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December 29, 2007

Hello everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. As you probably know by now, there is no set timing for dancing to Tango. It’s up to you as a leader to interpret the music, and move in an improvisational way within the rhythm structure.

Oh, yeah, thanks a lot. That really helps, right?

The question is: how do you go about figuring out how to move to the music? When you’re learning Tango, there are so many things you have to concentrate on that moving appropriately with the music often doesn’t get taught in a cohesive way. And yet the whole point of dancing is to respond to music. If you can’t somehow fit your dance into the rhythm of the music, you just don’t have a dance.

The ability to move with the music in an accurate and creative way is sometimes referred to as “musicality.” Some people have a “natural” sense of how to do this. Others need to learn it. With today’s Tango Tip and for the next several weeks, I’m going to talk about how to give yourself the gift of “musicality.”

Okay, we’re going to start by moving to all the beats of the music. Certainly, there are other ways to move in rhythm, but we’re going to begin with all the beats.

When you listen to any Tango of a 1930’s-40’s “Golden Age” composer such as Di Sarli, Tanturi, Fresedo, D’Arienzo, or Calo (just to mention a few), you’ll notice that it’s pretty easy to clap the beats of their music. If you have a little trouble at first, just get someone to do it with you. Within a few minutes, you’ll be clapping away, keeping the heartbeat of the music in your hands just like a milonguero.

The beats you’re clapping will most likely be half notes (if you’re a musician, this will mean something to you; if you’re not, it won’t – don’t worry about it.) We’re going to call these the major pulses of the music.

Once you can clap these pulses, the next thing we’re going to do is step to them. Do it in place – by yourself. You can start with either foot, but once you get going, don’t stop. Step in place to all the pulses.

When you feel comfortable with this, grab your partner (gently, please …) and move to the same beats with her. You lead, she follows. When that becomes easy, you can add a forward step now and then, or a side step, or a backward step – always returning to moving in place. (If you were at this week’s lesson, we did exactly this exercise. Remember? If you weren’t there, now’s the time to catch up.)

The goal of this timing exercise is to be able to move comfortably with your partner to all the beats of the music, using your entire basic vocabulary (forward, backward, side, in-place – no pauses here)) for a whole song – without stopping. Think it’s easy? Try it and see.

Moving to all the pulses is one way to interpret the ongoing rhythmic structure of the music. It’s one way to have “musicality” in your movement. Next week, we’ll talk about another one. In the meanwhile, practice dancing to all the pulses of the music. When it starts to get easy, practice some more.

December 22, 2007

Note from Sue – Your calls, e-mails and beautiful comments convinced me to distribute copies of last week’s Tango Tip. You’ll find this gem at the front desk and on our web site (click on Tango Tips.) Fran and Pat alternate writing these for the weekly Firehouse Tango newsletter.

Hello everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last time, we talked about making the decision to dance Tango as an intimate social dance – rather than a performance spectacle. This week I want to focus on something more specific. In fact, I want to concentrate your attention on the smallest unit of action in the dance: i.e., a single step.

What step am I talking about? All of them. Or to put it another way, each individual step that you take as a leader. (Pat will talk about how all this applies to followers in a future Tango Tip.)

When we’re first learning Tango as leaders, most of us want to quickly assimilate as many semi-complex figures as possible in order to create the outward appearance of knowing how to dance. Once we know “the basics,” maybe we’ll relax a little. But until then, keep those figures coming!

Right?

Okay, so now it’s time to regroup. It’s time to take a deep breath, and start concentrating (at long last) on what’s important – a single step.

For the moment, stop thinking about Tango as a complex matrix of difficult sequences. Think of Tango as a single movement. A side step, a forward step. A backward step. A weight change in place. A pivot. A pause.

Tango is how you take each of these steps yourself, how you invite your partner to join you, when you move, and how this collaboration works. The only way to check on how it’s all going is to slow down and start noticing each element. If you’ve learned a figure that consists of six or seven steps, slow the whole thing down to a crawl so that you can evaluate how each of the components is working.

Concentrating on each individual step within every sequence is a crucial component of your learning process. Sooner or later, you’ve got to recognize that skipping this work is what’s keeping you from being a better dancer. It’s not an easy thing to do. It’s not sexy. But without this stage of learning you just won’t get anywhere. I guarantee it.

