Hola Trini! (and Astrid) (and listers) First, to Jakes use of chick...unfortunate...as Astrid pointed out...
I prefer babe or babes (in plural) this truly shows the respect and admiration I have and hold for women...women are one of the true miracles of the universe...a realization that I come to every day of my life...and give thanks to... Kidding, on the "babe" part, but not the other...sorta... Great comments by Stephen, Keith and David...I will have to go back and re-read those myself... Here are my thoughts...Im no expert...and have only done a few demos in a small city...to help develop a brand new grassroots tango community...this is what I have learned...and humbly offer for your consideration... Demos/performances are a necessary aspect of building/growing/nurturing a new (or even not so new) tango community. These opportunities provide a free/cheap/(or even paid!) way to do PR/Advertising/Marketing and otherwise promote a communitys tango learning and social dancing activities. Another thing that I firmly believe is that if one "element" (say one teaching couple in particular) is active in performing and promoting it is good and healthy for the entire tango community and the other instructors within that community. Egos, jealousy, and competition are self-fulfilling weaknesses. Demos/performances may run contrary to the concept of Argentine tango being purely social and totally improvised. But, the reality is that performance/stage/fantasia tango does exist. I suppose the issues begin to arise when there are people out there demoing bad tango. All of us in the tango communities of the world implore you, kind reader, please do not demo/perform tango if you know you shouldn't be (uh-oh, that might include me!)... That said, (Im writing this for future readers as much as in response to you guys...for the record...) its unfortunate when you have to demo on a stage/surface that only presents a one sided view of the dance. My partner and I performed once (at 7:30 in the morning for a breakfast meeting for a group of 300-400 folks) where the stage was off in one corner, 18 off the floor, the crowd all off to one side. We did have one or two tables full of nuns directly in front of us. Yes, nuns. (Sidenote: Does everyone remember that the bandoneon was introduced into South America by the missionaries? Hows that for irony?) I had requested that the stage be at least 36 high and in the center of all of the tables. This was at a convention center so they divide the large hall as needed and set up the tables and stage as needed. Thats the ideal if you can swing it the stage or dance floor in the center of the room. The best view for everyone, and you can dance in the social ronda. In our case, I found myself dancing back and forth in a diagonal on the stage (it was 12 ft x 16 ft I had to press for something this large 6 pcs of 4x8 staging - it could be why they put it in the corner of the hall next to the head table) trying to present ourselves to the audience at the corner of the stage that was facing them. Looking back, I should have just danced on the ronda and not worried about it. (Make a plan/decision beforehand and stick with it - don't change at the last minute.) If your stage/floor is across the front of the crowd, you should work on a back and forth, linear dance vs. in a circle (or rectangle). The key, to me, is to present the open side to the audience as much as possible your dancing should reflect that I found it incredibly difficult to do and felt like I had my back to the audience way too much. Back steps and giros are big for keeping the open side presented to the audience as much as possible. Theres not much you can do if you dont have a stage press for it by the organizers as much as you can (36 48 high) if they wont , you might think about leaving the low floor in the front and dancing up the aisles for everyone to see a good way show off a great walk. What else? Do a sound/equipment check before hand days or a week before if it is a fixed venue one day or several hours before if it is set up just for your event. Have every conceivable back up plan for your music computer, iPod, CDs, assorted cables, etc. etc. Make sure they give you a wireless microphone if you are going to talk/make announcements. If you have to provide the sound system make sure it is sized properly for the venue. A 40 watt boom box wont fill a huge room. I used a 600 watt bookshelf system for a performance in a room that was about 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, and with 40 foot high ceilings - it barely, barely handled it. The stage and the equipment were in the middle of the room, so I pointed the speakers up at an angle to each side of the room. Ah...also, I use a wireless rig on my computer to play music with...iTunes...built-in wireless card...and a $99 Apple Airport Express. The Apple device plugs in to the venue sound system inputs. Make sure your signal reaches and have your own appropriate extension cords and power strips. Mine all worked fine in the sound check the week before but the day of...the stage blocked the outlet I needed to plug in to. A little last minute scrambling fixed the problem. Insert note: In spite of all my advance planning, I just remembered that my iTunes locked up on my computer at the moment of truth - and I had to re-boot - because I couldn't use my iPod backup with my wireless set up...oops! Bring a variety of shoes shoes for slippery floors, shoes for sticky floors, tape for the bottom of shoes (gaffers tape), cornstarch or wax beads to spread and dance on the actual floor surface. The joints on a stage can present problems trip hazards. It might be good to put gaffers tape down over them the tape itself will present a problem, but less of a problem than a ¼ irregularity in the staging. Press the organizers for a real sanded, finished dance floor, that is obviously the best. Most of the time you will end up dancing on rough plywood. Not good for a pivoty/enrosque thingy and hell of the follower for ochos. Double check the stage construction and bracing. We once danced on stage that was 48-60 high too high for the inadequate amount of bracing. There were two couples dancing and between the four of us, the stage was swaying on the order of 4-6 back and forth. This hellatious swaying was barely noticeable to us while we were dancing but it was