"Moves"
a.k.a. It-Which-Must-Not-Be-Encouraged
The thing that tango intellects & enthusiasts seem to despise talking about.
What is it that this word repels many of us?
> You are right, I would rather dance with people who have connection with me than with those who just want to try reckless moves.
> You are right, I would rather dance with people who have musicality than with those who just want to try reckless moves.> You are right, I would rather dance with people who put emotion into their dance than with those who just want to try reckless moves.
> You are right, I would rather dance with people who have the right techniques and do what they know properly than with those who just want to try reckless moves.
But I want MORE! I want to have dynamic fun!
Is there anything wrong with wanting to dance with those who try moves that are new, adventurous, ambitious, creative and playful (of course they have to be considerate of their surrounding and safety)?Is there anything wrong in wanting to learn "moves" for a change? To pursue those quirky yet elegant "moves"? Are techniques, musicality and connection the only things I am allowed to cultivate?
Am I greedy?
Am I shallow?
Am I not a proper tanguera?
Should I be condemned, persecuted and exiled to the planet of exhibitionists, salseros and acrobatics?
Give me your verdict.
19 comments:
The answer as ever lies in the question. You write of those "who just want to..."
"To parry well is much, but it is nothing when you can do more."
1734, Monsieur L’Abbat
I would answer with a resounding No! There is nothing wrong in my mind with learning new moves! Being playful and creative and adventurous is part of the fun of dancing. The problem is when you only care about having moves, while disregarding everything else that is important.
(Great quotation, LT.)
There is absolutely nothing wrong with learning moves, as long as it's done with an intelligent attitude, so the goal is dancing as well as you can and gaining what you need to express yourself.
I also really like a challenge and I enjoy finding out what I can deliver. As a follower my attitude is that I want to be able to follow and enjoy a broad range of styles.
My very favourite dancers are people with lots of vocuabulary, on top of musicality, so that I never have a clue what's coming next.
And I love to be in a milonga, or even a class, and think "oooh, that was neat - elegant - spot-on." Even if it's something very simple but a little bit unusual or creative.
It's still true that there are few things more boring than challenging moves that have nothing to do with the music. But that's not a problem with the moves. It's a problem with the musicality.
I'd also mention, though, that some of the most difficult and most expressive things to lead and satisfying things to follow are not at all spectacular to watch. You wouldn't know they were tricky unless you'd tried them.
For me the #1 question should be "is it fun?".
And stop worrying so much about what other people thing. Do you think Chicho et al. would have pursued the development of a whole different "style" if they'd asked themselves the same questions?
But I'm totally on board with the other comments: whatever is done must first and foremost obey the music. AND the conditions of the dance floor. Whether traditional or "nuevo" tango, steps for the sake of steps is aerobics.
And sometimes - as Ms. H said - the greatest challenge for discovering new and fabulous and creative "steps" is doing what you already know with a twist.
The day that tango stops being fun I'll stop dancing it.
Thanks everyone, it's good to know that you all like having fun :P
Tango, on the whole has become a rather serious and somber thing to me of recent. I want this to be 'fun' for me. I understand it's a pretty deep and melancholic dance in many aspects. But I would like to do it to keep my mind off other serious and somber things in life, you see. While for some, it's a way of life. But I quite often see tango as an escapism and beloved recreation.
Of course, you have to be able to walk properly to dance tango. You need to listen to music and try to connect. I'm not saying that I want to ignore them. But fundamentally, I want to DANCE. I walk everyday for goodness sake. I can listen to music whenever I like through whatever mediums. I also play an instrment. I connect with people everyday in various ways. I get emotional for numerous reasons. I embrace or hug people quite regularly. I can do ALL THESE without dancing tango. But tango steps... I don't do them in my 'normal' life. It is unique to tango. It is after all, a MAJOR part of what you call, a dance.
True, there are way too many people out there who only care about steps.
But this is just me declaring to you all that I love learning moves.
The issue arises because some people "only" do moves. They forget the other equally (if not more) important facets of tango - music, technique, style, navigation, floor craft, creativity, emotion, ....
I must say though that some people take "tango should be fun" too far. I can't stop them flailing around if they want to - but I just don't think its tango. Tango isn't ballet nor hip-hop .. its tango because by and large its power comes from its constraints.
Speaking of fun, have you seen the youtube clip of Horacio Godoy and Cecilia Garcia that one of our contributors, Eleni uploaded in March (12th)? If you haven't, you should and let us know what you think. Because quite a few of us thought it was fun but it's still tango! For some of you, it may seem that things have been taken too far...?
One minor correction to what I said above might be... "its' still tango!" - well, what's shown in the clip isn't exactly, it's a milonga :P
But the idea is that within the 'constraints' (which probably is defined differently by each of you) of tango, within the shape of tango, you can still have fun. I don't think that, for example, what Horacio and Cecilia did resembled anything of salsa (albeit some bum-wiggle it wasn't the same sort), ballroom, hip-hop/R&B, lambada, river dance, you name it...
