Complex Interactions

Leading and Following - Part 1

You agree to meet a friend after work. Your friend says, "Hi! I'm in the mood for Italian food. Let's go to Bernardo's."

Before you have a chance to reply, your friend phones the restaurant. "Hi, Bernardo's? Yes, I'd like to make a reservation for two. We'll be there in ten minutes."

You're probably not very happy with your friend right now.

- To begin with, your friend didn't ask you how you were doing or whether everything was going well with you.
- They didn't ask you if you wanted to have dinner or whether you had already eaten.
- They didn't ask you if you were amenable to eating Italian food or whether you had any concerns about dining at this particular restaurant.
- They placed the reservation without considering without first giving you a chance to voice any feelings or preferences.

Have a nice dinner. Hopefully, your friend won't eat your dessert.

Leading and Following

There is a tango analogy embedded in this restaurant scenario. The simplistic view of partners dancing is that leaders give instructions and followers execute those instructions. But the process is far more complex and interactive. Each partner senses what the other is doing and makes adjustments in real time. At least, that's the way that it should work.

Bad leaders are careless and insensitive, not unlike our fictional dinner companion. They plan their steps independent of any feedback from the follower, and they expect the follower that plan without question. This type of leader might be ignoring the follower, but it's more likely that they aren't even aware of factors to which they should be paying careful attention.

A good leader would not treat you this way, just as a good friend wouldn't.

Complex Interactions

As the dance is about to begin, the leader senses several things about the follower.

- Is the follower comfortable? If not, what can we do to encourage them to relax?
- Do they seem ready to move?
- Are they tuned in to the lead, or are they distracted?
- Is the follower's embrace flexible, or is it rigid in ways that will limit the leader's choice of movements.

After taking the few first steps together, the leader will continue their analysis.

- Did the follower do what we expected, or did they do something different?
- Were their steps longer or shorter than we anticipated?
- Do they move rapidly when they sense the lead, or do they react more slowly and deliberately, i.e. with some degree of delay. (Delay is expected, and the amount of delay varies with each follower.)
- Were the follower's steps energetic or passive?
- Did the follower appear to struggle with balance at any point?

A good leader will take all of this information into account. They effectively customize each dance for that particular follower. The leader will choose steps that the follower can execute comfortably, and they'll be accepting, forgiving, and encouraging throughout.

Interpreting The Lead

Likewise, the follower needs to interpret signals from the leader and adapt movements accordingly in order to make the most out of their dance experience (or in some cases, to survive it).

- Is the leader's embrace causing discomfort? Are they awkward? Are they stepping on us?
- Are they assured or timid in their movements?
- Is their lead weak, clear, or forceful?
- Do they lead with strength or with finesse?
- Are their movements integrated with the timing and the feel of the music?
- Are they trying to execute movements that are beyond their capabilities?
- Is their dancing expressive and dynamic, or it is consistent in its pace and energy level?

A good follower takes all of these details into account.

The follower's first concern should be the prevention of injury or discomfort. But when those concerns are no longer an issue, the follower can concentrate on adapting to the leader's style and making the most out of their time on the floor. By adding their own energy, sensitivity, and musicality to the movements that have been suggested, the follower can elevate the dance to new levels for both partners.

Making It Work

Clearly, dancing the tango is more complex than simply giving and receiving instructions. Leaders and followers must be sensitive to a number of factors, factors that demand continuous, real-time adjustment.

Without this level of sensitivity and interaction, the dance will be unenjoyable and restrictive regardless of the complexity of the steps that are performed.

Best sensitive and aware. Adjust to each person in real time. Make the most of each moment. Dancing with an insensitive partner is a miserable experience.

¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!

Daniel

Copyright © 2013 The Exploring Tango Blog

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Dance Is More Than Just Learning The Steps - Part 2

The Step is the Beginning, Not the End

When I began to study Argentine Tango, I tried to remember the step sequences that the teacher presented in each class. I thought that it would be useful to keep a library of "official tango steps" in my head. I pictured myself recalling these sequences at the milonga and dancing with ease.

That plan didn't work out so well. 

Despite my best efforts, I would forget most of the class material after about four weeks. This was frustrating. I questioned why I was paying for classes when I wasn't going to remember the material. 

Unfortunately, my inability to memorize was only part of the problem. The sequences that I did manage to remember didn't always work well on a crowded dance floor. This opened up additional concerns. Why was I trying to remember steps that didn't work in the real world? Was there a way to translate what I was learning to the milonga? 

Seeing The Big Picture

Eventually, I realized that the step sequences themselves were not the primary objective. They were designed not as official movements of Argentine Tango but rather a examples through which I would learn technique and principles.

While I was focusing the bulk of my energy on memorizing steps, I wasn't giving enough attention to navigation, musical interpretation, and the all-important technical fundamentals. I would need to devote hard work to these areas later.

Deconstruction

It's useful to have some sequences ready to go. Even the world's top performers work out sequences in advance and practice them to repeatedly in order to work out all of the technical ideas. But I found that I learned much more when I began to deconstruct sequences into smaller components of movement.

For example, visualize a moderately long sequence that comprises twelve steps for both the leader and follower. (For simplicity, imagine that the step remains in parallel system and for every step that the leader takes, the follower takes a step at the same time.)

We might be able to break this sequence up into smaller chunks of movement. Perhaps each chunk has three steps each (3 steps - 3 steps - 3 steps - 3 steps). Or some other subdivision might make more sense (3 steps - 4 steps - 2 steps - 3 steps).

