Perhaps too, not everything from class is intended for the traditional milonga, but more so for the development of the tanguero/a as a dancer and understanding of the dance of tango.
Some thirty years ago I was a tournament fighter in karate. In terms of karate, one can, by observation, identify karate styles, Japanese style (Shotokan), Korean style (Tai Kwon Do), and Chinese style (Kung Fu). For those who practiced Japanese style, one could, by observation, differentiate between the styles of the three major schools (or traditions) in Japan. As a North American teen, first exposed to karate in the U.S. in the late 1960s, it all looked the same. Afterwhich, anyone with some expertise in the martial arts began to say that Tai Kwon Do is not karate, but distinctly Tai Kwon Do, same for KungFu. This is the same contention within styles debated in Argentine tango. A karate fighter excels in tournament play by adapting his own personal style, within the style of his discipline, within the rules of the competition, relying only on a few techniques; timing, speed and reaction are far more important. This similarity in tango can be extended to the milonga. A leader only needs a handful of techniques, executed well and perhaps polished with a personal style, but musicality and connection are far more important. Karate training was separate from tournament play but essential for its success. Tango seminars on shared axis, volcadas, colgadas, and the practice thereof at practica can be separate from the traditional milonga experience, but are essential for development, understanding of the foundation of tango and tango style, and development of personal ability and style. The standard subscription in tournament play, to allow the many different styles to compete, was the tournament rules. In a miloga, these would be the codas, including line-of-dance, no lifts or high boleos, no zigzagging or passing, etc. _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
