How Long Does It Take To Master Argentine Tango?

And How Will I Know When I Get There?

You take classes and lessons for months. You move up to new levels of classes. You attend workshops. You dance socially. You go to practicas. Months turn into years, and you're still not "done."

How long will it take to become a good tango dancer? It's completely natural for students to wonder about this, and I've heard some of them ask out loud. Unfortunately, no one can give you an answer.

Even if there were some objective standard for mastery in the Argentine tango (there isn't), the time that it would take to reach that level would vary widely from person to person. Some people advance faster than others. Some have more time to invest and more access to practice partners. 

But the fact is that there is no such standard. Learning the Argentine tango is an open-ended pursuit.

Every time that we succeed in doing something well, we develop ideas about how it could be done differently. Or better. There are always new ways to enhance or combine movements. Techniques can be altered, rearranged, and improved constantly.

Musicality and choreography are similarly open-ended. There will be new ideas to explore and express forever. And every time you try to implement one of these ideas, you'll need to spend time practicing and refining it.

How long will it take to master the tango? An answer isn't possible, so why bother to ask? Instead, ask a more inspiring question. Examples:

    "What can I do today to improve my tango while enjoying the process?"

    "How can I have more fun at milongas and share that fun with my partners?"

Keep in mind that improvement comes in layers, and there's always another layer. As soon as you reach one level, the next one will be waiting to entice you just a little beyond your reach.

Why waste time worrying about how long it will take to get there? Just work hard and enjoy each bit of progress as you meet up with it on a beautiful and endless adventure.


¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!

Daniel

Copyright © 2013 The Exploring Tango Blog

exploringtango.blogspot.com

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The Curse of Self Control

Overcoming Anxiety for Followers

The most challenging follower to lead - and to teach - is the one who does what she thinks that she should be doing instead of responding to the lead and to the music.

This is not an act of conscious defiance. The follower is not trying to be difficult. She's probably a polite, earnest, and sensitive person who wants to become a better dancer. Unfortunately, her desire to "do things right" works against her in powerful ways.

As she is dancing, the follower develops an idea as to what she should be doing, where and how she should be moving. She concentrates on this idea until it demands her full attention. She stops listening to the music and loses track of the lead.

After some stumbling, crashing, and other uncomfortable physical miscues, the follower will tend to become anxious. She might conclude that tango is difficult or that she is clumsy or incapable. Nothing could be further from the truth. But if she convinces herself that the answer is to try even harder, the problem will only get worse.

Unwittingly, the follower has stranded herself on a harsh, isolated island, a treacherous rock of frustration and self-doubt. The island is surrounded by the warm, calm, soothing waters of tango, but she refuses swim away from the shore. She clings to the rock. She won't let go.

Unlocking The Chain

Reversing the pattern is challenging. It requires a patience from the follower and reassurance from her advisors and partners. She needs to learn to let go of the should and the shouldn't and become one with the embrace, the lead, and the moment. It's important to help make her as comfortable as possible when she's taking this quantum leap.

You can't learn to swim if you refuse to jump into deep water. You can't learn a language if you refuse to put yourself into situations where it must be spoken. And you can't learn to dance with a partner if you let technical details take precedence over the music, the partnership, and the communication that occurs within the embrace.

Fallout

I fear that followers who struggle with these difficulties (and to be fair, not everyone does) eventually give up and stop dancing. They stop coming to classes. They don't see the point, because no matter how long they study, it never seems to get any easier. They might conclude that dancing "just isn't for them."

Other people may give up on them as well. Leaders might stop asking them to dance or avoid them (or accept begrudgingly) when it comes time to change partners in the classroom. Classes and workshops can become brutally uncomfortable when prospective partners try to avoid you. Who would want to face that rejection week after week - especially when PAYING for the privilege?

Don't give up. Not yet.

Everyone can improve. Those who struggle have the greatest opportunity to advance. It will take dedication, patience, and courage, but you absolutely can make progress. And once you have enjoyed some initial success, you'll build momentum which will help you to advance to new levels.

Recommended Exercise

Imagine a couple dancing in a movie. They're happy, festive, and passionate. They are enjoying the moment without reservation. They feel the music deeply. They enjoy the connection of the embrace and moving together as one.

As the man moves, the lady moves with him. There is a communication between them, a communication that is silent but clear and meaningful and effortless.

The lady never wonders, "Should I go here? Should I step there? Should I move now? Should I be doing this? Should I be performing that sequence that we just worked on? Shouldn't my weight be on the other leg?"

No! There's none of that! There's no concern and no second-guessing, no hesitation.

She wants to move with him.

She permits herself to move with him.

She enjoys moving with him.

She abandons whatever she thought that she should be doing and joins the leader with trust and openness and certainty.

She lets go, and she dances happily without stress, without concern.

