The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 21 Jul 2000
to 22 Jul 2000
Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 03:00:29 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 21 Jul 2000 to 22 Jul 2000 (#2000-200)
There are 4 messages totalling 147 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. relaxing
2. Laban
3. Dancing with tension
4. censorship/dresses
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 09:28:34 GMT
From: ASTRID SATO <astridsato @HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: relaxing
Dear Lisa,
I don't know if it is possible to teach about balance over the internet but
I'll try once.
The "difficult " part of the milonguero style is that the point of gravity
is moved forward more. You have to keep your balance without becoming a
burden for your partner, meaning you have to be able to stand diagonally
forward without falling over.
One thing is to completely straighten the upper part of your backbone and
pushing out your chest almost to the point of arching forward (it makes me
think of the hen as the opera singer in the Disney movies),
at the same time you move your feet back to the edge of keeping balance, so
your partner doesn't step on you etc., and you can do ochos.
All this won't work well if the man doesn't do the same, at least with his
chest, achieving pyramid shape.
The other day I learned a new technique how to walk with more balance.
Instead of simply pushing your foot straight forward you turn your foot
slightly outward and slide along not on the sole but on the inner edge of
the foot (same backward). This will greatly improve your balance.
If there is a lot of tension in your body, it means your posture is wrong.
Try taking a private lesson to have it corrected.
However check first who you have been dancing with. Did it happen with a
good leader? Because there are leaders that will give the follower a
terrible backache or at least get her all tensed up, because their own
posture is wrong.
Check whether his body is in a straight line viewed from the side. The only
thing bent should be the knees.
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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 15:25:06 +0200
From: "Lagrana, Fernando" <fernando.lagrana @ITU.INT>
Subject: Laban
Dear all,
I am trying to put on file some choregraphical elements of tango using the
Laban notation. Do you know of any available software for this purpose?
Thank you for your kind advice.
Fernando VII (Geneva)
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 18:56:04 -0400
From: michael ditkoff <tangomaniac @JUNO.COM>
Subject: Dancing with tension
Linda Fernow asked how to maintain balance when you're nervous.
First, I want to talk about tension. Tension is like a wave that
ripples throughout the entire body. For women, it seems to begin in their
right hand. It may not be their fault as there are men who tell women
"to push hard with your right hand and offer resistance." Daniel
Trenner said at the 1999 Washington, DC tango festival "that when a man
tells a woman to push hard with her right hand, he is advertising how
bad a dancer HE is." The women's right arm should be toned so that it
doesn't sag. It shouldn't be flexed tightly as if she is a professional
wrestler. The same thing goes for the man's left arm.
If the woman maintains a stiff right arm, she will find it difficult
to begin forward ochos on her right foot because the shoulder is so
stiff.
I find it helpful prior to moving to line up in front of my partner.
We align ourselves and then she places her hands where it's
comfortable. ONLY THEN will we move.
Next, acknowledge that you're nervous. It's normal for beginners to be
anxious. Tell the man you're new to milonguero style. If he's a
gentleman, he will restrict movements to walking, crossing, and ochos.
That's ALL you NEED to dance tango. When the floor is crowded, that's ALL
you CAN DO.
Since I've taken yoga, I've become more aware of my body. Whenever I
feel tense during a dance, I take a deep breath and loosen up.
During the dance, remember to breathe and stay soft and you will do
just fine.
Michael
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 19:28:53 -0400
From: Larry Carroll <larrydla @JUNO.COM>
Subject: censorship/dresses
Sorry, Astrid, Eugenia, for any unnecessary roughness.
Actually, I AM finding the discussion of women's shoes interesting,
even though I will (please, God!) never wear them myself. Nor will I
ever wear a dress. But here I have lots of interest & (surprise!)
opinions.
Like - please, don't wear long dresses with fringes, or short dresses
with long fringes, especially. The damn things can catch a woman's
heels or ankles, & I've come close to wrenching my back saving
partners from falling. I also don't like long dresses, period. They
get in the way of ganchos, which I lead fairly often. (Many of the
women I dance with love ganchos & spend lots of time working on
them. And if I don't include at least a couple of ganchos some of them
will whisper a request in my ear.)
Also, be careful about sequins. Some (maybe most?) will actually cut
a man's hand. Not the kind of memory you want men to remember you by!
And I get distracted even if they are the (mysterious) kind that
don't hurt me, I'm so careful not to damage your dress.
I do like to see women's legs, so I like slits up the side. (Do dress-
makers put them in other places as well?) They make ganchos & such
easier, too.
I also like short skirts. And pleats are nice. I recently saw a woman
wearing a short skirt which hugged her hips but had pleats that freed
her legs for embellishments. When she did ochos the swirling skirt was
very eye-catching & totally charming.
Then there's the subject of open-backed dresses....
Larry de Los Angeles
http://home.att.net/~larrydla
End of TANGO-L Digest - 21 Jul 2000 to 22 Jul 2000 (#2000-200)
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