Well... sadly enough they are hardly new. Newly released, and not that newly either. Newly noticed by me, more like. The wonderful Myriam Pincen, who danced and taught with Ricardo in the last years of his life has posted some clips of a workshop in the old Porteño y Bailarín venue in 2004, taught by Ricardo, Myriam and Osvaldo Cartery, on her YouTube channel. The clips are all dated November 24.
The sequence begins with a demo by Myriam and Ricardo. The video quality of these clips is analogue, and the light level is low. I find this quite appealing, a kind of raw, fiery colour, but unfortunately in this clip the movement isn't that smooth so although you get an impression, it's not particularly enjoyable to watch. The other clips are much smoother.
Also before the workshop began Ricardo dances with Osvaldo, who took the role of follow. Old childhood friends from the days when Argentina was still a predominantly male society: I believe sexual parity wasn't reached until the late 1940s, which meant large groups of men standing around at milongas trying to get dances... This must have put a lot of pressure on men to up their dance, their appearance and courtesy, particularily since social dance was the main venue where men and women could meet. At least in the UK, and probably elsewhere too, dance halls remained the places where most couples met each other right up until the beginning of the 1960s. Hence the fanatic interest young guys of Ricardo and Osvaldo's generation had in excelling at tango.
There's a general dance, pretty much like a milonga, carefully watched by Myriam, Ricardo and Osvaldo, at the end of which Osvaldo, crackling with energy as ever, dances a brief demo with Myriam. There's a cut to another general dance with Ricardo and a partner, perhaps the best dance of the series. The video quality here is reasonably smooth, and the analogue colours glow.
Sadly that's it from Porteño y Bailarín, but there is one further video of Ricardo and Myriam, a demo at the end of a private class. The lighting is good so it's clearer how Ricardo leads those corridas, runs of quick steps, round his partner, so much of the energy, the impulse, coming from the chest. It's also a complete piece of music, and performed in true tango style on a space no larger than a fair-sized floor tile, but full of energy and playfulness nonetheless.
Myriam's channel also has a number of clips of her with other, more recent partners. She continues to teach in Buenos Aires, in English if necessary, an invaluable bridge to the dance of the golden age.
Showing posts with label Ricardo Vidort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ricardo Vidort. Show all posts
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
Sunday, 15 May 2016
Ricardo Vidort: list of links
Ricardo Vidort passed away in May 2006. I’m still hoping the website will appear this year, but since Jantango told me that much of the material is already online I thought it might be a good idea to put together links to all the available online material. I hope this will make it more accessible.
I’ve divided the links into three sections. First (of course) links to dance, dances in milongas first. My problem is finding the original link, which I’ve used wherever possible, but I simply don’t have time to go through all the repostings to find which is the first. & I’ve tried to put them in chronological order, but there’s not always adequate information. If any of these links are to your material and you’d like me to use your original link, tell me. & if I’ve missed anything, or got something wrong, please let me know.
After the dances, films of Ricardo talking, and finally links to transcripts of interviews. For these two sections we owe Jantango a lot of thanks, as she's given us a great opportunity to ‘meet’ Ricardo and hear him talking.
This isn’t all the material that exists. McGarry filmed frequently in the milongas, so it’s likely he has more than the six clips in Tango and Chaos, and his recordings are good quality for 2001-4 video in dark places. (In fact he says it was hard to start writing about Ricardo because ‘...there’s so much video’.) I know of two private sources which haven’t been made public for various reasons, and there’s certainly more from his teaching tours of the USA. However, I think these links to material that’s already available give us an excellent picture of Ricardo and his dance and I hope this collection will be useful. I used to think there wasn’t much material and I was surprised how long this list became! There are seven clips of Ricardo dancing in milongas, in addition to the demos and some wonderful videos of him talking, so it is an extensive and valuable archive.
1) As an introduction, here’s Muma talking about Ricardo (with subtitles). Muma danced and taught with Ricardo for a number of years. This is a four-minute extract with subtitles from Jantango's 24-minute interview with Muma for those who can follow castellano, as it's without subtitles. A lot of thanks both to Muma and to Jantango for making this available.
(Updated 30/05/2016.)
MILONGAS
The earliest and best (I think!) are from milongas in 2001. These are all rather fragmentary and the video quality isn’t great, but the dancing is.
2 Ricardo and Muma dancing Cuatro Palabras in 2001. Sadly incomplete, but wonderful.
3 Milonga Bien Jaileife, Buenos Aires, July 2001 1
4 Milonga Bien Jaileife, Buenos Aires, July 2001 2
5 Just for completeness: Ricardo at Club Latino. This video is from Jantango’s private videos, and this is a copy. However, it’s only a very general view of the milonga floor and Ricardo hardly appears.
6 Rick McGarry’s chapter on Ricardo from Tango and Chaos. This contains six of his videos of Ricardo in Lo de Celia between 2001 and 2004. The text is McGarry’s recollections.
7 Hector Brea, Ricardo Vidort, Oscar Casas, Mary Ann Casas, and others at a rather empty milonga in Confiteria Ideal. Filmed by Ney Melo & Jennifer Bratt in 2003. Part 1
8 Confiteria Ideal part 2.
DEMOS
9 These two videos are from an event at Centro Leonesa to celebrate Ricardo’s 64th year of tango, so perhaps around 2003. Ricardo Vidort and Miriam Pincen: this is the well-known dance to Canaro’s Chique in Centro Leonesa. Undated.
10 This follows on from the previous video at Consagrados. Ricardo and Myriam are joined by Oscar & Mary Ann Casas, Osvaldo & Coca Cartery, Ricardo Viqueira & Mariana Hernandez.
11 Ricardo and Myriam Pincen dancing in Centro Leonesa (fast forward to 4:19.)These two tangos are cut into a short film on the history of tango.
12 Ricardo and Vilma Martinez in Centro Leonesa.
13 It’s said that Ricardo Vidort and Osvaldo Cartery were friends at the time they were developing their tango, and used to practice together. It’s wonderful someone was around with a camera when they reprised that practice.
14 Copied from Tango and Chaos: Ricardo with Alexandra Todaro. Worth including here because it loads faster than on the site. YouTube wasn’t available pre-2005 when McGarry was developing his site.
15 Part of this is from Tango and Chaos, but this particular version is longer. Ricardo dancing with Alejandra Todaro, and teaching (presumably) Rick McGarry.
16 Ricardo and Anna Maria Ferrarra dancing in Rome. An extended video, with two tangos and two milongas. Probably 2004-5.
17 Ricardo and Liz Haight: Poema
18 Ricardo and Liz Haight(?): Tigre Viejo
19 Ricardo and Liz Haight: Denver 2005 This seems to be the same dance as in the previous video but from a different camera. Poor quality film, with bleached-out colour.