Anonymous person, I do realise you meant "some people" but I'm curious, which country do you normally dance in? So far, having been dancing in UK, I haven't come across with anyone who has taken anything too far beyond the border of standard tango actually. In fact, my boredom sometimes originates in the fact that too few people want to have "fun" with it when they are at the level where they can afford to be creative and fun. Which is why I do some tweaking (adding and altering and doing something with the music) totally unled, but I do try not to break the connection between me and the leader!
While we are on good quotes, this discussion puts me in mind of a line delivered by Richard Griffiths' character in The History Boys (2006).
"I didn't want to turn out boys who in later life had a deep love of literature, or who would talk in middle age of the lure of language and their love of words. 'Words' said in that reverential way that is somehow Welsh."
If you speak of, and think of, Moves in that reverential way that is somehow Welsh then something tells me that you and the tango transcendentalists may never see eye to eye.
If on the other hand you see moves as one cloud in the great big complex tango storm...
Just for the record, by having fun you don't have to neglect technique, musicality, posture... By having fun, you must enjoy what you're doing. In tango, within the couple, fun has to felt by both dancers.
Supantheress, can you tell me what you think of moves? Figures or sequences?
Mr Limerick,
You've made it so very atmospheric here.... I feel like I'm on that cloud you mentioned. I guess the beauty of it is that some people do speak Welsh (!?). What language do the transcendentalists speak? Very possibly I do see "moves" as that cloud in a big storm and maybe I want to melt into it and condense myself into raindrops and fall onto the earth so that I will never have to see the transcendentalists eye to eye...?
My Dearest "Tango",
When I say moves, I mean everything other than all those things you've mentioned. All those factors, music, emotion, posture, breathing, techniques, embrace, walk, they assemble to be expressed as "moves". I have not achieved or perfected those factors, but I have come to appreciate them and I am at this stage where I would like to incorporate all of those and express them as interesting and innovative "moves". Creating them from such factors and also from what we already know does feel great but it isn't infinite, and sometimes our inspirational spring experiences drought. This is where you can learn from others and practise them. While many of us have expressed the beauty of all of those non-move factors, I just wanted to reiterate that "moves" are a big part of a dance and that one shouldn't criticise or stop people from wanting to learn more moves. I think people should understand that whilst it is important to remind someone of all such lovely non-move factors, some will feel frustrated at various stages of their learning curve for not having enough vocabulary.
"In tango, within the couple, fun has to [be] felt by both dancers." Well yes, OK, I understand what you're saying but what is your point? Could you elaborate?
supantheress - i dance in London, UK.
another aspect to this discussion on "fun" is the question of "lego" or "algebraic" tango. people correctly learn tango elements, with good technique and style .. and they are encouraged to piece them together as they please. i'm of the opinion that "Just Because You Can Do It, Doesn't Mean You Should".
tango as it was dance for almost a century wasn't a chaos of infinite combinations .. some elements came together more aesthetically with respect to the music, physicality and of course the history. Its more than "just because you can connect it, doesn't mean its nice".
I do feel that some people should try to keep the tango, as it was danced, going.. else it will be lost. The same debate is happening in flamenco .. the traditional music, dance and song is being lost, the hard-to-learn skills are not being taught .. the kids are into "nuevo" and "fronteras" and fusions...
Hello Mr/Ms Anonymous!
Let me try and be concise:
1) "Just because you can do it, doesn't mean it's nice." - I agree.
"Just because you can connect it, it doesn't mean it's nice." - I agree.
2) I have a lot of respect for tradition and 'structure' (as Mr Limerick has helped me express recently). I have also commented in Johanna's blog saying that I believe in our responsibility to preserve beautiful things from the past.
3) In my mind, I try to separate my style depending on the music. I like to keep things neat and tidy for traditional music, but I will be more flexible and rebellious when I'm dancing to nuevo or non-tango. As you may have gathered, I like both, and I see them differently these days.
4) Nevertheless, within the boundaries of tango, traditional tango, you can still be dynamic, innovative and have a huge vocabulary to play with. I have come across with less than a handful of people who can do this.
5) Variation is important for me. Variation within a regular entity is refreshing and it helps to engage me as a follower. These days I find myself going into auto pilot from time to time. I find that by learning new interpretations of music and new ways of expressing myself, plus having leaders doing the same keeps me on my toes.
6) Any advice as to how to stop myself from going into autopilot, anyone?
6) Any advice as to how to stop myself from going into autopilot, anyone?
Switch it off! :P
well, i asked because if the moves you talk about is long sequences designed for a little excerpt of a track, then I don't like learning moves. I abhorr it and despite always getting closer to what teachers are teaching than most of the folk I just find it dull, to memorise whatever sequence someone came up in their dreams (sequences that, later, you can't put in a milonga because there is something else called "other tangueros")
But if you say moves as a figure or a short cadence of steps and turns then, yeah, we're in the same boat.
Yes, what a GREAT ADVICE, koolricky, anyone who can outdo his thoroughly witty piece of advice?
I think learning mini bits and creating our own chain of sequences is the fun. Even if somebody teaches you a long sequence, you can appreciate it and be grateful for providing inspiration, then alter it the way you like it.
Yep, that's what I do with workshops where they teach long sequences. Pay attention to the little moves that may come handy in the dancefloor.
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