Technical Series Part 2 - Rhythm

Musicality. That sometimes elusive quality that separates the true dancers from... well, the rest of us. I will be writing about what I consider to be musicality and musical expression in my next post

But first, no one can achieve musicality without first understanding, and conquering, rhythm. While some may find this particular post a little "dry", understanding and incorporating the concept of rhythm into one's dancing - which must exist before we can "interpret" music - is a critical aspect of any technically proficient dancer. In addition, those "adornments" or "embellishments" with which we are so enamored are directly connected to the proper understanding and mastery of rhythm. (I will discuss the use of embellishments in a later installment.)

Music is the unifying theme between partners. It is our telepathic tool, the only way we have any idea of what is to come during our non-verbal exchange. For those of us who swoon to the wonderful sounds of many types of music, the notion that it is all mathematical is rather depressing. However, music IS mathematical, and as such is governed by its own rules. While I am neither a musician nor a mathematician, I appreciate the "math" of rhythm and will try to explain it here in non-technical terms.

Most dance music is comprised of at least two layers. Before anyone pounces on me, YES, there are single-instrument dances out there, but I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about most dance music.

These layers are rhythm and melody. The rhythm - characteristically expressed by drums or bass - governs the beat, the tempo (or speed) of a piece, and the duration of sounds (syncopation). The melody - what we hum or sing along to - is generally expressed through string and wind instruments, and is the "interpretive" aspect of music. In Tango, it is the bandoneón that gives the melody its characteristic "tango" sound, but which can also express the rhythm (i.e. Pugliese's La Yumba), a fact not lost on beginners who will swear that there is no beat.

As dancers, it is the rhythm portion of music which is the most critical, technically speaking. When we observe that someone is not "dancing to the music", more often than not we are referring to their not stepping on the beat (although you can also step off the beat and still be rhythmical). Every one of our movements must be accomplished by stepping on - or off - the beat in order for it to be "with the music".

Every song has a certain number of "bars" or "measures", defined as a segment of time divided by a given number of beats . These segments are of the same rhythmic duration throughout the song. The speed at which these beats are expressed musically is called "tempo". (The tones within these measures are called "notes".) I will use milonga as my musical example because it is far simpler to illustrate rhythm and beat with milonga's one-step-per-beat rhythm, than tango's far more complex tempo.

Here are two videos of approximately the same tempo. The first is of Osvaldo and Coca, who are dancing "slowly" to the beat - meaning one step per beat (with some traspié). The second is Thierry Le Coq dancing "quickly", using several steps per beat. If you are having trouble figuring out what I mean by beat, the Osvaldo video has everyone snapping their fingers or clapping to the beat.

As you can see, "fast" or "slow" are relative terms. We can dance either fast or slow (or fast AND slow) to the exact same piece of music. We can also dance "slowly" to fast music (less steps per measure), and "fast" to slow music (more steps per measure). If the music itself is slow (more time between beats), it allows us to dance "fast", since we can execute more steps per beat. Likewise, if the music is fast (less time between beats), we can dance "slow", taking fewer steps over the course of more beats. But whether we step on the beat, between the beats, or over the course of several beats, we but must adhere to the actual beat of the music.

"Rhythm" and "beat" are often used synonymously. But there is a distinction: the beat is the actual physical sound - the heartbeat of a song. Rhythm as I am using it, is a person's ability to follow the beat. When a person has "rhythm" it often means that they are able to move with the beat of the song. And I'm talking about the rhythm of humans dancing Tango.

For purposes of simplicity, let's say each "bar" consists of 4 beats (I don't know if this is "musically" correct, but musicians, bear with me...). When dancing to these four beats, we have at least 4 different possibilities to follow it, and infinitely more if we mix them up. We can dance one step to the beat (as Osvaldo and Coca do) or two or more steps to the beat (as Thierry does). Depending on the speed of the music (the time between actual beats), it may be possible to do more. It is also possible to go in the opposite direction, taking one step over the course of two or more beats. This interpretation often comes across as pauses, but we can also simply move more slowly.

In other words, as a dancer, I have the option of completing my step in an eighth, or a quarter or half of one beat, or in one beat, two beats, three beats, or even four beats. Even more if I have balance and can move extremely slowly - as long as I come out of the movement on the beat. Of course, this requires that my partner respect my rhythmic choice and wait for me. In this fabulous video, Mariela Franganillo and Jorge Torres start by dancing slowly to fast music - taking several notes to complete one step. They progress to one step per beat, and escalate to two (or more) steps per beat, then back to one step over several beats. This video shows a true mastery of rhythm.

In terms of lead and follow, the follow has far fewer options as to where to play with rhythm. However, it is anywhere the lead has turned over temporary control to the follow, as during a pasada, or while transferring into the cruzada.

But regardless of whether one is leading or following, both partners must obey the rhythm of the music before they can begin to translate their "feelings" or "emotions" into bodily movements.