A way that I sometimes put it to my students is “Make every step count.” Make sure you’re doing it right. Make sure your partner understands what you want her to do, and is, in fact, doing it. Make sure the partnership is working properly. If it isn’t, find out what’s wrong and fix it.

Once you get through to the other side of all that, Tango heaven awaits. See you next week with another Tango Tip of the Week.

December 8, 2007

Hello everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Because we live outside of Argentina, the way in which we first experience Tango is almost always by going to see a show. We’re mesmerized by the way the professionals effortlessly perform their beautifully crafted choreography on stage. The leaders seem so powerful and sexy … they sport those thirties-style, double-breasted pin-stripe suits with the big, flashy lapels. The followers seem sensual, seductive – with huge slits running up their slinky dresses, and incredible netted stockings.

Everyone wears those great shoes.

Our mouths fall open at the spectacle, and we think, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could dance just like that. I’m gonna take Tango lessons!!!

Toward the end of our first month of instruction, we start to realize that the teacher (if he or she is any good) seems insistent on limiting us to boring fundamental movements. Will we ever get to where we can do all that neat stuff we saw on stage? How long will it take? We want it now!

Eventually, the teacher starts telling us that social Tango is completely different from stage Tango, that social Tango is really a relatively simple dance. Tango is about the intimacy that we’re supposed to share with a partner. It’s about moving well to the music in the moment. It’s about enjoying the interaction of a large group of dancers together on a dance floor, generously sharing space with the people around us.

Tango is about the enjoyment we get in executing a single movement together with another person.

Wait a minute! What about the show-stopping fancy moves? Where do they fit in? Well, the teacher says, to tell the truth, they don’t ... not on the social dance floor in any case. That kind of dancing is for communicating something to an exterior audience – at a safe distance away from the action. Social Tango is for communicating intimately between two people in a social context – always taking great care not to intrude on the intimacy of others.

At this point, we have a big decision to make. We could decide to pursue fancy movements anyway. That’s easy enough. In this country we have the ready availability of virtually any movement we choose to attempt in Tango. All it takes is money, time, and a willing dance teacher (or maybe even a collection of YouTube videos). The question eventually becomes: “What do we do with those fancy figures once we’ve learned them (if, indeed, we have the capacity to learn them). Do we then have the right to insinuate them into our social dance – even though they are inappropriate in this context -- all for the sake of personal vanity?

Or do we decide that social decorum is more important?

My Tango Tip of the Week, leaders – from me to you -- is to think about this. Please think carefully. No one can actually force you to keep your dance simple and therefore socially appropriate. But in the long run, I think it’s the right way to behave. If you’d like to perform, put in the time and become a performer. I promise to come and cheer enthusiastically at your opening show.

See you next week with another Tango Tip of the Week.

December 1, 2007

Hello everyone, Pat here with the final part of our followers’ series:

Do I have time to adorn a given movement -- and which adornment, if any, do I choose?

If you have been reading our previous segments in this series of topics for followers, you should be ready now to take on a discussion about one of the most exciting parts of tango (for both followers and leaders); i.e., the subject of adorno or adornment. Many women learn adornments, but too often they are shown as something that you can just add to a step or a pattern, or even your fundamental dance, as if you can just toss them off. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Adornments must be not only learned, but need to be practiced over and over again in a non-dance setting before you even think of taking them to the dance floor. They require precise technique and an understanding of appropriate placement, execution and styling.

There is nothing worse than seeing a follower throw in an adornment carelessly and without any apparent thought. Unfortunately, even this kind of adornment draws attention to itself and anyone viewing it (if they do not obviously wince) will realize how awful it looks. No adornment should ever be done as if by rote!

So, let’s say you have learned some simple adornos, you have practiced them, and feel that you can execute them appropriately. You also know where they can be done in the dance, and you want to try them out on the dance floor. At this point, your wishes are totally dependent on two major hurdles:

Hurdle #1: The leader

It is impossible to adorn anything, if you are dancing with a leader who is racing around the floor, never pausing for breath or contemplation. You just can’t do it, and it can dangerous to try. However, if you are lucky to be dancing with someone who creates pauses and slower movements, this is when you will have time to try out your newly learned adornos … and that brings us to the second major hurdle

Hurdle #2: You must plan ahead as much as is possible

If you want to do an adornment such as what we call a “catch”, for example, in some of your ochos, you need to say to yourself, “I’m going to do a catch on the next forward ocho.” If you wait until the forward ocho is already being led, the chances are you won’t get the adornment done in time, and I hardly dare to think what would happen, if you have tried and not quite made it! Alternatively, you will realize it’s too late and just not do it (the better decision.) It’s quite possible that the first time out, it will take you the whole dance just trying to put in that one catch!

