Let the embrace do the talking
Musicality
Musicality
Nov 6th
Recently some followers questioned the value of taking classes on musicality. To me this was rather strange, which I can only put down to having experienced bad teaching in the past. In my opinion, musicality goes way beyond recognising the stereotypical generalisations for each of the major orchestras, e.g. Pugliese is only represented by his La Yumba beat, D’Arienzo means only the ric-tic-tic marching rhythm and Fresedo means always a certain romantic silkiness. Musicality in a technical sense is more to do with how we can recognise the phrasing in the music, the syncopations, the change from rhythmic to melodic, just to name a few. Ultimately, it allows us – leaders and followers – to transform a series of steps into a moving dance.
So, is there any point for a follower to learn and understand musicality?
Popularity: 49%
Stepping on the beat
Oct 1st
The recent intensive workshops organized by IXI Danza, first with Hsueh-tze Lee in March and, more recently, with Javier Rodriguez and Andrea Missé in May have opened my eyes to many new and exciting possibilities.
I will try to share some of my thoughts on dancing to the beat from a leader’s perspective this time.
Popularity: 37%
Dancing to the music
May 19th
Very early on in my Tango experience, the foreign instructors who came to Singapore had always emphasized “dance to the music”. However, it was not until after a few years of dancing that I was beginning to appreciate “dancing to the music” entails much more than moving/stepping with the beat (on or sometimes in-between). In fact “dancing to the music” connects naturally to the size and speed of your movements – in other words, the intensity of your actions.
Tonight, during our regular practica, I found out that it is even more difficult to express the music through one’s torso. When you remove the steps – in fact, keep them small and simple – how to express the melody, rhythm and feelings in the lyrics? That is the challenge for me to reach another level.
Popularity: 18%
Music for the not-so-musical
Oct 24th
A few days ago, an interesting question was discussed on the Tango DJ list:
Suppose you are a Tango DJ with a repertoire consisting of mostly the Golden Classics of the ’40s and earlier, how should you handle requests for some more lively and sophisticated-sounding – meaning: modern and dramatic but having a generally less pronounced beat – stuff?
There was also a little sub-text that these requests were frequently made by a portion of the dance community that seems to have problems with rhythm.
Popularity: 13%
Dancing the Vals
Oct 13th
Just noticed that Royce has commented on some thoughts I had about the music in Tango Vals.
I think I am doing some of the things mentioned in her explanations intuitively (and somewhat disorganizingly…) at present. However, my current understanding – including my understanding in music or lack of, period – is not sufficient for me to articulate it so clearly. In fact, in general, I tend to dance on the <1> and <1><2> beats of the Vals for most of Valses, but occasionally <1><2><3> on the faster Valses – crazy, isn’t it!? 
At the moment at least, I hardly ever dance on <1><3> because it seems the “heavy”, i.e. the <1>, step will always feel rushed, no?? Having said that, may be worth trying out at the practica.
Popularity: 11%
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