Paso

K

Kitty

New Member
Yesterday I learned Paso Doble.

We've been begging our teacher to teach us Paso, and finally, she gave in, and...

After she taught us steps, before turning on the music, she said "Paso is my absolutely favorite dance, I think it is so great, everyone should learn paso doble" Everyone made round eyes like this: :shock: She said: "just kidding:-), I think syllabus paso really really boring!"


Do you like Paso Doble?
 
I hope I echo what other people's experience is, but for all intents and purposes, PD gets really cool once you hit silver syllabus. (Our "advanced" dancers are learning it for five weeks this summer. And this is my second time learning PD.)

I will also admit that PD is probably as close to "interpretive dance" as I'd like to get. :)
 
I spent a summer studying in France a couple of years ago. They played Paso Dobles at their social dances just as often as other dances. It was great!! A lot of people have a hard time believing me when I say that Paso can be a social dance.
 
I spent a summer studying in France a couple of years ago. They played Paso Dobles at their social dances just as often as other dances. It was great!! A lot of people have a hard time believing me when I say that Paso can be a social dance.
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I noticed that when I visited Barcelona in 1997. It was VERY interesting and fun.

On a side note, if we never did syllabus Paso, we could never get to open Paso, lol! Must learn to walk before we dance... I mean run... 8)

And I CAN'T WAIT to get a decent Latin instructor/coach. Paso is HIGH on my list of dances to bust out.
 
DancingMommy said:
On a side note, if we never did syllabus Paso, we could never get to open Paso, lol! Must learn to walk before we dance... I mean run... 8)
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in this dance, is it considered neccessary and expected to move around the room a lot (for competition purposes at least if not for social)? I know there are lots of stationary steps that are cool but don't move much...
 
ACtenDance said:
I spent a summer studying in France a couple of years ago. They played Paso Dobles at their social dances just as often as other dances. It was great!! A lot of people have a hard time believing me when I say that Paso can be a social dance.
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On the last social I went to they played paso like 5 times :shock: - lots of people had too much fun with it, so the DJ kept putting it on... :-)
I had a lot of fun watching them :)
 
I have always loved the attitude and character of paso. I only started learning it about a month ago myself, and yes, the bronze syllabus is *yawn* kinda boring, but like Dancing Mommy said, you gotta learn to walk before you run. I have never heard a paso played at a social event. Which makes it kind of hard to practice outside of class. But, I think it just looks incredibly COOL at gold+ level.
 
I don't really care for paso doble. I do it because its required for International latin competition. With very few exceptions, I don't really care for watching paso doble either, even at the professional level.
 
ACtenDance said:
A lot of people have a hard time believing me when I say that Paso can be a social dance.
Click to expand...

We play it at socials... Usually get a few couples dancing it with everyone else having fun watching. Some of the regulars are quite enteraining - there used to be a couple where part way through she'd put up her hand and signal him to stop, then make him follow for the rest. Anyway, if the first one looks enjoyed, we'll play a second later in the evening.

A month ago, we put one on and instead of an open couple or two doing an imprompute show, we had at least a half dozen syllabus couples! But this past weekend there didn't seem to be many takersl. Still I think it's worth playing one - at worst it's a brief rest for everyone, and you can cut it early if no one at all dances.
 
Someone's mention of Paso in another thread reminded me...

When I (finally!) watched Strinctly Come Dancing last Saturday, a number of contestants danced Paso Doble.
My conclusion: when done badly, Paso Doble looks very pantomime*.

* In case DFers outside the UK are unfamiliar with this British institution, pantomime is a theatrical entertainment put on for kids around Christmas time, is usually based on well-known fairy tales and involves lots of singing and dancing, drag acts, overacting by celebrities, bad jokes, audience participation and tons of fun.

When I think of Paso Doble, the dance that comes to my mind is actually of Torvill and Dean... :oops:
 
Angelo said:
With very few exceptions, I don't really care for watching paso doble either, even at the professional level.
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Who are the exceptions that you care to watch?

I once took all my tapes of Ohio Star Ball and copied all waltzes together, all Samba's together, etc. so that I could compare all the dancers from different years.

It was interesting to see how few of even the championship level dancers really had a feel for the Paso. In one particular instance I could see Jive movements in the Paso! It was also interesting to see how the same dancers would improve from year to year.

Paso is one of my favorite dances to dance and to watch, although I don't get to dance it much. Our USABDA dances will play one or two on request, but they don't get that many requests.

I like it because you DO have to put in the acting along with the steps.
 
I love it. When I first saw the bronze level routines at a comp, I asked my teacher to skip it and wait till I got to silver, but he actually has a decent bronze routine. I like the dramatic element of it. And I think the character of it is easier to bring out in myself than, say, rumba, which will befuddle me forever, I'm afraid!
 
bjp22tango said:
Angelo said:
With very few exceptions, I don't really care for watching paso doble either, even at the professional level.
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Who are the exceptions that you care to watch?
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Jean Marc-Generaux and France Mousseau
Corky and Shirley Ballas
Gary and Diana McDonald
Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova

That's about it
 
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