This is place for you to register your responses to or questions about this week's readings, films, class, or experiences dancing tango outside of class. This is no set format or required length of response.
My first Tango class was perhaps a bit more awkward than I had expected. I knew from my experience in Tango club during Freshman year that is feels quite odd initially to hold someone in such a tight embrace, but in Tango club I was always dancing with a friend so the awkward feeling went away after a few dances. Last Friday, though, every person that I danced with was a complete stranger to me. Additionally, because of the make up of our class, I was also dancing with other men for most of the time, which was an experience that I had never had before and was not anticipating prior to the start of this class. After initial readings and the in class film that focused on love, attachment, sensual dancing and the power of dominating ones partner, it felt strange trying to apply these principles of Tango dancing with my stranger, male dance partners. Although it was refreshing to see that everybody was nervous and uncomfortable during the lesson, I am still uneasy about dancing with people that I do not know who are the same gender as me, and when dancing with these strangers will become more comfortable, especially as our dancing skills improve and we begin to practice in the full embrace in the coming weeks. Until I am able to best this hurdle and become more comfortable with the closeness aspect of this dance, I fear that my Tango dancing will suffer.
Welcome to your new class of tangueros y tangueras, Ann. Jared expresses a common and shared experience. Before lessons, we hear stories of it taking 10, 15 and 20 years, if ever, for people to overcome their inhibitions and move into the culture of the Tango. During that time, they relied on their same sex friends and family to work with them until they worked up the nerve to embrace closely a stranger of the opposite sex. Press on, Jared! Your Tango dancing will benefit and not suffer in the least.
I had a very interesting first experience with dancing tango. I was unable to make it to the first class, so I went downtown this week to go to a lesson from the world champions of tango. As I arrived to the dance hall, they were the first people that I saw. They were amazing dancers, and definitely encouraged my keenness on the subject. I observed the multitudes of people who were dancing before the lesson began, and tried to get a feel of what it was all about. The first dance was obviously awkward. I didn't know what I was doing at all! However, very quickly it became apparent how the dance is all about some sort of subconscious feel. The majority of the time I was just trying to weave my partners through the dance floor in order to stay out of the way of the people who knew what they were doing. I felt like I was drunk driving or something. However, what I think I learned the most from my experience was through observing the people who are involved in the tango community in Denver. They appeared to be very passionate about the dance, and this was very inspiring for me to take this class. There is surely something amazing about the dance, and I can see how there will be so much to write about it.
Last Friday, it was the first time I learned the tango and performed the dance with new classmates. I usually do not dance at all because I feel like that I lack the talent and flexibility to show the beauty of this art. However, my mind changed quickly as the first practice was done. Dancing with the music, and following the instruction that Ann gave us, I learned some basic abilities to do the Tango. In addition, I came up an definition for the Tango, which was the practice. When you are willing to dance, and do it over and over again, then you can have the confidence to tell that you can do it. The Tango is product that from the culture, many other people find the path to go throughout the gate of the dance. They may work on the different fields, but the hearts to dance are same.
Last week was not only the first time I ever danced tango, but the first time I ever did a ball room dance of any sort. I have never taken dance lessons before and I have barely ever danced in public. The dance was difficult, but not as difficult as I expected it would be. I am really happy that we will not be learning any steps for the dance, I did not know that you made tango up as you go along. I think this aspect of the dance makes it more interesting to me as I have always been fond of improvisation. Dancing to the speed of your partner also makes it interesting. I feel like in tango you really have to become one with your partner, you have to be able to control them and they have to be able to control you. Most of all, you have to pick up senses on where they want to go and at what pace. This is a whole new world for me. I'm just glad I am learning in a class, I would be far too afraid to hit someone if I was on an actual dance floor!
I have never enjoyed dancing and i have never been good at it. However, I decided to try it out and see what i could do. While the actual dancing was fun and i began to believe i might be able to actually put together some sort of rhythmic body movement, i became for more interested in the academic aspects of the dance. I had no idea that tango has such a rich history and has evolved into such an intricate ritual. As someone who is fascinated by human behavior, the Codigo is an incredible insight into a modern form of traditional human interaction. Not only that, but the way the dance is seen by people all around the world is an interesting look at the shared experiences we as humans rarely find in such a fast paced world. As i continue this journey, i don't want to forget this sense of curiosity at what tango is and what it can be.
