Sergio wrote: What you cannot do is to step off the beat. If he meant this literally, I respectfully disagree, and I wonder which part of the beat he is talking about. I also have observed many great tango dancers and teachers over the years, and most of them will play with the rhythm of a piece as if they themselves are an additional instrument in the orchestra, providing a unique voice or even a contra-rhythm to the tango. You can interpret the music in many different ways. One of them is stepping in between the strong down beat, ie, stepping only on the weak for part or all of a tango. This is especially nice when you dance to Biagi, as he rewards your attention to the weak in betweeen beat by surprising you with an emphasis on that beat. For example, if we divide a beat into four parts, we get 123412341234, with 1 being the strong beat. If you step only on the beat, or the 1, you will put your partner to sleep. For Biagi, try stepping 1-3-1, or vary between stepping on the 3, 3 , 3, and 1-3-1. Other rhythm possiblities include 12 - -1, 1 - - 41, or 12-41, or many other possiblities just suing these four quarter notes for arrependita or traspie effects. Occasionally, for a run or trill in the music, you might work with eighth note beats also.
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