The theme for this term is Dancing the Dynamic and Difference. Each lesson we will be focusing on different songs looking at what is similar and different, to explore how to best express the 'gold' in each song. Week 4: November 11 In this week we explored... 1. Alternating inside or outside lanes - while walking forward / backward 2. Eliminating the Salida (to left) for the following moves:
Week 3: November 4 We explored dancing to the solid, punchy songs of Ricardo Tanturi.The singer in both songs is Alberto Castillo You will find these song on Sophia's Spotify list (Trad Tango) or click on the song links above to hear them on Youtube. Here's an improvisation to Noches del Colon: The video's cover pic shows our pause at 2:13 - it was one of my favourite moments in this dance. Never underestimate the power of a pause! Note...
Background1 Ricardo was a violinist who began his professional career when he was 20. In 1937 he first recorded under his name and although it's good music, he didn't have an identity. Every record sounded like an homage to an orquesta leader... or a composer. From one record to the next it almost sounded like a different group. Of course this is explainable by the fact he wasn't using a singer. And then something momentous happened... Enter Alberto Castillo in 1939. If ever the career of a band leader was saved by a singer, this is it. And vice-versa; they were a magical combination. And of course Alberto brought with him ... thousands of love-crazed fans! The 30-odd records they recorded together set them both in the firmament. Uruguayan Enrique Campos came in when Castillo left in 1943. Although singing in the same vocal range, his personality lead Tanturi into a slightly different direction. Ricardo's music developed a more pensive, moody quality. It's more romantic. Characteristics and qualities Tanturi's music has been described as "no steps tango": It doesn't suit complex figures, or expansive movement. It's built more for close embrace, compact, sharp movement. For the gentler phrases Paradas and slower movement work well. All of Tanturi's arrangements contain sections of flowing movement and sweet strings but the main characteristic is a fast thumping undercurrent for dancers’ feet. This punchiness is understandable given that Tanturi's recording contract came just after the emergence on the tango scene of Juan D’Arienzo (the King of Punch!) Week 2: October 28 Songs Explored different ways of stepping:
Contrasted the following songs, looking for similarities, differences, and how our movement can best express the mood and tiempo of the songs.
We compared the emotional expression of the singer in Nene del Abasto with that of the songs from Week 1 (Lomutos' Melodia de Nuestro Adios and Canaro's Poema ) and then contrasted the above more rhythmic songs with these more melodic songs:
You can find all these songs in Sophia's Spotify list (Trad Tango) or click on the song links above to hear them on Youtube. Week 1: October 21 Songs Melodia de Nuestro Adios - by Lomuto Poema - by Francisco Canaro Both have a strong contrast between phrases that were more rhythmic or more melodic . Both have vocals that are very gentle, slow and poignant. La Melodia de Nuestro Adios has a faster tempo than Poema. Both songs are in Sophia's Spotify Playlist Trad Tango (see below) or click on the above links for these songs on Youtube. We looked at phrasing for each song and worked on moves that would best express the different phrases, e.g.: Melodic Salida 40 Single time Parallel Cross Wide Ochos Calesita Wide Ochos (half time) Ocho Cortado (a version suiting melodic music which we will work on more in future lessons) Rhythmic Ocho Cortado Rebounds (rebotés) Double time Crosses - Parallel and Cross System Travelling Ochos (single time) Tango Music - for practicing Spotify Check out Sophia's Spotify lists:
The following link will download a collection of 250 of the most popular songs (tango, vals and milonga) played in milongas around the world! Focus for now only on the tangos. Also focus on instrumental songs as opposed to vocals as these are easier to find the beat. Di Sarli is one of the better orchestras to start with: 250 songs download This link goes to a zip file (little less than a 1 GB file). Here's a link to help you better understand tango music for dancing. For reading: |
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