Today was definitely a better experience with the Tango, as I expected and greatly hoped for coming into this morning. I actually really liked dancing before the two hour 'class', as I found myself pretty distracted in the first class, too busy anticipating the second two hours of the class to focus on the true course content. Either way, I felt a lot of anxiety dissipate immediately when I finally felt like I got the walk down, and spent most of the morning working on the embrace. Although some of my classmates seemed to succeed with the embrace fairly quickly, I still struggled. The reason that this worries me is that when I went to Tango club during freshman year, I could never truly 'get' the embrace, which inhibited me from succeeding with the dance and caused a lot of frustration and disappointment. I hope that repetition helps with the embrace, and I am markedly more optimistic today than I was after class last week!
Our first class was my initial introduction to the Tango. During my childhood, I mastered ballet, jazz, hip-hop, gymnastic and cheerleading dance. I also took more formal ballroom dance classes in Cotillion, and, of course, have freestyle danced to all my music artists. The Tango dance, however, is much different from any other dances I have previously experienced. After reading, watching movies and engaging in class discussions about the Tango, I now have a new, deeper understanding of and personal connection with the Tango and this exposure has shaped the way I see dancing to be. I am fascinated to learn that the dance is embraced worldwide and has become a lifestyle to many of cultures. I am also surprised that the dance consists of improvisation between two individuals on the dance floor. Learning the steps is fun and I believe I will gain a stronger appreciation of dance and the Tango. I am intrigued and definitely more inclined to attend Tango classes or practices in the future.
Before I started to learn tango, I read some reading materials that could help me to understand the dance well. The "Origin" of the dance changed my mind, which I thought tango was the poplar dance in the world. The truth was that tango was the dance invented in Argentina, and it absorbed the nutrition and cultures from many immigrants from Span, Italy and so on. At the beginning, tango spreaded in the lower class of the country, it gradually accepted by the middle class and people who lived in great social status. Because of the interests and context of the dance, it now influences a lot of people who love to dance all over the world.
It was a refreshing experience for the tango class because I was directly working with my partners on tango when I came into the classroom. It omitted the tango films and discussion that happened a week ago. The steps and movements looked more complicated than we learned before. It was not normally walking or the practice between the leader and follower. We added the eight steps, and spin during the dance. As the beginner, I felt the pressure and difficulties to complete the dance for a while. However, Ann provided great instructions and showed her patient when she was teaching. It helped me to move better and to earn some confidence to do tango. In addition, the partners were my new classmates. It was kind of weird to tango with strangers as a common sense, but I did not have the feeling while I was performing the dance. All I had, was the pleasure and exciting to move in the music. I thought it might be the culture of tango gave the specialty to the dance.
For the fourth week, I was learning some steps that was complicated to me. The pivot included the front pivot and the back pivot. When I was watching the video of dancers showed the steps of pivot. I appreciated the beauty and specialty of the movement. However, I still received the fear from the steps because I did not know if I could make it. And the fact proved my thought, It was difficulty for me to make the movement correct. Fortunately, I did not abandon my confidence and my partners who were good at tango taught me their way to dance. In addition, our instructor Ann also provided her ideas in how to pivot and patiently correct my drawbacks. For the class, I realized that the confidence and the trust on your leader would get rid of the obstacles of completing a tango dance. When you were familiar with your own ability, the passion of tango would automaticly inject into your regular steps.
In the fifth week of the tango class, I feel the context of tango was not hard to capture. The only problem I felt that I needed to overcome was to react people during the Milonga. The timid always took over my heart that made me lose the opportunities to find a dance partner. Therefore, I danced two times with professor Ann. Hence, I was thinking of changing a little bit, so I blinked my eyes to the crowd. Andrew reacted with the same emotion. The process was fast and simple, but it needed the courage to make changes.
In the sixth week, I was doing some reviews of the tango I learned before. I felt that the tango was all with music that we listened because it could drag you into a world with passion. Each time, I tried to dance with a partner without music, I always felt that there were something lacked. In seconds, you were bored with the steps that you had. I thought the only situation that we did not have music was to teach somebody with the movement they were not familiar. If tango is a body, then the music will be the soul. It fills the dance with the love, the passion, the life.