Learning adornos and putting them in the dance are as far apart as New York and San Francisco! A good way to start incorporating adornment into your dance is as follows: Just keep one adornment in your head at a time. and at some point, you will be successful at putting it into your dance. When you are comfortable and can execute this adornment more easily, pick another one, and try adding that (always assuming your leader is giving you the time.)

Adding adornos, followers, can take your enjoyment of tango to a whole new level. However, please always keep in mind that when you hear about “the art of adornment,” it is just that. This art must be developed over time and with good leaders. But, of course, it will be worth every single minute that you put in.

November 17, 2007

Hello everyone, Pat here with the 4^th segment of our series on following. This week’s question for followers is:

How do I dance with a leader who does not allow me to follow?

Special note for leaders: Please read this Tango Tip carefully and often.

As followers, our job is hard enough. We have to develop many techniques and train ourselves to listen for the slightest hint of a lead. One of the most unfortunate issues we also have to handle is a leader who lurches and blunders his way through a dance. This kind of leader will challenge the best of followers!

Imagine yourself accepting a dance most graciously, waiting for the music to begin, clearing your head of all thought, your body listening for first lead. And what happens? All of a sudden, you are lurched into by the leader, and all but hurled onto your free foot. This assault, of course, throws you off balance -- and probably onto both feet as a means of self defense and not falling to the ground.

Typically, a leader who dances this way is also prone to lurching from one step to another, pushing his partner before him, or pulling her with him. Once in motion, this type of leader usually blunders through the dance, and it’s unlikely you will get a chance to properly regain your balance, your poise or any kind of appropriate response to his lead (if you can call it that.)

Sometimes, this leader will lurch into the beginning of a step and then slow down, or start normally, and suddenly and without warning -- and at lightening speed -- race into half a dozen steps that are impossible to follow. Do not expect to be allowed to finish any lead you think you may have received.

What can a follower do under circumstances such as these?

a) Assess as soon as possible if you are dancing with a lurcher

b) Do not try to use standard following skills

c) Be prepared to run backwards and to the side

d) Hang on for dear life

e) Just try to survive the dance and get back to your seat

f) Never dance with this person again

None of what happens in this type of dance is the follower’s fault. You will gradually get to know which leaders dance in this fashion, and you can politely decline any offers that come your way from them. If you don’t know, and have accepted an invitation from one of these inept dancers, your only recourse is that of self defense; i.e., using some of the suggestions I have listed above.

Any questions about this? Ask Fran or me. See you on the dance floor (with a good leader, we hope).

November 10, 2007

Hello everyone, Pat here with part 5 of our series on Following. This week, we will talk about a very important part of being a good follower:

How does the leader want me to move?

Fundamentally, this is not a hard question for the follower. Your leader has five basic options: a forward step, a side step, a back step (very carefully!), a weight change in place or a pause. Fran and I have always maintained that using only these 5 basic movements, it is possible to create a very credible dance -- if the lead is good, the follower responds well, and the couple is connected and dancing in the music.

That said, part of the unique and alluring nature of Tango is the opportunity for a couple to incorporate additional movements into their dance, some of which may include pacing, playing with the music, different levels of energy and length of step. Each dance can be an opportunity for a whole new collection of ideas and expression.

As a follower, you must be able to feel leads that are inspired by your leader’s response to the music. If you are dancing to a piece of music with great drama, you may feel a stronger energy coming from your leader, who may move you into longer steps; you may feel a quickening in the lead as a response to some other part of the music.

There is (almost) nothing worse than a dance couple who are stepping out of synch—your leader may not be in time to the heartbeat of the music and may not even notice that you are out of step with him! A lead who asks for increased energy or quickening of the step at the wrong moment in the music or in an uncontrolled fashion is asking for disaster.

