Many times I hear comments that it is harder for the male tango dancer or that women have more complicated journey; in fact the tango dancer's development is not a straight line and both of those viewpoints are right and wrong in the same time. Male or female dancers, have their difficulties along the way and most of them depend on their individual talents and abilities. Yet, experienced teacher can notice some general regularities. In this post I am going to talk about some very interesting observations I made over the years of watching how the tango dancers develop: they will help me explain why I think that those viewpoints I mentioned in the beginning are wrong and right at the same … [Read more...] about Phases of the tango dancer’s development
Tango travelers guide
(This article first appeared in 'Gancho', december 2016 - this is just a reprint for the readers of Tango Mentor) As we say goodbye to the old year our eyes look towards the next one and we try to figure out what tango events should we put on our calendar. I mean, we all wish to travel more if we just had enough money and time. Since most of us are not that lucky to have limitless resources, little wisdom when we make choice would help a lot. My intention behind this article is to help tango travelers to plan their year little wiser. I mean, when you travel almost every month, as I did the past few years, you begin to notice some patterns that might be useful to less experienced. I think … [Read more...] about Tango travelers guide
The mathematics of the dance
The mathematics of the dance is a way to understand how do you use your dancing repertoire and what is the value of the steps in your vocabulary. Have you ever tough about how much steps you learned since you started dancing tango? Did you calculated how much of that knowledge you actually use when you dance? I do not know if someone actually made that study, but I believe that the experienced tango dancers use just a small percentage of what they actually know. I think that male dancers usually use smaller percentage of their knowledge than the female dances (specially in the later phase of their development). [mailerlite_form form_id=3] I know this because I know that tango is similar … [Read more...] about The mathematics of the dance
Four ways to improve your musicality
No matter what do you dance, part of learning goals is to improve your musicality. In tango this is specially important because it has very complex way of expressing the music, which, by the way, can be very complex itself. Tango music does not have percussions or rhythm section, dancers do not dance to the music itself, but rather to the feeling that music creates. You might say 'OK, than how can I work on this segment of my dancing?' I am going to give you here four ways you can improve your musicality. They are derived from my personal experience, but also from the experience and knowledge of the great masters from the Golden Age. I will also use some of the latest discoveries of the … [Read more...] about Four ways to improve your musicality
Why do we love tango?
I started with tango because of a girl; but I started to love tango because I found in it something that I couldn't find in any other activity. For me it was a non-verbal way to express what I usually express with words. Different people will tell you different reasons why they love tango, but many will also have trouble to define what it is that makes them love it. They'll use words, but you can see that they're not satisfied with their own explanation. I think it's because people don't think and analyze their passion – they just enjoy and that's all that matters. And that's OK, because for some of them knowing the reasons will kill its magic. If you're one of those who don't want to … [Read more...] about Why do we love tango?
Feel, do not think your tango
Tango is about feeling, not about thinking. It is a dance of passion: it should be danced with a heart, not with the mind. I repeat this in many of my articles, but what it actually means? How you should start feeling, not thinking, your tango. Read those points. Maybe not all of them will be helpful to you. If you have problem relaxing, the answer will be hidden in some of those sentences. Sometimes you have to figure out just one little detail for everything else to fall in place. It was the last evening of a big encuentro. She was tired and I did not wanted her to lose time on bad dances, so I tried to tell her my opinion about the dancers she chooses. She just danced with a dancer who … [Read more...] about Feel, do not think your tango