Find your place in that embrace. Become comfortable there and trust where it wants to take you. Let go of those ideas about what you should be doing, about how certain steps should be performed. You can examine your movements when you practice a particular technique, but you cannot let those thoughts and concerns clutter your mind when you are trying to dance.

When you dance, DANCE! Sink into the comfort of the embrace and let things happen. Let go of your thoughts and your concerns. Trust the lead, and let each leader take you on his own special, unpredictable journey. Let go and enjoy the few short minutes that you have to spend with any one person at one event. Let go and enjoy the music. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy the tango.

Letting go is difficult. Your teachers and your sensitive partners realize this. They are ready and willing to support you as you test these new, exciting waters and become more comfortable with the concept of partnership. But YOU are the one who needs to let go. No one can do it for you.

Have confidence. The rewards are waiting for you. You'll get to taste them and enjoy them and savor them more and more with each small, incremental effort to relinquish control and merge completely into a trusted partnership.

¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!

Daniel

Copyright © 2013 The Exploring Tango Blog

exploringtango.blogspot.com

All Rights Reserved

Varying Rhythms Effectively

Adding Interest with Taste 

Let's begin with the terminology that I'll use to describe musical rhythms.

Strong Beats

Tango music has strong beats that occur approximately once per second.

Most dancers hear these strong beats clearly and target their steps to fall on them. For the purposes of this discussion, I'll represent these strong beats in groups of four and identify them with numbers as follows.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 -
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 -

(For the musicians among you, these correspond to half notes, but musicians would count the beats with different numbers than dancers do - 1,3,1,3,etc. If you're not a musician, don't worry about this distinction.)

Weak Beats

Weak beats fall half-way between these strong beats. For the purposes of this discussion, I'll signify these beats with the word 'and'.

If we count strong weak beats together, we'll hear approximately two beats per second.

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and etc.

There are smaller subdivisions of beats, but this article will not get into that level of detail.

Pauses (Rests)

Dancers sometimes pause and skip one or more beats.  I'll notate these pauses with the word 'pause'. Musicians would use the word 'rest' to mean the same thing, but rest has a different connotation for dancers, so I'll use the word 'PAUSE' for clarity.

1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - PAUSE 3 - 4 -
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 -

Now on to our topic...


Walking On The Strong Beats

The simplest of all tango movements is walking steadily on the strong beats.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - (repeat)

Remember that these beats occur about one per second. If you're walking faster than that, you might be adding weak beats.  If you're walking slower, say, one beat every two seconds (which is more challenging from a balance standpoint), you might be adding pauses to the music.

The problem with walking on the strong beats is that it will seem repetitive after a short time.  Rhythmic variety will make the dance more interesting.

Option 1 - Add Pauses

Let's alternate set of four walking steps on the strong beats with a second set where we walk on three strong beats and pause on the fourth.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE

This adds much needed variety, but even this more complex pattern will seem repetitive by the third time through.

Option 2 - Add a Weak Beat

Let's add a single weak beat in between strong beats 2 and 3. We'll alternate this pattern with walking on all four strong beats. Remember that the weak beat is marked with the word 'and' and falls exactly halfway between the surrounding strong beats (2 and 3).

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 - 

We have more variety than walking on every strong beat, but again, this pattern will seem repetitive shortly.

Option 3 - Combine Option 1 and 2

Example A:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 -
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE

Example B:

1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 -
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE

Can you work out / practice some other combinations?

Multiple Weak Beats

Our rhythmic patterns are becoming more interesting, but they can still use additional variety. Let's add multiple weak beats to one series of four strong beats.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 and 3 and 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE

This is an interesting pattern, as it seems to accelerate with each series until the final pause gives us a chance to relax.

Moving The Weak Beat

We can also change the location of our single weak beat. Instead of following beat 2, let's have it follow beat 4. In this example, we'll make this modification to the very first series. Each of the following series will use combinations that we've already discussed.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 and
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE

Contrary to the previous example, this one seems to slow down.

The Grand Finale

Let's combine the two previous examples to make one rhythmically interesting sequence. The first four lines accelerate, and the second four slow things back down.

I'm going to alter the sequence of the second group slightly (lines 7 and 8), but this is not necessary. It's just for variety.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 and 3 and 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 and
1 - 2 and 3 - 4 - 
1 - 2 - 3 - PAUSE
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 

Rationality versus Randomization

We could add more modifications, but if the pattern becomes too randomized, it will lose its musicality. We want our rhythms to be interesting and somewhat surprising, but not completely unpredictable and inscrutable.

Rhythmic patterns should have the sense of logical development, not randomly scattered beats. A sense of rationality is critical if the choreography is to appeal tastefully to the senses. This constitutes an appropriate use of creativity. Randomized patterns are also creative, but unless randomness is the point of the dance, they won't be as effective.

I'll discuss the effective employment of creativity in an upcoming post.  Until then, work those rhythms!

¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!

Daniel

Copyright © 2013 The Exploring Tango Blog

exploringtango.blogspot.com

All Rights Reserved