Sunday 8 March 2009

Learning tango

Historically, if you were a leader your elder brother taught you to follow so he'd have someone to practice his leading with, or your mum taught you a few moves in the kitchen and you went out and practised with your mates. & you watched dancers in social dances, and tried to work out and copy what they were doing. The incentive: being a good dancer boosted your social life. Men never danced together, but they practised with each other: Sally Potter makes a point of showing Pablo, Gustavo, and Fabian leading and following each other in The Tango Lesson.

These days we go to classes. In Buenos Aires, there seems to be a consensus in the teaching of 'milonguero' tango. All the classes I went to started with a gentle warm up that explored awareness of balance, progressed to leading or following walking in parallel and in close hold, in single and double time, and then focused on one of the many variations of the ocho cortado. A close hold, walking with the music and good posture, are insisted on. At one class I went to, I found myself in the change of partners with a very young woman – probably no older than 16 – who was clearly uncomfortable at dancing so closely with a stranger, a much older man. Of course I didn't insist, but the teacher, Susana Miller, saw us dancing somewhat apart, and gently but quite firmly pushed us into a close hold, which my partner then accepted.

The teachers in all the classes I went to gave everyone a lot of attention in matters of posture and musicality. This wasn't a problem because the basic material they were working with, walking and ocho cortados, didn't take a lot of time to demonstrate. That is, they concentrated on getting us to do simple things well and clearly.

The same pattern was followed by the late Ricardo Vidort in a class at the Dome in London 3½ years ago. He didn't push anyone into close hold: he just joked about it. “Boys and girls, hold your partner close. It is not for life! It is just for one dance!”: everyone laughed and adopted a close hold. Lovely guy. & he taught the ocho cortado.

Why so much ocho cortado? You notice it is used a lot in social dancing in Buenos Aires, partly I assume because it takes up little room on a crowded floor, it's what you do when a couple steps in front of you, it can be led from a walk in parallel, and of course it feels good when it's done well. In the context of a class it teaches leading and following from the torso, as both partners need to turn a lot from the waist to do a good ocho cortado in close hold. It also involves the use of double time, and like any tango move there are many possible variations. I expect there are other beginners' classes with different emphases, but I think it's safe to assume that most dancers in Buenos Aires begin in classes like these: close hold, musicality, posture, the ocho cortado.

It occurs to me that 'classes', which suggests a progression of learning, isn't quite the right word. 'Workshops' might be more apt, occasions when you do some work on a topic.

London is quite different. So far as I know, close hold is never insisted on in beginners classes, I don't remember musicality being emphasised so much at the start and, unless things have changed in four years, the eight-step salida is taught instead of the ocho cortado: not quite sure why it has such a hold on British tango. But I think the central difference is that there is no consensus here that a firm basis in close hold, walking to the music, and the ocho cortado is the best foundation. If you were taught this basis repeatedly you could go to another class and learn something different. You might think you were progressing fast because you might get a lot more varied and apparently quite complex material. But would you be able to go to a milonga and dance all that stuff with someone who hadn't been in the class with you? If not, you were being conned – unless, that is, you don't want to do anything else except go to classes where your partner knows her part, and you can imagine you are dancing on stage together, which suits some people.

Conned? Well, not intentionally. But I think that although teachers are well aware that a firm basis in simple things is necessary, they are also aware that if they don't seem to teach complex material their students won't feel they are doing well, and might take their class fees elsewhere. Another problem is that many London teachers have a stage background, and at heart perhaps rather less sympathy for, or experience of social dancing. & we don't live in a culture in which the milonga is central to the dance: generally speaking, stage and ballroom tango are more familiar than social tango. Perhaps as a result of this orientation of London dance, teachers of 'milonguero' tango don't get invited here: they go everywhere except the UK, all over Europe and the USA, because it's not what people want here, and they don't want it here because it's not the kind of tango they've been taught. In a way there's too much on offer, and too little consensus.