The greatest benefits that I received from Javier's tango lesson was how to lead the tango. For several weeks studying how to dance tango, I could tell my conditions were not stable. Sometimes, I could complete all the tango dances in the music without any errors. However, I still had the moments that I needed professor Ann or the other partners to remind and instruct me what to do next. I did not know what was going there. Until Javier's advices and teaching changed the one of my main mistakes while I was dancing. That was the what embrace you had and how you to lead your partners. Every embrace should fill with the true affection, it would take out the timid, the embarrassing, and the other negative emotions which lowered the quality of your tango. When you prepare to tango, find a good position and have a close and tight embrace will be a basic step to produce the authentic tango. In addition, your upper body takes advantages in the dance. It means that it could alert your partner what you are going to do. They will feel your strength to push them to the way that you are willing to see. Since I understood the fundamental knowledges of tango, it lifted my confidences upon high in the following tango dances.
In this week, I tried to be a good tango leader because I was not the man to listen many orders. However, the leader needed to figure out some difficulties. Therefore, there was a thought remained into my brain. That was the influence from the followers. Currently, I had to talk one situation. The one was that the followers did not obey the leader's instruction. For example, while some followers were familiar with their leader or the steps they kicked, they would automatically tango without leader's guide. It looked like there was no problem, but it changes the original intention or the model people tango. For now, I had to return the topic that I raised up in the latest blog. The faults always made by the leader. I thought when the leader did not have the correct embrace or showed the weakness in leading. The follower would take over the dance. To have a good preparation could help us to overcome the tiny problem.
Milonga did not need to wait and modestly decline would make you lose a great opportunity. The words above was the summary that came from my own experiences. While we were doing Milonga, I would like to wait the other people to select partners first. It causes a problem, that I always had the last person as my partner. However, the professor suggested me to doing the right thing in the right time. It was briefly express your minds to your targets. When they saw your sign, they usually took the chance to dance with you. Milonga was a dance that could set you free. Hence, made your own choice from your true mind would make you relax.
The Last lesson Although it is my last lesson in this quarter, it does not mean I will stop the step to tango. I understand there are a lot of elements and movements need me to think. For example, I did more leader work in the tango class, that made me not like to be a follower. This time, I had a dance with Jess as a follower, but I could not dance the way that he wanted me to do. I felt that follower was not the position for me. However, Chuck showed us his way in leading people. He instructed Jess for some how lead better. In addition, he tried to guide me to tango. During the process, I felt I pushed by him, all the action should not be remembered by my own. Just like the movie said, doing nothing, just follow. The last lesson gave me an experience to know what a level that a good leader needs to have.
My first Tango class was perhaps a bit more awkward than I had expected. I knew from my experience in Tango club during Freshman year that is feels quite odd initially to hold someone in such a tight embrace, but in Tango club I was always dancing with a friend so the awkward feeling went away after a few dances. Last Friday, though, every person that I danced with was a complete stranger to me. Additionally, because of the make up of our class, I was also dancing with other men for most of the time, which was an experience that I had never had before and was not anticipating prior to the start of this class. After initial readings and the in class film that focused on love, attachment, sensual dancing and the power of dominating ones partner, it felt strange trying to apply these principles of Tango dancing with my stranger, male dance partners. Although it was refreshing to see that everybody was nervous and uncomfortable during the lesson, I am still uneasy about dancing with people that I do not know who are the same gender as me, and when dancing with these strangers will become more comfortable, especially as our dancing skills improve and we begin to practice in the full embrace in the coming weeks. Until I am able to best this hurdle and become more comfortable with the closeness aspect of this dance, I fear that my Tango dancing will suffer.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to your new class of tangueros y tangueras, Ann.
ReplyDeleteJared expresses a common and shared experience. Before lessons, we hear stories of it taking 10, 15 and 20 years, if ever, for people to overcome their inhibitions and move into the culture of the Tango. During that time, they relied on their same sex friends and family to work with them until they worked up the nerve to embrace closely a stranger of the opposite sex.
Press on, Jared! Your Tango dancing will benefit and not suffer in the least.
I had a very interesting first experience with dancing tango. I was unable to make it to the first class, so I went downtown this week to go to a lesson from the world champions of tango. As I arrived to the dance hall, they were the first people that I saw. They were amazing dancers, and definitely encouraged my keenness on the subject. I observed the multitudes of people who were dancing before the lesson began, and tried to get a feel of what it was all about. The first dance was obviously awkward. I didn't know what I was doing at all! However, very quickly it became apparent how the dance is all about some sort of subconscious feel. The majority of the time I was just trying to weave my partners through the dance floor in order to stay out of the way of the people who knew what they were doing. I felt like I was drunk driving or something. However, what I think I learned the most from my experience was through observing the people who are involved in the tango community in Denver. They appeared to be very passionate about the dance, and this was very inspiring for me to take this class. There is surely something amazing about the dance, and I can see how there will be so much to write about it.
