"Not to argue, Sergio, but more interesting to me than nuevo, nuevo, nuevo."
John said.
I fail to see what "Nuevo" has to do with anything I said.
"Amenabar lives and works in Buenos Aires too Sergio," John Said.
Amenabar is primarily a musician and a bandoneon player, who also dances
tango. IMO he wrote that book for the benefit of everybody but primarily for
those outside Argentina that do not understand tango music.
If I had to write a book about teaching tango musicality to people that do not
have good teachers I would probably do the same.
As I said before if talking about tango phrases helps your teaching or your
learning this is fine.
Again in my experience of over 18 years of learning, dancing and teaching
tango, all that it is needed to teach musicality is to show the student where
the beat is, walk with them on every beat, on every second beat on every third
beat, combining later these different walks to constitute what is called double
timing, etc.
Tony says "maybe i am missing something here, but when i dance the tango
isubconsciously am aware of the 8th beat. for me it signals a newround, a new
adventure, a new figure, steps, whatever."
I agree with you and with Tom in this respect, as you learn where the beat is
and you learn how to step in different ways dancing becomes something natural
and as you say subconscious.This goal may be acchieved earlier if somebody
walks with you as described above.
I say natural and subconscious as you do not have any distractions such as
thinking about tango phrasing.
A good example of what I call unnecessary distractions is what happens with
"latin motion" teaching in ballroom.
Latin Motion in central America (Rumba for instance) is a natural undulation of
the hips done as one steps.
The motion is dissected abroad into its components in order to teach it to
foreigners that frequently end up dancing in a robotic form that is totally
ridiculous.
I just reported that in my own experience I had never heard anybody here to
talk in those terms, it is just a report of my experience only that if this has
any value.
Martin says:
Sergio wrote: What you cannot do is to step off the beat. "If he meant this
literally, I respectfully disagree, and I wonder whichpart of the beat he is
talking about. I also have observed many greattango dancers and teachers over
the years, and most of them will playwith the rhythm ".
Yes Martin, I teach the beginner to walk on the beat, on a beat it does not
matter which, after a pause you start on a beat, while walking or dancing you
step on a beat, on every one of them (very fast) on every second one, on every
third one, combining and alternating to create variations. What you describe is
the same I do (I believe) except that you think that some of those moves are
done off the beat. There is nothing more pitiful than somebody dancing off the
beat.
Dancing is to move rhythmically usually to music, using prescribed or
improvised steps and gestures.
Summary: Talk about music phrasing if it is useful to you.
Tango has a beat but gives you the unique freedom to step when you wish on any
beat that you wish, every beat at times, every second beat occasionally every
third beat most of the time when dancing to Di Sarly or other orchestras like
Pugliese.
Naturally you dance differently to every orchestra,You cannot dance the same
way to di Sarly as you do to D'Arienzo or to Pugliese... but that is another
subject.
Best regards, Sergio
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