2999 Tango Education vs. Tango Schooling
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 01:27:55 -0600
From: "Christopher L. Everett" <ceverett@CEVERETT.COM>
Subject: Tango Education vs. Tango Schooling
Hi,
The list has been a bit quiet, so I thought I'd see if I could stir some
fruitful discussion up.
I'm looking for useful concepts to incorporate into my tango. Here are
a few examples ( shout out to Tom Stermitz for bringing most of them to
my awareness) of what I'm looking for:
-- cross foot vs normal foot, and how going to cross foot facilitates
leading forward and backward ochos, and indirectly giros.
-- complex movements as straightforward modifications and combinations
of much simpler movements (for example, walking three steps forward
starting with the left foot and closing with the right, becomes the
cruzada when you let the left foot open a few inches on the third
step).
-- the implications of eight beat musical phrases on musicality.
I've noticed most teachers don't talk about this type of thing, but I've
found that these notions have had a very positive effect on how I dance,
as I've gone about wiring them into my muscle memory.
Some questions I've been pondering:
-- what is the full range of possibilities resulting from being cross
foot?
-- what about from normal foot?
-- are these other ways of switching between normal foot and cross
foot besides one partner taking an extra step?
-- what else should I know about tango music?
-- what other high level concepts have I not hear about, yet?
Thanks in advance for any educcation, this list has been a super resource.
--
Christopher L. Everett
Chief Technology Officer www.medbanner.com
MedBanner, Inc. www.physemp.com
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 14:36:33 -0800
From: Trini or Sean - PATangoS <patangos@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Tango Education vs. Tango Schooling
--- "Christopher L. Everett" <ceverett@CEVERETT.COM>
wrote:
> Some questions I've been pondering:
> -- what is the full range of possibilities
> resulting from being cross foot?
> -- what about from normal foot?
Dear Christopher,
Be prepared to spend the rest of your life discovering
these possibilities. My suggestion is to simply play
with the understanding that at any step you can vary
where you place one foot in relation to hers (in-line,
outside, inside, in-between-middle,
in-between-near-her left foot, in-between-near right
foot, etc.). Play with rhythm, play with partial
weight shifts, play with step size, play with
pivoting, play with combining these elements. Then
repeat with the other foot. Then repeat to the
leader's left and right sides.
But I find that what is most useful is to concentrate
on her feet, not your own (or what you think is
happening). Unintended variations can lead to
exciting discoveries.
> -- are these other ways of switching between
> normal foot and cross foot besides one partner
taking an extra step?
One switches between parallel (what you call normal)
and cross foot by one person doing an extra weight
shift, which technically is a step, whether that step
is done in place or not. Play with doing a weight
shift with both of you staying in the same spot. This
weight shift is necessary to go from parallel to cross
foot.
> -- what else should I know about tango music?
> -- what other high level concepts have I not hear
> about, yet?
It's good to see the enthusiasm in your email. I
suggest visiting Stephen Brown's website and going
from there. https://www.tejastango.com/
Happy discoveries,
Trini de Pittsburgh
=====
PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance.
https://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm
