tango "rules"

There has been a considerable discussion recently on Tango-L e-mail list about the line of dance (LOD) rules. Of course, that discussion is nothing new, it comes and goes periodically. At some point, I made the following comment (in part):

When people know how to dance, strictly following line of dance rule is meaningless, because you end up dancing with other pairs on the floor co-creating a symbiotic dance of the whole group - that's when the whole new horizon of dancing opens up.

And then someone replied with (notice the sarcasm):

Yep, just like the hoons and smart-arses that grace our motorways. They all know how to drive. They think they know how to drive better than everybody else on the motorway. They're much too skilled to have to obey road rules. They're just exceptional people. Weaving in and out demonstrates their free spirit and their command of space and time. Oh, the sheer joy of sharing a motorway with them. The peace it brings to body and mind. It's a privilege to be in their company. Seems they can't understand that driving a vehicle and driving a vehicle on a motorway are entirely different. Being skilled at one doesn't mean skilled at the other. I suggest cautious driving allows one to enjoy the beauty of the scenery.

I was seriously tempted to reply to the reply, but then thought better and decided to leave it alone.

Here is an interesting twist, though. I noticed that in all Latin-american countries I visited (Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brasil, Argentina) rules of driving, especially in the cities, are not strictly adhered to. For example, it is very common in Buenos Aires to see 5 or even 6 lanes of traffic on the street marked for just four. And those lanes dynamically change. People shift in and out all the time and all is well - I have not seen a single accident.

The issue is, I observed, that drivers are fully aware of all other participants and drive defensively but decisively. I have not seen anger displayed as it is often the case on our streets and highways where everyone follows the rules.

I wonder if there is a lesson hidden in there somewhere.

tango "follower"

Recently someone on an e-mail list pondered (again) the role of the follower in tango. A very illuminating discussion ensued. I quote excerpts here.

Someone said:

I begin by stating that I am new to Argentine Tango(3+ yrs). My first instructor made the statement that a follower must bring something to the dance an not expect to be pushed and pulled around the floor like a puppet.

Then someone else replied:

I believe that your instructor was trying to convey that women must be active in the dance, not passive. She must not be a piece of furniture on wheels that the men push around.

Finally, and very nicely, another person wrote:

Yes. In fact, many Argentine instructors insist that the primary responsibility for keeping the beat, in the mind at least (even though each beat probably won't be explicitly stepped on, of course), belongs to the follower.

The responsibility of the leader is to lead in a fashion clearly inviting her to step on a particular beat when that's what he wants her to do. He doesn't concentrate on landing his own foot on the beat in question--that will take care of itself if he is musically inclined--but rather on inducing *her* foot to do it.

If she is not musically inclined enough (or experienced with the tango repertoire enough) to feel the music in her blood as any good tanguero or tanguera must, and to seize upon the leader's invitation to step on a particular beat with her own aggressive gusto, then she will feel heavy to the leader and he will feel as though he has to drag her around the floor.

This is particularly true when the leader may not be stepping at all, such as standing on one foot while leading a molinete.

You can see the whole thread here.

When I Dance with You

when I dance with you ...
I dance
I sing
I live

when I dance with you ...
time stops
world spins
earth floats

when I dance with you ...
love is my guide
you are my focus
music is my inspiration

when I dance with you ...
I feel your beating heart
I sense your pulsing body
I hear your dashing breaths

when I dance with you ...
angels and cupids rejoice
gods and goddesses are happy
birds and heavenly choirs sing

... and all that because I dance with you!

Ney Melo and Jeniffer Bratt

This past Fri-Sun was a delicious tango weekend in Gainesville with Ney and Jeniffer.



A pair of nice young people, great dancers, enthusiastic teachers, and very, very friendly and approachable, they represent a very nice blend of classic and modern tango. The most noticeable feature is the posture they promote. I recognize it with many dancers today, most notably Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa.



That posture is where the torso is slightly bent forward with the weight straight on top of the middle of the feet with straight legs, for the most part. It allows for a great degree of freedom of movement between the two dancers while maintaining close connection and an illusion of leaning. One must be careful, though, not to bend lower back forward which may result in an injury.

It was really a very nice weekend tango escape with a great group of friends from Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa area and anywhere in between.

Why BA?

As it is usually the case with e-mailing lists, topics occasionally reoccur for the benefit of the new members. And so it was recently with Tango-L, a list "for discussion of any aspect of the Argentine Tango." Discussion about what is and what is not tango, or tango nuevo, or alternative milongas and all that raised its head once more.

Then a related topic was touched briefly about the evolving art of tango and what is so special about the relationship between Buenos Aires and tango. One post caught my attention. It was by Dierdre N. Black I reproduce it here with Dierdre's permission.

