Dance is a physical response to music. Some would argue that it's even a physical manifestation of music. Even if music doesn't happen to be playing when we're dancing, our movements are still based upon the elemental musical concepts of tempo, rhythm, accent, and phrasing.
An understanding of musical principles can improve the quality of our dancing. We can alter and intensify our dance movements when we associate our movements with events in the music.
Argentine tango is ideal for experimenting with musical expression. Unlike other dances, the steps of Argentine tango are not designed with preset rhythms in mind (the 1-2-3 of the Waltz or the Quick-Quick-Slow of Salsa, for instance). The tango is a wide-open palette for imaginative musical interpretation.
I'll spend some time today discussing how rhythm can be used to enhance tango movements. In a later post, I'll discuss phrasing and other musical elements.
Know Where The Beat Is
This sounds almost too trivial to mention, but it's important because a lot of people struggle with this. We can't add rhythmic variety to our dancing if we are unaware of rhythm in the first place or if we don't move to the beat accurately.
It's critically important for all tango dancers to be able to recognize the beat and move to it accurately. The tango music of orchestra leader Juan D'Arienzo typically has a clear, pronounced, regular rhythm. Listen to the music of D'Arienzo. Listen and locate the beat. It must be very clear in your ears, in your mind, and in your body. Keep listening until it is.
Upload some recordings of D'Arienzo to your iPhone, strap on some of those nifty little headphones and walk while his music is playing. Step accurately on every beat (or on every other beat for some variety). Dance simple patterns to D'Arienzo and make sure that the strongest part of each step is falling right on the beat. Accuracy is very important.
Exercise 1: Normal tango walk on strong beats (walk on each beat)
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 (etc.)
These exercises, while simple, are not easy, particularly for those who haven't studied music formally at any time in their lives. But you are working with important concepts here, and this deserves serious, focused practice time. If you'll put in the effort, you'll be rewarded with improvement - maybe not right away, but slowly and surely it will come. Nothing else that I'm going to suggest today will be of any value if you're still struggling to locate the beat of the music.
Accent Selected Beats
As you're listening to D'Arienzo - you are, aren't you? - you'll notice that some of the so-called strong beats are even stronger than the rest. Typically, this happens at about once every four to eight beats and coincides with the beginning of each new musical phrase.
Just as musicians add accents to their music, dancers can add accents to their dance steps. Repeat Exercise 1 again, but this time put a bit more emphasis into beat number 1 out of each sequence of four. The extra emphasis is a musical accent that will add variety and dimension to even the simplest tango sequence.
Note that we dancers don't need to accent the same beats that the orchestra does - more on this later - but it will help to match the orchestra's accents before applying this concept more creatively.
Slow Down
We can add drama and intensity to almost any dance step, even parallel walking, by slowing down out movements. Instead of walking on every beat, the leader can walk on every second beat, or every fourth or sixth or eighth beat. (That ought to keep your followers guessing, gentlemen!)
Exercise 2: Slowing Down (dance the beats in bold only)
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 (REPEAT)
Stretch The Time In Between Beats
To accentuate the slow pace even further, slow down every portion of your movements. The collection of the trailing legs can be done slowly, as can the preparation of the next step. Take that slow, stretchy time to be aware of your partner, their position and their balance. Enjoy the extra time together. And always, always, always listen very closely to the music.
Hurry Up And Wait
We can also accentuate a slower pace of steps by moving more quickly. This is the opposite of stretching time (sort of - but hey, we're looking for variety, right?) and it may seem counterintuitive. The objective is to step infrequently (perhaps on every fourth beat of a D'Arienzo piece) but to move very quickly when we do step. Then hold your position until the next sharp move.
For this technique, we won't slow down the collection or the preparation phases of the step. All of our actual movements will be quick and snappy. However, while we're waiting for our next burst of movement, we'll build up tension in our bodies as though we're winding up a spring. When we step, we release the energy of that spring and start building it back up again. Try it. It's fun!
Speed Up
Whereas slowing down and taking fewer steps adds drama and intensity to the tango, speeding up adds excitement. The easiest way to "speed up" is to throw in some short quick steps here and there. We can do this accurately by squeezing two evenly spaced steps into the time that one step used to take up.
Note: Rock steps are a low-effort means of accomplishing this if walking quickly is too challenging.
Stringing several quick steps in a row will add to the excitement, but it can be challenging. Even if you're good at stepping quickly, your partner may not be. It's best to build up slowly to see what each person can handle before creating an embarrassing situation.
Exercise 3: Normal tango walk with some quick steps thrown in (step on the bold beats only):
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 (etc.)
Speed Up AND Slow Down
Variety is the spice of life. Blend ingredients to inject surprise and dynamic tension into a song or a tanda.
Emphasize The Weak Beats
When you were doing your D'Arienzo timing exercises - you DID do your exercises, correct? ;-) - you were probably identifying and walking on the strong beats of the music.
(Note: Musicians recognize these strong beats are 1 and 3 of the measure, even though dancers don't count them using the same numbering system. I'll speak more on these differences in a future post.)
We should be aware, however, that there are other beats in between. If we break each strong beat in half, we'll hear one weak beat in the middle of two strong beats.
Exercise 4: Don't walk this time, just listen for the strong (1234) and weak (and) beats:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and (etc.)
These "and" beats are the ones that we begin to include when we double the pace of our steps.
Exercise 5: Emphasizing the weak beats (walk on the bold beats only)
Here is an example of emphasizing the weak beats.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and (REPEAT)
This can be rather challenging to lead and to follow, but it will definitely add spice to even the simplest step.
By the way, musicians have a name for the technique of emphasizing weak beats over strong beats. It's called syncopation and it's used in many different musical styles and traditions.
Practice! Practice! Practice!
The more that you experiment with rhythmic variation in your dancing, the more fluent you'll become in the application of this powerful musical concept. As this becomes easier, you'll be able to add exciting creative the musical dimensions to any tango sequence, choreographed or improvised.
¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!
Daniel
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