The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 26 Jul 1999
to 27 Jul 1999
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Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 03:00:00 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 26 Jul 1999 to 27 Jul 1999
There are 6 messages totalling 222 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Leading
2. TANGO IN SINGAPORE
3. Help
4. Tango Rueda
5. Collecting information on tango events
6. Milonga at SF CA
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 00:42:52 +0000
From: Larry Carroll <larrydla @JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Leading
I received this a few days ago. Could any of you add more to what I've
written below? I think more people on TANGO-L would like to hear that.
> We have gone over your on-line Tango Book and would like some > more
tips on leading. My husband [really wants] more help.
I can't add anything to what I've already written. What I can do is say
it in a different way.
Leading & following in dance is a system of communication, so it follows
the same rules as all communication. Among other things, it's usually a
two-way process, which in dancing means that not only does the follower
"listen" to the body language of the leader, but he has to "listen" to
hers as well. For instance, if he gives a lead but she doesn't "hear" it
(or does so poorly, or doesn't or can't do what the leader "asks" for),
he has to be able to "hear" that. And adjust accordingly, maybe by
leading something simpler or easier for her to do.
Begin before you start moving, by focusing on your connection with your
partner. Close your eyes, or defocus them so that everything is a blur.
Feel just where & how you are touching your partner. Adjust your hands &
arms & upper body to get a better fit, & be ready to readjust as you
dance & find that your connection slips or as you try something different
than you usually do.
Do a zarandeo, which is a slight twisting of your upper body to the left
then the right (or vice versa) then back to your beginning position. Make
sure when you do this that you let your arms & hands adjust; they're
supposed to be like springs attached to your upper body, not rigid bars.
But concentrate on keeping the relationship of your upper arms to your
upper body the same. Because it's the upper body that should do most of
the communication in partner dances. The arms & hands should reinforce &
refine upper-body communication, not be a substitute for it.
Now do a cadencia or three, a tango dance figure where you step in place.
Your heels should not touch, but should be no further than one to three
inches apart, just enough so that when you dance very close your right
foot is between your partner's feet. Be sure to take your weight
completely off each foot every time you take a step, rather than sharing
the weight. Keep your eyes closed or defocused; feel your connection with
your partner.
Women should practice waiting a fraction of a second after taking each
step, forcing your partner to be more certain in his lead of the next
step. Resist being moved by leaning against the direction he wants you to
go, but only very slightly. He should encourage you to move, not force
you.
Play some tango music & do more cadencias, stepping on the major beats of
the music. (The major beats are the two louder beats in the four beats
per measure of music when the music is 4/4 time, or the first beat of
three when the music is tango vals, which is 3/4 time). Turn your upper
body to the left (or the right) so that the two of you turn in place,
then turn in the opposite direction for a few steps.
Then begin walking around the room, still stepping on the major beats of
the music. The man must keep his eyes open & head up to avoid obstacles,
but keep your eyes defocused to concentrate on your upper-body
connections. Go straight, then curve your path into S-curves, then into
circles. Remember to turn your upper body in the direction you want to go
before you step in that direction. Finally, try walking backward (the
woman forward), with your head turned to one side to keep from bumping
into something.
Don't worry about mistakes. When you make them, keep on going (unless you
have to administer medical aid!) because you must get into the habit of
recovering gracefully from mistakes; you will never be perfect & your
dancing has to take that into account. Try to enjoy yourself. That's what
dancing is all about.
And lastly, don't despair if this doesn't come easily or instantly. The
best dancers never give up working on basics. As Pupi Costello says,
"Figures are easy; walking is hard."
Larry de Los Angeles
http://home.att.net/~larrydla
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Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 16:39:08 +0800
From: Kace Ong <kace @PACIFIC.NET.SG>
Subject: TANGO IN SINGAPORE
Our next Tango milonga party will be held on 20/8, Friday.
All are welcome. Details at
http://home.pacific.net.sg/~kace/tango
Kace Ong
Singapore
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 11:52:32 +0100
From: Giuseppe Blanco <giubla @IOL.IT>
Subject: Help
I'll be in London in August,12-14. Any milongas in this days?
Muchas gracias!
giuseppe
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 07:25:48 EDT
From: Frank Sasson <FRSASSON @AOL.COM>
Subject: Tango Rueda
Dear List:
The New Tango is being introduced by Fabian Salas et al, and now, Daniel
Lapadula (Tangomio @AOL.com) is bringing modernization to tango by dancing
tango in a circle "Tango Rueda"
Using traditional steps, with the help of a few of the advanced tangueros of
the area, a circle is formed of couples, and it starts off with everybody in
dancing position on the "Line of Dance." As the music starts, one of the male
members of the group calls a number (1 through 10) and everybody starts
dancing using the exact same step and sequence.
Some of the steps require that you maintain your same partner (mostly for
positioning), but the majority of them, the female partner is transferred
either to the right side or to the left side with turns and ganchos, making
very elegant combinations and being able to do them with different partners,
while dancing the same tango. Additionally, since everybody has to be doing
the same steps at the same time, it looks like if someone had spent months in
planning and practicing a very difficult choreography, but since all of the
steps are just traditional tango steps, anybody who can dance our gracious
art form, can look once and then join the "Rueda", because even with mistakes
that show up, everybody is laughing, and the mistakes can very easily be
fixed while the "Rueda" is going on.
The whole thing is a lot of fun, totally different from the traditional three
minute tango. This of course does not mean that the most beautiful dance in
the world, The Tango, will be changed in any way, it is just another example
of how diversified tango can be and how many different steps, combinations or
forms can be developed, while maintaining the seriousness of the original
expression.
Congratulations to Daniel Lapadula for having figured out a new way for us to
enjoy the dance. I do hope that soon, there will be at least one break at
every milonga where a "Rueda" can be danced, giving even more ways to meet
people and be social and sociable, than what we have and are today.
I have no financial interest in this, I just enjoy watching so many new
developments to an art form that I love and am still trying (and hope never
to stop trying) to understand.
Frank Sasson
Miami Florida
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 11:20:18 -0400
From: Chan Park <Chan.K.Park.1 @GSFC.NASA.GOV>
Subject: Collecting information on tango events
Hello,
We are updating Global Event section in our tango web site. The Global=
Gvent section is to list all the major tango events around the world=
including tango festivals, tango congresses, and tango tours. If you host=
such events in future or know of any events in your area, could you kindly=
pass the information to us? Preferably in this format:
Name of the event:
Date:
Place:
URL:
Once compiled, the information will be posted in our web site and=
disseminated to anyone interested.=20
Thank you in advance.
Chan Park
Washington-Baltimore Tango
http://www.geuni.com/wbtango
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 14:21:17 EDT
From: L- El Nonno <RosaLed @AOL.COM>
Subject: Milonga at SF CA
Milonga de mis Amores present dancing to Live Music of TANGO TRES featuring
JORGE TRIVISONNO, Bandoneon this Saturday, July 31, '99 from 9:00 p. m to
1:00 a.m., place: Italian American Club, 25 Russia Av, SF.
Host: Itati and Emilio Flores
For more information: (510) 243-0742.
End of TANGO-L Digest - 26 Jul 1999 to 27 Jul 1999
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