A recent post: "American ballroom was created by Irene and Vern Castle as they returned by boat from Europe where they 'discovered' Argentine Tango...
They apparently saw only the surface of the dance.., but being ballroom people, that's all they needed... They used it as the basis for their own version of it... Adding what they thought were dashing .... flairs, etc..." Maybe they could see below the surface, but chose to ignore it. Surely no one could possibly see a commonality between this and Nuevo? And for the record, competition Ballroom and social Ballroom hardly bear any resemblance to each other. Much as Stage/competition Tango bears any resemblance to social Tango. Both are heavily choreographed, have extravagant and colorful movements, and possess almost no similarity to the dance style they purport to be dancing, at least to the majority of social dancers. Another recent post: "As far as I'm concerned, this list should be considered as relating to *improvisational* dancing, using Tango style of lead." What is a Tango style of lead exactly? Having been taught and danced the various Ballroom styles, I challenge the often put statement that Ballroom is not interpretive. Just as in stage/competition Tango, Ballroom at this level is also heavily choreographed. But at a social level, where a dancer asks a partner to dance. The mood of the leader, the music, the connection with the partner, size of the floor, number on the floor, experience of his chosen partner - all influence how the dance shall be danced. As opportunities arise, they are danced. Others are aborted as the opportunity closes. What's so different? One thing's for sure, no one will try to dance competition Ballroom in a social environment. They may have respect for fellow dancers or there simply isn't the space. Anton _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