Well, let's see....where to begin? First of all, as a professional ballet/contemporary dancer, for a large portion of my life, I appreciate that dance needs to be a "lively art" and therefore, continually evolving, changing and reflecting, to a large extent, cultural/era specificities(such as: "cargo pants" vs "tango suits", etc.).....I'm definitely down with that concept! Yet, today, we are still able to enjoy the great, classical ballets, frozen in time, as well as the most contemporary and avant garde ones and they are all called "ballet". Supposedly, the Finnish tango is "frozen" in the tango of the twenties and they have no interest in evolving their style. Is this a more "real tango" because it hasn't changed, for almost 100 years? Or is "it" more from contemporary pilgrims/portenos, living in BA, evolving the dance, daily; sometimes(depending), dancing tango in cargo pants, flip flops and to Elvis Presley, others, in the little black dress, high heels and to Troilo? Who's to say? Both of these views of tango(plus the entire continuum between)are valid, here and worth considering, in this discussion, I feel.

Perhaps, we are asking the wrong questions. Perhaps, tango afficionados are missing the point and think they only come to BA to dance "the real, classic Argentine tango", to find that, instead, there is a lively art, here, changing with the times/fashions/artists, like any other viable art will do and maybe, looking for the "real tango", in BA, is like trying to know the sound of one hand clapping. Instead, after living here for three, amazing years, I have found that the tango is sooo much more than just a dance(or specific "style", thereof)...the actual dance appears to be merely the "tip of the tango iceberg", if you will. Instead, you will find the "real tango" in the blood of the rioplatense(Uruguayos, tambien/Montevideo)people, being expressed daily, in their attitudes, customs, desires, food, wine, humor, rhythms of life(even tho they don't dance a lick), as well as in the glorious, hothouse world of musicians, dancers, singers, composers, of the tango classico. The dance does not exist in an artistic vacuum but rather, in the context of this culture and that is what, in the end, I believe people come here, for...to "feel the tango" context, rather than determine a "perfect style". In fact the more you are here, the more open that definition becomes. If there IS any one, consistent element that continues to run through all these discussions, though, it's the "connection" of tango that people seek, within themselves and each other and BA provides that constant feeling of connection, with your family, neighbors, dance buds and "the BA life", from whence this seductive dance comes. There's nothing like "swimming in the BA soup for awhile" just to make your tango more juicy, soulful and connected, no matter what style you prefer. Also, not just attending classes and milongas, while here but going to theatre, opera, poetry readings, tango music/singer performances(no dancing), art/photog shows, will make your tango dancing better..... not necessarily more classic, flashier, better technically or even more nuevo(2-3 weeks simply isn't enough to accomplish that, even with intensives)but more importantly, you can go away with "many more miles" and a more organic center/perspective that can't be replicated anywhere else. You can experience directly, the cultural position that the dance of tango inhabits, in this warm, sensual city/country(and Uruguay, btw). Then, your personal style merely becomes the "icing on your tango cake".

Besos y abrazos, Dierdre N. Black

tango and marching

When I was 8 and a half years old (back in 1958) my father taught me to play an althorn and for the next almost ten years I played in the marching-symphonic band in my hometown, Dubrovnik. I loved it. I loved playing marching music while marching along the old city cobblestone streets (really setts)-- especially the old "Stradun" (by the way, we used to play a march which if our marching speed was just right, we'd start at one end of Stradun and finish at the other exactly - it was fun doing it that way).

Well, anyway. A few years later I was "promoted" to play the baritone horn, which gave me the chance to be a soloist during our sit-down concerts. But, it was marching while playing that got deeply embedded into me.

My father told me the stories of Italian "bersaglieri" and their marching bands, which used to come visit to Dubrovnik in the 20s and the 30s, and how he and his friends marveled at the skill of those players to play so well while kind of jogging down the street with the resulting overall adrenalin-pumping, uplifting feeling.

Now, as a consummate tango dancer, I can not help but re-live that same exquisite marching-to-the-music feeling, especially when a Donato or Biagi happy sounding tangos are played. Take "Lonjazos," for example. Can't you just see the bersaglieri band marching/jogging down the street? I can and feel. And it makes me sigh with a happy feeling.

so, what is this thing we call tango?

Take a minute and read this brilliant blog entry with the provocative title "Mi Buenos Aires, querido ..." by La Nuit Blanche. It is all about tango in its full meaning.

What a blessing that all these cultures collided and colluded in that one place resulting in great things among which tango is its beacon light. It offers a direct line to a very fundamental humanity in you if you let yourself really touch all of its secrets. This life is indeed not a rehearsal. Feel, feel, feel, .... feel its pulsating rivers within yourself, let them take you to a journey with no end. Smile and love with no limits and no reservations!