rigorousintuition.ca

^ Symbiosis | Pilobolus TED DOT COM 2005

• ^ God Music by George Crumb; Fratres by Arvo Pärt;
  Morango ... Almost A Tango by Thomas Oboe Lee
  • and recorded by Kronos Quartet

With pleasure.
It’s been 18 months since we’ve seen the most recent
of three previous posts of this Pilobolus performance.

< from Tango Feeling | Estampas Porteñas | Part 1

• ^ Carolina Soler, choreographer

I'm currently dancing Argentine Tango and Salsa. I also plan to dance East Coast Swing.

I've taken a smattering of social dance classes: West Coast Swing, Foxtrot, Waltz, Country 2-Step, Night-Club 2-Step, Samba, Rumba, Lindy Hop, etc.

The ones that I plan to dance, I plan to dance in part because I like the music (Salsa and ECS) because there aren't a lot of annoying words that get stuck in my head like with all the pop tunes people dance West Coast Swing to. And Argentine Tango is really hard, and therefore fun.

Anyone have any recommendations?

...

I improvise all my best moves.

I'll do some video one day. I keep threatening it.

I wish I could learn the tango though.

I heard it takes two.

Let all the children boogie.

For are we not the dancers at the end of time?

...

jlaw172364 wrote:I'm currently dancing Argentine Tango and Salsa. I also plan to dance East Coast Swing.

I've taken a smattering of social dance classes: West Coast Swing, Foxtrot, Waltz, Country 2-Step, Night-Club 2-Step, Samba, Rumba, Lindy Hop, etc.

The ones that I plan to dance, I plan to dance in part because I like the music (Salsa and ECS) because there aren't a lot of annoying words that get stuck in my head like with all the pop tunes people dance West Coast Swing to. And Argentine Tango is really hard, and therefore fun.

Anyone have any recommendations?

No. But I am awe-struck.



There's nothing cooler than tango.





(I can't find the clip I want. Sorry.)

I wish I would have started years ago. It's so great on so many levels. You get out, you meet people, you get exercise, there's often food provided, great music, and if you get tired, you can just sit and watch other people dance. If you invest the time to become competent, you will be in demand, and everyone who's serious about the dance will dance with you. You also get more comfortable touching other people and being close to them without all of the sexual overtones that occur at some dance clubs. This makes you a better dancer, because you become more sensitive to what the other person wants, to what they're doing, to how their body moves, to how they will respond to your energy, etc. It also really makes you empathize with people, because you can learn a lot about their personalities just by how they dance, or by how they talk about dancing. By dancing with them, you are having a non-verbal conversation, and after you've danced with someone a few times, you feel like you know them better, even if you haven't talked with them much.

I actually think that Argentine Tango isn't that unaccessible. While it's more difficult than most if not all of the other social dances, the concepts aren't so esoteric that they can't be grasped and applied with a little bit of determined effort.

Also, because it is challenging, there is a VERY strong community that nurtures its newbies with low-cost practica and relatively inexpensive lessons.

Here's a link to videos of around 100 Tango steps.

http://www.tangonation.com/page_links.html

Here's a link to people dancing the Vals variation of Tango.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgJS7UYeBbE

And the milonga variation (note the distinctive dum, da-dum dum dum rhythm which makes it milonga):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN0o_ZgdCL0

Three couples competing in the Salon style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRsCC4JwlXE

Tango as theatre (not sure what this style is called, where a couple just shows off what they can do)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC1IixS ... ure=fvwrel

And as a bonus, what REALLY inspired me: the GOVERNATOR doing it in True Lies!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KepjW1H2d1w

Note the unorthodox hand to neck embrace, which I believe he learned in of his earlier films as seen here . . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtoJBv-YHUo

^ Milonga | a short film - SEE CREDITS.

^ Popularity | George M! - American Dance Machine

@Allegra

Nice film. Those moves appear to be an accurate depiction of Argentine Tango. Thankfully, there's no smoking at the milongas in the United States, or at least in the city that I live. The establishments are also BYOB, if they allow alcohol at all, so drunken foolishness is somewhat limited. I haven't witnessed any as of yet. In any case, I find that alcohol kills my motivation to dance, especially if I'm tired.
I wonder if they used dancer doubles to do the dance, since there was a lot of footage of just the legs. The depiction of a mix of ages is also accurate too. I don't know why the old guy would want to drive the lady into the arms of a guy with a sideburns mustache, though. Maybe he prefers it to the Tom Cruise from Magnolia ponytail look?

jlaw172364 wrote:I wonder if they used dancer doubles to do the dance, since there was a lot of footage of just the legs. The depiction of a mix of ages is also accurate too. I don’t know why the old guy would want to drive the lady into the arms of a guy with a sideburns mustache, though.…

I think the older, seated gentleman wanted the young lovers to dance together so he might relive (relive?) memories of having danced with his beloved. She was the lady in portrait inside the locket. The choreography of the lovers told their story, I think.
That’s my take, anyway.

Yeah, I too had been thinking the actors weren’t the dancers. I watched the film again to make sure I hadn’t missed a shot of full body and faces.

I hadn’t thought of two males
dancing tango until a discussion
in another thread.
Here are a few exhibitions.


^ Tango : Lalo & Luis #1 | This exhibition is my favorite! It reminds me of my practice of T’ai chi. After their first choreographed piece, the men perform some spontaneous dancing that’s fun to watch. From my viewpoint, the primary lead dancer shows the epitome of technique! I believe if a performer, for example a young pianist, is able to practice a piece very slowly, training muscles during all moments of the phrasing, an element in practicing the art form manifests a reliable performance technique.


^ Asi se baila una milonga | The one above and
the next vid are what I’d call athletic and comedic
routines. Notice the dancers switch lead roles in
the first vid.


^ Los Hermanos Macana | a masculine tango

A bonus video.
I think this fe/male couple was in competition.

^ MUNDIAL DE TANGO 2011

@ Allegro

I knew what the actual plot of "Milonga" was, I was just joking around. But I actually thought for a moment that his actual intent was to try and get the woman to dance with him, because it looks like he gives her something that might be construed to be a cabaceo (the "would you like to dance with me" look) only to have her not notice it. So, maybe he was going to get rid of all his competitors until she had to dance with him. Then it would be a Zucker brothers production.

That's some amazingly fast and intricate dancing in those other videos.

a three way dance...