Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Recently, at my Saturday practica
in New York City, I met a married couple, Helen and Jack, who used to study Tango with me some years ago. Two years ago, they moved out of the New York area, because Jack's company transferred him to Washington, D.C. As yet, they told me, they hadn't decided on a new teacher. In fact, they were actually pretty much convinced that they didn't really need one. Jack was very pleased to report that they had been frequenting the milongas in the D.C. area, and were now quite comfortable with both their dancing and their new surroundings.
"One small problem we seem to be having," Helen mentioned to me, "is that sometimes my balance is a bit off. Jack says it feels fine to him, but I just wish I could be a little more stable on the dance floor,"
I agreed to take a quick look at what they were doing. "Just dance together a little, and I'll see whether I spot something that might be worth working on."
As they formed the embrace, Helen rose up on the balls of her feet, leaned forward, placing her upper body against Jack's chest, and reached well around his neck with her left arm. At the same time, Jack complemented what Helen was doing by closing his right arm firmly around her back, thereby drawing her even further forward, and lifting her slightly so that she was virtually ready to dance on her toes.
"Before you get into the dance," I offered, holding up my hand to put on the brakes, "could we talk a little about your embrace."
Helen and Jack both rolled their eyes, as if to say, "Here comes the lecture."
"Do you remember how we formed the embrace, when we first started?" I said, feeling a bit like a first-grade teacher.
Jack was the first to pounce. "That was for beginners, right? Nobody in the real world actually dances that way. I need to have Helen close to me -- it's all about the connection."
Now, it was Helen's turn. "All the really good women are up on the balls of their feet," she assured me. "That's the way people dance now. Even the teachers are dancing that way! As Jack said, we're trying to create a more solid connection with our partners these days by going chest to chest with our left arm further around his neck than you taught us."
It was hard to argue with such passionate conviction.
"Well ...," I offered sheepishly, "When you were dancing with your feet flat on the floor, and you weren't leaning forward toward Jack, and when your left arm wasn't wrapped so much around his neck, do you remember whether your balance was any better?"
"Well ...,"said Helen.
"But what about the connection?!" retorted Jack.
"And when the two of you are dancing by continually pushing your chests toward one another," I pressed, "do you think this has an effect on your balance as individuals?"
"It's all about the connection!" blurted Jack.
"Yes, it is," I agreed. "But the connection
doesn't consist of two people constantly falling on top of one another -- although there's no question that lots of people today are indeed dancing that way." (Yes, here comes the lecture.) "But that doesn't make it right. It just means that lots of dancers (students by and large) are busy imitating other dancers, hoping to look the same as their friends or their peers."
"Hmmm," said Helen.
"Harumph," coughed Jack.
"With highly skilled dancers," I went on, sensing the optimistic possibility of enlightenment, "the so-called connection
consists of a recurring ebb and flow with balance in between. A skilled leader creates a moment of connection by providing his follower with a compelling invitation to do something through his lead. This might be called the flow. Then, he allows her the opportunity to do it. As she executes the movement, he leaves her alone, so that she is unencumbered by him while she's doing her part. "As my friend Carlos Gavito used to say,"I lead -- then I follow." We might refer to this as the ebb. Between one lead and the next, both partners individually arrive at a place of balance.
Helen and Jack nodded with what I took to be a hint of reluctance.
"All I ask," I suggested, "is that you try it. Try dancing without leaning on each other, without continually pushing your chests together. Try to build individual balance into your movements as the goal of every step you take.
"I told you that's what he'd say," said Helen.
Jack shrugged.
As they left the practica, I wondered whether Helen and Jack would really try to get themselves back to what I taught them originally. Ultimately, I decided that they probably wouldn't. There's just too much peer pressure on students today to fight current trends without a good teacher continually encouraging them to do the right thing, even though most people around them are doing anything but.
On the other hand, Pat and I are around you. When we teach, we try our best to give you what we think is the right information, the right way to dance Tango. And we repeat these things again and again so that you won't forget, and so that you'll have a counterpoint to all the noise you're hearing from other sources.
If you think we have what you need, try to listen to what we say, and practice every chance you get. When the time is right, maybe I'll be able to invite my former students from Washington, D.C., to come on up for a visit to the Firehouse -- to see for themselves just how it should be done.
