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  PALABRAS DE UN NORTE AMERICANO

Judy and I have been dancing Argentine tango for 10 years. We dance several different styles, teach, choreograph, and perform. One of our goals is to preserve the cultural heritage of tango as a social dance.

   THESIS:  
Tango was born in Buenos Aires. Its roots include dance and music from Cuba, Africa, Argentina and other countries. It is a rich, complex cultural phenomenon that pervades all aspects of Buenos Aires culture in one way or another. Tango, therefore, cannot be understood in depth without understanding the people of Buenos Aires and Argentina, their music, culture, and history.
We recognize that there is no 'authentic' Argentine tango, nor is there a tango police out there to tell you what you can or can't do. But we do believe that the dance is called 'Argentine Tango' for a reason. We believe that The dance is culture based, and that is what we want to help North Americans to understand.
How far you delve into the dance is up to you, but the deeper you do go into the dance the closer you will find yourself to the people of Argentina or more specifically Buenos Aires.
It is said that from a musical standpoint Argentina is 'folklorico' and Buenos Aires is 'Tango'. To be a good social Argentine tango dancer, you must understand what Argentine social tango is about and what it means to be a good social tango dancer.
When Porteños (residents of Buenos Aires) learn to dance, they have first hand knowledge of how tango is danced in Buenos Aires. When a North American learns to dance, his or her idea about social tango can be and usually is a world apart.
North America was originally introduced to tango through stage performance which is considered by the Argentines to be 'tango for export'. While the Argentines love performance tango, they know this style of tango is not for the social dance floor.
ANATOMY OF A TANGO WORKSHOP
 
Part I - The DISCUSSION:
Some questions you may want to ask yourself:
 

1) What is tango?
2) What do I want out of tango?
3) What does it mean to be a 'good social tango dancer'?
For Consideration:
  1) The agreement is made with a look, a smile, a nod.
2) The dance starts with the approach.
3) The affair starts with the embrace.
A Quote:
'It takes 10 minutes to learn a step, it takes 10 years to learn to walk!'
A Definition: Sentiment (Sentimiento)
A thought, view or attitude based on feeling or emotion instead of reason
A Thought: If you understand the music, you can dance the music. If you understand
the language, you can dance the feeling.
 
Part II - The CLASS:
The Music
You cannot dance tango well if you do not know the music!
• The dance is shaped by the music for the couple as well as the entire milonga. Rhythmic music tends to be more suitable for a crowded room. The kind of music played at a milonga impacts the relationship of the dancers on the floor as well as the codigos (codes) of that milonga.
• In tango you are always dancing to the rhythm. You can dance the melody, the rhythm, the lyrics, a particular instrument or any combination of these elements. If you are not dancing 'the rhythm', then you are dancing other elements 'to the rhythm'.
• A principle difference between Argentine dancers and North American dancers is that the Argentines have a profound knowledge of the music. Therefore they are free to move with the music instead of reacting to the music.
• With experienced dancers, each partner is free to dance different elements of the music simultaneously, but the style and interpretation needs to be the result of a kind of mutual consent, with the man leading and the woman following.
• Strong rhythmic music lends itself better to walking or stepping in direct or syncopated relationship to the rhythm. Strong melodic music lends itself to movement interpretation, salon walks, and fantasia elements.
The Partnership
Embrace
The embrace is a physical connection between a man and a woman accompanied by all the emotions that go along with such a connection. The embrace is serious and must not be taken for granted. It is part of what makes the tango work.
Two as one
Much of the beauty of the dance is in the melding of both dancers. For 3 minutes, they give themselves to one another unselfishly and become one with the music on the dance floor. Egos must be set aside.
Communication
Communication between dancers starts with careful listening. We listen to the music and we listen to each other. The man leads and follows as his partner responds. The woman having been led finds herself being followed and in a strange way becomes the leader.
A kind of paradox that reflects life.
The Exercise
An exercise that allows the students to practice and understand movement into and out of each others space and embrace, with music interpretation, creativity and the facility to change partners often.
Remember that the measure of a good social dancer is not how well he or she dances with his/her partner but how he or she dances with strangers to differing tango music under varying conditions.
 
Part III - The PRACTICA:
Develop the Skills
We study movement, music, steps, balance, leading and following as an exercise so that we can develop our communication skills to where we can transcend the logical brain and dance somewhere in the emotional brain.
The sense of movement becomes part of muscle memory and develops our 'tango bones'. This gives us a comfort zone that frees us to explore the deeper meaning of the connection, the music and the dance.
The Practice: We hear the music, it goes to our brain and then to our feet and is colored by our heart.
The Dance: We hear the music, it goes directly to our heart and then to our feet.
Tango is a never-ending journey that starts with a single step.
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Email us with your comments:
tangowithjudy@hotmail.com