3696 Tango Communities from Tango Shows, part 3 - A tango community experiment onstage
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:05:14 -0600
From: Brian Dunn <brian@DANCEOFTHEHEART.COM>
Subject: Tango Communities from Tango Shows, part 3 - A tango community experiment onstage
(continued from part 2)
The previous two messages report our observations and ruminations about some
of the historical consequences of tango stage shows on the growth of quality
social tango communities in North America
Hypothesis:
What if first-class tango shows were designed from the ground up with their
*primary purpose* being the fostering of the growth and development of local
tango communities? What if specific steps were taken to effectively teach
the "lessons of the salon" to the newcomers as part of the show's
choreographies, while still taking advantage of the persuasive power of all
the techniques of theatrical presentation? What if, immediately after the
show, audience members were invited down onto the stage for their first real
"social tango" lesson, to properly cement the connection with the "lessons
of the salon" while their minds, hearts and lower chakras are still raw and
sensitive with the impact of the theatrical expression? What if, after the
lesson, cast members joined the newcomers for an "onstage milonga" of social
tango? What if the show incorporated local teachers in the cast who would
help continue the tango education of all the newbies after the show closes?
We think this would be a more effective way of growing a tango community
than the status quo, producing larger numbers of new and better tango social
dancers in a shorter period of time for many communities.
As far as I know, the experiment described above has never been tried on a
large scale. Tango community-building was not the primary purpose of the big
tango shows, although I am told that attempts were made, unsuccessfully, to
create a reasonably effective local community focus in some of the later
Broadway-scale productions. So it is no wonder that some social tango
communities developed a love-hate relationship in many cases with the
effects on their tango communities of big touring tango shows.
But maybe the lemons can be used to make lemonade?!
The experiment:
My co-producers and I are attempting a medium-scale exposition of this
experiment in Boulder and Denver within a few weeks. Our show,
"AIResTANGO", now in its third year of refinement, was designed from the
ground up to incorporate portrayals of the principles of "social tango" for
the salon within a spectacular theatrical presentation of tango dance, tango
music, and tango-inspired aerial art. We cover a broad spectrum of the
cultural treasures of tango, from its origins, through the Golden Age, past
Piazzolla and on up to Libedinsky.
We will run this experiment over five performances, including two
performances during the Denver Labor Day Tango Festival. We'll track things
like show attendance, after-show lesson attendance, after-show milonga
attendance, and post-run connection with the existing tango community.
As part 4 of this message, in September, after this run of the show closes,
and before we take the show on the road, I'll summarize the results of this
experiment, and some of our conclusions for readers of the list. Further
information about the show, including online ticket purchase information, is
available on our website at
https://www.danceoftheheart.com/airestango_premiere.htm .
We welcome sincere and constructive correspondence, publicly or privately,
from anyone interested in these kinds of social tango community building
efforts.
All the best,
Brian Dunn and Deborah Sclar, Dance of the Heart
Catherine Gauch, Aircat Aerial Arts
Boulder, Colorado USA
www.danceoftheheart.com <https://www.danceoftheheart.com/>
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 16:02:31 -0400
From: Richard deSousa <mallpasso@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Tango Communities from Tango Shows, part 3 - A tango community experiment onstage
Hi Brian and Listeros:
As a former International folkdancer for 20 years and now a confirmed
tangoholic I can tell a similar tale about folkdancing. Troupes from
Eastern Europe would come into the San Francisco area and transfix the
audience with their choreography and of course many in the audience are
inspired to dance like them. The truth is most of the choreography of
performance folkdancing is not authentic. Many of the knowledgeable
folkdancers would take trips to Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, the
Caucausas to dance in the villages where the folkdance originated only
find that the music is the same but dances are very simple and graceful
rather than the athletic choreography witnessed at the performances.
El Bandito de Tango
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:05:14 -0600
Subject: [TANGO-L] Tango Communities from Tango Shows, part 3 - A tango
community experiment onstage
(continued from part 2)
The previous two messages report our observations and ruminations about
some
of the historical consequences of tango stage shows on the growth of
quality
social tango communities in North America
Hypothesis:
What if first-class tango shows were designed from the ground up with
their
*primary purpose* being the fostering of the growth and development of
local
tango communities? What if specific steps were taken to effectively
teach
the "lessons of the salon" to the newcomers as part of the show's
choreographies, while still taking advantage of the persuasive power of
all
the techniques of theatrical presentation? What if, immediately after
the
show, audience members were invited down onto the stage for their first
real
"social tango" lesson, to properly cement the connection with the
"lessons
of the salon" while their minds, hearts and lower chakras are still raw
and
sensitive with the impact of the theatrical expression? What if, after
the
lesson, cast members joined the newcomers for an "onstage milonga" of
social
tango? What if the show incorporated local teachers in the cast who
would
help continue the tango education of all the newbies after the show
closes?
We think this would be a more effective way of growing a tango community
than the status quo, producing larger numbers of new and better tango
social
dancers in a shorter period of time for many communities.
As far as I know, the experiment described above has never been tried
on a
large scale. Tango community-building was not the primary purpose of
the big
tango shows, although I am told that attempts were made,
unsuccessfully, to
create a reasonably effective local community focus in some of the later
Broadway-scale productions. So it is no wonder that some social tango
communities developed a love-hate relationship in many cases with the
effects on their tango communities of big touring tango shows.
But maybe the lemons can be used to make lemonade?!
The experiment:
My co-producers and I are attempting a medium-scale exposition of this
experiment in Boulder and Denver within a few weeks. Our show,
"AIResTANGO", now in its third year of refinement, was designed from the
ground up to incorporate portrayals of the principles of "social tango"
for
the salon within a spectacular theatrical presentation of tango dance,
tango
music, and tango-inspired aerial art. We cover a broad spectrum of the
cultural treasures of tango, from its origins, through the Golden Age,
past
Piazzolla and on up to Libedinsky.
We will run this experiment over five performances, including two
performances during the Denver Labor Day Tango Festival. We'll track
things
like show attendance, after-show lesson attendance, after-show milonga
attendance, and post-run connection with the existing tango community.
As part 4 of this message, in September, after this run of the show
closes,
and before we take the show on the road, I'll summarize the results of
this
experiment, and some of our conclusions for readers of the list.
Further
information about the show, including online ticket purchase
information, is
available on our website at
https://www.danceoftheheart.com/airestango_premiere.htm .
We welcome sincere and constructive correspondence, publicly or
privately,
from anyone interested in these kinds of social tango community building
efforts.
All the best,
Brian Dunn and Deborah Sclar, Dance of the Heart
Catherine Gauch, Aircat Aerial Arts
Boulder, Colorado USA
www.danceoftheheart.com <https://www.danceoftheheart.com/>
