Want to be able to dance confidently and feel comfortable in traditional milongas of Buenos Aires?
Our teaching develops your musicality, connection, technique & improvisation with social tango, as well as insights into tango culture and critical skills to build your confidence with milonga etiquette.


Monday, 26 July 2010

Decorations - a contradiction in terms

Recently it dawned on me that decorations, adornos, embellishments (call them what you will) could well be considered a contradiction in terms - unless executed for a tango performance.

Under most circumstances in life, a decoration is an external embellishment. Yet an adorno in social tango comes from within and remains within the embrace. It's not primarily for the viewing public. It is a spontaneous expression of the emotion of the music. It does not disturb our partner. It isn't calculated or premeditated. However, sound technique and control underpin any elegant adornment.

What is a decoration in social tango? To me it begins with the way in which dancers (male or female) use their feet when taking a step.

For anyone interested in this topic, I recommend very highly the articles by Olga Besio and Milena Plebs (in Spanish & English).

PP
Labels:

2 comments:

  1. Unknown9 August 2010 at 17:28

    What I think about women decorations dancing is: The most beautiful, the best, is the one the man does not notice it !! Two or tree years ago I danced with my friend Elina Roldan, in Cagliary - Sardinia where she was one of the teachers, a milonga. The dance was perfect to me, smooth as ever, a joy to dance with such a partner. I did not notice anything strange.
    Later when I saw a video of my dance with Elina I was surpriced to see how many decorations she performed !!!!. Amazing .....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tango Salon Adelaide9 August 2010 at 18:02

    Thanks again for your thoughts, Constantino. While watching Elina dance (on Youtube), it is clear that her technique and body control are so good that she looks light as a feather. Her decorations appear soft and are beautiful expressions of the music. Your experience (you lucky man!) certainly confirms that.
    PP

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment. All comments are subject to moderation. Don't worry - it won't take long.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular posts

  • Do cortinas matter?
    How important is a cortina , apart from clearing the dance-floor between tandas?      Does it affect the mood and energy of the milonga?...
  • What’s in a name? Comme il faut
    What is comme il faut ? No, it’s not the shoes! The literal translation from the French (according to our French-English dictionary) is ...
  • How to choose a dance partner
    Ever found yourself dancing with someone and regretting it?  Were you unsure of what went wrong?  Do you still have no idea of how to preve...
  • Tango covers
      Did you realise that the Golden Age tango orchestras were in fact cover bands? Yes indeed!   The fabulous orchestras of Di Sarli, Troilo, ...
  • Mirada? Cabeceo? What’s the difference?
    In essence they are two very simple signals in the milonga: MIRADA (the look) = showing interest to dance CABECEO (the nod) = indicating acc...
  • The milonga jungle
     It's quiz time, folks! Let's face it.  The tango world is full of characters: amusing, a few annoying and some delightful.  Sounds ...
  • Budding tango relationships
    No, I’m not referring to those fleeting relationships typified by an invitation to have a ‘cafecito’ after the milonga. For those unfamilia...