20 Ricardo with Jessica Grumberg. Orquesta Tipica Victor, 'Negro'. A class or practice rather than a demo.
21 Ricardo and Jill Barrett August 2004 in Southampton I think.
22 Ricardo and Jill Barrett August 2005.
23 Finally, a compilation Myriam Pincem posted two years ago. It starts out with a demo in Centro Leonesa that I hadn’t seen before. It’s a new video to me, but unfortunately it’s quite badly filmed, very dark, and the dancing is obscured by captions telling us that it’s Ricardo dancing with Myriam.
This is followed at 1:50 by what might be another version of the marvellous Chique, Ricardo with Myriam in Centro Leonesa. I’m not sure. It includes Ricardo and Myriam entering the floor, so it’s a more complete version than the version posted by chrissjj which I linked to above (no. 9). Otherwise, it’s generally poorer quality, so it could be from another camera. Oscar Casas posted the video of the group demo which followed Ricardo and Myriam dancing Chique that evening (no. 10), so it’s possible that the version Myriam posts here is different and comes from him. Chique is followed at 5:39 by the demo I’ve posted as no. 10 above.
VIDEO CONVERSATIONS
24 Jantango’s marvellous 17-minute recording from 2001 of Ricardo talking about tango… and life.
TRANSCRIPTIONS
25 Jantango’s 2003 transcript of Ricardo talking about his life in tango. Previously published December 2003 in El Once Tango News.
26 Jantango’s transcript of Ricardo talking about tango as therapy. Previously published in September 2004 (Issue 44) in El Once Tango News (London) by Paul Lange and Michiko Okazaki.
27 An entry in Jantango’s blog: Ricardo talking about dancing in a milonga.
28 Another entry in Jantango’s blog, Ricardo again talking about dancing in a milonga. Previously published December 2004 (Issue 45) in El Once Tango News (London) by Paul Lange and Michiko Okazaki.
29 Jantango’s transcript of Ricardo talking about tango a month or so before he passed away.
30 The last conversation: Ricardo talking at the end of his life. This was made at the hospice in New Mexico where he died, by Camille Adaire RN who was putting together a documentary called Solace: the Wisdom of the Dying. This is a link to the full documentary.
31 Finally, as a summary, the video tribute to Ricardo, put together by Oscar Casas and others.
I’ve divided the links into three sections. First (of course) links to dance, dances in milongas first. My problem is finding the original link, which I’ve used wherever possible, but I simply don’t have time to go through all the repostings to find which is the first. & I’ve tried to put them in chronological order, but there’s not always adequate information. If any of these links are to your material and you’d like me to use your original link, tell me. & if I’ve missed anything, or got something wrong, please let me know.
After the dances, films of Ricardo talking, and finally links to transcripts of interviews. For these two sections we owe Jantango a lot of thanks, as she's given us a great opportunity to ‘meet’ Ricardo and hear him talking.
This isn’t all the material that exists. McGarry filmed frequently in the milongas, so it’s likely he has more than the six clips in Tango and Chaos, and his recordings are good quality for 2001-4 video in dark places. (In fact he says it was hard to start writing about Ricardo because ‘...there’s so much video’.) I know of two private sources which haven’t been made public for various reasons, and there’s certainly more from his teaching tours of the USA. However, I think these links to material that’s already available give us an excellent picture of Ricardo and his dance and I hope this collection will be useful. I used to think there wasn’t much material and I was surprised how long this list became! There are seven clips of Ricardo dancing in milongas, in addition to the demos and some wonderful videos of him talking, so it is an extensive and valuable archive.
1) As an introduction, here’s Muma talking about Ricardo (with subtitles). Muma danced and taught with Ricardo for a number of years. This is a four-minute extract with subtitles from Jantango's 24-minute interview with Muma for those who can follow castellano, as it's without subtitles. A lot of thanks both to Muma and to Jantango for making this available.
(Updated 30/05/2016.)
MILONGAS
The earliest and best (I think!) are from milongas in 2001. These are all rather fragmentary and the video quality isn’t great, but the dancing is.
2 Ricardo and Muma dancing Cuatro Palabras in 2001. Sadly incomplete, but wonderful.
3 Milonga Bien Jaileife, Buenos Aires, July 2001 1
4 Milonga Bien Jaileife, Buenos Aires, July 2001 2
5 Just for completeness: Ricardo at Club Latino. This video is from Jantango’s private videos, and this is a copy. However, it’s only a very general view of the milonga floor and Ricardo hardly appears.
6 Rick McGarry’s chapter on Ricardo from Tango and Chaos. This contains six of his videos of Ricardo in Lo de Celia between 2001 and 2004. The text is McGarry’s recollections.
7 Hector Brea, Ricardo Vidort, Oscar Casas, Mary Ann Casas, and others at a rather empty milonga in Confiteria Ideal. Filmed by Ney Melo & Jennifer Bratt in 2003. Part 1
8 Confiteria Ideal part 2.
DEMOS
9 These two videos are from an event at Centro Leonesa to celebrate Ricardo’s 64th year of tango, so perhaps around 2003. Ricardo Vidort and Miriam Pincen: this is the well-known dance to Canaro’s Chique in Centro Leonesa. Undated.
10 This follows on from the previous video at Consagrados. Ricardo and Myriam are joined by Oscar & Mary Ann Casas, Osvaldo & Coca Cartery, Ricardo Viqueira & Mariana Hernandez.
11 Ricardo and Myriam Pincen dancing in Centro Leonesa (fast forward to 4:19.)These two tangos are cut into a short film on the history of tango.
12 Ricardo and Vilma Martinez in Centro Leonesa.
13 It’s said that Ricardo Vidort and Osvaldo Cartery were friends at the time they were developing their tango, and used to practice together. It’s wonderful someone was around with a camera when they reprised that practice.
14 Copied from Tango and Chaos: Ricardo with Alexandra Todaro. Worth including here because it loads faster than on the site. YouTube wasn’t available pre-2005 when McGarry was developing his site.
15 Part of this is from Tango and Chaos, but this particular version is longer. Ricardo dancing with Alejandra Todaro, and teaching (presumably) Rick McGarry.
16 Ricardo and Anna Maria Ferrarra dancing in Rome. An extended video, with two tangos and two milongas. Probably 2004-5.
17 Ricardo and Liz Haight: Poema
18 Ricardo and Liz Haight(?): Tigre Viejo
19 Ricardo and Liz Haight: Denver 2005 This seems to be the same dance as in the previous video but from a different camera. Poor quality film, with bleached-out colour.
20 Ricardo with Jessica Grumberg. Orquesta Tipica Victor, 'Negro'. A class or practice rather than a demo.
21 Ricardo and Jill Barrett August 2004 in Southampton I think.
22 Ricardo and Jill Barrett August 2005.
23 Finally, a compilation Myriam Pincem posted two years ago. It starts out with a demo in Centro Leonesa that I hadn’t seen before. It’s a new video to me, but unfortunately it’s quite badly filmed, very dark, and the dancing is obscured by captions telling us that it’s Ricardo dancing with Myriam.
