The Embrace

Café Periódico del Tango writes about The In-s, Out-s & In-Betweens of the Embrace specifically quoting Javier Rodriguez that:

"the gentleman should hold the lady in his arms like a baby during the dance"

I personally have always preferred:

"Tenez votre arme comme vous tiendriez un oiseau : pas trop fort pour ne pas l’étouffer, assez fort tout de même pour ne pas le laisser s’échapper."

Louis-Justin Lafaugere; Traite de l’art de faire des armes
(Lyon: 1820)

Most commonly translated as "Hold your foil as if you had a little bird in your hand, firmly enough to prevent it from escaping and yet not so firmly as to crush it" and turning up in the 1952 film Scaramouche paraphrased as "Think of the sword like a bird. Clutch it too tightly and you choke it. Too lightly and it flies away."

Backwards and in heels

Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels.

In response to: The "PC"-fication of Tango

Johanna over on Tangri-La has an excellent post on The "PC"-fication of Tango which, to summarise, deals with how the feminist debate has interfered with the lead-follow relationship.

The origins of tango lie in a society where the gender roles were clearly heterogeneous. Thankfully over the past 100 years things have liberalised somewhat and greater opportunities are open to both sexes. However the driving force of this debate was towards giving women the rights and opportunities that they were denied, resulting in a paucity of discussion as to what man's role was to be in this society.

I have seen aspects of this in classes, especially when it comes to new leaders taking followers into the embrace. On one shoulder they have the angel of society reminding them that a woman should be given her own space be free to do her own thing. Now they have a tango teaching devil on the other shoulder telling them that they must take this woman in a strong, firm, embrace. When the tango teaching devil loses out to the angel the leaders hand usually ends up on her side around her spare rib.

Men, you are being asked to lead. You are not being asked to revert to Neanderthals, club her over her head and drag her back to your cave, you are simply being asked to step up to the mark and lead. Three minutes of leading a dance with a proper embrace is not a declaration of war against the changes that have taken place in gender roles in general society*.


*If you are using it as a declaration of war against the changes that have taken place in gender roles in general society please send me your address so that my seconds may contact your seconds.

You don't teach people tango, you break 'em in.

Armando Copa y Veronica Alegre: Milonga Traspie

Armando Copa y Veronica Alegre dancing Milonga Traspie to Ella as asi by Edguardo Donato on the occasion of Limerick Tango 2nd Anniversary Ball 16th February 2008

Armando Copa y Veronica Alegre: Tango

Armando Copa y Veronica Alegre Tango to Pata Ancha by Osvaldo Pugliese at the Limerick Tango 2nd Anniversary Ball, 16th February 2008

It's different

Why exactly is tango so different from other dances? Why does it hold people in its thrall?

Many other dances* are about steps and synchronicity, a useful method for finding out if someone thinks the same way you do.

Tango, on the other hand, approaches things on the basis of "If we think on this together, we might just work it out."

*WARNING: Sweeping generalisation.

Head wind

Ireland is currently being buffeted by winds gusting up to 150Km/h in places, so when you turn a corner you get a good opportunity to practise your tango walk. The trick is to resist the urge to drop your head but instead relax your knees and plunge your chest into the on coming force like a ships figurehead.

Tango: a crowded marriage

This time the polygamy theme is inspired by the famous "There were three of us in this marriage" quote.

An unattributed quote states that “There are three of you in the tango: you, your partner and the music. If it’s just you and your partner, this is not tango. You may as well go home and go to bed together”(1).

So that's ok. You, your partner, the music. Then some people insist that you adopt a relationship with the floor not to mention the crowd that you are dancing with.

At the end of it, it is one crowded marriage.

(1) www.list.co.uk/article/6145-valentines-day-tango-classes/
Source: The List (Issue 595)
Date: 31 January 2008
Written by: Kirstin Innes

Polygamy

In the 1943 film Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart, there is an interesting discussion between a British officer and a Sudanese private about how many wives a chap should have. The Sudanese private explains that with one wife she will be lonely while you are at work and that when she is unhappy she will take it out on you. So the British officer suggests a second wife, but the Sudanese private dismisses that suggestion saying that the two wives will gang up on each other and fight. "So three wives, then." "No because the two senior wives will gang up on the newest wife and she will be lonely and your house will be full of bitter strife." "How many then?" "The best number is four, for the two oldest and the two youngest wives can keep each other company and fight between themselves and you will be left in peace."

This is useful advice when bringing partners to a far off milonga where it is likely that they may not get asked up to dance much. If I go to a dance with someone I don't like leaving them sitting on their own while I may be off dancing, especially if I was the one to talk us into going. If you bring two partners one will still be sitting on their own while you dance with the other. The perfect number is three, so that two can sit chatting while you dance with the other.

(In the end the Sudanese private admitted to having only one wife as she was enough for him)

Tango Snobbery

Comments like "Oh that's Nuevo tango, it's not tango", quite frankly, I don't like hearing. To the best of my knowledge I've been taught mainstream traditional argentine tango and I have a fairly live and let live attitude to styles - that means I don't want to be charged off the dance floor or have my partner cut up by vicious voleos.

In the Historical European Swordmanship community there is a vast selection of styles and weaponry to choose from. Be it spanish rapier or late french foil, italian cane or victorian pugilism. When the top practitioners of this community are asked which is the best weapon they will tell you "It is not the weapon, it is the man behind it".

Similarly I have heard people down rating teachers because they don't like what they teach. That is a matter of personal taste. Rate teachers on how they teach.