I’ve been going through a kind of mild epistemiological crisis, wondering about my dance. Take a break? Hit the classes hard again? Practice what I know? I’ve even considering a major step down of a few months or so to get my bearings about all this. …The sum of which is that I am tentatively [...]
Archive for the ‘Reaction’ Category
Salida?
Posted in Reaction, Video on January 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Sacadas and more..
Posted in Reaction on January 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Heading out in an hour or so for a lesson; another attempt at grafting quality sacadas into my tango vocabulary. Practice. Practice. Practice.. In that class session, drills with S.: in proper form: “opening the door..moving into the follow’s space as and getting that trailing edge…”. A simpler sacada than the glacis-sacada is sacada-sacada-back ocho. [...]
International Ballroom, and BsAs again?
Posted in Reaction on January 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I contemplate whether a brief exposure to the International Ballroom form will help my tango; or not; or whether it would be an inherent good for it’s own sake. One dancer known to me who is familiar with many forms tells me it would be boring to me since there is not enough room for [...]
Walking…
Posted in Reaction on October 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
My investigations have taken me to this link, which is about both conceptual notions in tango as well as pragmatic ones. I cannot say that I agree with all that is written here; as I do not find that dance is so inherently sexualized as the author would have it (yet I acknowledge the daoist-like [...]
Power trip
Posted in Reaction on September 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Given that this is a political season, my thoughts have turned to the early history of my great nation, and that great song from our colonial era, Yankee Doodle Dandy. From the chorus: ..mind the music and the step, and let the girls be handy…. The reels and waltzes of the day apparently were such [...]
Mare Tranquillium (Tranquil Sea)
Posted in Poetry, Reaction on June 2, 2008 | 3 Comments »
In your arms there a moment, a space of time, no longer than a beat, or song; this peaceful sea. In no other place is it quite the same. A place to belong; of simple friendship for boys and girls making merry, as we were meant to. Simple steps and pauses, and twirls in place. [...]
Tango Haiku
Posted in Reaction on May 2, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Sharp turn; secada Una mas, then parada Deep concentration
A plug
Posted in Reaction on April 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Let me put a plug in for my instructor in Buenos Aires, Sra. Paula Ferrio, who is now up on the ‘web.
Humbleness, or humiliation
Posted in Observations, Reaction on March 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One of the cool ancillary benefits of learning tango is the regular reminder of how shallow your understanding is. A simple class in vals at the tango marathon that lasted only an hour and a half and dwelt, essentially, on simple figures con tiempo exhausted me mentally. A super cool milonga that evening, with some [...]
leaving the trance
Posted in Observations, Reaction on February 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reading a book, incidentally, of accounts of people leaving either the church or more typically very fundamentalist or guilt-ridden types of churches. The stories are familiar to me; but one comment caused me to reflect that tango (and perhaps other expressive arts, for that matter) causes one (at least a lead, at least) [...]