This is followed at 1:50 by what might be another version of the marvellous Chique, Ricardo with Myriam in Centro Leonesa. I’m not sure. It includes Ricardo and Myriam entering the floor, so it’s a more complete version than the version posted by chrissjj which I linked to above (no. 9). Otherwise, it’s generally poorer quality, so it could be from another camera. Oscar Casas posted the video of the group demo which followed Ricardo and Myriam dancing Chique that evening (no. 10), so it’s possible that the version Myriam posts here is different and comes from him. Chique is followed at 5:39 by the demo I’ve posted as no. 10 above.
VIDEO CONVERSATIONS
24 Jantango’s marvellous 17-minute recording from 2001 of Ricardo talking about tango… and life.
TRANSCRIPTIONS
25 Jantango’s 2003 transcript of Ricardo talking about his life in tango. Previously published December 2003 in El Once Tango News.
26 Jantango’s transcript of Ricardo talking about tango as therapy. Previously published in September 2004 (Issue 44) in El Once Tango News (London) by Paul Lange and Michiko Okazaki.
27 An entry in Jantango’s blog: Ricardo talking about dancing in a milonga.
28 Another entry in Jantango’s blog, Ricardo again talking about dancing in a milonga. Previously published December 2004 (Issue 45) in El Once Tango News (London) by Paul Lange and Michiko Okazaki.
29 Jantango’s transcript of Ricardo talking about tango a month or so before he passed away.
30 The last conversation: Ricardo talking at the end of his life. This was made at the hospice in New Mexico where he died, by Camille Adaire RN who was putting together a documentary called Solace: the Wisdom of the Dying. This is a link to the full documentary.
31 Finally, as a summary, the video tribute to Ricardo, put together by Oscar Casas and others.
Saturday, 12 December 2015
Muma teaching Ricardo Vidort's legacy in California this October
Jantango very kindly passed on a link to some videos of Muma's visit to the US in October. There's a long radio interview, and several tracks of performances with Rafael Galante from LA. It's such a pleasure to watch Muma dance. There's nothing rushed or over-eager about her dance: it's as if she tries to step at the last possible moment. It adds a particular energy to her movements, and to me this langorous, unhurried way of stepping makes her dance more sensual. Sadly, there's been nothing at all from Ojai or Seattle, where she gave workshops. She also taught in LA, so we can only hope that videos of some of her 2015 teaching in the US will emerge.
There's just one video I can find of Muma teaching: it's during her visit to Vancouver in 2009. There's a short account of her teaching on posture (with a very helpful exercise) from her visit to Seattle in the same year.
The radio interview is nearly two hours, although the first ten and the last 20 minutes are 'filler', and it's split up with music tracks. It's also long because translation is sequential, but it's fascinating and brilliant to listen to. Muma's family background was 'golden age' tango, and it's wonderful to listen to her recollections of the musicians and the dance she grew up with.
This is a general summary. The interview begins with general family background.
00:35 She talks about Tanturi's Asi se baile el Tango and says it describes exactly how tango was danced when she was growing up. (There's a translation of the song here.) Then she talks about d'Arienzo, then Di Sarli. (A real insight into tango as it's heard in Buenos Aires. Essential.)
01:01 She talks about the importance of codigos in Buenos Aires, but implying that courtesy and respect should be followed generally. Cabaceo as a 'seductive game'. Respecting the dance floor, not barging into the line of dance, etc.
01:11 Talking about Ricardo Vidort, a great description of how he danced. Importance of perfecting the walk. As to the 'eight classes', '...in all the years I spent working with Vidort I never heard him mention to me that he had eight classes'. How his classes actually were. 'It's a lifetime of practice.'
01.24 Other people she danced with.
Of course, there's more. Ojai's advance advertising highlighted the '8 lessons' as the topic of Muma's workshops, but Muma herself says in the interview that they didn't exist in a precise form, and their later publicity toned it down to the teaching of 'La esencia of Ricardo Vidort'. She explains that he believed in teaching walking and some basic material, which could be taught in six, eight, ten classes. After that it was up to those who learned from him to go out and create their own tango from these fundamentals. She also says that he wasn't the kind of teacher who wanted to claim students and get them coming back to him again and again. You need to be pointed in the right direction, but after that it's up to you to work on it.
There's just one video I can find of Muma teaching: it's during her visit to Vancouver in 2009. There's a short account of her teaching on posture (with a very helpful exercise) from her visit to Seattle in the same year.
The radio interview is nearly two hours, although the first ten and the last 20 minutes are 'filler', and it's split up with music tracks. It's also long because translation is sequential, but it's fascinating and brilliant to listen to. Muma's family background was 'golden age' tango, and it's wonderful to listen to her recollections of the musicians and the dance she grew up with.
This is a general summary. The interview begins with general family background.
00:35 She talks about Tanturi's Asi se baile el Tango and says it describes exactly how tango was danced when she was growing up. (There's a translation of the song here.) Then she talks about d'Arienzo, then Di Sarli. (A real insight into tango as it's heard in Buenos Aires. Essential.)
01:01 She talks about the importance of codigos in Buenos Aires, but implying that courtesy and respect should be followed generally. Cabaceo as a 'seductive game'. Respecting the dance floor, not barging into the line of dance, etc.
01:11 Talking about Ricardo Vidort, a great description of how he danced. Importance of perfecting the walk. As to the 'eight classes', '...in all the years I spent working with Vidort I never heard him mention to me that he had eight classes'. How his classes actually were. 'It's a lifetime of practice.'
01.24 Other people she danced with.
Of course, there's more. Ojai's advance advertising highlighted the '8 lessons' as the topic of Muma's workshops, but Muma herself says in the interview that they didn't exist in a precise form, and their later publicity toned it down to the teaching of 'La esencia of Ricardo Vidort'. She explains that he believed in teaching walking and some basic material, which could be taught in six, eight, ten classes. After that it was up to those who learned from him to go out and create their own tango from these fundamentals. She also says that he wasn't the kind of teacher who wanted to claim students and get them coming back to him again and again. You need to be pointed in the right direction, but after that it's up to you to work on it.
Saturday, 28 November 2015
On your axis?
I remember this as one of the rules taught when tango was danced open or partly open. But does it apply to tango danced close? I'm not sure that it does. I see couples on the floor who start their close-embrace dances standing completely upright, toe-to-toe. It looks awkward and stiff. Dancing on your axis, upright, makes perfect sense in open tango, but it looks uncomfortable when you dance close. I think it's a hangover from a different kind of tango, like the 'open V' embrace of the same era.
There's a teaching film by the late Tete Rusconi and Silvia Ceriani in which they say that '...the two bodies have one axis'. In other words it's a shared, rather than an individual axis. They illustrate it with that familiar gesture, the hands in prayer with the palms separated. Ricardo Vidort uses the same gesture (at 2:40) – it's the 'apilado mudra' – to illustrate the tango embrace. This shared axis, rather than two separate, individual axes, is much more practical in close embrace. Both films give clear and useful advice on the embrace.
