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I have various drafts but no time to finish them. But this, I would like to share with you: Olga Besio talked about embellishment. That should probably clear up some of the criticisms to certain well known dancers and young ones, especially from non Argentine, that I have encountered throughout the years. Or not. In any case, it is interesting to hear from one of the great maestras:

Prof. Olga Besio (2007)

Translation: Maria Celia Arias

In order to speak about embellishments, and to give support to all that comes along with them, it would be important to mention some of the origins of the essence and existence of Tango and it’s dance.

It is necessary to clarify that the word “dance” does not only refer to the practice of a technique. On the contrary, its more general use and meaning refers to all forms of dance. And this reference alludes to that which occurs naturally, primitively, remotely, that which is visceral and even animal like in the human experience. In this sense we are talking about an experience that comes from an earlier time historically, chronologically and ontologically than this concept of technique we speak of today.

If we understand the dance as a profoundly natural act, which is born from the human experience, then as we speak of popular and social dance (where perhaps the tango dance is our most intrinsic example) we immediately discard all that would seem redundant or obvious.

So then: What is the Tango? What we already know: a dance for two, a deep communication with the other, and with the music, and then we can even say we begin to “discover” this idea of dialog. The dialog between the dancing couple, the dialog with the music, the dialog that happens between the feet when they draw famous figures on the floor such as the “ochos” and so many others. We can even take this idea further, and mention the dialog that happens between the feet, the legs and the air, when drawing “boleos” with precision and fine clarity, creating and recreating the same, yet new shape, with each occurrence.

But, then what is the embellishment, which has also been called at times, the decoration or the dancer’s expressiveness? The embellishment consists of the precise expression of the essence of the tango. There is no purpose in embellishments stemming from mere technique alone, if one does not understand “what they really mean and stand for.” The legs of the dancers create and form a dancing couple as one. They embrace, they join, dialog together, they caress… and this all technically happens due to a game of rotation in their joints and articulations. But this game of rotation should not be understood as something cold and technical; on the contrary, it is something absolutely natural and as logical as any kind of language. The legs “express”, and are “expressive”, when they have and know the language; not merely because they move or know how to move.

Therefore, we have just destroyed various myths about embellishments.

· One being that embellishments are ‘moves that must be learned or copied from another’. In no way is this ever the case. The technical study and training is of utmost importance, but it is by far not enough. There are excellent dancers who perform embellishments with true emotion, but we also often times see, unfortunately, the mere repetition of movements or copies of those excellent dancers performed by others who did not understand the true essence of the movement. Generally, in these cases, the original dancer is excellent, and the copycats result as irrelevant, and sometimes even unpleasant or grotesque interpreters.

· Another myth is that which state that the embellishment belongs to the woman. In no case is this true. The embellishment is everything that the man or woman does without interfering in the mark of the dance, the steps, figures and sequences, and etc. This includes being able to stay in exact union with the music without producing any awkward pulls or tugs off rhythm. For this to happen, it is absolutely necessary to first know how to lead and follow, and to have a very well developed ear for the music. I always say to my students that they should only realize their partner was doing embellishments when they watch the video. This actually happened to a famous dancer who, when he watched the video of his performance he saw for the first time what his partner was doing, and then understood why she always received so many complements and comments.

· Still another myth is that for the woman to be able to add embellishments, the man needs to give her time. This may be the case when we are speaking about choreography, where these moments can be planned and elaborated in agreement between the partners, or even a third party. But in the improvised tango dance, the embellishments come from one’s intelligence, ability, the “Tanguerismo” of the woman, in the ability to decide whether it would be appropriate or not, and to know when and what type of embellishment is more appropriate for the current circumstance. Of course, if the dancer has little experience, it is not recommended that she try this in the milonga: that is what classes and practices are for.

The last myth I will mention is that of the ear and musicality, and that some dancers consider it enough just to be able to hear the rhythm. Other more advanced dancers speak about dancing the phrase. I must clarify again, that this is not enough; it is necessary to understand the melody and the particular expressivity of each musical piece, of each orchestras arrangement, of each version… and in this same vein, understand the musicality needed by the dancers is much more than rhythm, the compass, the down beats, the silent beats, the double-time beats, and all of those elements that are so often spoken about (and often times confused with one and the other). The musicality, which is required here, is the kind that can translate, create and recreate time and time again the sentiments, compositional structure, and the essence of the particular piece, which the couple has the said opportunity to dance and express.

Last but not least, it is necessary to mention that the embellishment is not limited to movement, and is not limited to the feet and the legs. It is true that this may be the most visible in many cases, but the embellishment exists in the whole body, in one’s attitude, in the silence, in the closing of the eyes, in the pauses, in the changes of speed and in the thousands of variables that can occur and need to be practiced technically, and methodically. The embellishments purpose is to definitively show the love and passion for the dance, that each individual and each couple is capable of feeling and expressing.

I met Lida Gudovskaya over two years ago at one of my privates with Andrea and Javier. She was studying with them from Russia. I danced with her at the milonga. At that time she was just an average tanguera. Now she has been performing in BsAs and Russia, with Juan Manuel Riera who often can be found dancing at El Beso and Cachirulo.

Thanks to Simbatango , I got to know the name of my tango crush. (see my post: Sunderland practica). She also performs at Plaza Dorrego, which I’ve not been to. They are studying with Carlos and Rosa at Sunderland.

