--- Tango Society of Central Illinois <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Each dancer needs to be comfortable with their movements. > Different anatomical characteristics, including injury, will make a 'one size fits all' approach inapplicable. Dancers who are made to feel uncomfortable in their bodies will stop dancing tango.
I agree, Ron. The trick is to help them develop their kinesthetic sense (the 6th sense) without making them feel uncomfortable. Because the basis of Alexander technique is in relaxing muscles, it's a gentle way of promoting this sixth sense. I have found that when I help people develop the 6th sense, they are more willing to work through the discomfort - sorta' like taking yoga. What is most important, I think, is for people to use their entire bodies as a connected unit. My Alexander teacher has commented to me before how some people (e.g. milongueros in videos) clearly have bad posture but they are able to use their bodies in a connected way, so that the dance works for them. However, I think that isn't true of most people. For example, my AT teacher might be working on my leg and say "That changed your neck. Did you feel that?". For a long time, my usual answer was "umm, no". It's only recently that have I been able to make that connection. > If is also noteworthy that different instructors > recommend different technique, much of which has been a source of debate on this list (e.g., heel first vs. toe first, position of the woman's head in the embrace). Some of these technique differences reflect personal preferences and some reflect stylistic differences. ...Rather than focusing on details, one should focus on the common ground of technique, e.g., > balance and stability, coordination of movements between > partners. For beginning/intermediate dancers, I agree with this. But for more experienced dancers, it is useful to look at why specific techniques are used in relation to anatomical structure or musicality. After workshops, I always explore the differences in how teachers walk with our students so that they can learn to control their bodies better. I often find that there is actually less differences that one thinks. Some of the technique differences have to do with timing and how a teacher explains it. > Remember, tango has been danced for over 100 years by > people in Buenos Aires who have not had extensive training. Most good dancers developed on their own, by many kilometers of walking on the dance floor. That's true but those dancers were able to start in their teens. I'm guessing their bodies were relatively free of the habits of those of us starting a lot later. Generally speaking, a 40-year-old body learns things differently than a 20-year-old body. Sigh. Trini de Pittsburgh PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburghs most popular social dance! http://patangos.home.comcast.net/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