(With thanks to Tangocaffe.)
I really like this photo. The colours are natural, good natural daylight, no obvious flash. It's a dynamic moment, Tete just stepping forward and Rosanna Remón about to shift to her left foot, their toes well behind a shared axis, which is almost visible: you could draw a line down the middle. It looks as if there's an exact symmetry of dynamic and energy, and nothing exaggerated or pretentious about it. Both are very upright in the torso. The curve in Rosanna Remon's lower back is beautiful, although it's not something many can achieve readily after the age of 11 or thereabouts. Sitting badly a lot changes that inward curve, and many of us end up slouched: the front of the body shortens, and the muscles of the back elongate, and the body wonders why it struggles a bit sometimes. But there are strategies to help re-align the body.
There's no slack in the connection between Tete and Rosanna, they've become a single unit and communicate precisely as one. To some extent they support each other with this position. & my impression is that a lot of the energy in the dance starts from this shared axis. Supporting, to some extent, your partner's weight means you need to step more firmly and clearly: the impression of energy comes from this slight resistance, rather than from just performing steps energetically. Of course, a shared axis can go beyond the point at which either partner alone is in balance. Gavito and his partners must be the extreme example of this kind of total trust, but that's unusual on the dance floor.
I remember chatting with one of the first porteñas I danced with. It was on the crowded floor of El Beso and we were standing close. Then the music started, we embraced – and then she literally fell into me, so I took a slight step back to hold her energy and weight. We ended up exactly in the shared axis and in the closest possible embrace, our feet somewhat behind an individual line of balance. It's a memory of a moment of surprise and pleasure I hope I share with other visitors who've danced in the milongas. Physical pleasure, yes, but also the pleasure of feeling so directly the trust of someone I'd known just a few minutes.
(Thanks to Florencia Bellozo.)
I hesitated a bit before including this video. I think it shows a partner 'falling into' a lead, and the lead taking a slight step backwards, but it's nothing like as dramatic as my description suggests. It's only a moment, and you have to look very hard to see it at all, but I think it's there. His step back clinches it for me, but the camera isn't close and the video quality is poor. What it shows without any doubt is how this distance at belt level is maintained throughout the dance. (Incidentally, the clip seems to have had a section edited out.) Personally I find it easy to start well, but without a lot of attention it all starts to sag as the dance goes on. I have to keep reminding myself to keep the lower back in, and the chest up.
Another big reason for including this is that the lead, Abel Peralta, is another of the older dancers who sadly passed away this year. It's good to remember I've enjoyed watching him dance with Florencia Bellozo, and I'm very glad of the videos that remind me of a way of standing and walking that is so effective in close embrace, and of that energy and enthusiasm for the music. Perhaps the best video of this couple is a long clip, starting with a very tender dance, also to the Di Sarli/Florio 'Derrotado', and showing parts of a vals tanda in Lo de Celia. (The floor is almost empty: I can't work out if it's late and everyone has left, or early and people are still arriving.) There's also a charming clip of this couple dancing a jive tanda at Lo de Celia, an improvised dance that's half tango and half jive.
(Thanks to Marina 2x4.)
There's a teaching film by the late Tete Rusconi and Silvia Ceriani in which they say that '...the two bodies have one axis'. In other words it's a shared, rather than an individual axis. They illustrate it with that familiar gesture, the hands in prayer with the palms separated. Ricardo Vidort uses the same gesture (at 2:40) – it's the 'apilado mudra' – to illustrate the tango embrace. This shared axis, rather than two separate, individual axes, is much more practical in close embrace. Both films give clear and useful advice on the embrace.
(With thanks to Tangocaffe.)
I really like this photo. The colours are natural, good natural daylight, no obvious flash. It's a dynamic moment, Tete just stepping forward and Rosanna Remón about to shift to her left foot, their toes well behind a shared axis, which is almost visible: you could draw a line down the middle. It looks as if there's an exact symmetry of dynamic and energy, and nothing exaggerated or pretentious about it. Both are very upright in the torso. The curve in Rosanna Remon's lower back is beautiful, although it's not something many can achieve readily after the age of 11 or thereabouts. Sitting badly a lot changes that inward curve, and many of us end up slouched: the front of the body shortens, and the muscles of the back elongate, and the body wonders why it struggles a bit sometimes. But there are strategies to help re-align the body.
There's no slack in the connection between Tete and Rosanna, they've become a single unit and communicate precisely as one. To some extent they support each other with this position. & my impression is that a lot of the energy in the dance starts from this shared axis. Supporting, to some extent, your partner's weight means you need to step more firmly and clearly: the impression of energy comes from this slight resistance, rather than from just performing steps energetically. Of course, a shared axis can go beyond the point at which either partner alone is in balance. Gavito and his partners must be the extreme example of this kind of total trust, but that's unusual on the dance floor.
I remember chatting with one of the first porteñas I danced with. It was on the crowded floor of El Beso and we were standing close. Then the music started, we embraced – and then she literally fell into me, so I took a slight step back to hold her energy and weight. We ended up exactly in the shared axis and in the closest possible embrace, our feet somewhat behind an individual line of balance. It's a memory of a moment of surprise and pleasure I hope I share with other visitors who've danced in the milongas. Physical pleasure, yes, but also the pleasure of feeling so directly the trust of someone I'd known just a few minutes.
(Thanks to Florencia Bellozo.)
I hesitated a bit before including this video. I think it shows a partner 'falling into' a lead, and the lead taking a slight step backwards, but it's nothing like as dramatic as my description suggests. It's only a moment, and you have to look very hard to see it at all, but I think it's there. His step back clinches it for me, but the camera isn't close and the video quality is poor. What it shows without any doubt is how this distance at belt level is maintained throughout the dance. (Incidentally, the clip seems to have had a section edited out.) Personally I find it easy to start well, but without a lot of attention it all starts to sag as the dance goes on. I have to keep reminding myself to keep the lower back in, and the chest up.
Another big reason for including this is that the lead, Abel Peralta, is another of the older dancers who sadly passed away this year. It's good to remember I've enjoyed watching him dance with Florencia Bellozo, and I'm very glad of the videos that remind me of a way of standing and walking that is so effective in close embrace, and of that energy and enthusiasm for the music. Perhaps the best video of this couple is a long clip, starting with a very tender dance, also to the Di Sarli/Florio 'Derrotado', and showing parts of a vals tanda in Lo de Celia. (The floor is almost empty: I can't work out if it's late and everyone has left, or early and people are still arriving.) There's also a charming clip of this couple dancing a jive tanda at Lo de Celia, an improvised dance that's half tango and half jive.
(Thanks to Marina 2x4.)
Thursday, 8 October 2015
Muma in Ojai, and online links to Ricardo Vidort
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A classic milonguera and celebrated teacher, Muma Valino visits Southern California + Ojai for the first time ... on what may be her last ever tour to North America. 
