Technical Series Coda - Style

The only thing left in our progress towards technically proficient, highly musical, and expressive Tango dancers is the matter of interpretation. Some people would call it "style". And sadly, too often we start out trying to find our "style" before we can even walk.

Every master, from Cachafaz to Chicho Frumboli, had already danced for many years before their own unique "style" began to emerge. "Style" evolves organically, from the way our own bodies move and the way we hear and interpret the music. Copying or imitating the way other people dance does not lead to the development of our own style. Neither does a forced "trying to be different" approach. To the contrary, these approaches can actually inhibit the discovery and evolution of our own true individual style.

For most of us, our first encounter with Tango is completely supernatural; we are bowled over, thunder-struck, overwhelmed, and deeply inspired. So it is only natural that we want to stand out with our own unique expression of Tango. But there is no need to worry!! Each of us hears, feels, and expresses themselves in life - as in Tango - in very unique and individual ways for an infinite number of reasons, which include education, cultural background, physiology, psychology, mood. Even physical obstacles such as hearing problems may contribute to our interpretation; an insensitivity to high notes makes bass tones (rhythm) our guide - which tends to produce more rhythmic dancing, while loss of lower frequencies has us following treble (melody), and tends to produce more lyrical dancing.

Which line of music we follow directly impacts the type of dance we do. In addition, our levels of fitness, flexibility, and emotive ability will further determine if our movements are choppier (and more appropriate for rhythmic dancing) or more ligato (and thus better suited for melodic dancing). While many of us will dance both rhythmically and melodically well to a certain degree, few of us are dexterous enough to be highly proficient at both.

The point is that given a room full of people doing the exact same step, we are not going to do it exactly the same as anyone else. Even if we try. Even if we are almost identical in physiques, there are so many other variables that come into play that, although we can certainly imitate and approximate someone else's movements, we will never really be exactly like them.

Which is why, when people say to me "I want to dance like you", I respond "you should want to dance like you". Because, while I am very flattered that they consider me worthy of imitation, it would always be just that: imitation of my dancing, which I do with my body, my life experience, my likes and dislikes, etc. And when we are imitating someone else, we are not doing justice to our own possibilities and potential, which may be far more brilliant than anyone else's.

When standing at the start line of Tango, a beginner should be looking at the general style of dance they wish to learn (open embrace, "fantasia", salon), and not necessarily the interpretation of the teachers. Because hopefully, they will find a teacher who will instill all the necessary technical tools, but encourage the student's own interpretation of the music. [It is also important to remember that brilliant performing does NOT necessarily translate into brilliant teaching, or vice versa: brilliant teaching into breathtaking performing.]

As much as those of us with experience try to encourage beginners to take their time in learning Tango, and especially to get the fundamentals of good technique under control before heading for the stars, the advice tends to fall on deaf ears. There is something so stirring and powerful about this dance that we just want to be fabulous at it immediately. So we go for the results, not realizing that it is a long road - a real process - to get to that place of interpretive genius. Without experience, our critical eye is caught by the flash and the sizzle of show steps and frenzied embellishing. These are far easier to "fake" because all that motion hides poor balance, floppy footwork, uncertain axis. When asked to simply "walk" in Tango embrace, those of us who skipped the basics are flummoxed by how difficult this can be.

I did not mean for this post to become a lecture...

I apologize for that. But in a sense, getting to the description of "style" is as much a process as it is to learn tango. Each step along the way is built upon that which we have just learned. If we try to build a tower on a weak foundation, it will topple, and we will have to start again - with the added burden of having to first remove the debris.

Now would be the time for an example. We are drawn to a particular teacher because of how they move. Let's say the de Fazio brothers, whose exciting foot punctuations we believe to be perfection on earth. So we start adding "picadas" (toe taps) to our dancing. If we do not have proper technique under our belt, these adornments can interfere with the rhythm (by not placing them in the right place musically), our partner's steps and/or feet (by being unaware of where our feet are in relation to theirs), our very partnership (by being so intent on adorning as to render our partner invisible).

I have written before about my own efforts at adding adornments to my dancing when I was just a beginner. I only succeeded in tripping over myself, over my partner, causing spectacular bruises on my own shins and feet, and ruining an untold number of stockings. I was fortunate to realize on my own that the adornments had to evolve naturally, and that applying them artificially, as "learned", they would always appear "fake" and pasted on. It wasn't until about two or three years later that one night I realized my feet had performed an embellishment all on their own, to the music, without causing any injuries or interference to anyone.

