Favourite three male dancers

When I thought of my three favourite male dancers, I had little trouble - but it took some analysis to work out why those three were so prominent in my mind.

Hugo Daniel kept repeating "intention" when I spent a number of hours working with him in 2007, and when I watch him dance, I see it, and I see the intensity of feeling that he puts into every moment.

Javier Rodriguez was a great favourite of mine back in the days when he was dancing with one of Pat's favourites, Geraldine Rojas, and what impressed me about him was his speed, his turns, his creativity, and I loved his milongas.

Finally, who could go past the late, great master of tango, Ricardo Vidort, who would lead his partner with subtle, almost imperceptible movements of his body, while his feet played out the changing rhythms of the orchestra - watch his body as he dances to Chique, then play it again and just watch his feet.



So should we try to copy our favourite dancer's or teacher's style? Not at all - even if we were remotely capable of getting close. Besides, performance and social dancing are different. Our mentors can, nevertheless, give us clues on technique and tango style, but in the end, we have to develop our own style - how we can best reflect what the music says to us, within our partner's embrace.

From Hugo I take 'intention', from Javier the creative potential in milonga, and from Ricardo subtlety & musicality. But that's just the start - tango is a never-ending road, isn't it?

Bob

Sunday night at the Czech House

If you're in Melbourne on the second Sunday of the month, head across to the Czech House in North Melbourne where Melbourne Tango hold their monthly milonga. We had a fabulous time last Sunday, and being a long weekend it finished later than usual at 1am.

The traditional Buenos Aires style milonga is organised by a passionate group of volunteers, who really look after their guests. A free lesson with guest teachers and music by guest DJs (yours truly last Sunday) make the $10 entry a steal!

Happy dancing,
Pat.