* For this edition of "Tango Lab" ...• Active Social Dancers
Questions + Registration — please contact:
Stephen Bauer ...
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Tango
Lab in Ojai: October 2015
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| A lifelong milonguera, Muma Valino lives and
breathes the most prominent social form of Argentine Tango
— as danced in a "close embrace" in the crowded
clubs and salons of her native Buenos Aires. The daughter of a well-connected tango family, Muma grew up steeped in the music, movements and traditions of the dance. As tango reemerged in the "Renaissance" of the late 1980s and 1990s, Muma became one of the most prefered partners for a generation of older milongueros who began dancing back in tango's "Golden Age." Not only was Muma a welcome presence on the everyday social dance floors of the milongas, she was also a highly valued colleague in countless demonstrations and lessons. Over the years of teaching with her fellow milongueros, Muma has emerged as a gifted and celebrated teacher in her own right — widely acknowledged as a master of milonga tráspie, the lively "tango picado," and the philosophy + approach of her long-time collaborator, the renowned Ricardo Vidort. |
|
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 |
 |
 |
Above: Muma teaching, dancing
and demoing in the Pacific Northwest, 2009 - 2012 ...
this will be her first visit to Southern California |
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More Links for Muma Valino + Ricardo Vidort
Muma on Ricardo Vidort
Muma reminiscing about dancing + teaching with her friend, the late Ricardo Vidort.Muma's Dancing in Buenos Aires
• With Ricardo Vidort, at the opening of her milonga, "Bien Jaileife" (2001) ...Muma's Teaching
• Demo with Dani "El Flaco" García, milonga tráspie at "Sunderland" (2001) ...
• On the social dance floor, dancing vals with Osvaldo Natucci at "El Beso" (2000) ...
• On the social dance floor, with Fernando Hector Iturrieta at "Lo de Celia" ...
A video collage of Muma teaching in Vancouver, BC, (2009) ... and an overview of her upcoming workshops, later this month in Eugene, Oregon.Interviews with Ricardo Vidort
Speaking on video with dancer + writer Janis Kenyon in 2001, Ricardo profiles his philosophy + approach to tango as a social art form.Ricardo's Dancing
Transcripts of later interviews — on his life in tango ... on learning + feeling ... and his last interview, looking back when he was in hospice.
There are hundreds of examples of Ricardo's dancing on the internet, but this series is from Rome, probably filmed in the early 2000s, before he fell ill ...More Reflections on Ricardo's Impact on Tango
From a longer article, "The Last Compadrito," by friend, tanguero + blogger Rick McGarry, from his website Tango and Chaos. Earlier in the article, Rick also shares his views on Ricardo's dancing as profiled several imbedded video clips ...
More writings on the idea of "Simplicity" in tango and Ricardo's famous "8 Lessons" approach to the dance ...
And, beginning at 00:34, a video collage of Ricardo — dancing, teaching, chatting, and having fun in the homes, cafes, studios and milongas of Buenos Aires ...
Muma's translator during her visit to Ojai will be her friend Ronaldo. A dancer + DJ in Los Angeles, Ronaldo also hosts the radio program, Tango Angeles on UBN.
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Ricardo Vidort website
There
were several comments about the proposed Ricardo Vidort website,
which was laid out by Jantango, and remains currently unpublished. I
got some news about it a couple of days ago. The email I received
isn't altogether clear, but I understand that translation has taken
time: there are a number of interviews which had to be
subtitled in English, and texts which have had to be translated, as the
site needs to be bi-lingual. The good news is that much of this has
now been completed, and it's possible that it will be available
later this year.
I'm
afraid the problem isn't uncommon: if you work at something out of
love, it's easier for other things to get in the way, family commitments, illness, other
work. It's a bit sad, but money does focus the mind! Anyway, I
understand that the project is well on its way, and I hope we can
look forward to seeing it fairly soon. I've suggested it could be published chapter by chapter, as work is completed, rather than waiting for everything to be finished. Let's see what happens!
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
Two interviews with Ricardo Vidort
Many thanks to Jantango for posting links to two interviews with Ricardo Vidort. Both are full of insights both into tango and into human life and nature. The second is particularly significant: I assume it is from the film made by the hospice where Ricardo passed away, as part of a record of the insights of people who are dying. It feels like an exceptional privilege to be able to listen to it. There's no indication if this is the entire section featuring Ricardo, or whether the film includes more.
I also received the following comment from Tom Tubbs concerning the unpublished Ricardo Vidort website: 'Any detail on the unpublished site? Is there any contact that people could drop a line of encouragement to? His notes on his class might be very interesting to read.'
Is there any contact that people could drop a line of encouragement to?
I also received the following comment from Tom Tubbs concerning the unpublished Ricardo Vidort website: 'Any detail on the unpublished site? Is there any contact that people could drop a line of encouragement to? His notes on his class might be very interesting to read.'
Is there any contact that people could drop a line of encouragement to?
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Ricardo Vidort: Jantango's comment
Jantango sent a comment on my post Did Ricardo Vidort Teach? She knew him to dance with so I didn't want to hide her comment in the 'Comments', where it might not get read. Here it is:
'Ricardo danced the same way whether he was on a milonga floor or an empty one -- he used the space. His dance was his. He never performed for the audience, he danced for his partner and himself. There is no choreography in his tango, it's pure feeling from the music.
'Work began four years ago on a blog: Ricardo Vidort -- the unforgettable milonguero of Buenos Aires, which included his notes for his classes, a series of eight. Then Ricardo told his students to go and practice and discover their own tango. I helped create the Wordpress site, but I don't believe the owner will publish it. There were interviews with Ricardo's dance partners, photos, videos, personal letters, and his philosophy of tango.
'Ricardo Vidort once told me that he taught everything he knew in eight classes. Then he told his students he had no more to teach them. They had to go practice on their own and develop their own style. They didn’t need more classes. He was right. Those who stay in classes for years want approval from the teacher and won’t practice on their own.
'I have a DVD of an interview of Ricardo that was part of a film by a hospice in New Mexico. I viewed it again yesterday and share it with visitors in BsAs who are interested in learning from Ricardo. I posted a transcript of the interview on Tango Chamuyo.
'Ricardo lived in New York City for several years, but he wasn't appreciated for what he had to share. Perhaps his tango was considered too simple, too basic, for those who were interested in the flash they saw on stage.'
It's too bad that the Ricardo Vidort blog hasn't been published. I know he said that you needed only eight classes with him to learn to dance tango and it's great that he left notes on them: I had just one class, so I've always wondered about the other seven! I wonder if these notes can be published independently of the blog? I think I've met the 'owner of the site', and I wonder if there's any way we can get all this material put up on the web. It really should be available for us all. I know that he talked to the camera and was filmed for the hospice where he passed away, and I believe there's a copyright issue with that film, but the rest of the material shouldn't be restricted.
