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The Walking Debate

There’s a great deal of debate on this one thought >

Is the foundation of dance really walking ? Or is it something else ?

Is it steps/patterns/figures ?

Is it the music ?

Is it the Milonga experience itself ?

Is it all of this stuff ? Is it none ?

This discussion point is not going to answer that question, but will offer you an opinion that is exceptionally hard to refute, consider if you will the following:

1. ) In order to get from point a. to point b. we either must take some form of transit, or walk…putting one foot in front of the other (or behind).

2.) Without modern forms of transit or transit that involves wheeled motion, or forms of flight, we are relegated to either animal asst’d movement (horse, donkey, elephant, cow…) or our own two feet.

3.) All dances, regardless of the form, require some form of walking locomotion, especially the partner dances. Even ContactImprov requires it to a lesser degree.

If all of that is true, then the world of transit or getting from point a to wherever is really all about walking. If that’s the case then it stands to reason that tango is about the walk as well. And it is important to focus on the quality of the walk, and spend lots of time working on one’s walk because it is the foundation of everything else that you’ll ever do in the dance. Which is to say that the cleaner that you make that walk, the more that you study that walk, the more that you understand that walk, the easier is is to manipulate and it (mentally) to make it bend to your wishes! Draw your own conclusions from there…

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MORE REMINDERS

The ‘Connection’ Fallacy

November 17, 2016 No Comments

“Connection” is a wonderful idea. We like to believe in the romanticism of this word, and all that it implies, which is as it turns out a considerable amount. However, the word itself, from a Tango perspective, has been beat up and bruised that it more than likely has lost it’s original intent. When you say the word to someone it could mean any one of eight (8) different things as it relates to the dance. However, this is not a definition of the word, for that please see the Tango Topics Definition of the word "Connection". 


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The Importance of Two Millimeters

June 17, 2017 No Comments

Contrary to what you might believe or think, distance, space, and rightfully precision absolutely matters when it comes to Argentine Tango. Let’s back up a bit and define a few things before we delve too deeply into today’s Tango Thought. Precision as defined by Webster’s Dictionary (2017) is a noun as derived from the English word ‘precise’ which is itself an adjective meaning “definitely or strictly stated, defined, or fixed”. Clear ? Not. In short, ‘Precision’ means that there is an area of exactitude, and/accuracy, finite accuracy, finely tuned acute and tight accuracy. And that just about sums up what has to happen with regards to Argentine Tango.

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Perfectionism

March 19, 2017 No Comments

There are those of us that separate being ‘good’ as being good enough, and anything beyond that is just ‘unnecessary’. It’s really about getting around the floor, and if no one complains about the embrace, or you don’t hit anything, or anyone, and you can throw in that cool move now and again, so much the better!

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The Former Salon Canning

February 17, 2017 No Comments

There are very few places left in Buenos Aires that still evoke the majesty of Tango’s yesteryears, for many, that is Salon Canning. From the moment you walk in the door, down the long hallway towards the white double door ‘entrance’ to the dance floor, you know you’re in a special place. The walls are lined with pictures of dancers that have come and gone, artwork and photography from local tango artisans. The entry hallway almost looks athenian, almost. It may help that the columns outside add to that idea.

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The Row of Men That Stand

February 7, 2017 No Comments

There’s that row of men that stand at every milonga. They hover. They waver from side to side. They stand with their arms crossed. All by themselves. They never sit, and they seemingly never dance. There’s usually a row of them, more than 3 or 4. And no matter what happens, you almost never see them dance. There’s a reason for that. It’s because a good portion of the better Followers in the room has had a less than desirable experience with them.

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Head Tilt

November 30, 2016 No Comments

The tilt or position of one’s head (for lead or follow) is far more important than you might imagine. First and foremost, where the head points the body tends to follow. There’s a reason for this, your equilibrium, contrary to popular belief your balance is not generated in the center of your belly. This ‘myth’ is better known and often repeated as to indicate your ‘core’ muscles. This is a lie.

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Posture

January 9, 2017 No Comments

As has been said, many times, which is exceptionally important, and is frequently mentioned by many dancers almost immediately is: Posture.

Posture for most people boils down to the following two lines:

“Head up!”.

“Elongate your Spinal Column.”

This is a ‘good’ posture for most people.

Sounds easy enough, right ? Just lift your head up, and then ummmm ‘elongate’ your spinal column.

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Learning Castellano

April 28, 2017 No Comments

Learning to speak and write in Spanish can be lots of fun. Doing so can really force you to understand that your own language is really wacky, that it is fully of colloquial phrases that when translated is a literal mess of confusion, and furthermore forces you to really start looking at your own culture and choices. However when it comes to Argentine Tango, and ultimately going to Buenos Aires, the question comes up … “Do you really need to learn to speak Spanish ?”

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