Reflections on My New Tango Home
1 week ago
Saturday 23 July 2016
Intention
If you've learned to dance the man's role in tango, you may have been urged to dance with more intention. Especially as a beginner dancer, any tentativeness or indecision would probably have been identified. You would have been reminded that even a hint of uncertainty is immediately apparent in your partner's response .... or lack of it!
As a consequence, you may have also formed the impression that dancing with intention is only important in the man's role. That the woman simply follows what the man proposes in the dance. And perhaps this is so ... in the early stages.
However, most experienced dancers will confirm that there is much more to the woman's role than "just following".
Dancing well in the woman's role means responding to the music and to the man's proposal without anticipation and haste. When she moves to the music it is with conviction, commitment and confidence.
Perhaps not so different to the intention required in the man's role??
Here are two performance treats, both embodying intention.
PP
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I agree and would like ro add something from my experience. A response to leading can be to make the same movement, i.e. go for synchronous movement. The less time delay, the more enjoyment. When both dancers hear the music in the same way, delay is smallest; this requires purposeful, active dancing by the follower. Or, lead/follow is a dialogue, i.e. not synchronous.
ReplyDeleteIf I can add a response which is not synchronised.
ReplyDeleteHaving danced as a leader and as follower I find that you may have missed an important aspect of the dance and that is the improvisation which is where the follower becomes the leader and the leading waits until realised or waits until the right moment. So in my humble opinion the leader need to synchronise as well.
Just an observation.
Thanks for your interesting comments, Yokoito and Anonymous. Allow me to build on them.
ReplyDeleteOn reflection I can almost visualise a sliding scale showing the degree of synchronous movement between the couple being influenced by the music and various personal factors, such as emotional response, social tango experience, personal style, etc.
The couple's movement is, of course, determined by each person's response to the music. So, it follows that the very same two people dancing to a variety of pieces of music could well be responding with different degrees of "synchronicity", for want of better term. For example, they may dance in an apparently synchronous manner to an energetic vals, but respond to an intense Pugliese tango in more of an overt dialogue form.
Because social tango is improvised, even the most apparently synchronised dance, will contain a subtle dialogue. The man will be led by the music to suggest movement to the woman, and he will be guided by her response. This dialogue is unseen, but is there nevertheless.
PP