Jantango doesn't give a link to her transcript. I found three short 'talks' by Ricardo on Tango Chamuyo, all reprints from Paul and Michiko's excellent, but no longer published magazine, El Once Tango News; Ricardo Vidort in his own Words, Is Dance a Therapy? and His Last Interview.
As to 'interviews with Ricardo's dance partners' fortunately there is one on YouTube.
'Ricardo danced the same way whether he was on a milonga floor or an empty one -- he used the space. His dance was his. He never performed for the audience, he danced for his partner and himself. There is no choreography in his tango, it's pure feeling from the music.
'Work began four years ago on a blog: Ricardo Vidort -- the unforgettable milonguero of Buenos Aires, which included his notes for his classes, a series of eight. Then Ricardo told his students to go and practice and discover their own tango. I helped create the Wordpress site, but I don't believe the owner will publish it. There were interviews with Ricardo's dance partners, photos, videos, personal letters, and his philosophy of tango.
'Ricardo Vidort once told me that he taught everything he knew in eight classes. Then he told his students he had no more to teach them. They had to go practice on their own and develop their own style. They didn’t need more classes. He was right. Those who stay in classes for years want approval from the teacher and won’t practice on their own.
'I have a DVD of an interview of Ricardo that was part of a film by a hospice in New Mexico. I viewed it again yesterday and share it with visitors in BsAs who are interested in learning from Ricardo. I posted a transcript of the interview on Tango Chamuyo.
'Ricardo lived in New York City for several years, but he wasn't appreciated for what he had to share. Perhaps his tango was considered too simple, too basic, for those who were interested in the flash they saw on stage.'
It's too bad that the Ricardo Vidort blog hasn't been published. I know he said that you needed only eight classes with him to learn to dance tango and it's great that he left notes on them: I had just one class, so I've always wondered about the other seven! I wonder if these notes can be published independently of the blog? I think I've met the 'owner of the site', and I wonder if there's any way we can get all this material put up on the web. It really should be available for us all. I know that he talked to the camera and was filmed for the hospice where he passed away, and I believe there's a copyright issue with that film, but the rest of the material shouldn't be restricted.
Jantango doesn't give a link to her transcript. I found three short 'talks' by Ricardo on Tango Chamuyo, all reprints from Paul and Michiko's excellent, but no longer published magazine, El Once Tango News; Ricardo Vidort in his own Words, Is Dance a Therapy? and His Last Interview.
As to 'interviews with Ricardo's dance partners' fortunately there is one on YouTube.
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
'Did Ricardo Vidort teach?'
-- I'm asked. Yes, he was the best ever! He
taught people to stand, to walk, to embrace, to move. He taught
people to dance, to enjoy moving with a partner to the music. His
cheerful energy and laughter made you feel you too could dance and
enjoy it! He showed us in class with his own example, he encouraged.
He'd teach a basic 'figura' for us to practice with, nothing
difficult. He wasn't one of those teachers who make you feel useless
because you can't manage a backwards sacada with a leg-wrap. Teaching
a lot of dance steps isn't the same as getting people to dance.
Of
course he taught what he danced. Here's a great example: sadly it's
short and fragmentary, but it's still a great example. I can watch it over and over.
(Thanks
for asking, uwe-tango.)
PS.
The Lladro video: not sure which it was now. He's a marvelous
dancer, and he learned in a very traditional way, but you can't
dance in milongas the way he dances in demos. There just isn't room,
is there?
Monday, 10 February 2014
Ricardo Vidort in Rome
Thanks to several
friends who alerted me to this video of Ricardo Vidort, uploaded recently to
YouTube. Four dances from Rome, including two milongas,
which I think are the only available videos of Ricardo dancing
milonga. An extraordinary dancer; I'm really glad to see
this. Absolutely my favourite milongas on film! There's a warmth and
intensity I find nowhere else. & his partner I guess is
from a ballet background; those fast, flexible ankles seem to show
that much. Perhaps they hadn't danced a lot together, and use the same music for both performances.
Viejo tigre! There are several clips of Ricardo dancing to Viejo
tigre. Perhaps he felt it was apt.
The
film is dated 2006, but that's unlikely as Ricardo died in May that year.
Clearly it's summer: everyone is in summer clothing, with fans too:
this can't be Rome in the winter of 2006. His last visit to London
was the previous summer, 2005, which might be more likely. Perhaps
even an earlier year. I see Jantango also questions the date.
Presumably
he was in his mid-70s when this was filmed, the more extraordinary that he'd been ill for some
years. He dances with terrific vigour, fire, energy. In fact when I first watched it I
hadn't noticed the date, and assumed it
was from some years earlier. He certainly puts everything into it: he
said that if you dance tango, put everything into it. If you don't
give it everything, don't dance. Autopilot isn't an option. & the sense of compás, the beat, is so precise that on occasions it's almost as if the dancers are actually making the music, instead of only responding to it.
It is extraordinary, but at the same time... Well, I watched again one of his videos on the Tango and Chaos website* and I must say I still prefer the videos of that relaxed afternoon milonga among friends in Lo de Celia. It's relaxed, intimate, tender, and still lively and inventive.
At the beginning of the Rome clip there's also the briefest glimpse of Ricardo dancing in a milonga: it would be wonderful to see more of this. It doesn't have the bravura of a show on an empty floor, but it's the real world. Many thanks to artymusetta for uploading this.
& I hope artymusetta won't mind: I wanted to watch this in more detail, so I slowed down most of the second milonga. As usual the music sounds dire, but the opening 15 seconds show a lot: Ricardo on his toes, weight forwards, pushing forwards with the music, then a turn so fluent that for a moment he almost seems about to leave his partner behind. & there's a jauntiness to the dance that fits so well with the music, a slight bounciness; nevertheless, it stays grounded throughout, body weight so much a part of the dance. & even when he's hitting every beat he still shoots his legs out straight from the knee. Landing on a straight leg, and taking off with a bent knee, it's powerful.
* I notice Tango and Chaos says: 'I’ve thought about this page [about Ricardo] for a long time, but I just couldn't seem to get going. I kept putting it off. Part of the reason is that there’s so much video.' So much video? So where is all that video?
It is extraordinary, but at the same time... Well, I watched again one of his videos on the Tango and Chaos website* and I must say I still prefer the videos of that relaxed afternoon milonga among friends in Lo de Celia. It's relaxed, intimate, tender, and still lively and inventive.
At the beginning of the Rome clip there's also the briefest glimpse of Ricardo dancing in a milonga: it would be wonderful to see more of this. It doesn't have the bravura of a show on an empty floor, but it's the real world. Many thanks to artymusetta for uploading this.
