. Gently
slide your foot to meet hers.
>If so: When?
When we first begin to learn. Although I knew one guy who
never looked down, even at the beginning. He was blind.
When he danced his eyes pointed up. I think that's because
he was thinking. You know how if someone asks you a
question and you have to think about it, your eyes
automatically look up? I think the same thing was
happening to him.
>And if not, How do we learn not to?
I'd say concentrate on collision avoidance. By which I
mean, make sure you see the people around you and they see
you. And if they don't see you, get out of the way if you
can.
Isn't there a teacher local to you who dances with his head
up? You can try taking lessons from him (if you haven't
already done so).
