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Tango from YouTube: Friend or Foe?

11/8/2012

4 Comments

 
There is something I have to admit...... I am a bit of a tango Youtube addict. I love to watch my favorite dancers perform at festivals around the world. I watch tango lesson summaries as well from teachers that I know from Buenos Aires. It provides me with so much enjoyment and inspiration. I would highly recommend that aspiring dancers consult Youtube to learn more about the Argentine tango. Before Youtube became popular in around 2007, many South African tango students were only exposed to a small selection of teachers, many of whom had studied tango from video themselves.  Now we, teachers and students, can access visual information about any kind of tango - up -to-date; on demand. Fantastic!

In my opinion, however, there are certain things about tango that we can learn from Youtube and things that we cannot. I am speaking from my own experience in using Youtube as a learning resource as well as input from top teachers in Buenos Aires (those on the local and international performing circuit).

So what can we learn from video? Well, one thing that I think is very good to learn from video is musicality. If you watch the famous dancers  perform you will see how musicality is used - how dancers use rythmn, pausing and pace to create beauty and tension in the dance. A teacher famous for his musicality is Fabian Peralta. It is really valuable, especially for leaders, to see how  dancers such as Fabian use the intricate rythmns and melodies of traditional tango music to create the dance.

Another benefit  of video is to observe dancers' general "style", that is , their posture, embrace, fluidity versus rigidity in their movement. For women, you can see, for example, how the tanguera uses her feet to create elegance and adornments.

Finally, we can learn about the footwork of the lead and the followers' response. But here is where my opinion of video as a learning tool goes down the drain. In tango terms, the explication of what produces the lead ie. sublte changes in the embrace, changes in the forces between the bodies, rotations, types of linear and centrifugal energy forces, balance and axis are not observable in video. Likewise, the follower can see where she should put her foot but she can't see what she should be doing with her core muscles, her connection to the floor and to the partner, the types of resistance she should offer and how she can achieve optimum balance.

Even well known Youtube material such as ""Dario's Tango Guide" gives only rudimentary information about the lead and follow. Make no mistake, I like Dario and his guide, and its stucture is useful for people living in remote areas. But once again, if anyone is trying to learn tango by figuring out what to do with their feet and legs, they have got only half of the story. The result is dancers who try to do complicated moves without the fundamentals of the dance.

I do prefer prefer online teaching summaries from Oscar Casas and Homer Ladas. They provide a window into complex and fascinating technique of  tango. But what they dont give you is feedback on how you are doing. There are many dancers who have learned steps from Youtube and nobody has explained to them how they can improve to make it more pleasant for them and their partner.

 SO.... you've already guessed what the conclusion of this article is...... I don't believe that is possible to learn good tango from most of the material out there on Youtube. Better video resources where teachers give much more information are available for purchase but beware of those that teach you "the steps". Finally, tango lessons from experienced teachers who understand and can communicate the complexities of tango are worthwhile! Take them, challenge yourself, enjoy the subleties and make yourself the best tango dancer you can be!

4 Comments
Graham Jepson
12/1/2012 11:09:16 pm

Hi Rachael,

Catching up on your blog, this post and an earlier one on the embrace especially caught my eye.
Since we live on the South coast of Natal we are indeed in a remote area and depend upon Dario to help us progress with our tango. You are quite right about the lack of information he provides on the lead and the follow. We are quite experienced ballroom dancers so picking up the steps is relatively easy; it's how you lead them that is hard to figure out. Fortunately we had the experience of two lessons with you earlier this year so we have some clues. But as you say, there is no feedback to help us along.
When we had lessons with you, one of the key points was maintaining parallel axis between ourselves. In your post about the embrace you talk about a V connection and I've seen what I think is this on some clips of old-time Argentinian dancers, who appear to have a very forceful lead. However, I'm struggling to put the V connection and parallel axis together - perhaps I'm not relaxing my shoulders enough, but any advice?
Also on the embrace, another key element was small ball/big ball - that was certainly a good point because without that, and without a sliding embrace, some steps would seem near impossible.

Overall, as we have practised, I think we are getting better and more fluent, and enjoying it more. The concentration levels required are still quite demanding and that is the main part of the challenge.

Although you mentioned to us that tango in Argentina is rarely danced to vocals, our favourite music is Carlos Gardel because he conveys so much passion.

Keep well and best wishes,
Graham Jepson.

Reply
Rachael link
12/2/2012 04:12:52 pm

Hi Graham. I am pleased to hear that you have continued your tango journey. It is hard to explain tango technique through writing it but I will try:

Axis - what I meant is that each partner should be in their own axis ie that they should not fall down if the other person moves away. However, the "intention" of each body is towards the other, meaning that your weight when you are standing together should be on the balls of your feet rather than your heels; your chests should be open and connect at the breast (of man and woman). If you have this upwards and forwards connection through your breast there is less temptation to use the shoulders, especially when leading ochos.

The embrace - there are two main types: the V - where the partners connect with the breast on the right side of the lead or the embrace where they connect on both sides, and there is a scale in between. Whats important is that the follower is not offset against the main chest and is in front of him.

There are a lot of tango orchestras which used singers and I do love them. Do you youbube search for Remembranzas by D'arienzo - a real treat!

Cheers
Rachael

Reply
Graham Jepson
12/3/2012 05:42:39 pm

Thanks for this Rachael. All these insights need to be absorbed and practised and then re-absorbed and re-practised.
Looking through things again, the idea of using triceps is making a lot of sense because it does indeed help the shoulders to relax.

I found the youtube clip of Remembranzas by D'arienzo - thank you - it is fantastic!

Cheers for now - Graham.

Graham Jepson
12/3/2012 07:49:25 pm

Thanks for this Rachael. All these insights need to be absorbed and practised and then re-absorbed and re-practised.
Looking through things again, the idea of using triceps is making a lot of sense because it does indeed help the shoulders to relax.

I found the youtube clip of Remembranzas by D'arienzo - thank you - it is fantastic!

Cheers for now - Graham.




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    Rachael Glaser: tango junkie, teacher, diva, sourceress

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