& I hope artymusetta won't mind: I wanted to watch this in more detail, so I slowed down most of the second milonga. As usual the music sounds dire, but the opening 15 seconds show a lot: Ricardo on his toes, weight forwards, pushing forwards with the music, then a turn so fluent that for a moment he almost seems about to leave his partner behind. & there's a jauntiness to the dance that fits so well with the music, a slight bounciness; nevertheless, it stays grounded throughout, body weight so much a part of the dance. & even when he's hitting every beat he still shoots his legs out straight from the knee. Landing on a straight leg, and taking off with a bent knee, it's powerful.
* I notice Tango and Chaos says: 'I’ve thought about this page [about Ricardo] for a long time, but I just couldn't seem to get going. I kept putting it off. Part of the reason is that there’s so much video.' So much video? So where is all that video?
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Ricardo Vidort and Luisito Ferraris: videos
I
came across this among
MullerPatricia's clips:
she
didn't
recognise the dancers, but anyone familiar with the informative
TangoandChaos website
will recognise the second part of it as film of Ricardo Vidort with
Alejandra Todaro, and the first half is from the same session.
However,
this first part doesn't appear on the website, so it
must
come from the T&C private archives, which I think are very
extensive, and I wonder if there's more of that available. It's
just curious that the clip
doesn't identify the dancers.
TangoandChaos
apologises on
the website for
the film quality, and points out that it's great to have film from
when Ricardo was still energetic and in good health. I've
always seen that second half as a really wonderful example of tango,
and it's a treat to have the
rest
of it. I
just can't
help wishing for
even
more.
Jantango posted about that
recent video of Luisito Ferraris on the same day as I did, and adds
a link to a video I hadn't seen. She says it's
also Luisito, and it
does look like him, and it's
his
way of dancing.
Once
again, the
clip doesn't identify the dancers, which
makes it hard
to find. It appears
to be a commercial for something
called
tangoline: the
website no
longer
seems
to
exist. But
the dance does, and it seems very intense. In a way it doesn't matter
who the dancers are.
I'm
struck once again by how close the feet of the dancers are. Sadly,
most
of us managed
to kick
our longsuffering
partners a few times when we were learning, and are
cautious now
about
dancing
with our feet that close. But stepping close, this
very neat footwork, is
a feature of social tango, something I
notice
in a lot of the clips. I
think it's
part of walking one foot in front of the other in line, which results
in 'collecting' and also in a sharper stepping. If you dance in
a practica with
a partner who's accustomed to the dance of the BsAs milongas, she's
likely to point out if you aren't stepping close and 'collecting';
similarly, a guy who's danced there all his life would notice the
lack of 'collecting' in a partner who is careless about it. It adds a
clarity and
sharpness,
as
well as
a kind of additional closeness to tango.
That's about it for Luisito Ferraris on YouTube, very sadly. But there is one more video which I'd watched just part of until recently, when I discovered with pleasure that the second half of it is a milonga. I really enjoyed it: it's a kind of milonga I can relate to, and which I haven't seen much in video. The traspies are subtle, and the dance flows. Much as I love watching 'El Flaco' Dany I know I can't in any way regard him as a role model.
I'd just written this and checked to make sure there was nothing more of Luisito on YouTube... and came across this, posted just one week ago, and 15 minutes long. It seems to be the conclusion of a private workshop earlier this November, and we see Luisito dancing with his students there. He seems to be able to get people to dance, and to enjoy doing it. The text says, roughly, 'Luisito Ferraris is greatly appreciated for his dancing and teaching ability, and for being such a friendly guy'.
It brightened up a cold, dark late November afternoon.
That's about it for Luisito Ferraris on YouTube, very sadly. But there is one more video which I'd watched just part of until recently, when I discovered with pleasure that the second half of it is a milonga. I really enjoyed it: it's a kind of milonga I can relate to, and which I haven't seen much in video. The traspies are subtle, and the dance flows. Much as I love watching 'El Flaco' Dany I know I can't in any way regard him as a role model.
I'd just written this and checked to make sure there was nothing more of Luisito on YouTube... and came across this, posted just one week ago, and 15 minutes long. It seems to be the conclusion of a private workshop earlier this November, and we see Luisito dancing with his students there. He seems to be able to get people to dance, and to enjoy doing it. The text says, roughly, 'Luisito Ferraris is greatly appreciated for his dancing and teaching ability, and for being such a friendly guy'.
It brightened up a cold, dark late November afternoon.
P.S. The original version of the second half of this is here, Adios Arrabal danced by Ricardo Vidort and Alejandra. It's better quality than the version above. I suspect the version above might have been made with a camcorder off a TV screen somewhere.
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Ricardo Vidort at Confiteria Ideal, 2003
The
drip-drip of appearance of films of Ricardo Vidort's tango is slow: I
hope he will still be remembered by the time everything there is
appears! Although there probably aren't that many, but at least they
keep coming.
This one is great: Ricardo (in the light-coloured jacket) dancing in a milonga at Ideal, and dancing with a lot of energy and fun, weaving all over the floor. Nobody else seems as grounded and sure of themselves. It's great to see such enjoyment of the dance, and as ever it's a wonderful lesson. & it's such an individual dance: tango, but unlike anyone else's tango. Clearly tango from an era before professional teachers who all dance alike and teach the same things.
This one is great: Ricardo (in the light-coloured jacket) dancing in a milonga at Ideal, and dancing with a lot of energy and fun, weaving all over the floor. Nobody else seems as grounded and sure of themselves. It's great to see such enjoyment of the dance, and as ever it's a wonderful lesson. & it's such an individual dance: tango, but unlike anyone else's tango. Clearly tango from an era before professional teachers who all dance alike and teach the same things.
A
pity there's not more: there is a Part 1, but he doesn't appear in
it. Moreover, the camera seems to be surreptitious, and dwells on the
other dancers too. But thanks for the few moments; a pleasure to
watch!
Video with thanks to Tango Vida
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Ricardo Vidort: the statement
Jantango recently published the full text of a `statement' on tango by Ricardo Vidort: I found an extract from it a while back and quoted it without knowing where it was from. It seems so clear and definitive, and it's great to have the complete version, and to be able to thank Paul and Michiko for putting it together in the first place. It shows how much he thought about tango, as well as dancing it. Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but in a few short paragraphs it makes most of this blog redundant...
The reference to the fourth chakra confirms what I'd already understood: that Ricardo thought more widely the longer he lived. I also heard that became interested in T'ai Chi late in life and found connections with tango. I know there is a lot more about him: videos that have yet to be released, and conversations on tango and on mortality from his last years. He lived with dying for quite a time, and was aware of it rather than trying to shut it out. He was not only a dancer who is a great model, but also a human being who thought about life, a philosopher. I do hope more of this will come to light soon.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Shooting the feet, slow motion
Many thanks for the comments on Meeting Myriam. As often happens, there's a lot there that's interesting.
