Social
Causation, correlation and the thing between your legs.
Whenever I post something that even remotely touches on gender and roles, there will always be at least one comment about how we should get rid of gender stereotypes in Tango and how it would be better if dance roles were not linked to gender at all. One of the most popular arguments is: “You…
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When bias is an advantage
When I wrote about how Tango could be advertised more effectively to men, some people commented that I was being “unbalanced” and that the real solution was for me to learn to follow and to propose teaching both roles from the start.
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The hidden opportunity in Tango marketing – part 3
In my last post, I argued that Tango can give men a space to come together, side by side, and slowly build friendships, without pressure or pretence. Today, I want to go a little deeper. I want to explore how Tango can be presented in a way that speaks to men (and yes, probably to…
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Self exploration
Dance like there is no… tomorrow
“It’s such a pity that no one took a photo of me dancing with her.” A friend told me about a memorable tanda he had. Just a few days ago, another friend posted a video of dancing with a well-known dancer that many consider a myth. Looking at photos and videos from events we joined…
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Unknown or unseen?
If you read this blog, you might think I am some kind of super-famous dancer. You might think I am known in milongas. You know… the kind of person who immediately attracts attention when he enters the space. The truth is that I am quite the opposite. Maybe, I became a little “famous” in the…
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Are you a diamond or a bottle of water?
Imagine that someone offers to give you for free a diamond or a bottle of water. Which one would you choose? I guess that most people reading this question would answer… “The diamond”. If you compare the prices of the two goods, there is no doubt that diamonds cost more. That is why you would…
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Musicality
The beauty and the beast
They aim also to make us look nice when we dance. Improve the aesthetics of our dance. You probably admire those dancers on the floor with nice posture and clean, straight lines when they move. So the question that always bothered me is how much of this technique is functionally necessary and how much is…
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Emotional technique
There is often an impression that technique is kind of the opposite of emotions, or that it hinders you from expressing emotions. Some weeks ago I saw a question about it on a Facebook group. Many people agree that technique is a tool to dance better, therefore communicate better and consequently express emotions. So the…
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Metaphorically dancing…
I have never really thought about the connection that metaphors can have with dancing. You can actually dance a melody literally or metaphorically. It dawned on me the other day. I was on a musicality workshop about counter melodies with Horacio Godoy and at some point he told the phrase… “you can do something metaphorical”…
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Connection
Dopamine and oxytocin
if you go into this, dancing the emotion, the risk of getting oxytocin instead of dopamin, is quite high. Enjoy it, but be aware you will fall in love, with your dance partner: the tango-love. Just enjoy it but don’t confuse it with real love.
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Counting the uncountable
Expressing emotions is a purely subjective thing. Let’s take for example love as an emotion and music as a medium/language to express it. To some people expressing their love with a tango song, might feel fitting but to others, it might be more fitting to express it with a rock ballad or a jazz song,…
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If it’s not messy… it’s not worth it!
Expressing emotions in dancing is a difficulty we have because as I also wrote there is a tendency from society to undervalue it and maybe sometimes see it as a weakness. However, it’s the only way (IMHO) to enjoy your dance.
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Language
Story telling
Dancers or story tellers?
Dancers with basic musicality can understand and express the music they hear at any given moment. However, if you really want to go a step further you need to see the song as a complete entity, as a story that tells you something, that has a key message.
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