La Leona Negra comes to town

[opendoor]

Has someone of you had a workshop with Graciela Gonzalez? She will visite Hamburg in november and I dont know whether to book a workshop or not. I have left that milonguero style dancing behind and I dont know what her focus actually is (beyond ws titles as boleos, sacadas, technique, ...)

thx in advance
OD

 

[Mladenac]

I don't like her dancing expect that she feels the music and have tender movements.

She doesn't do much dissociation which is essential for sacadas and boleos.
Strange posture while doing pivots.

watch these sacadas:

 

[opendoor]

Hi M, you are right concerning the outside view. But, perhaps here are DF members who danced with her, or know her teaching and philosophy. This would be what I call the inside view.

 

[Peaches]

Try pm-ing Subliminal. I believe he's had classes (and possibly a private lesson) with her.

 

[Peaches]

I don't like her dancing expect that she feels the music and have tender movements.

She doesn't do much dissociation which is essential for sacadas and boleos.
Strange posture while doing pivots.

Can you point out what you mean?

 

[Mladenac]

@peaches

in short

dissociation helps in circularity of the movement around one axis.
in boleo the center is the follower and when that circularity is interrupted or going in opposite direction boleo is performed.

in sacada center is in the middle of the triangle both partner are facing each other turning around the center while stepping on the line of the circle. Without dissociation that would be impossible.

while pivoting she is to high and without dissociation so she keeps losing her balance.

 

[opendoor]

It is told that she is that capacity for technique, at all. Don´t you think it is possible to perform these moves and steps at different degrees, according to the age of the partner, the style, the audience, your own backbone etc. ? Graciela is actually not my current role model, but she is respected by all stylist for her counterpoising between stage and social, milonguero and salón, old and new generation...

Here is an interview with Graciela http://tangopulse.net/interviews/index.html?/interviews/graciella_gonzalez.php

 

[Peaches]

@peaches

in short

dissociation helps in circularity of the movement around one axis.
in boleo the center is the follower and when that circularity is interrupted or going in opposite direction boleo is performed.

in sacada center is in the middle of the triangle both partner are facing each other turning around the center while stepping on the line of the circle. Without dissociation that would be impossible.

while pivoting she is to high and without dissociation so she keeps losing her balance.

I think we must be looking at different videos, then. I don't see her losing her balance, and I definitely see them performing sacadas so it would seem that either it's possible to do them without dissociation or she is dissociating. I just don't see the faults that you are mentioning.

 

[Lilly_of_the_valley]

There is more than one Graciela Gonzalez. Which one are you talking about? The partner of the late Pupi Castello? Or the younger one who dances nuevo? Or...?
Probably since you said "leona negra" and "milonguero", you mean the first one. In that case I wholeheartedly do recommend you to attend.

 

[opendoor]

Those were the days, my friend..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f_BYsvVUz4


Took a closer look and found, that they perform the boleos with much more tension than it is done today.



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w ww.italiandream.info/tangophilosophy.html

 

[Mladenac]

She knows how to perform them by herself, so you may have a successful weekend.

 

[Temza]

Has someone of you had a workshop with Graciela Gonzalez?

I had several group and private lessons with Graciela in BA. For me, she is the embodiment of tango, as danced at traditional milongas in BA. She transformed my dancing and my understanding of tango. She is very milonguero so may be not your cup of tea. Unless she teaches different things in Europe, to suit European dancers.

 

[opendoor]

It will be in three weeks and I will post a small report then.

 

[DoraTheExplorer]

Anyone who wants to make it in the tango world takes lessons with Graciela. I took a Women's Technique workshop with her last year in New York, and she is very good. She worked a lot on our posture, explained how to hold oneself. She's also one very cool lady. I definitely recommend that you go to that workshop, if you can take a private.

 

[opendoor]

small report

First of all, she really is a charismatic, lets say spiritually person, spreading her favour rather particularly. If she likes you, you are lucky. She played at home, visiting one of her model students, so she was in a generous mood, almost motherly. Her workshops are flash backs in history rather than lessons, instructions, or cursos. She celebrates the aera of the 70-80th in a consitent atmosphere and with unforgettable anecdotes, but also with the argentine sink or swim didactics, and the pre-naveiraen leading technique of rise and fall. All in all, it was the money worth. Once she was a show girl, now she actually is a diva.