The result can be confusing. Am I an inferior leader because I can't lead back saccadas, or ganchos, with the kind of ease that makes them look natural, and should I stand in a milonga trying to wrestle my partner into a gancho? Am I a hopeless follower because I can't wave my legs around four times to each beat with unexpected decorations that risk of tripping myself and the leader? These crises of confidence might keep teachers in business, but they shouldn't arise. As a basis we need to be able to stand upright, walk in time to the music and dance a few variations of the ocho cortado, and I think we should be aware that there's nothing wrong with enjoying whole evenings of dance, leading clearly and following the music, with little more than that. That seems a reference point for tango in Buenos Aires, it's what most people do when they go out dancing, it's a necessary foundation on which a lot can be built, but it seems it's a reference point we aren't close to enjoying in London.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

well said.

there is a distinct difference between london and BA in (i) what teachers/students aim for, (ii) what aspects of the dance are enjoyed.

my experience is that the french get this right.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I have my most successful dances with people who are visiting London from outside, be it from Buenos Aires, Paris or Frankfurt.

I have sadly heard London teachers speak disdainfully of milonga tango in contrast to the real fine art of stage or ballet.

(Those same people regard tango music as being less sophisticated than European classical music).

Tangocommuter said...

I find it amazing that this system of dancing in couples called tango, developed since over a century ago, still has possibilities that talented and trained dancers seize on and develop with enthusiasm.

I've nothing against the tango of professional dancers, performed on stage. I just feel they've convinced people here that tango is a kind of display, rather than a dance between two people, and that musicality and intimacy have suffered.

I should add that Leandro and Romina at Tango Soul encourage close hold in their classes, and at least one traditional teacher, Ricardo Maceiras, has visited and given workshops regularly in London, as did Mingo and Ester Pugliese until recently. But prominent 'milonguero' teachers like Ana Schapira, Cacho Dante, and 'Tete' Rusconi and Silvia have been welcomed regularly across Europe and in the USA, but not invited here because, one organiser told me, 'it's not the kind of tango people want here'. It costs to invite teachers and put on workshops, and no one wants to do that unless they think they'll get their money back.

Anonymous said...

I think it is mostly a cultural divide. In BA, Tango is mostly a social event to go see your friends. In other places, Tango is a place to be seen.

tangocherie said...

I just discovered your blog, and read all of your posts about your trip to BsAs!

You seem to be totally on the right track, and I agree with you 100% on what you're trying to accomplish!

Suerte!

Tangocommuter said...

Thanks, tangocherie. I'm amazed you got thru all my (probably) naive comments about your adopted city! I wrote mainly to keep track of myself: I plan to visit again soon, so it might be useful. I'll keep an eye on your blog to be better informed next time!

tangocherie said...

Let me know when you're back in Buenos Aires!

Anonymous said...

Nora Dinzelbacher, teacher and festival organizer in San Francisco, explained the purpose of the "ocho cortado" (given that name by Gustavo Naveira) so the man could see who is on his right side. I heard Nora teach this in 1998. It's not a step with many variations for the woman, although it is being sold as such.

If you were to ask milongueros to define it, they wouldn't know what you are talking about because it doesn't exist in their vocabulary.

Johanna commented above that "In BA, tango is mostly a social event to see friends." It certainly appears to be the case with the flood of tourists and locals hugging and kissing everyone. The milongueros go to dance, but these days it's difficult to hear the music in some places with all the talking going on. I remember only a few years ago when the focus was the music, not conversation. Your personal life was left at the door, and tango was the main event.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your blog. It is one worth reading.

Anonymous said...

Hi Janis,
What I meant about milongas being a "social event" referred a milonga being more than JUST about dancing, although dancing is the main event.

We have a couple of milongas here where the sound system is so awful, and the people are so loud, that it is impossible to hear the music to dance. I'm sorry to hear that this problem is now popping up in BA.

Tangocommuter said...

Hi Jantango, and thanks for your comments. Good point: the ocho cortado can help the leader to see on his right side but only if it's danced with a lot of twist, if it's led with a backstep rather than a sidestep. Here (London) it's normally taught with a sidestep. If you're dancing close you carry your blind spot - your partner's head! - with you as you turn.

I'd come across your blog before, and enjoyed all the stories of the many milongueros you've met. Thanks for all that. Too bad it's never been possible to video a lot of that: I really enjoyed watching the older dancers in Buenos Aires, and was always surprised how different they could be. But perhaps an even more valuable record is in the memories and bodies of dancers who watch carefully.

Anonymous said...

I have filmed interviews and milongas with milongueros over the past nine years. I saw the need to record them when no one else bothered.

Tangocommuter said...

Wonderful to hear you've got this archive. I hope you'll be able to make it public some day. I look forward to watching some of it!