Needless to say, the tango weekend was much more than either one of us expected last week. I know that I went to practice, of course, but to also just learn how to be a better dancer. I’m not entirely sure how I was going to do that last weekend, but I definitely did not think that I would be miming a song. Dancing, yes. Learning new technique, absolutely. Waving my hands around like I was conducting an orchestra? Not so much. Needless to say, not your typical weekend.
I absolutely love the way that it worked out though. We never learned any technique, we didn’t learn any steps or patterns, nothing that you’d think you would learn at a dance weekend. What we did learn is how to feel when you dance. Feel your partner, feel the music, feel yourself. I felt more in tune with Pete in a dance sense last weeend than I ever have before. The entire experience made us not only better dancers, but also better partners.
I can’t tell you how many times I thought last weekend, “If someone who has no clue what’s going on walks in right now, they’re going to think we’re insane!” We were flailing about, jumping on people’s backs, spinning around the room, rolling around on the floor…you name it, we were doing it. Again, not what you’d expect, but hey, something stuck, because I’m sitting here writing about it!
One of the most interesting things we had to do, however, was to physically explore a piece of music. I don’t know if you’ve ever actually sat down and just listening to tango music. Honestly, up until recently I’ve never actually listened to the music. Heard it, yes, danced to it absolutely, but never sat down and just listened. It’s pretty intense! There’s an insane about of intricacy and movement to the sound, something that I’ve never felt before in a piece of music. There’s two bandoneons, the bass, the piano, and two viola/violins. Not much if you really think about the size of a standard orchestra. But those six instruments make layers upon layers of intricate music.
Now take that sound, and imagine trying to mime it to someone. Pretend that person has never heard the piece, and you have to visually show them what the music sounds like. Now imagine a room full of about sixty people doing this. Again, one of the more interesting parts of the weekend.
The big part that I took away from that class was that there are ultimately two main layers of the music. There’s the melody, which is typically the bandonleons and the viola/violins, and then the beat is usually the bass and the piano. When we walk, we walk to the beat, we dance to the beat. BUT! The important part is that you can use the meoldy to your advantage to make your dance look more “in tune” with the music. Use the flourishes of the violins to add an embellishment. Use the building notes of the bendonleons to start a giro, to start an ocho. The music is complex, yes, but you can use that to your advantage when you’re dancing.
My suggestion to you? Go sit down and put on a tango. Do nothing for the span of that song except to listen to it, to fully drink it in and listen to it, don’t just hear it. Pay attention to the sweeping notes and the rythmic bassline. And next time you dance, use those to your advantage. It’s not about the beat, it’s not about the melody, it’s about taking the two and using them together. Perfect Harmony.
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