Workshop and styles

New concepts again.

Time to take stock of what I have been taught over the past two days in the workshop with Ricardo and Gladys. I am using the passive sense here because, for me at any rate, I don’t believe that I can walk away from any Tango workshop and then be able to immediately say that I have learnt such-and-such. The material will always take some time to sink in, to be digested and then, hopefully, become part of me.

Right after the workshop, however, all I aim for is to at least internalise the high level concepts, such as playing with the rhythm of the music, producing torsions at the appropriate time, and respecting the axes. The specifics can come later, after much practice.

For this workshop, we revisited some Milonguero steps (Intermediate), expandng the dimension to the dance by changing the timing, and different ways of adding on to the simple ocho cortada. For the Nuevo series, we looked at some possibilities of hanging, entanglement (colgada) and mutual sacadas. The last one was lots of fun!

Now, I am also discovering more and more about my own “style”. I think the comment by Gladys about Nuevo style being THE style for May is something that is applicable to everyone. Basically, I have found some material from the Nuevo class quite difficult to appreciate while some other stuff seems to come very naturally.

Well, maybe I am beginning to find my favourite “moves” as well!? I think I have a preference for tight curling moves and change of directions, compared with say, more macho stuff like planeo or ganchos. Nevertheless, it will still be good to have mastered them all.

Along similar lines, just a brief observation of the dancing styles of the two Ricardo’s that I have the fortune of learning with. Ricardo Barrios to me seems more like a glider, someone who flies just along the dance floor, no friction what-so-ever. On the other hand, Ricardo Gallo seems more cat-like, very light and careful with steps.

Umm, who should I “imitate”?