tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post3117491080364368745..comments2024-03-21T05:39:38.636-04:00Comments on Tango Therapist: The Secret MilongueraTango Therapisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12548118004604256736noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post-4092425429954545682011-10-04T04:53:27.604-04:002011-10-04T04:53:27.604-04:00Another informative blog… Thank you for sharing it...Another informative blog… Thank you for sharing it… Best of luck for further endeavor too.Tangokurs oslohttp://www.tangotango.nonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post-11331312423166110202011-09-25T13:25:27.964-04:002011-09-25T13:25:27.964-04:00Oh dear. I am a born critic, niggler and bossyboot...Oh dear. I am a born critic, niggler and bossyboots. I try to tone down this side of my personality (mostly without success). But it's always nice when I encounter someone who can work with it :-).Terpsichoralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12150778504060694415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post-85459325821605465562011-09-25T13:08:21.778-04:002011-09-25T13:08:21.778-04:00I never post in blogs, though I read some, and sta...I never post in blogs, though I read some, and started to read this one.<br>After few years of navigating the tango world, being originally from Argentina, raised in a classical music world, having had a grandfather that took me to the dance floor more than once and lead me to that "old-people" dance of tango that was on the radio all the time (I definitely preferred Queen at the time!), having been on stage for many years as a ballet dancer and being a performer myself, having danced jazz, modern, ballroom, and whatever else some brave soul could lead me into, it is very clear to me that TANGO dance is one thing, and one thing only.<br>Tango is a way of expressing yourself (just like ANY other dance or art form) and sharing your feelings with your partner (UNIQUE to tango in the intimate way that that happens). And, just like in other art forms, the way you dance will follow the way you are feeling at the moment. Nothing is better than having a big repertoire of tools to express yourself. So, I worked hard to obtain the tools and make them mine (and I still do work hard).<br>Sometimes I feel quiet, peaceful, content and just want to dance quiet and musical, milonguero style (which is not simple, by the way..look at true milonguero's videos in you tube..nothing boring about that); sometime I am just too happy, and love to fly to a tango-waltz with innumerable turns and colgadas; sometimes I feel energetic and passionate and dramatic, and nothing is better than a Pugliese with a leader that can be dramatic with me, go slow and fast and rapidly change dynamics, and have a great repertoire of tools to do this. Contrary to what I know (safety wise), I love closing my eyes when dancing, because it takes me to mine and my partners' own little world at that moment and I can forget there is people around. <br>If you see me dancing on the floor, you might get your own ideas of who I am and what I feel, and your own prejudices might make you think I am a snob if I did not look at you, or if I do boleos and colgadas ...well, you know nothing about me. I might look at someone I know dances quietly and simple if that is the conversation I want to have that night. I might not if I feel that I might burst out of my skin if D'Arienzo is playing and I cannot be playful with that partner. I might go out and dance with an unknown partner if I am feeling daring and curious and open to get to know someone. <br>If you, Mark, or others, always feel like dancing milonguero style, it's all fine. Some of us like to change following the flow of our lives. Some others might always like to fly while dancing. Why thinking that anyone is "trying" to impress? all that lives in the receiver's head, probably very seldom in the "producer's" head. You can only do what you do, and be who you are. In the dance floor, in life. And you'll find people you connect with and communicate, and then you'll find the others. In tango, and in life. And it is all cool. There is space for all of us. We are all ok. The ones that like moves, the ones that don't, the ones that like to connect with their partners and the audience (there is magic on that!, when you feel that the entire theatre is coming on a journey with you) and the ones that like it "solo". No prejudices, no judgment. And, by the way, it is all TANGO. Piazzolla once answered to some one criticizing his music as not being (the traditional) tango: "Well, it is my own tango". If there is something you can count on in this life is CHANGE.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post-85875923695517505972011-09-25T12:43:23.116-04:002011-09-25T12:43:23.116-04:00@Terpsi: You caught me being overly zealous again....@Terpsi: You caught me being overly zealous again. Oh well. I sometimes hope you wouldn't read my blog and point out my obvious flaws. :-)<br><br>But my mantra of tango-para-dos makes for good poetry about the woes of being a milonguero on a dance floor full of theatrics and dangerous maneuvers. Friday I saw feet going over the six-foot high mark, and a foot extended straight back that looked like a kung-fu move. <br><br>Somehow the close embrace reminds me of intimate moments that are tender and loving versus positioning oneself for the erotic film cameras. Now that is a blog I plan NOT to write. :-) But to be fair, you are right in that one can be not even touching in a free dance and have a great, meaningful connection. Opening up can be a playful interaction. Being visual only for your partner can also playful and wonderful. (I am talking about tango here.) Stage tango or dancing for others is not evil, but it is not the heart and soul of tango as a social dance.<br><br>Okay, so next time, I will put on my Terpsichóre Editing Glasses before I press the "publish" button on my blog.Tango Therapisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12548118004604256736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post-64592993447717078552011-09-25T11:50:43.648-04:002011-09-25T11:50:43.648-04:00I would also just caution against not including so...I would also just caution against not including so many remarks about 'snobby' female dancers in the blog.<br><br>There is a double standard that I've often observed in the tango scene. When men dance only with a few women, they are described as 'choosy'. But when women also exercise choice about who they dance with they are 'snobby'. I don't think it's snobby to want to avoid feeling physical discomfort or dancing with leaders who have very little consideration for the quality of their follower's experience of the dance. And I wouldn't like to see you perpetuating that double standard here.Terpsichoralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12150778504060694415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post-80799628016353611432011-09-25T11:36:17.609-04:002011-09-25T11:36:17.609-04:00This is another great article, Mark. I have to dis...This is another great article, Mark. I have to disagree with you, of course, on the idea that salon tango is danced for an audience or with an audience in mind. Every style of tango should be danced, as someone I'd like to credit but unfortunately cannot remember put it, "to express, not to impress." This should be completely independent of whether you are dancing salon, milonguero, nuevo or any possible hybrid or combination of the above. If you are dancing lots of flashy moves, it should be because that is the way you genuinely hear the music and feel the need to move to it (and there should be adequate space, as there often is later in the evening, for instance, when the milongas start emptying out). <br><br>For me, aesthetics are not unimportant, but your primary focus is always expressing the music and connecting with your partner. Even if you are actually literally performing. And, of course, at the milonga always. But, paradoxically, that is the kind of dancing that is most captivating to watch. <br><br>"I want to keep dancing my own dance. I want to dance without trying to impress the woman with what I might think she is expecting from me. In other words, I want to be authentic in my tango." Speaking for myself, this is absolutely what I am looking for in a leader's dancing. I don't want him to adapt his style to try to please me. On the contrary, I want him to dance his authentic dance. That's when I can really engage with him, even if it's a style I'm not as accustomed to dancing. For me, experiencing how different different leaders can be is part of the pleasure of being a follower in tango.<br><br>And because, as a follower, it's my job to try to adapt, to connect as fully as I can, independently of the style, you may not be able to tell which style I prefer just by watching me on the dance floor.Terpsichoralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12150778504060694415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035244062520832583.post-41351731728348654472011-09-25T09:39:49.095-04:002011-09-25T09:39:49.095-04:00I've said it before, I'll say it again. D...I've said it before, I'll say it again. Do you know what we call women who demand 'fancy' steps? We call them beginners.Nancynoreply@blogger.com