And un amigo Gus:

It is good to be young and fabulous. Enjoy every moment of it!

Technique is not important.

Three years ago, when I took my first privates with Javier and Andrea, Javier said to me ” Technique is not important*…. your feeling in tango will one day make you great.” Three year after, in the only two privates that I had the chance to take with them this time, we worked on technique: walking, how to use the arm…

I had assisted Andrea in a couple of her privates, dancing with the ladies. And I had learned so much about woman’s technique and experienced the huge differences before and after the ladies made adjustments in their embraces, walking, and embellishment (for advanced dancer). The sensation of the right embrace, the slight delayed timing of walking, and the little technique of cross was so sensuous, musical and pleasurable.

And I am not talking about the technique of Volcada, Giro, sacada… I am referring to the basic and fundamental technique: walking and embrace. You might be surprised how many people can’t walk two steps straight, and walk long or short evenly. Very often I dance with women who either press their chest with most of their body weight against mine, or try so much to avoid putting any weight that they are escaping from the embrace. Neither way gives me a pleasant feeling. I can’t tell you how much more pleasant a fellow student felt after she made a small adjustment in embrace, after she did what Andrea had taught her. How a strong and powerful short walk without the music made me feel out of this world, after I got the technique of walking.

Technique is very important. It is the catalyst to building and maintaining feeling throughout the dance. It is the essential tool to communicate with each other on a different level. One’s tango experience won’t go very far without proper and sound technique. If you long for the elusive tango bliss, then you should be obsessed with perfecting the technique.

*Technique is not important: when one dances, one should focus on anything but technique. One works on the technique so it becomes natural. Part of the reason that many technique classes aren’t useful is that they teach the technique of leading and following. Instead of that, I was taught and learned the technique that made both feel perfect and free in the dance; that made the woman look and feel beautiful, and the man appreciate the beauty of the woman.

Who with a sane mind wouldn’t want to work on that?

Most of the people know about Sunderland. When my friend told me about the practica on Monday and Wednesday, supervised by Carlos and Rosa, I was very interested in going. The problem with going to Sunderland, however, is that it is far away from the center. It costs about 30-40 pesos by cab.

Bus 41 has a stop one block from Sunderland, and it costs only 1.25 peso (35 cents). The ride takes about 30-45 minutes depending on the traffic. We got there early due to the light traffic, and we had coffee in the shop.

The last Mundial Salon champion couple, as we all know, came from Japan and were trained by Carlos and Rosa. So there have been quite a few professional couples from Japan attending the practica.

The practica always starts with 45 minutes of walking exercise for men, supervised by Carlos and woman’s technique supervised by Rosa. It was a humbling experience to walk along with 30 some men, some are established professionals, along two straight lines.

After, it was just dancing. Carlos and Rosa watched attentively, and made correction and gave pointers to different couples from time to time. There were so many young but great dancers. I didn’t practice much after the walking exercise. Instead, I sat and watched dancer practice. It was a very inspiring experience. People were genuine, and carried no attitude. Good dancers danced and worked with less skilled ones. And I felt welcome from the beginning. And after practica, we shared a table with Carlos and Rosa downstairs at the restaurant, along with other students. We chatted casually, and it was a very relaxing atmosphere. I ordered a steak, it was so juicy and tasty.

I am going to attend every practica till I return home. Here is a video of some of the dancers practicing performance at the end of the practica. I am seriously in love with the Argentine girl in blue skirt. I think she will rise up in the tango world in just a few years.

You don’t need to take lessons, you just have to dance in the milongas.

I am not surprised when some amazing dances tell me that they’ve not taken a tango lesson in their lives. The world is full of talents and geniuses, people who are born with good genes, people who have life long training in other disciplines…

I am surprised by how many mediocre ones, men and women, stop learning just after a few lessons, thinking that they’ve already known how to dance. Many who have never stepped on the beat, who have never embraced, who could not stand on their own feet without using their partners’ body as a crutch, who could not walk without taking their partners off balance…and they have been dancing the same old year after year in the milongas. You know the type if you are reading tango blogs.

More often what I’ve learned and heard is how talented dancers still work hard and learn on the daily basis, hire coaches to help them to perfect their dance. I am not suggesting that everyone is doing the same. After all, tango is a social dance, not a competitive sports. It is a hobby for most of us. We want to enjoy it.

Some suggest that the milonguero(a)s do not take classes.

Well, first of all, there are milonguero(a)s whom everybody loves to dance with, many who are just average, and some whom most avoid. Milonguero(a)s, just because they’ve danced in the milongas for many years, don’t naturally make them all good dancers. Some have bad habits, awkward postures and embraces that make partners uncomfortable, uneven walks that feel like driving on a gravel road. The fact is that of many portenas whom I had danced with while I was in BaAs, there were only a handful I could honestly say that I had the pleasure.

Secondly, before there was a tango school in BsAs, people taught each other, among friends, relatives and families after the milongas, or close door practicas. That is considered “taking lesson”.

Although the follow quote might not be most suitable for this post, it certainly brings me to the next one.  So stay tuned.

No, a fool learns from experience. A wise man learns from the experience of others. -Otto von Bismarck, reply when told that a wise man learns from experience.