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Don’t Try To Be Original

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“Don’t try to be original. Be simple. Be good technically, and if there is something in you, it will come out.” – Matisse

You’re going to ask, “Miles ? What does this statement have to do with tango ? This is a tango topics group, not your personal playground!”.

Well actually it is my personal playground but I try to run a tight, fair, and relevant ship. To that last point, it’s relevant in the following way: YOUR FOUNDATION!

As I was reminded today that this statement applies to life, the arts, and basically anywhere. While Matisse i believe was talking about art, I somehow or another think he that never imagined that it could apply everywhere.

So in Tango we would apply this to one’s Foundation > Extensions, Foot Landing and Placement, Forward Steps, Side Steps, Back Steps, Hand Embrace, Arm Embrace, Body Position, Body Placement, One’s Posture, Forward/Backward Intention and Physical Clarity WITHOUT Wobbling, Wavering, or Needing to hold onto anyone or anything. All the while not hanging, pulling, pushing, squeezing, compressing, or watching someone’s feet!

This would be the first part of that statement or “BE SIMPLE”. The ‘Be Good Technically’ part would be how you APPLY that foundation. And the last part about there being anything in you ? That’s the part that should emerge if the first two things exist in overwhelming presence…IMO.

YMMV.

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1.) Free Users get to see 5 of the 125 Different Tango Topics on the site. Plus you get access to the entire Tango Reminders and Tango Ideas sections of the site. These are short form Topic descriptors with a little detail about the topic and the video.

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9.) We explain things, break the vocabulary down in a visual way, from multiple angles, showing feet, hands, and close ups! Yes there’s a lot of talking but we want you to understand what it is that you’re doing and why, not just steps, patterns, and figure

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Keep something in the back of your mind: What you’re seeing in a youtube video is a couple that is performing for the 15th row for a room full of people. They’re not social dancing! Whereas this website is all about ‘Social Tango’  or how to make things function on a social dance floor. Social Dance floor ? Your local milonga! They are showing you flashy moves as a presentation, to show off! But not stopping and talking about how this works which is what you need to see. This website and all of it’s content show you the how and  why you’d want to put that piece of vocabulary there, or how to make things work. This website is all about those things and more!

You could watch Tango YouTube videos and thereby spend your time, trying to infer, and figure out how things may work in that particular situation. Bend your body this way or that, twist and force this position or that. Place your foot here or there and figure it out. This is known as Tango Twister.  Which can be a lot of fun, but more than likely it won’t help you, because you’re missing something: The explanation from an experienced teacher showing you how to properly excute this stuff from a Leading Perspective as well as from a Following Perspective!

The goal of YouTube videos is to get you to study with those teachers in person. The goal of Tango Topics videos allows you to work at your own pace, in the comfort of your own space, so that you can play them over and over again to improve your understanding of the vocabulary or technique being described to therefore better your dancing experience. The goal of classes and workshops is to get you to come back over and over and over again, thereby spending more money with that teacher. This website and the videos under it are here to act as a resource for you to help you to improve your dance. Pay once and you’re done.

Eventually, one way or another you’re going to pay for this lesson, either here and now, or with them. TANSTAAFL! The difference between that lesson and this ? Is that you get to play this lesson over and over and over again. Further still, there are supporting materials (other videos) that help to explain the language and the underlying technique of how and why things work, so you can easily reference those things in the corresponding articles that go with the material, and or any language in the Tango Topics Dictionary. 

DROP ME A MSG HERE

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