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
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