ReplyDeleteLast Friday, it was the first time I learned the tango and performed the dance with new classmates. I usually do not dance at all because I feel like that I lack the talent and flexibility to show the beauty of this art. However, my mind changed quickly as the first practice was done. Dancing with the music, and following the instruction that Ann gave us, I learned some basic abilities to do the Tango. In addition, I came up an definition for the Tango, which was the practice. When you are willing to dance, and do it over and over again, then you can have the confidence to tell that you can do it. The Tango is product that from the culture, many other people find the path to go throughout the gate of the dance. They may work on the different fields, but the hearts to dance are same.
ReplyDeleteLast week was not only the first time I ever danced tango, but the first time I ever did a ball room dance of any sort. I have never taken dance lessons before and I have barely ever danced in public. The dance was difficult, but not as difficult as I expected it would be. I am really happy that we will not be learning any steps for the dance, I did not know that you made tango up as you go along. I think this aspect of the dance makes it more interesting to me as I have always been fond of improvisation. Dancing to the speed of your partner also makes it interesting. I feel like in tango you really have to become one with your partner, you have to be able to control them and they have to be able to control you. Most of all, you have to pick up senses on where they want to go and at what pace. This is a whole new world for me. I'm just glad I am learning in a class, I would be far too afraid to hit someone if I was on an actual dance floor!
ReplyDeleteI have never enjoyed dancing and i have never been good at it. However, I decided to try it out and see what i could do. While the actual dancing was fun and i began to believe i might be able to actually put together some sort of rhythmic body movement, i became for more interested in the academic aspects of the dance. I had no idea that tango has such a rich history and has evolved into such an intricate ritual. As someone who is fascinated by human behavior, the Codigo is an incredible insight into a modern form of traditional human interaction. Not only that, but the way the dance is seen by people all around the world is an interesting look at the shared experiences we as humans rarely find in such a fast paced world. As i continue this journey, i don't want to forget this sense of curiosity at what tango is and what it can be.
ReplyDeleteToday was definitely a better experience with the Tango, as I expected and greatly hoped for coming into this morning. I actually really liked dancing before the two hour 'class', as I found myself pretty distracted in the first class, too busy anticipating the second two hours of the class to focus on the true course content. Either way, I felt a lot of anxiety dissipate immediately when I finally felt like I got the walk down, and spent most of the morning working on the embrace. Although some of my classmates seemed to succeed with the embrace fairly quickly, I still struggled. The reason that this worries me is that when I went to Tango club during freshman year, I could never truly 'get' the embrace, which inhibited me from succeeding with the dance and caused a lot of frustration and disappointment. I hope that repetition helps with the embrace, and I am markedly more optimistic today than I was after class last week!
ReplyDeleteOur first class was my initial introduction to the Tango. During my childhood, I mastered ballet, jazz, hip-hop, gymnastic and cheerleading dance. I also took more formal ballroom dance classes in Cotillion, and, of course, have freestyle danced to all my music artists. The Tango dance, however, is much different from any other dances I have previously experienced. After reading, watching movies and engaging in class discussions about the Tango, I now have a new, deeper understanding of and personal connection with the Tango and this exposure has shaped the way I see dancing to be. I am fascinated to learn that the dance is embraced worldwide and has become a lifestyle to many of cultures. I am also surprised that the dance consists of improvisation between two individuals on the dance floor. Learning the steps is fun and I believe I will gain a stronger appreciation of dance and the Tango. I am intrigued and definitely more inclined to attend Tango classes or practices in the future.
ReplyDeleteBefore I started to learn tango, I read some reading materials that could help me to understand the dance well. The "Origin" of the dance changed my mind, which I thought tango was the poplar dance in the world. The truth was that tango was the dance invented in Argentina, and it absorbed the nutrition and cultures from many immigrants from Span, Italy and so on. At the beginning, tango spreaded in the lower class of the country, it gradually accepted by the middle class and people who lived in great social status. Because of the interests and context of the dance, it now influences a lot of people who love to dance all over the world.
ReplyDeleteIt was a refreshing experience for the tango class because I was directly working with my partners on tango when I came into the classroom. It omitted the tango films and discussion that happened a week ago. The steps and movements looked more complicated than we learned before. It was not normally walking or the practice between the leader and follower. We added the eight steps, and spin during the dance. As the beginner, I felt the pressure and difficulties to complete the dance for a while. However, Ann provided great instructions and showed her patient when she was teaching. It helped me to move better and to earn some confidence to do tango. In addition, the partners were my new classmates. It was kind of weird to tango with strangers as a common sense, but I did not have the feeling while I was performing the dance. All I had, was the pleasure and exciting to move in the music. I thought it might be the culture of tango gave the specialty to the dance.
