Some teachers are poor at communicating and inspiring, but that doesn't mean you can't learn something valuable from them. It's just that you may have to assist in the communicating and do your own inspiring. So what? If you really want to learn what a teacher has to offer, you can extract it from the teacher if necessary. Is it the best situation? No. Is it worthwhile? You have to decide. Some students want a teacher who will make learning easy. Some students want a teacher who will push them, and easyness is not important.
What kind of music?
- Thread starter wadpro
- Start date
Some teachers are poor at communicating and inspiring, but that doesn't mean you can't learn something valuable from them. It's just that you may have to assist in the communicating and do your own inspiring. So what? If you really want to learn what a teacher has to offer, you can extract it from the teacher if necessary. Is it the best situation? No. Is it worthwhile? You have to decide. Some students want a teacher who will make learning easy. Some students want a teacher who will push them, and easyness is not important.
milongadicto
New Member
Today is D'Arienzo day. I'll be listening to mostly D'Arienzo celebrating his 109th birthday. I'm ashamed I hadn't done that in the past, particularly with Pugliese and Canaro, whose birthdays were not long ago, but starting from this birthday I will do this for every one of my favourite orchestras. Next in line, I believe, is Di Sarli on January 7th.
mshedgehog
New Member
Well, they are Adrian and Amanda Costa, so if you live in France you might not have a problem. If you read French, you can see a summary of what they see as important here, and you can look for a teacher who emphasises the same things, and whose performances (if any, and there won't necessarily be any) are consistent with that in as far as you can judge.
Here's a somewhat rough translation for those who don't read French.
Dance: Essentially, argentine tango is a social dance. To dance for the social dancefloor, is the pleasure of evolving together, and taking part in a whole in which everyone gives up some of his freedom to someone else.
Musicality: is the art of walking as a couple in harmony with the music. With their movement, the couple choose to reveal an instrument of the orchestra. "Dance is music made visible".
Posture: to feel our pressure against each other and towards the sky. To welcome the other person in opening one's torso, to go towards him, to feel the pleasure of elegance. [I'm having real problems translating this one, sorry - it doesn't sound at all odd in the original, but I haven't time to sort it out just now]
Embrace: to take the other person in our arms to unite and connect without losing onesself. The magic of the embrace is to see the fusion of two persons in one another's arms walking with the music.
Or, broadly speaking, you can look for a teacher who sees their mission as teaching 'salon' tango and only that, or sometimes 'social' tango and only that, and who puts a lot of emphasis on the music and the embrace. Musicality: is the art of walking as a couple in harmony with the music. With their movement, the couple choose to reveal an instrument of the orchestra. "Dance is music made visible".
Posture: to feel our pressure against each other and towards the sky. To welcome the other person in opening one's torso, to go towards him, to feel the pleasure of elegance. [I'm having real problems translating this one, sorry - it doesn't sound at all odd in the original, but I haven't time to sort it out just now]
Embrace: to take the other person in our arms to unite and connect without losing onesself. The magic of the embrace is to see the fusion of two persons in one another's arms walking with the music.
As far as my experience goes, what teachers choose to say or not say about what they want to achieve is pretty trustworthy, at least in cases where they're saying something specific. Of course some who aspire to anything can deliver it more than others, but to the motivated student the important thing is that they're trying and that what they're trying to do is what you want.
The alternative, equally broadly speaking, is a range of more elaborate, technically focussed and physically demanding approaches that are fascinating in terms of technical possibilities and physically expressive dance for its own sake, but are probably not what you need to spend your time on if you liked that video a lot.
mshedgehog
New Member
Sorry, forgot to answer that bit. I haven't got a good answer, though. My only answer is that they're actually very, very good - and also a very attractive and stylish couple with a lot of presence and confidence, as well as youth.
But I also agree that the transparency of their response to the music makes the quality easy to see even without background knowledge or experience.
Personally I also feel that they dance very much as an equal couple, with both roles being equally important and equally musical, in a very integrated way (as opposed to her dance being stuck on to his as a sort of surface decoration, which can sometimes happen). They teach in the same manner. I find that very attractive, visually as well as conceptually.
Angel HI
Well-Known Member
Sentir ses appuis et s’ériger vers le ciel. Accueillir l’autre en ouvrant son torse, aller vers lui … Ressentir le plaisir de l’élégance.
Feel the support (that is to be grounded), and uplifted at the same time. Welcome the lead (opening of each other's bodies), and revisit (share; give and take) the pleasure of elegance.
Good posts, MHh.
bjp22tango
Active Member
While I was looking for sound bites of the songs in the original post I came across this album at emusic.
Valses Y Pasodobles
by
Enrique Rodríguez|Rafael Rossi|Feliciano Brunelli
Most of the Pasodobles sound like lighthearted merengue/peabody/polka. Even Espana Cani sounds bubbly
I believe the original Foxtrot was closer to a Peabody than to today's BR Foxtrot (the music of the day being ragtime), so some of the labeling might have been correct for the time. On the otherhand, if you've ever come across old 78 records, you've noticed they often labelled songs Foxtrot that weren't. I'm sure someone in the marketing department thought it was a good idea ;D
bordertangoman
Well-Known Member
Subliminal
Well-Known Member
So. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance. What do you think, tango or milonga? I'm actually thinking milonga, with a lot of style and attitude. Maybe with some slow tango expression near the end.
opendoor
Forum Master
This couple tries Tango to a PasoDoble..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgnbjQ89MwY
By the way, what style of Tango is shown?
OD
mshedgehog
New Member
I would say that was ballroom tango (i.e. not a style of AT but a different dance) mainly because of:
- the shape and firmness of frame, which has the elbows pointing outwards, and seems to be the main means of connection between the couple, with continuous clear air between them otherwise
- the very erect shoulders-back posture
- the way they move their heads from side to side, which I think of as being very distinctive of ballroom dancing
- the general stylisation and formality of their dance, which to my eyes seems very extreme and also distinctive.
I think the person doing the filming thinks it's a ballroom tango too, since they've focused only on the upper bodies and not the feet.
I have a feeling that the dancers may be choosing to include some AT elements or influence, but I don't know enough about ballroom dancing to tell if that is a normal part of ballroom tango or is a one-off choice. And also I can't see their feet.
Dave Bailey
Active Member
Neither. It doesn't really work to either genre.
Foxtrot has become a generic term in dance... the original was very limited in variety, and was to music of the early 1900s thru the 20s, but not all R/time ,when a slower tempi and a varietal change took place ( thru the efforts of the Competitors of the day )..
As to P.Body .. a much newer dance in comparison, and is more aligned with one step ( altho F.T. could make a similar claim ).
Also, to use the term " Bronze " can signify different meanings to different people.. I,m presuming you mean the " American " style ?.. even this may vary in tempi for social uses ( comps are more restrictive ) Intern.style , again, has a social division, and has a little more freedom with tempi than the medal/comp. variety .
( this discussion really belongs in the b/room section )
Correct.. its American style, danced to a very nice social level (BR/ Silv. ) the music is well represented to the style.
The Amer. style has many elements of T/Arg. In some instances there are virtually identical variations to be found. The " style " and the music, is seldom as traditional as T/Arg.