Re: [TANGO-L] How to teach rhythm?

[Yale Tango Club <yaletangoclub @yahoo.com>]

Hi Tom, Andy, all

Tom I so agree with you and Andy, I disagree with you.

I get at our practica students from a teacher who plays floaty music during her beginners class. These people are dead in the water on my dance floor. I play music with b  @lls, as does every DJ with half a reputation, and these people are truly handicapped out in the milonga world. Unfortunately it becomes very hard to teach musicality to people who by now have their mind on sacadas, as they are resistant to it.

I really don't understand how people can think the beat is not important. OK you can pause but when you do step it has to make musical sense! If both partners are listening to the same music, half the job of leading-following effectively is done!

Ask any in-demand follower what is most important in a leader and she will tell you "musicality", which is every step is somehow connected with the beat (not every beat has a step), and he does the right thing at the right time, even if the "right thing" is doing nothing (pause). You find each other in the music!

I have danced with
(1) people who are musical, including beginners. Great!
(2) robots who step on every beat and don't do the right thing at the right time, including pausing. OK it's a little boring, but these guys win over category (3):
(3) leaders who do volcadas, ganchos, anything you name it, with no regard at all for the music. Once I had to excuse myself and leave the room and cry with frustration after dancing with a category 3.
(4) bland tasteless leaders. Equally frustrating but at least in the absence of volcadas and colgadas you can think about your grocery shopping.

Tine

Tom Stermitz <stermitz  @TANGO.ORG> wrote:
A quick way to test this idea would be to observe at a milonga when
the orchestra is playing a night of unremitting Piazolla and
Pugliese. By Andy's theory everyone in the crowd should be on the
beat and in the music.

I frequently have the opportunity to observe this experiment,
although things are slightly adjusted from Andy's ideal in that I'm
watching 2, 4 and 8 year dancers, not beginners.

My observations indicate exactly the opposite effect: put on Piazzola
and Pugliese and 90% of the crowd is off the beat and off the music.
Put on Waltzes, D'Arienzo or Di Sarli and 90% are on the beat.


On Oct 25, 2005, at 5:53 AM, Andrew RYSER SZYMAQSKI wrote:

> Dear Barbara,
>
> ...
> I found since that the best way to get beginners to
> listen & move accordingly is to play music with
> variable tempo [speed]; Piazzolla [or Pugliese]is
> ideal beginner's music, you just cannot ignore it.
> ...
> Cheers,
>
> Andy.

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