at the end .......... ImPrOvIsaTiOn
Milonga
Developing Improvisational Skills
Fluent improvisation requires a considerable mastery of tango's vocabulary. As the dancer develops a greater knowledge of tango's vocabulary, the ability to improvise may come naturally or it may need to develop.
Improvisation does require a bit of magic, but to a great extent improvisation is explainable, analyzable, and doable.
All of the steps, figures and patterns are utilized in a social Tango Argentino school or dance place ( Milonga ) are and can be constructed from basic structural elements that are considered the theory of tango dancing from the simple basic steps to more complex patterns of the same steps .
These structural elements include walks, turns, sandwiches, embellishments, and structural connections. Developing a thorough understanding of these structural elements can greatly help a dancer learn to improvise because the knowledge provides a pool of steps that can be dipped into as needed. Understanding may come from continued exposure to tango, but it can also be learned and nurtured.
No single approach to improvisation is the truth; however, the truth is in the Dance itself.
In dancing Argentine tango, the goal is to get beyond the steps, figures, patterns, and theory to pure dancing expression. Hard to get but attainable
Great improvisational tango dancers are not thinking ocho, ocho cortado, back ochos ,or front ochos , or Molinete with a Giro Cerrado ( swirl close ), or sixth step of the Pugliese Giro, or the Petaca Sacada con Molinete, or Sentada , or Media Lunas , or Lapiz , or Amarre ,or Ganchos , or Salidas sin Traspie, or Salida Cruzada con Doble Traspie ; nor are they thinking parallel foot, doble tiempo (double time ) , cruzadas ( the famous cross ) just to name a few.
Good dancers have internalized the information to the point they no longer have to think about much at all. They have learned how the steps, figures, patterns and structural elements feel on a crowded dance floor.This degree of improvisation allows the dancers to navigate crowded dance floors, as well as to express themselves in a non-verbal manner. ( Tango Argentino Magic )
Beginners typically get their first taste of improvisation by choosing patterns from a limited set of previously mastered figures. Little by little your skills become more and more sharp and crispy allowing you to select patterns from a big variety of figures, many of which are closely related. The highest degree of improvisational freedom is found in choosing individual steps without regard to any pre-determined patterns. This goes equally for leaders and followers.
When teaching , I always say :: "" Tango Argentino is not about you ( men ) is about HER , if she looks great when you do close embrace .........YOU GOOD !!! """
This is it folks!!!
Sorry guys for the delay in writing, but since she passed away, to get a grasp on my life and move on hasn't been easy. You know what I mean. Best!!!
Fluent improvisation requires a considerable mastery of tango's vocabulary. As the dancer develops a greater knowledge of tango's vocabulary, the ability to improvise may come naturally or it may need to develop.
Improvisation does require a bit of magic, but to a great extent improvisation is explainable, analyzable, and doable.
All of the steps, figures and patterns are utilized in a social Tango Argentino school or dance place ( Milonga ) are and can be constructed from basic structural elements that are considered the theory of tango dancing from the simple basic steps to more complex patterns of the same steps .
These structural elements include walks, turns, sandwiches, embellishments, and structural connections. Developing a thorough understanding of these structural elements can greatly help a dancer learn to improvise because the knowledge provides a pool of steps that can be dipped into as needed. Understanding may come from continued exposure to tango, but it can also be learned and nurtured.
No single approach to improvisation is the truth; however, the truth is in the Dance itself.
In dancing Argentine tango, the goal is to get beyond the steps, figures, patterns, and theory to pure dancing expression. Hard to get but attainable
Great improvisational tango dancers are not thinking ocho, ocho cortado, back ochos ,or front ochos , or Molinete with a Giro Cerrado ( swirl close ), or sixth step of the Pugliese Giro, or the Petaca Sacada con Molinete, or Sentada , or Media Lunas , or Lapiz , or Amarre ,or Ganchos , or Salidas sin Traspie, or Salida Cruzada con Doble Traspie ; nor are they thinking parallel foot, doble tiempo (double time ) , cruzadas ( the famous cross ) just to name a few.
Good dancers have internalized the information to the point they no longer have to think about much at all. They have learned how the steps, figures, patterns and structural elements feel on a crowded dance floor.This degree of improvisation allows the dancers to navigate crowded dance floors, as well as to express themselves in a non-verbal manner. ( Tango Argentino Magic )
Beginners typically get their first taste of improvisation by choosing patterns from a limited set of previously mastered figures. Little by little your skills become more and more sharp and crispy allowing you to select patterns from a big variety of figures, many of which are closely related. The highest degree of improvisational freedom is found in choosing individual steps without regard to any pre-determined patterns. This goes equally for leaders and followers.
When teaching , I always say :: "" Tango Argentino is not about you ( men ) is about HER , if she looks great when you do close embrace .........YOU GOOD !!! """
This is it folks!!!
Sorry guys for the delay in writing, but since she passed away, to get a grasp on my life and move on hasn't been easy. You know what I mean. Best!!!