a distraction to the guests sitting next to it striking fear into their hearts and minds that the whole thing was going to come down. Depending on the stage surface and the staging itself, you may have to alter your vocabulary. Big volcadas may not be safe. You might have to make everything smaller. This should all be taken into account, thought out and planned out. As far as the format goes you are pretty much at the mercy of the organizers and the event itself. For this breakfast performance, we did one song after pretty much everyone was seated with their food, and then we did another one just plugged into the middle of the program. In hindsight, it would have been better (and entirely possible) to have the music playing and us dancing on stage as people arrived. They could chit-chat, find their seats, get their food, start eating, all while we were dancing in the background. Like the ubiquitous classical guitarist (or string quartet) providing background music we should have been providing background tango. I think this lends itself to truly demonstrating what tango looks like dancing for several songs or even for an hour. But, it depend on the event, the venue, the organizers, the program. Sometimes, it will have to be the main show. The background tango concept allows we inexperienced performers to calm down and relax by the 2nd or 3rd song. The main show concept requires you to be introduced...walk on stage...dance your two or three songs...and walk off. This can be a very nerve racking experience. A small bottle of tequila for a couple of swigs can help with stage fright. Ideally, if the event/format/venue/organizers will allow it, I would recommend some background tango...then the main show....then possibly more background tango as people are exiting the venue/event. All of the visual elements of your tango come into play. Wardrobe, hair, makeup (for her), shoes all of the purely visual/aesthetic aspects should be considered for maximum dramatic effect. Remember - you are trying to make an impact on these people most likely so that they will want to learn tango and eventually become part of the community. Posture, the position of your heads, the looks on your faces, where your gaze is, footwork and foot placement, sharpness, commitment, clarity, energy, attitude, mood it all has an effect. This will obviously vary depending on the event, the venue, and the audience. That is, if you are demoing for a group of elementary school students, versus a roomful of million dollar benefactors, it will require a different plan/approach on your part. Also, salon/open embrace is more visually appealing than apilado...we all know close embrace feels better, but to the unknowing audience, it looks rather dull. (IMHO). If you can do an intro talk, you could explain that you will be doing examples of both the more dramatic stage tango, and social tango as it is seen in the milongas. But, the social tango might have to be ampd up a bit. Bigger steps, bigger moves, more drAma so it doesnt look like you are doing the high school prom dance to the audience members in the back. Performance tango is bigger more dramatic more feeling more connection. Disconnected, unfeeling tango looks bad. I would recommend a tango coach, a trusted close tango teacher/couple/friends to work with you and point out how things look. At the very least video tape yourselves and play it back to see errant footwork, bad posture and other elements in need of tweakage. Looking at yourselves dancing in the mirrors doesnt cut it. Also, watch performers/couples you like on YouTube - study not only their vocabulary and style, but also their use of the space, their use of the floor. You should try to use the entire length of the stage...from side to side and try to stay away from the back areas. Practice, practice, practice. And then practice some more. A respected northwest U.S. teacher once told me that Pablo Veron practices for 4-6 hours a day (or more) for four to six weeks prior to an event performance. We might be tempted to think that a dancer of this caliber doesnt need to practice/rehearse. PV's follower/partner asked this guy to practice one afternoon he figured they would dance from 3pm until 5 or 6 pm. she wanted to work on stuff. They didnt quit practicing until 2am. Thats the reason these folks are so amazing in their tango they dance and practice for hours and hours day in and day out. I also didnt communicate well enough with the organizer of the breakfast event about the program. I found out the morning of right before our first song - that our two songs were spaced out about 2 hours apart. We had planned to get there at 630am...practice/warm up in a back room...do our thing at 730...and be on our way. That didnt happen. Be sure you have a very clear understanding of the program and your cues. Everything should be discussed with the organizers and planned out. (The two songs spaced two hours apart didnt have nearly the same effect as some background tango would have.) Insert note: This venue was very cold, luckily, we knew this in advance. At my insistence, my partner brought a long winter coat (in September) and dropped it right as we got on stage to dance - you should try to plan for everything.... As far as the music selection goes (the reason I felt compelled to post/reply in the first place) yes, the follower should be involved in the song choice/decision but, the leader is the leader and the selections should be based on what he feels most comfortable with leading. For instance, my partner likes Piazzolla, but I cant lead/dance to it worth a flip. Your music choice should also be based on quality/fidelity of the recording I like the old scratchy stuff - but typically I choose a clean version. I rarely demo Nuevo because Im not a great Nuevo lead and because the message I like to put out there is one of the culture and the history and the story of the golden age of tango so I choose music accordingly. That said, we will practice and practice and rehearse and rehearse on the chosen song(s)...but I have been known to change it in the heat of the moment...right there...on stage...a different song will start playing... Because...after all...tango is all about the improvisation...right? Thanks for reading...hope this helps you Trini...and others down the line... _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
