I am getting more and more uncomfortable with the mixed use of words *Social Tango* describing a way of dancing AND a social attitude.
On web and in real life discussions, the social tango refers to close/quite close embrece, certain kind of steps, caminatas central position and so on. It includes the idea that this kind of dancing is the only one caring about the others. This way of dancing is called for social tango including the idea that tango nuevo (put in here any large steps and/or open embrace.. ) never could be social tango, where dancers are enjoying the music and caring about the other dancers.
In future I try to separate these things and as a starting point it could be something like this
professional dancer - amateur dancer
Most of the time social dancer term could be used about all kinds of amateur tango dancers.
social tango - performance
All tango dancing on your day off together with your old or new friends! and of course when you are dancing on a pista is the social one.
There is several sets of rules making the dancing enjoyable for us all, but more thinking is needed about it; do I want to put the rules together with the idea of the social tango? Isn't social tango more defined by place, number of participants, degree of profession for the moment or similar facts?
Post script
In everyday language the *Social Tango* is understood to involve some of salogn - villa urquisa - milonguero way of movements, but I would like to have a more wide range of members in tangofamily.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Gangnam style
Are you one of the millions of Gangnam Style fans? and maybe you even know that Gangnam is a city district in Seoul, South Korea. But you maybe didn't yet know that Gangnam has a connection to tango too, Yes it has, because Gangnam-gu is the place for Seoul Tango festival in May.
I should have gone much earlier! but May 2012 was my first visit to South Korea. It is a lovely period for traveling on this peninsula. Wether is warm but not hot or humid and during my tree weeks in the country I had only one rainy day!
But now to dance ==>>
Gangnam Dance Hall
My first milonga was the one on Friday night - 4th of May. The venue is a dance hall even on the other nights and mostly for other dances. Many of the routines were the same in Seoul as at home! You could se the couples and singles with shoe bags walking to same direction as you, at the wellcoming table you name and ticket were checked and your signature was requested here as well as other places in the world. The only and wonderful difference was that the delicious buffet included in the milonga price. People were sitting at round tables and eating a bite every now and then.
This night I talked with the visitors from Japan, China, Honkong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, a few from Europe, Russian and some of them were here for tenth time.
The most fascinating thing was that my capeceo was understood even if it was the first time for these followers to dance with a femail leader.
Please enjoy a waltz together with me .....
Click here!
Click here!
SC Convention Gangnam
The Saturday milonga was at a larger venue and I had some difficulties to find there. A friendly young man in a sports car gave me a ride to the place after finding the instructions on his GPS navigator.
There was food again ! highly apprciated after wandering around in the night
Maybe a milonga this time ... ?
Click here!
Click here!
Here you find my earlier posting and portal about the Argentine and Asian performers!
http://leadingladyl.blogspot.se/2012/06/seoul-tango-festival-2012.html
Some more information about Gangnam - Gu
http://global.gangnam.go.kr/globalIndex.do?lang=en
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Beginner vs. World champion match
I know very few followers who have continuously, daily training as the strategy to become better dancer. Most followers take courses every now and then and consider the dances with more advanced leaders as their main strategy.
Think of a tennis court where a world champion is playing with a beginner. Yes, his skill makes it possible to return all the balls and if he is a nice person, he can drop some of them to create a friendly atmosphere. His skill makes it also possible to place the balls so they are easy for the beginner to return.
The situation is totally different for these two. The beginner is amazed that she is able to play with the world champion and she thinks she is really good, playing with all her capacity. For the champion this is not so much about skill training, playing at the edge of his ability, but about caring, to be nice.
The biggest issue here for me is the situation when she returns to the same tennis court, but this time with another beginner. The match is totally different and it is easy to explain the difference by pointing this new playmate to 10 levels lower stage ( incorrectly). This kind of false idea of your own level creates difficulties in learning and you maybe get to the partnering stage later.
Partnering stage is (for me) when both are playing/dancing at the edge of their skill without compensation from the other, mutually exploring new things.
*This posting is a responce to a specific situation for followers but some parts could be valid for leaders too.