Embellishments
Perhaps the icing on the Tango cake is how we embellish or adorn our steps. With classes and numerous videos devoted to adornos, or Tango "embellishments", it is easy to believe that they are the key to expressive dancing and personal style, with "the more, the better" the logical extension of that belief. Some professional dancers are masters at this skill and they use them prolifically, which clearly fires the imaginations of the rest of us.

The result is that regardless of our skill level, we rush out to take embellishment classes, watch YouTube embellishment videos, and spent gobs of time in front of the mirror trying to make our feet do all those complex moves we see our Tango heroes doing. Then we frill up each and every step with as many curly-cues as is humanly possible. But here's the deal: no matter how delicious the icing, if we smear it all over an uncooked cake, it is going to be a mess.

I cannot help but feel that extreme embellishment is a poor substitute for Musicality, in the same way that exclamation points are a poor substitute for a weak sentence. The minute we think "Wow! Those are incredible embellishments!!" we are no longer appreciating the partnership or the musicality, but only on the embellisher's feet. In addition, our dancing takes on a cluttered and messy look, almost as though we do not trust that all the other elements of Musicality and Musical Expression will properly convey this enormous amount of feeling that wants to explode out of us.

However, the paradox is that the opposite is true. When properly chosen and judiciously placed, one or two embellishments can express far more than thirty or forty. If we revisit my post on Musicality and Musical Expression and the two videos I mentioned (Gavito's and Natacha's), we can see that at most, they have added 4 or 5 embellishments each. And yet, one could hardly find more musically expressive dancers anywhere. In addition, each has a very unique "style": Gavito is very dramatic and intense, making exceptional use of long yet "filled" pauses, while Natacha is exceptionally precise and musical (herself moving like a musical instrument), completely filling every single space between the notes with her presence.

I contrast their use of embellishments with this particular video of Geraldine and Javier. Considered by many to be at or near the top of the Tango heap, her adornments here literally take center stage - we become fixated with all the flicking and kicking and tapping of her feet, to the detriment (IMHO) of the extremely romantic and lyrical piece. While they may show dexterity and rhythm, they are not "musical".

So the answer to Musicality lies not in the embellishments themselves, but how we apply them selectively to our dancing. The key word here is "selectively", using them as a highlighter on a long paragraph. If we highlight every other sentence, then the highlighted sections loose their importance. The entire paragraph becomes important, and no particular sentence stands out. Of course, our "style" could be that of Exceptional Embellisher, but since embellishing is a detail, that is all anyone would focus on - to the detriment of Musicality and Partnership.

Other Elements of Style
Of course, embellishing is only one of many things that dictates individual style. There are many other elements which affect our bodies in ways that express our feelings through our movements, such as speed, playfulness, body posture, elegance, creativity, and flexibility, among many others.

The Hermanos Macana, as already mentioned, are known not only for their incredible technical prowess, but also their humor. Thierry le Cocq has crazy feet. Hugo (of Hugo and Miriam) moves with lightning speed. In this video, he does an a highly complex move with such speed and dexterity (at 2:18) as to deceptively make it seem fit for beginners. Miriam, while usually very dramatic, shows a very playful side (beginning at 1:59). Playfulness also describes Murat and Michelle's dancing style.

Certain posture elements also translate into personal style. Older "milongueros" had bent knees, crooked posture (although it isn't clear as to whether this was due to age and/or choice :-), and/or walked picking their feet up off the floor instead of gliding them along, such as Marta and Manolo illustrate in this "canyengue" style milonga. This is clearly a style of dance, but those elements often make their way into one's personal style, as Chicho Frumboli illustrates in this video. Here we see not only the foot-lifting style that made him famous, but also his stupendous creativity which earned him a place as one of the "godfathers" of "Nuevo Tango". I can almost guarantee he did not start out dancing that way!

Personal style, then, can be expressed through an almost infinite array physical and/or emotional elements, but almost always develops on its own. We don't go out hunting for us; it finds us when we're good and ready to allow it, when we have paved the road for it with all our hard work. The most influential and admired dancers are those who have worked their way up through the many levels of learning: technique, rhythm, and musicality and musical expression. Theirs is a long-haul tango, which shows patience and pedigree, not a goal-oriented, rushed tango that is hollow and superficial.

Tango has often been described as a "process". It is also a journey which many of us feel will last a lifetime. Along the way, there will be plenty of time to pick up those personal mementos which in Tango we call "style".