I’m sure all followers recognize this unpleasant state of discombobulation (OK, it may not be in the dictionary but it gets the idea across!!)

So, followers, be ready for these special leads—keep your mind free of worries, and listen to the music yourself. When you feel more energy from your leader, respond in kind, at the same time being aware of when that extra energy stops. When your leader asks for longer steps by taking them himself, you must get your feet further out of the way (otherwise you’ll either get stepped on or fall over).

Soon, you will learn to read these movements in time to follow them correctly, and if you are truly connected, you’ll have very little trouble feeling them coming. If you are dancing with a leader who is able to include these movements with a controlled technique, rejoice!! You have found someone very special.

If you have any questions about this, be sure to ask Fran or me. See you next week.

November 3, 2007

Hello everyone, Pat here with the 4^th segment of our series on following. This week’s question for followers is:

How do I dance with a leader who does not allow me to follow?

Special note for leaders: Please read this Tango Tip carefully and often.

What can a follower do under circumstances such as these?

a) Assess as soon as possible if you are dancing with a lurcher

b) Do not try to use standard following skills

c) Be prepared to run backwards and to the side

d) Hang on for dear life

e) Just try to survive the dance and get back to your seat

f) Never dance with this person again

Any questions about this? Ask Fran or me. See you on the dance floor (with a good leader, we hope).

October 27, 2007

Hello everyone, Pat here with Part 3 of our multi-part series on Following. This week we address the following question:

Am I Anticipating The Lead?

This subject is probably one of the most common issues affecting the lead/follow relationship. Anticipating the lead is something that almost all followers have done at one time or another, and for many it can become a chronically bad habit.

Most followers begin to anticipate, when they’re new to Tango -- and are afraid of not understanding the lead properly. They really want to do the right thing, but their fear that they don’t know enough and won’t recognize the lead is so real that they try to second-guess the leader. As a result, when an unfortunate beginner does misread the lead, the insensitive or insecure leader may be quick to blame her for being wrong! Anticipation can also happen when a follower has some knowledge under her belt and begins to think ahead about what her leader might be planning to do (so that she can be “ready”).

I believe that the majority of followers really want to do the right thing and to be considered good followers. Unfortunately, when they anticipate in these ways, it can create a very disjointed and unsatisfying dance. This is definitely not the right path for followers to choose as they develop their tango skills.

Followers, when starting a dance with any partner, try to clear your head of all thoughts. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve danced with this person many times before or never before. When you begin to dance, listen with your body. Be ready to feel and stop thinking. This state of mind does take time to develop, and it will be more difficult if you‘re in the habit of anticipating. You will feel insecure at first, but in time you will develop a sense of confidence. Because you are concentrating on feeling and not thinking, you will become more sensitive to the lead, and more connected with your partner.

Many of you may say that it’s not possible to dance this way, but I can tell you it is – as long as you’re dancing with a leader who not only understands the follower’s role, but also that Tango is a dance of stillness as well as movement.

So, followers: Don’t move unless you feel a lead. If you catch yourself moving too easily, it’s likely that you are anticipating, and your leader will feel that he has to catch up with you. Be prepared to come to a stop with each step, and do not move if you don’t feel the lead.

If you have any questions about this, ask Fran or me. We’ll be very happy to help. See you next time.

October 20, 2007

Hello Everyone, Pat here. This week I would like to address the second topic in our multi-part series on the art of following:

Is he giving me time to do what he leads?

The question of timing in dance is one of the most crucial elements in becoming a good dancer. Of course, this applies to all dances, but especially to Argentine Tango, which is still a relatively unadulterated form, and is best learned as an improvisation between the partners. This creates certain requirements of the dance partnership between the leader and follower.

As a follower, your job is to receive instructions, process them and execute all in a timely way. This is not easy. The follower cannot be trying to guess what’s going to happen, but must wait for the lead. Once a lead has been initiated, received and understood, the follower then translates this information into action.

The action taken by the follower will require, to a certain extent, a prescribed timeframe in which to complete the movement. For instance, if the leader asks for a side step, the follower must move one leg to the side, transferring the weight from one foot to the other in a process that maintains her axis and results in her full weight being taken by the side-stepping foot, and completing this lead in balance with her feet together. At the end of her movement, she stops and waits for the next instruction.