Think of a tennis court where a world champion is playing with a beginner. Yes, his skill makes it possible to return all the balls and if he is a nice person, he can drop some of them to create a friendly atmosphere. His skill makes it also possible to place the balls so they are easy for the beginner to return.
The situation is totally different for these two. The beginner is amazed that she is able to play with the world champion and she thinks she is really good, playing with all her capacity. For the champion this is not so much about skill training, playing at the edge of his ability, but about caring, to be nice.
The biggest issue here for me is the situation when she returns to the same tennis court, but this time with another beginner. The match is totally different and it is easy to explain the difference by pointing this new playmate to 10 levels lower stage ( incorrectly). This kind of false idea of your own level creates difficulties in learning and you maybe get to the partnering stage later.
Partnering stage is (for me) when both are playing/dancing at the edge of their skill without compensation from the other, mutually exploring new things.
*This posting is a responce to a specific situation for followers but some parts could be valid for leaders too.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
QQS in milonga and tango
For me the Quick Quick Slow or a double step pattern in tango is different compared to the same pattern in milonga. Or more exactly - the process we create the QQS is the same but the time values for our steps are different. I am reasoning like this:
The bar below is a 4/4 kind of measure - as you can see there is B1, B2, B3 and B4. In tango we normally step on B1 and B3 and we get a calm and peacefull caminata. (One box is 1/16 so 4 of them are 4/16 = 1/4)
Tango: Measure I
To create more action we can do a double step, a Quick step, by dividing our ordinary step to two. By using B1, B2 and B3 we get our double time-step and a feeling of change and urgency. The boxes above present also a time value so we get following numbers
Quick: a-d = 4 boxes => 4/16 or 1/4
Quick: e-h = 4 boxes => 4/16 or 1/4
Slow : i-p = 8 boxes => 8/16 or 1/2
Milongas musical structure can vary but here we focus on steps and what happends when we split a step to two. In the green bar you find the red boxes indicating the accents in music and the steps you take in basic milonga. When your foot hits the floor at B1, the other foot will do the same on B2. Here we need to move some faster or make the steps shorter than in tango!
Milonga: Measure I Measure II
When we devide our ordinary step in milonga we will put down our feet on B1, C and B2. We could also write it like a, c and e. Our numbers looks like this
Quick: a-b = 2 boxes => 2/16 or 1/8
Quick: c-d = 2 boxes => 2/16 or 1/8
Slow : e-h = 4 boxes => 4/16 or 2/8
If you compared the QQS above for tango and milonga you find the difference in time, don't you!
QQS have a timely difference even between the tangos going in different speed as well as for milongas in different speed. But we can still keep the formula!
The bar below is a 4/4 kind of measure - as you can see there is B1, B2, B3 and B4. In tango we normally step on B1 and B3 and we get a calm and peacefull caminata. (One box is 1/16 so 4 of them are 4/16 = 1/4)
Tango: Measure I
To create more action we can do a double step, a Quick step, by dividing our ordinary step to two. By using B1, B2 and B3 we get our double time-step and a feeling of change and urgency. The boxes above present also a time value so we get following numbers
Quick: a-d = 4 boxes => 4/16 or 1/4
Quick: e-h = 4 boxes => 4/16 or 1/4
Slow : i-p = 8 boxes => 8/16 or 1/2
Milongas musical structure can vary but here we focus on steps and what happends when we split a step to two. In the green bar you find the red boxes indicating the accents in music and the steps you take in basic milonga. When your foot hits the floor at B1, the other foot will do the same on B2. Here we need to move some faster or make the steps shorter than in tango!
When we devide our ordinary step in milonga we will put down our feet on B1, C and B2. We could also write it like a, c and e. Our numbers looks like this
Quick: a-b = 2 boxes => 2/16 or 1/8
Quick: c-d = 2 boxes => 2/16 or 1/8
Slow : e-h = 4 boxes => 4/16 or 2/8
If you compared the QQS above for tango and milonga you find the difference in time, don't you!
QQS have a timely difference even between the tangos going in different speed as well as for milongas in different speed. But we can still keep the formula!
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