Each chunk can be performed on its own. This opens up several interesting possibilities.

Going for the Slam Chunk

Here are some advantages of visualizing long sequences as a series of shorter, independent chunks.

Firstly, we can create new sequences by re-sequencing the chunks in different ways. If our original sequence was chunks 1 through 4, we might be able to rearrange them in a different order (Chunk 1, Chunk 4, Chunk 3, Chunk 2, for instance). Or we can blend in chunks from other sequences that we have learned.

Secondly, floor navigation becomes much more flexible when we thing in terms of small chunks. We no longer feel compelled to execute the entire sequence as we learned it. We can start with Chunk 1 and stop when we run into traffic. Later, we might try Chunk 2 followed by Chunk 4 if space allows. Maybe we'll do Chunk 3 in the next song. The possibilities are limitless.

Finally, it won't be long before we notice that certain chunks show up again and again in sequence after sequence. For instance, the follower might step Back Cross - Open Side - Forward Cross while the leader steps Forward Cross - Pause - Sacada to the forward step. This chunk comes up frequently. When we recognize it, it makes it easier for us to remember sequences. We can group sequences into subset depending on their component chunks.

Creative Perception

The important idea here is not to think of the original sequence as immutable. Rather think of it as an organized collection of material that we can analyze and combine in creative ways.

¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!

Daniel

Copyright © 2013 The Exploring Tango Blog

exploringtango.blogspot.com

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Dance Is More Than Just Learning The Steps - Part 1

Demystifying The Memorization Game

Before I signed up for my first ballroom dance class (years before learning Argentine tango), I had misconceptions about the process. 

- I believed that I would need to attend classes with a partner. 

- I believed that in each class, my partner and I would memorize a choreographed patten of movements, commonly referred to as a 'step'. We would go to dance classes in order to learn 'the steps'.

- I believed that if my partner memorized her half of the step and I memorized my half, we would be able to recall and execute our respective movements in a predetermined sequence. 

- I believed that if we learned five or ten 'steps' together, we would be able to dance a little bit, and as we learned more steps (say 50 or 100), we would become better dancers.

- I believed that I would not be able to dance with someone who had not memorized the same choreographed sequences.

Reality Check

Do dance classes really work this way? The short answer is no, but it depends to some degree on the dances that you study and the way that the instructor chooses to present the material.

On a personal note, if I had had a better understanding of how dance classes actually work, I would have started learning at a much earlier age.

The Ballroom Model

Before migrating to Argentine tango (because it's the best, yeah!), I studied the popular ballroom dances (waltz, fox trot, swing, salsa, cha cha, rumba, hustle, etc.).

Ballroom classes tend to be structured around steps. The steps are listed in a syllabus and organized in levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold). You need to learn all of the Bronze steps, for instance, before the teacher will show you any of the more challenging Silver steps.

(We don't have these formalized designations in Argentine tango. However, it's critical that the student become comfortable with fundamental material before moving up to higher levels. I'll have more to say on this topic in a future installment.)

That said, from my very first class it was clear that it was not enough just to memorize movements and perform them to the beat of music. I was introduced immediately to two fundamental concepts that sounded familiar, but that I had never really understood. 

Leading and Following

One of the great mysteries of Partners Dancing was suddenly becoming clearer.

How does the lady know what the gentleman wants her to do in any given moment in the dance? It turns out that even when the follower has been trained in the steps, she requires input from the leader's body in order to execute the steps optimally.

The lead lets the follower know which step to execute and provides information on stylistic parameters such as smoothness, speed, and energy level. The leader is also responsible for guiding the couple safely through a crowded and chaotic dance floor.

Apparently, I was going to have my work cut out for me.

Argentine Tango

Argentine Tango is based more on improvisation than on a pre-choreographed collection of steps (although some pre-choreographed steps do exist in tango).

Ballroom dancers tend to be like classical musicians who work from a pre-defined score. Argentine tango dancers are more similar to jazz musicians. They create the choreography of their tangos in real time based upon structures and principles that they learn over time.

Unfortunately, these principles are not clearly understood by students and even by some seasoned tango dancers. 

Tango instructors use steps (choreographed sequences) in order to train the students in the proper techniques and principles of tango dancing. The instructor will create some of the steps that he or she presents to the class. Other steps might be part of the commonly understood tango lexicon, or they might contain movements made famous by a particular tango master.

Performance and Choreography

Performance classes are very popular with students of all dances, Argentine tango included. In a performance class, a group of students memorize a choreographed routine to be performed to a particular piece of music. 

The instructor will provide technical pointers on the movements contained within the routine, but the primary focus of the class is for memorization and execution of the program in its entirety. 

Step Roulette

Steps provide students with examples of how to perform and combine dance movements. Some students will use the examples as models for formulating their own movements and choreography, but others will not.

Techniques of improvisation and choreography are not widely taught in tango classes. I find this perplexing given the Argentine tango's atypically high dependence on improvisation. But perhaps it reflects student preferences.

Students who want to learn to improvise well often do so as a result of their own exploration and research. For those who would rather follow someone else's sequences, there's always another instructor and another class out there somewhere. 

Some dancers remain content to "go to class to learn the steps." There is nothing inherently wrong with this approach; it's just limiting. More students might be willing to improvise and choreograph their own steps if they had a better understanding of the principles involved.

¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!

Daniel

Copyright © 2013 The Exploring Tango Blog

exploringtango.blogspot.com

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