As to the embrace, I was very struck by Myriam's point that the main contact is between the lower side of the woman's left arm and her left side, and the upper side of the man's right arm, and rarely ever with his right hand. If his right hand becomes the dominant contact then the embrace is likely to be tight. But I can't help thinking that women generally need to be aware of this too, they need to seek out that side of the contact. Man's right to woman's left arm and side, and the contact of hands on the other side, form the classic 'frame', with the contact of torsos directly in between. (I wonder: if the woman's arm is over the man's right shoulder, isn't half of the frame missing, or at least less effective?) She also spoke about varying the hold: when the man dances to the woman's left he needs to be firmer, and when he leads turns he needs to give more space. This seemed to me a difficult thing to control, but it might be essential.
(Incidentally, she was speaking in English. Her English isn't exactly fluent but it is clear, and she has the instinctive teacher's perception of any stress, which can hinder learning and understanding, and she immediately relaxes your attention with some good-humoured comment, often about her English. Too many teachers in general imagine that if they just hammer on they will get their point across.)
Thanks for the comments on 'shooting the feet', especially Tango en el Cielo's remark that Ricardo regarded 'shooting the feet' as '… a very masculine characteristic, one of the qualities of dancing that distinguished a woman's way of dancing from a man's'. I love the description of Ricardo going '...pad, pad, pad, as if he was in slippers', and RealityPivot's description of 'foot punctuation' too. But verbal description is limited and I wanted to look at some slow-motion video of Ricardo 'shooting the feet'. I think it's common to that generation of dancers, although perhaps it's most noticeable and distinct in Ricardo's dance.
Ricardo and Myriam. The full video is on TangoNad's channel.
& here's Ricardo dancing with Jill Barrett in 2004, upright posture, chest well out and leading with the weight well forwards. Perhaps because the weight is well forwards the forward step shoots forwards with added urgency. & it meets the ground exactly on time! The music sounds terrible slowed down, but I included it because it makes sense of the movement. The full video, correct speed, is on TangoCelebration's channel.
I was also fascinated to hear from Tango en el Cielo that '...Ricardo eschewed technique. He believed that technique analysis was only for stage dancers; social dancers didn't need it as "the body finds its own technique naturally"'. I guess the 'own technique' you find that way, naturally, is your own individual tango. Technical analysis seems like a short cut for people in a hurry, a verbal, cerebral practice that will never build up the muscle memory or get the results developed from hours and hours of dancing and watching dance.
We are never passive when we watch. Our muscles follow instinctively, which is how we can imitate: we've been through it before. Watching, too, builds muscle memory. But a YouTube screen is a bit small: it would be great if we had an hour or so of high quality film of Ricardo and others, to watch full-size on a big screen, our bodies relaxed in a cinema seat, before we go dancing. Well, maybe one day there will be algorithms that can take old video and make a beautiful clear HD image from it...
As to the embrace, I was very struck by Myriam's point that the main contact is between the lower side of the woman's left arm and her left side, and the upper side of the man's right arm, and rarely ever with his right hand. If his right hand becomes the dominant contact then the embrace is likely to be tight. But I can't help thinking that women generally need to be aware of this too, they need to seek out that side of the contact. Man's right to woman's left arm and side, and the contact of hands on the other side, form the classic 'frame', with the contact of torsos directly in between. (I wonder: if the woman's arm is over the man's right shoulder, isn't half of the frame missing, or at least less effective?) She also spoke about varying the hold: when the man dances to the woman's left he needs to be firmer, and when he leads turns he needs to give more space. This seemed to me a difficult thing to control, but it might be essential.
(Incidentally, she was speaking in English. Her English isn't exactly fluent but it is clear, and she has the instinctive teacher's perception of any stress, which can hinder learning and understanding, and she immediately relaxes your attention with some good-humoured comment, often about her English. Too many teachers in general imagine that if they just hammer on they will get their point across.)
Thanks for the comments on 'shooting the feet', especially Tango en el Cielo's remark that Ricardo regarded 'shooting the feet' as '… a very masculine characteristic, one of the qualities of dancing that distinguished a woman's way of dancing from a man's'. I love the description of Ricardo going '...pad, pad, pad, as if he was in slippers', and RealityPivot's description of 'foot punctuation' too. But verbal description is limited and I wanted to look at some slow-motion video of Ricardo 'shooting the feet'. I think it's common to that generation of dancers, although perhaps it's most noticeable and distinct in Ricardo's dance.
Ricardo and Myriam. The full video is on TangoNad's channel.
& here's Ricardo dancing with Jill Barrett in 2004, upright posture, chest well out and leading with the weight well forwards. Perhaps because the weight is well forwards the forward step shoots forwards with added urgency. & it meets the ground exactly on time! The music sounds terrible slowed down, but I included it because it makes sense of the movement. The full video, correct speed, is on TangoCelebration's channel.
I was also fascinated to hear from Tango en el Cielo that '...Ricardo eschewed technique. He believed that technique analysis was only for stage dancers; social dancers didn't need it as "the body finds its own technique naturally"'. I guess the 'own technique' you find that way, naturally, is your own individual tango. Technical analysis seems like a short cut for people in a hurry, a verbal, cerebral practice that will never build up the muscle memory or get the results developed from hours and hours of dancing and watching dance.
We are never passive when we watch. Our muscles follow instinctively, which is how we can imitate: we've been through it before. Watching, too, builds muscle memory. But a YouTube screen is a bit small: it would be great if we had an hour or so of high quality film of Ricardo and others, to watch full-size on a big screen, our bodies relaxed in a cinema seat, before we go dancing. Well, maybe one day there will be algorithms that can take old video and make a beautiful clear HD image from it...
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Ricardo Vidort again
In a comment to the previous post, Chris left a link to a video of Ricardo Vidort with Jill Barrett, which I watched again. Then, as I was leaving YouTube, my finger hit a key and this came up.
An amazing find! The first of these tangos with Ricardo Vidort and Myriam Pincen is familiar from the tribute film to Ricardo by Oscar Casas, but the second I've not seen before. It's terrible how rare and precious this kind of footage is; there must be more, and it really needs to be shared.
This seems to be a TV presentation put together from material filmed by Oscar Casas. A little of it also appears on the Practimilongueros interview with Myriam Pincen. It's a performance, but much as would have been improvised any night of the week in any milonga. I rather prefer the footage of Ricardo made during milongas at Lo de Celia, (on Tango and Chaos) as there's the random element of other people on the dance floor, but this is great. More! More!
An amazing find! The first of these tangos with Ricardo Vidort and Myriam Pincen is familiar from the tribute film to Ricardo by Oscar Casas, but the second I've not seen before. It's terrible how rare and precious this kind of footage is; there must be more, and it really needs to be shared.
This seems to be a TV presentation put together from material filmed by Oscar Casas. A little of it also appears on the Practimilongueros interview with Myriam Pincen. It's a performance, but much as would have been improvised any night of the week in any milonga. I rather prefer the footage of Ricardo made during milongas at Lo de Celia, (on Tango and Chaos) as there's the random element of other people on the dance floor, but this is great. More! More!
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