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We think Last Week's Tango tip bears repeating - Here it is:
Most of us are aware that Fran Chesleigh is a very tough critic. His compliments are difficult to win, but always well deserved. Knowing this, Joe and I were thrilled, indeed bowled over, to read last week's tango tip. We are so inspired that we decided to distribute and reprint the tip: Thank you Fran. We truly appreciate your words.
Tango Tip of the week. Last night, Pat and I went out Salsa dancing. Yes, that's right -- Salsa! In case you're wondering, we had a terrific time from start to finish. And both of us noticed a very sharp contrast between our experience with Salsa and the people of that community on the one hand, and the Tango community on the other. Today, I'd like to share some of our observations with you.
As some of you may know, Salsa -- or what used to be called "Mambo" -- was the first dance I became deeply involved in as a young adult. (Actually, you could say that Lindy was my first dance, but since I was about 11 years old at the time, I don't really remember much about that very early experience.) During my years of dancing Salsa, I formed a good many friendships in that community, and last night Pat and I must have met at least thirty people whom I remembered fondly from those days, and who remembered me.
What Pat and I were both impressed by is the fact that the Salsa community is so openly friendly and so welcoming -- not just to us, but to everybody! The music was lively; the dancing was great fun. And our overall impression was that people were either smiling, or about to smile all night long.
By contrast, the Tango community in the Tri-State area can often be anything but friendly, as many of us have noticed with confusion and a sense of regret. I'm not talking about the Firehouse, of course, in which people are always very warm and very welcoming, thanks in no small measure to Sue and Joe Dallon's lead. But as I'm sure you're aware, this is unusual in the Tango community at large. Most venues -- I hate to say this -- tend to be cliquish and elitist, and often make newcomers feel they really shouldn't be there. Women won't dance with anyone but their small circle of intimates. Men are constantly teaching (well, no great surprise there, I suppose). And the people who run most Tango events make no attempt whatever to encourage people to interact in a friendly way.
Why is this? Frankly, I don't get it. I know that Tango is difficult to learn. I also know that some people feel that if they themselves have made the intense effort necessary to get somewhere in Tango, everybody else should make the same effort -- and that those who don't are somehow lesser beings. Okay, as a dance teacher, I would love it if my students were all as committed as I am to this unique dance. But if they're not, I'm not going to start being mean to them. I'm not going to shun them as if they were somehow unworthy. This kind of antisocial behavior is, in my opinion, nothing short of reprehensible. And yet, so many people in the Tango community treat their peers this way as a matter of course.
What can any of us do about this depressing situation? I'm not really sure. I think it may start at the top, with people who run Tango events actively discouraging this kind of behavior. In my practica on Saturdays, for example, I tell people that if I catch them mistreating anyone, I'll kick them out of the room. I will, too, and I have. It may start with dance teachers, bringing this behavior to the attention of their students, and admonishing them to monitor their own behavior toward others.
In the long run, though, I think it's up to you. Ultimately, you have to decide what kind of Tango community you want to be a part of, and to insist everywhere you go that you're not willing to put up with anything short of common decency among your peers.This will take courage on your part, and perseverance, and a very strong commitment to human values.
But I know you can do it.
Take Your Tango over the Top!
10 Must-have Tango Moves!
with Fran Chesleigh and Pat Altman
Sunday, November 17
12:30 -- 3:30 p.m.
All levels welcome
For this one-of-a-kind, 3-hour intensive Tango workshop, Pat and I have picked out a special selection of some of our very favorite Tango moves. Once you grab these unique figures from the classic Tango repertoire, your friends will all be asking "How did you do that?' ... that is, when they stop saying "Wow!"
Here are a few highlights:
· Unlock the secrets of the back sacada
· Pull out a showstopper from the Virulazo legacy
· Capture the moment with Pat's favorite adornment combos
· Make magic with surprise variations on la cruzada
· Burn the floor with hot traspie sequences
And lots more!
Fran Chesleigh and Pat Altman's "10 Must-have Tango Moves" offers you a unique opportunity to transform your Tango, Vals and Milonga into the polished, seriously authentic dances you've been working so hard to achieve.
Don't miss it!
Standard pricing: $35 per person
Purchased by Friday, November 15: $30 per person
No refunds no exchanges
Dance Manhattan
