Dubravko Kakarigi writes: > Almost without an exception (I could probably come up with one or > two), applause during a "demo" dance is given when a leader (most > often a male) does something beautiful/new/creative/surprising.
Well, in the sense that the leader is, by definition, leading, I suppose he'd be the one initiating the "trick" (my general term for something designed to get applause). Of course, in a choreographed routine, which many exhibitions are, the woman is not depending as much on the lead for knowing what to do and when, although she may be for physical support (depending on the trick). I avoid applause during the dance, partially since the applause seems interruptive to me (I know I'm an exception), and partially since tricks, unless they are done by really good dances, tend to decrease the overall quality of the dance (sometimes it gets "cheap applause" anyway but ends up requiring the dancers to break form in some way). In many cases, they end up making me flinch. > When you look at dancers during an > exhibition/demo dance, where is your focus? > I contend that a beautiful form of one dancer is nearly impossible to > display consistently without the adequately good technique of the > other. I don't think so. While the adage, "It takes two to tango," certainly holds literally as well (Pocho Pizarro notwithstanding :-)), and one cannot look good without the other, it is quite apparent to me if one partner is a better dancer relative to the other (and thus being limited in some sense by the other). I'd imagine that most Tango dancers, even not very experienced ones, would notice this too. I tend to focus on the better dancer, though it's more pleasurable to watch if they are well matched, in which case the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and I don't think I'm focussing more on one or the other. > I also contend that female dancers rarely get sufficient credit for > their own expressed musicality and beautiful forms. I don't see this at all--if anything, I would have said the opposite. There's a (somewhat admittedly overused) metaphor of the woman being the painting and the man the frame, but there is some truth to it, and even more so in performance dancing. Sure you have some exceptions, where the guy is somewhat of a ham and more famous than his partner so he feels the need to "show off" and the crowd expects nothing less (Miguel Ángel Zotto comes to mind--and I can think of none of his partners off the top of my head). Guillermina Quiroga is an obvious counter-example where no matter whom she's dancing with, she's going to be the one commanding the attention, both by her presence (all the more impressive for her small stature) and her dancing. When Carlos Gavito danced with Marcela Duran I'd watch them both as a couple--when he danced with anyone else, I'd end up watching him. And so on--I could probably come up with a dozen examples where one or the other commands more attention, at least for me, or where it's the couple together that does. Shahrukh _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
