Trini de Pittsburgh wrote: >>So I'm wondering if folks might have some tips regarding demos or performances.<<
One important issue is to determine whether the demo is of social tango or stage tango. If you are providing these demos as a way to build the community, it is best to demonstrate a form of tango that is danced socially, but with a high level of musicality and execution, with a little bit of fanciness thrown in. If you shift to stage tango, it will attract specators or those who wish to learn to dance a more theatrical style of tango. If it is a demonstration of several couples dancing tango socially, dancing improvisationally in the line of dance can work quite well. It creates some dynamic movement and variety. Remember, however, that the more visusal side of the embrace is typically toward the center of the stage when everyone is following the line of dance. The couples shouldn't be crowded together for such demonstrations because separation improves visibility. >>1. Any tips for handling a demo when the audience is on only 1 side of you, such as on a stage, so that the visually interesting stuff is presented to the audience instead of the back wall?<< I would recommend that the couples toward the back of the stage dance simply and musically, leaving the couples at the front of the stage to do more showy movements such as volcadas, colgadas, barridas, etc. Complex movements at the back of stage aren't very visible and can be distracting. Rather than reverse the line of dance for the demonstration, the leaders at the front of the stage can pause and reorient themselves and their partners to make sure the more showy movements are visible to the audience. If you do a gancho and realize that hasn't shown well, reorient yourself and your partner and do it again. If much of the audience is relatively far away, exaggerated movements in open embrace may be necessary to create visibility. The dance needs to be visible to those in the back row. >>2. In cases where the audience is sitting down and the demo occurs at floor level, it seems that the only ones who get to see the demo is the front row. Those in the back would miss the footwork. So the only solution to keep them involved is to either open the embrace or do higher leg work.<< For floor-level demonstrations, it's best to have people assembled around the outside of the dance floor. That way most people have only one or two people in front of them. The front row can be encouraged to sitdown on the floor. For these demonstrations, fancy footwork close to the ground can work quite well, and so can movement that eats up the floor. If visibility is limited, glimpses of flying legs seen between other people can create an exotic impression, even if most people can only see parts of the dance. If the audience is seated in chairs or on the floor but on only one side of the dancers, moving back a little and dancing in an open embrace with higher leg work may be necessary to create visibility. Thanks, Trini de Pittsburgh _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
