The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 11 Jul 2000
to 12 Jul 2000
Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 03:00:28 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 11 Jul 2000 to 12 Jul 2000 (#2000-190)
There is one message totalling 94 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Tangasms in BsAs
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 17:48:15 -0500
From: Tom Ronquillo <tigrre @EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Tangasms in BsAs
At 07:25 AM 7/11/00 +0000, ASTRID SATO wrote:
>... another, maybe even more frightening thing in Japan is apparently a
>woman with personality...
That particular characteristic in women unnerves a few men in other
countries as well.
>An Argentinian friend of mine who lives here, told me, he likes those
>waiflike women because they are easy to catch when they lose their
>balance. ...Another friend recently spent a week nursing a backache after
>he did a calecita that went wrong.
I think the thin ones are more dangerous when they lose their
balance. Dancing with smoke causes a man to relax too much and risk muscle
injury when the smoke unexpectedly becomes heavy.
>... there are an awful lot of people around, who, rather than exalting in
>sensual prowess, are very preoccupied with technique, executing steps
>correctly, checking their looks in the mirror or , at worst, trying to
>compete with the very woman they are dancing with.
Tango communities often reflect the influences of tango teachers and the
dance culture that was present before tango appeared locally. Emphasizing
dance technique is probably the easiest thing a teacher can do because it
is largely about the mechanics of movement. It's pretty difficult to teach
sensuality or how to hold another person warmly. Talk about scaring people!
>I think it takes close to a year of practising, before you can enter
>blissful oblivion and the steps will just happen naturally, gliding along
>with the flow of the music without a thought entering your mind.
>That's when you can exalt... And it also takes a certain kind of spirit,
I agree wholeheartedly about the spirit aspect, and as I stated once in the
past on the List, this is probably the area of tango that eludes (or
frightens) people the most. Given tango's history, the music, the lyrics,
the physical qualities of the dance - I personally find it difficult to
comprehend a tango dance experience that does not include some form of
passion or spirit. The dance simply can not be about physical technique
alone unless a person's intent is to merely act tango while ignoring the
question of emotion.
>we even have a teacher from BsAs here who seems more interested in
>watching himself in the mirror, making his dance partner feel very lonely
>sometimes.
Dance teachers are human and not the Gods that they are sometimes promoted
as. Like the rest of us mortals, some are vain, some are jerks and some are
splendid people.
>And remember the guy who wrote, people looking for romance should be sent
>to the nearest salsa bar, and don't belong in the tango world ? I'm still
>wondering what he meant ? Is he trying to say tango is only for
>disciplined acrobats, who do their romancing at home ?
I wouldn't dare to publicly guess what a fellow Listee was trying to say in
a post. People in tango have their own ideas about what should or
shouldn't be valued. I think there is room for acrobats and romantics.
>What exactly is physical feedback ?
Melville Fox explained it wonderfully -
"I don't think it's really a matter of weight per se that makes a man feel
the presence of a
woman in tango. A heavy woman can feel limp in your arms and a thin woman
can feel like she's going to capture you with her passionate body. It's the
muscle tone she gives you when she moves that makes her exciting - the firm
but relenting resistance to your movements, the confident stride of her
ochos and
giros, the zest of her boleos, the impetus of her ganchos. It's really a
matter of momentum (= mass x
velocity), not weight alone which creates the excitement of the
interaction. Thus, the heavier woman
has somewhat of an inherent advantage over the lighter woman (as long as
she fits comfortably within the abrazo), but it is mostly muscle mass that
makes the difference." (Nicely done, Melville.)
>And what are those sexy adornos that Esther Pugliese does ?
You must be a spectator to see them properly. They are often simply little
hooks and taps, but done with such finesse! Her partner would hardly
notice them.
El Tigre
End of TANGO-L Digest - 11 Jul 2000 to 12 Jul 2000 (#2000-190)
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