Playing in the In Between (Intermediate)

Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
Tucson Tango Festival
April 21, 2024

 

This subject covered the Intangibles in tango, the “glue” or how to enhance our dancing and communication with each other.  A lot of these intangible ideas can really come from our attentiveness to the music and how the music affects us. It has to make sense with the music and to both partners. It has to be in context.  Our class focus is to enhance our ability to translate the music and influence our partner.  

We began with the Statue Game:

In partnership, we simply walked, with the Leader initiating a stop in the middle of a step, and both dancers were to comfortably maintain it for two beats.

Level 1 of the game: Leader initiates the stop.

Level 2 of the game: Follower initiates the stop.

 

During the stop, we were to engage the body and be super grounded, hug and compress the body to really stop/freeze.  Our connection is deliberate, and we move with the floor.  We can stop/freeze in a parada or the middle of a boleo or leg wrap. Our goal was to suspend or pause the movement, have a Kodak Moment, to enrich the flow of our dance, creating pauses. In this class, we are to exaggerate to understand the concept.

 

Next Game:

The Follower Initiates

She does not change the step the Leader is leading, and forces her to go between being subtle to being more obvious.  The Follower is 100% a partner of the musical interpretation, as is the Leader.  The Follower adds her own take on the music, and does subtle things that capture the Leader’s attention, so that the dance becomes a conversation.  In the Follower’s upper body, she can do things with her lungs, arms, hands, fingers, and shoulders, to influence the Leader in communicating the musicality via her upper body.

 

Two more chapters:

The Follower should inject playful footwork into all the places where she can do a little something, perhaps even doing bigger and more complex things that are not led.  These are embellishments, but also extra steps, accents, or catches.  She should not be obnoxious to the Leader and his lead when she does these things.  She should find the “safe spaces” to do them such as paradas or when they are in outside partner position.  The Leader should hold back and allow the Follower the space and time to do these things. (Don’t worry, Leaders will have their moment, too.)  We were to connect well with the music.  The Leader should create open spaces for him to propose to the Follower to do a little accent.  Followers should spend time dancing with themselves to become more familiar with the music. We were to try to do these little accents, catches, and embellishments during the parada before she steps over.

 

The Follower should periodically engage eye contact with the Leader.  This is one way of being playful, as if the dancers are sharing a joke, or to tell the Leader she is just checking in.  She should not shoot laser beams at the Leader from her eyes.

 

Last chapter:

Leader moves independently but does not move the Follower.  We practiced this in partnership in regular hold in open embrace with a fair amount of space between them. Follower is on one leg and the Leader moves from side to side, changing his weight or taking a step, but leading the Follower to remain where she is on one leg. He can help do this by releasing his right hand from the Follower’s back so he can still hold, but does not accidentally push her or move her while he is moving. He does not go too far away in his steps.   

 

To apply this concept to our dancing, the Leader can lead an 8-Count Basic to the cross, and add a few pitter patter steps in between, keeping the Follower on axis and not disturbing or changing any of her steps.  Do this on the Follower’s right foot and left foot so she doesn’t get overtired on one leg.

 

Putting it all together:

(1)   Stop (Leader or Follower initiated)

(2)   Follower interprets the music with embellishments or with changes in her embrace or by looking at the Leader periodically

(3)   With the Leader moving independently of the Follower and not disturbing his dance.

 

Maestros concluded with a video class summary and demo to El Once (A Divertirse) by Osvaldo Fresedo

 

Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com