If the leader does not wait for the completion of the lead, the follower can be thrown off balance, become confused, try to follow the new lead -- and very quickly, the partnership becomes a complete shambles.

Followers! Try to make every effort to come into balance before receiving the next move. But if your partner is not sensitive to what you are doing and does not wait for you to complete his lead, it is not your fault!

As we have said so often, Tango is a dance that requires connection and sensitivity between partners. If these elements do not exist, the dance becomes mechanical and robotic—an unfortunate circumstance that should be avoided at all costs.

October 13, 2007

Hello everybody, Fran here. Continuing our multi-part Tango Tip series on leading and following, this week we’re going to begin focusing our attention on the art of following. As defined in our first Tango Tip on the subject, we suggested that:

Following is the skill of comprehending an invitation given by the leader to move in a specific way, and the ability to execute the requested movement in an appropriate fashion.

When first learning how to follow (by which I mean, of course, your first several years of dancing Tango) it’s important to put yourself in a “responsive” mode (rather than attempting to process information from the leader, and then -- as a separate act -- move on your own). At the same time – and here perhaps is where the real skill comes in -- you have to concentrate on several individual aspects of following, which combine to bring about the desired end result: moving appropriately one step.

Here are six questions you need to ask yourself as a follower in order to determine whether you’re doing the right thing:

1. What does the leader want me to do now; do I “feel” the lead?

2. Is he giving me time to do it?

3. Am I anticipating the lead?

4. Is the leader giving me a chance to finish my movement before inviting the next one?

5. How does the leader want me to move? (Speed, length of step, energy, musicality, etc.)

6. Do I have time to adorn the movement; which adornment, if any, do I choose?

This week, we’ll talk about the first question: What does the leader want me to do now; do I feel the lead? (During the next several weeks, we’ll address the other five questions, one by one.)

There are many things the follower could be asked to do. She could be asked to execute a side step. She could be invited to move backward, or forward, to change weight in place, to pivot in one direction or the other, or to simply remain still. These are the fundamental elements of movement in Tango:

a. Forward

b. Backward

c. To the side

d. In place

e. Pivot

f. Pause

As a follower, you can’t predict in advance what sequence of steps the leader is trying to accomplish. All you can know – all you can concentrate on – is what he’s asking you to do in the moment. Sometimes, in attempting to reproduce elaborate sequences learned in class, beginning leaders will neglect to properly ask for every step they want, and followers will feel confused or completely lost. In such instances, followers generally blame themselves for somehow “not knowing” what the leader wanted. (And leaders will sometimes believe it’s the follower’s fault for not knowing the step.)

This, of course, is nonsense. Unless a leader specifically invites every single movement in a series, it’s not the follower’s responsibility to guess what was intended. She can only live in the moment. If the step is led, she follows. If nothing is led she waits. That’s all there is to it. A good leader will know whether he has effectively led a step or not. If he makes a mistake in his lead, he’ll either try it again, this time attempting to get it right, so that the follower “understands” what he wants. Or he’ll decide to give up on that particular sequence until he learns how to lead it effectively. The bad leader will pretend it’s the follower’s fault.

As a follower, your job is to “read the lead” to determine whether he wants any one of these six fundamental movements – and then to execute whichever of them has been invited. If you don’t know what he wants, don’t just take a guess and move on your own. Wait for a lead you can understand. If you don’t get one, continue to wait. If he looks at you, pleadingly, but doesn’t give you a lead, wait. If he gets angry and turns red, wait.

Wait.

Sooner or later, he’ll either learn how to lead, or he won’t. That’s his problem, not yours.

That’s our Tango Tip for this week. Next week, we’ll take a look at Question Number 2: Is he giving me the time I need to execute the movement he just asked for? In the meantime, remember the expression “lady in waiting.”

Just wait.

October 6, 2007

Hi, everyone, Fran here. With the past five Tango Tips, I’ve talked about the many elements which a leader has to focus on, when inviting a follower to take a single step in Tango. If you’ve been reading these Tips, you now have a very good idea of what happens during this process. Just to give you one more opportunity to read them, here are the primary questions you should be asking:

1. What do I want the follower to do now?

2. How will I invite (lead) her to do it?

3. Is she responding to my invitation in an appropriate manner?

4. What do I choose to do by way of accompanying her movement?

5. When are we finished with this movement, and are therefore ready to