ReplyDeleteFor the fourth week, I was learning some steps that was complicated to me. The pivot included the front pivot and the back pivot. When I was watching the video of dancers showed the steps of pivot. I appreciated the beauty and specialty of the movement. However, I still received the fear from the steps because I did not know if I could make it. And the fact proved my thought, It was difficulty for me to make the movement correct. Fortunately, I did not abandon my confidence and my partners who were good at tango taught me their way to dance. In addition, our instructor Ann also provided her ideas in how to pivot and patiently correct my drawbacks. For the class, I realized that the confidence and the trust on your leader would get rid of the obstacles of completing a tango dance. When you were familiar with your own ability, the passion of tango would automaticly inject into your regular steps.
ReplyDeleteIn the fifth week of the tango class, I feel the context of tango was not hard to capture. The only problem I felt that I needed to overcome was to react people during the Milonga. The timid always took over my heart that made me lose the opportunities to find a dance partner. Therefore, I danced two times with professor Ann. Hence, I was thinking of changing a little bit, so I blinked my eyes to the crowd. Andrew reacted with the same emotion. The process was fast and simple, but it needed the courage to make changes.
ReplyDeleteIn the sixth week, I was doing some reviews of the tango I learned before. I felt that the tango was all with music that we listened because it could drag you into a world with passion. Each time, I tried to dance with a partner without music, I always felt that there were something lacked. In seconds, you were bored with the steps that you had. I thought the only situation that we did not have music was to teach somebody with the movement they were not familiar. If tango is a body, then the music will be the soul. It fills the dance with the love, the passion, the life.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest benefits that I received from Javier's tango lesson was how to lead the tango. For several weeks studying how to dance tango, I could tell my conditions were not stable. Sometimes, I could complete all the tango dances in the music without any errors. However, I still had the moments that I needed professor Ann or the other partners to remind and instruct me what to do next. I did not know what was going there. Until Javier's advices and teaching changed the one of my main mistakes while I was dancing. That was the what embrace you had and how you to lead your partners. Every embrace should fill with the true affection, it would take out the timid, the embarrassing, and the other negative emotions which lowered the quality of your tango. When you prepare to tango, find a good position and have a close and tight embrace will be a basic step to produce the authentic tango. In addition, your upper body takes advantages in the dance. It means that it could alert your partner what you are going to do. They will feel your strength to push them to the way that you are willing to see. Since I understood the fundamental knowledges of tango, it lifted my confidences upon high in the following tango dances.
ReplyDeleteIn this week, I tried to be a good tango leader because I was not the man to listen many orders. However, the leader needed to figure out some difficulties. Therefore, there was a thought remained into my brain. That was the influence from the followers. Currently, I had to talk one situation. The one was that the followers did not obey the leader's instruction. For example, while some followers were familiar with their leader or the steps they kicked, they would automatically tango without leader's guide. It looked like there was no problem, but it changes the original intention or the model people tango. For now, I had to return the topic that I raised up in the latest blog. The faults always made by the leader. I thought when the leader did not have the correct embrace or showed the weakness in leading. The follower would take over the dance. To have a good preparation could help us to overcome the tiny problem.
ReplyDeleteMilonga did not need to wait and modestly decline would make you lose a great opportunity. The words above was the summary that came from my own experiences. While we were doing Milonga, I would like to wait the other people to select partners first. It causes a problem, that I always had the last person as my partner. However, the professor suggested me to doing the right thing in the right time. It was briefly express your minds to your targets. When they saw your sign, they usually took the chance to dance with you. Milonga was a dance that could set you free. Hence, made your own choice from your true mind would make you relax.
ReplyDeleteThe Last lesson
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is my last lesson in this quarter, it does not mean I will stop the step to tango. I understand there are a lot of elements and movements need me to think. For example, I did more leader work in the tango class, that made me not like to be a follower. This time, I had a dance with Jess as a follower, but I could not dance the way that he wanted me to do. I felt that follower was not the position for me. However, Chuck showed us his way in leading people. He instructed Jess for some how lead better. In addition, he tried to guide me to tango. During the process, I felt I pushed by him, all the action should not be remembered by my own. Just like the movie said, doing nothing, just follow. The last lesson gave me an experience to know what a level that a good leader needs to have.