Wonderful interpretation of Malandraca by Beba Pugliese with her dad watching... I love when she speeds it up at 1.05... you can really hear the jazz/African influence.
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After being presented around the world, Murat Erdemsel's lectures on tango music have given rise to a new presentation and concept that he calls MUSIC PAINTINGS. The paintings which evolved from simple illustrations and animations, enable us to see, for the first time, the structure and essence of the music itself. The lecture provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the paintings, and through them, the intricacies of the structure, harmony, orchestration, and melodies within the music.
The Lecture was originally inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s musical performance in the 1940 movie Great Dictator; “move with the rhythm of music, Brahm’s Hungarian Dance no: 5” and another brilliant performance; “Argument to Beethoven’s 5th” from 50’s legendary TV sitcom artists, Nanette Fabray and Sid Ceasar.
You can find more information about Murat's Workshop and sample videos on this site: http://www.muratandmichelle.com/LECTURE/LECTURE/Home.html.
Here is a 4 part Interview Series by Murat on Tango Musicality:
Cute video with Sharna Fabiano and her partner Isaac Oboka about the roles of leading and following.
My feeling is that the term follower is much to passive, because to follow well, one must be active and engaged. I like to think of the follower as my partner in the dance, that I happen to be leading. She is actively accompanying me, while adding her own voice. but not interfering with the direction, general rhythm, and steps that I am proposing. But notice that I say, "proposing," that is because more experienced followers CAN, from time to time, heavily influence all three of those things.
Most of the best dances of my life have been to Pugliese.
To dance to Pugliese, you need exceptional balance, patience and discipline (by both partners). It takes the ability to respect the silence and the moments between the steps. To dance Pugliese is to dance tango.. not to execute steps. Pugliese takes time to master. Don't be afraid of him though.. find freedom in those pauses. The big problem I think for most with Pugliese is that it requires a perfect mixture of exceptional technique and heart. One without the other will not suffice...
Pugliese is considered, by most accomplished dancers, to be a wonderful orchestra for dancing. You will hear plenty of Pugliese at the Milongas in Buenos Aires and you will see the best dancers head to the floor when they hear the first notes. That is when they find their favorite partners.
The Structure of Tango
Part I: Cross Steps and Open Steps
Click Here to Download PDF of Full Class Notes
Introduction: At the end of this class, you will find that no matter which foot you are on or what system (Parallel or Cross) you are in that you will always have at least 9 steps that you can execute.
In Tango classes, teachers often teach figures or patterns. These can be fun and give students something to do when dancing. I think of figures as sentences and all the figures that we do during a song as paragraphs. In this class, we are taking a step back and looking at each and every step we take as a word. And each of those steps will have a beginning, middle, and end. Our goal is to make every single step that we take in tango count.
There are 3 basic steps of tango: the Open Step, the Forward Cross, and the Back Cross.
A Cross Step is defined by the orientation of the man and woman to each other. Whenever a couple takes a step, if they both stop in the middle of their step and turn (pivot) so that their hips face one another and their legs are crossed (twisted) then they are taking a cross step. If their legs are not crossed then they are taking an open step.
Cross steps can move in only two directions forward and back, but Open steps can forward, side, and backwards. In fact, Open steps have a 180 degree range of movement.
At any moment in the dance, both the man and the woman have these 3 steps available to them and when you combine these possibilities in both Parallel and Cross Systems starting on either foot you end up with 36 possible steps.
Poesía de gotán: The Poetry of the Tango is a great website that has lots of translations of some really great tango songs.
I think it can be very beneficial for leaders to learn to follow and followers to learn how to lead. Exposure to the other role is good for learning what the other person might expect from you. I think both come away with more of a respect for the other role. I don't think one role is necessarily easier or harder.. they both have unique challenges to them.
When leaders learn to follow, it makes them more aware of the necessity to be clear and decisive (but not pushy or forceful) in their movements as leaders. It also teaches them to be more patient and to give the women time to finish their steps.
I would be interested to hear what women learn about following by learning to lead. I know that some when I have talked to say that they did not realize how much women depend on men for their balance. They also learn that it feels very uncomfortable for leaders if the followers are guessing or fidgeting during the dance.
I am sure there are many more things that could be learned by switching roles.
Of course, there are other reasons for followers to learn to lead, other than becoming better followers. They might just want to learn to lead because they think they might enjoy it and we often have more women than men, so it would be a chance to dance more.
There are many differences between beginner, intermediate and advanced dancers, but one is musicality.
Beginner's step on the beat and maybe throw in some double times here and there.
Intermediate dancers change their rhythm, cadence, tiempo, energy, etc tanda to tanda depending on the orchestra being played. For example, you would not dance the same way to D'Arienzo that you would dance to Fresedo or Di Sarli. Very few dancers get to this level. I see so many people dancing exactly the same regardless of which orchestra is playing.
Advanced dancers change their rhythm, cadence, tiempo, energy, etc within the same song. There are clear shifts in most Tango songs and to be able to hear them coming and adapt your dance to them is what makes a dancer great to me.
Watch this video of Chicho and watch where he changes in energy... 22sec with the violins he goes from very energetic to much more calm and his steps get smaller and more controlled. You might even see some changes before this, but a big change again at 1.16 his energy really picks up again and he starts doing bigger and bolder moves. Around 1.57 he shifts again. Last major shift at 2.08.
BTW... To me there are two Pure Genius moments in this dance as far as musicality are concerned: The short runs at 1.10 and the foot stomps at 1.43.
Carmencita dancing milonga in 2000 at 95 Years Old.
To see more videos of her dancing go to my "Favorite Older Milonguero Performances" page.
