Tangodurians

The more I learn things about this dance the more I do find myself getting frustrated. Yes I can move better, yes I can hold my own weight, yes I can do about 99% of moves but can I do it in a way that is beautiful, inspiring, musical, effortless? Likely not. The body is the tool, we receive the energy and direction through the chest, telling us: - Speed - Time - Direction - Force which translates from top to toe. Energy received up top, sends down all the way to the toes and that is why you never look at the feet, because it will tell you nothing. Everything is a movement generated from the chest. Everything. And yet again you hear, disassociate, disassociate, disassociate. Truly, this is the core of it, because if you can't do that, then everything will be reactionary and lag, rather than being complementary and together. Privates with Ariadna & Fernando, truly one of the first great couples that I encountered by hearsay in 2010 and then again with lessons in 2011....

Moría en los rayos de sol  la niebla de un día sin luz.  Y luego en la tarde serena  huyeron mi angustia y mi pena The fog of a dark day Died in the rays of the sun And then in the calm evening My anguish and my sorrows fled. Soñaba aquella tarde con tus besos  Sentíame feliz con tu regreso.  Y al verte de nuevo ante mí  Cantaba en mis sueños así:  Una vez, sólo te vi una vez  Y te amé, sólo bastó una vez.  Hoy no sé si me faltará tu cariño  ¡Ay de mí, que estoy solo sin ti! I dreamed that evening of your kisses I felt happy that you’d returned. And on seeing you before me once again I sang like this in my dreams: “One time, I saw you only one time, and I loved you, one time was enough. Now I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough of your affection Woe is me! How alone I am without you!” Sólo tú me sabes comprender  Siempre tú, para poder vencer.  Nunca más, yo te lo juro vida mía  Nunca más po...

Was having an interesting conversation the other day about being critical. Someone was entirely shocked when she got pulled aside by a lead and got a thorough 'lesson' on following. I'm sorry, until you spent more time following than leading do you have a right to criticise someone for your perception of them not 'pivoting' their hips enough to chase your stupid chest around a molinete. Gosh. Especially when I know that follow, and she's a marvelously fine follow the way she is.... Which got me thinking again of what it means to be in someone's shoes. Especially being a lead and crossing over the roles. I think some criticism may be justified, such as if the follow is being heavy, or if they really are not holding their own weight, but that should really be the crux of it. Don't say that you can do a step better than I can, and if I can't read a complex move, then don't try it. I think this sums it up quite well really. "I welcome co...

It has been a while since I have managed to bring myself back toward elements of beginning stages. Back to the days in tiled Union lobbies with an exasperated ponytailed guy telling me to shut my eyes and just feel. To stop fighting the lead and to surrender. What does it mean to be a good dancer? I sometimes think we are so caught up within this dance that we do not utilise everything else outside of it to inform our progress. Metaphors and imagery resonate so much stronger than describing a step ever will. What does it mean to be a good speaker then? Is it necessary to be Oprah before we deem ourselves worthy of the title? Hardly! Then why is it that we expect to dance like Rojas, like Hurtado, or any other headlining name? Maybe because Tango is so accessible, so fundamental in nature, like walking, that we believe we can partake in it, and expect to at a very high level. Truth is, it really does require training, it requires years of dedication much like ballet, gymnastic, yog...

I have been shifting focus internally all over the place recently. Sometimes I wish this conscious incompetence would just go away for a while, so I can shut up the critic in my head that seems to have gotten louder the more I dance. Are you balanced? Did you embellish to that quaver? Why is your rotation on the left so weak? Knees keep banging into the guy! Ochos not feeling supported! Don't hang off him! Disassociate damnit! Left toes also feeling a lot more pain recently. Hello bunions, you can go away now please. Looking forward to KLTF. Had a quick discussion about egos in Tango as I am getting irked by certain people because of this. The ones who think they are "the shit" and where they can barely acknowledge the people who supported them from the start, thinking that they were the only ones responsible for their current outcome. Bullshit. Which only serves to remind myself never to turn into them (at the risk of course, of going the opposite way an...

Energies. Went for a 'yin' yoga class yesterday which was quite different. Slept really well thought, so something definitely relaxed within my body that allowed this to happen better. It also gelled well with a note that I had made a few days ago about how Tango unite two separate energies, two different movements that blend together to form a whole. Thinking more about what it means to lead and exploring the functions that create this dance from the viewpoint of the leader is such a different beast for me. As a follower I am receiving energy, transmitting it, changing it at the whim of an imperceptible shift of weight, capturing and releasing. As a leader I am generating energy, sending it out clearly, giving and also receiving. Without the receiving, you are doing nothing more than talking without truly listening. We are dancing the same dance, but our language is different, complementary, but different. The principal of the roles create distinct differences in the m...

There's a clear distinction why, despite the fact that Sg has so many more male leads, that I prefer the Malaysia dance scene. Company. Socialisation. This ever more so important with gender balances at the rate that they are, you have to have someone to talk to, laugh with, discuss, debate...and practice your terrible leading on. Girls. The ones who will take your dances, and the ones who will also uplift a lousy milonga where your butt sees more action on your chair than on the floor. The discussions and times over margaritas at Tios with newly found friends. The connections made over banana flambe's, tiramisu and other yummy food in La Boca. Taking time to teach a new follower the finer points of this dance. Getting advice from each other, pushing each other to progress, to dance better, to enhance the following. Beyond that, having a dedicated partner, both in Tango and in life (in that moment at least), I've forgotten this already. Entirely. Seeking differ...