- Artist Name:
- QTango
- Song Title:
- El Garron
- Album Title:
- It Takes Q To Tango
- Artist Website:
- http://www.qtango.com/
(From the website): Created in July, 2009 by Erskine Maytorena, a third generation tango musician and opera singer, QTANGO performs authentic Argentine tango arrangements as often as two to three times a week throughout the Southwest for tango dancers and listeners.
- 00:05
- When I initially started thinking about working on this chapter,
- 00:09
- I said to myself "How can I make this real for my students?"
- 00:11
- Because I really want you to want this, I want you to want
- 00:15
- to have your whole body moving as one, and initiating each movement.
- 00:19
- And so I thought "Well, I'll pick an example, and I'll talk about how it makes you much more attractive".
- 00:24
- And I will make this so compellingly real, that you will want this.
- 00:30
- And I thought "Well, there are a lot of things I could choose"
- 00:33
- I could choose how it makes the lead that much more profound; how it makes the follow move from a guessing game
- 00:38
- to something that's, "Of course I did that, how could I do anything else?", something that's natural and unavoidable.
- 00:43
- I could talk about the way it makes your lines clean and clear and beautiful; I could talk about the way it makes you more powerful.
- 00:50
- So I thought I'd pick one of these, and I'd go on and on, and eventually you'd want it.
- 00:55
- And I thought to myself, "You know, I can't do that, because it's not true".
- 00:58
- And the reason that it is not true is because it is not only about any one of those things, it's about all of them and more.
- 01:03
- So, in this chapter we're going to do about all of them.
- 01:06
- And how moving with your whole body makes all of them a lot better.
- 01:12
- So, just strictly from an appearance perspective, say, "Is this guy attractive or not?"
- 01:16
- "How attractive is he?" It's not dance, just attractiveness.
- 01:22
- OK, there's one; here is two; here's three.
- 01:33
- Just that.
- 01:34
- Or, for example, you talk about moving the whole body as one piece,
- 01:37
- and that's about making my body whole, by the way, right if I'm like this,
- 01:40
- In some sense, my upper neck and upper back are disconnected from my lower body, that's why it fits in this theme.
- 01:46
- If I ask someone to do a front ocho, and I pivot them like this, that's about my arms going in and out,
- 01:52
- you know, I'm boxing or something, and... we'll talk more about that later, and really, if I do this,
- 01:59
- that is about my chest, rather than about my arms. It makes it a very profound lead.
- 02:04
- If I do this, of course someone maybe doesn't go. That's all in my arms, if I do this - they'll move.
- 02:12
- If I'm going to follow, I'm a follower now, and the guy takes me that way,
- 02:18
- and I go, "Oh, I'm going that way", and then I catch up with the leg, of course it feels awkward.
- 02:22
- But, if every millimeter of movement taking me that way also moves my leg, then, by the time the step comes,
- 02:29
- it's like, you know, "How could I not go there?"
- 02:32
- If we take a line...
- 02:36
- let's say I want to do a nice lunge line.
- 02:40
- Do you see the niceness of the lunge line? they're like, "No, we don't." Good.
- 02:45
- So, what's the lunge line about? It's about being long, so let's make me long.
- 02:53
- You see the nice...well. they're like, "eh, it's less bad".
- 02:56
- So the legs are fitting, but my torso is not communicating that, so I'll make the torso lengthen as well.
- 03:03
- And you'd say, "Oh, that's much better." But it's not done yet. So, this lunge line is about lengthening.
- 03:10
- So if you see me do...
- 03:14
- that, then, all of a sudden, it works, because that is about the lengthening.
- 03:20
- And finally, I have this idea that it makes you a lot more powerful.
- 03:25
- Because, when I take my whole body, and it all goes back, then, you know, whoever was in front of me, they just went forward.
- 03:34
- Now, we can think of this from a lot of perspectives.
- 03:38
- One way to think of moving with the whole body is to think of it from a functional perspective.
- 03:43
- So, a while ago, I took a rock climbing class.
- 03:46
- And me, I didn't know how to rock climb. This is how I reached for the rock. And then I'd pull myself up.
- 03:51
- I used these muscles and up. And the body: not at all.
- 03:55
- I asked my rock climbing teacher how he reaches for a rock. This is how he did it.
- 04:01
- And you know, he hasn't even moved his arm yet. And then he grabs the rock.
- 04:07
- So the point is, it's not about the arm. It's about the whole body being involved in that action that's reaching for this rock.
- 04:12
- I hear, I don't know, this is not first-hand knowledge, but that boxers throw a punch from their hip and from their midsection.
- 04:20
- And that, in some sense, the punch isn't about the arm. I mean, it is, but it's really about...
- 04:26
- Right, so, if I punch someone, this big violent bad guy comes at me, bang.
- 04:31
- Is he going to fall down? No, he's going to knock me over. but...because that's just my arm, it's not very convincing.
- 04:38
- But, if he comes at me and I throw my hip, and I throw, and I have this hip rotation in the midsection,
- 04:48
- And it's sort of you get the sense of violence.
- 04:50
- And I don't know how to throw a punch, but there's that idea of the body being involved.
- 04:54
- I had a friend who was into golf. He was pretty serious.
- 04:57
- He was like, "David, golf swings isn't what you think it's about".
- 05:00
- He was telling me that his golf pro told him that... or was working with him
- 05:05
- on making it about the shift of the center from one foot to the other, and about the rotation.
- 05:09
- Right, so the rotation comes from your midsection, and the shift is your center of gravity from one foot to the other.
- 05:15
- So the golf swing is not this, in the arms.
- 05:18
- It's this.
- 05:22
- Once again, I'm sure lots of things are wrong, since I don't play golf, but the fundamental idea is still the same.
- 05:27
- That you are using your whole body, focusing especially on your center of gravity and your torso, to initiate movement.
- 05:37
- And the same is true in tango.
- 05:39
- If I ask someone to step side, I don't say... And I'm going to take a side step with them,
- 05:43
- I don't say "Let's go side" where I'm using my arms.
- 05:47
- And, I don't say "Let's go side" where I'm using my legs,
- 05:51
- I say "Let's go side" and it starts in my center, and I pull it - "Let's go side", and they go, "OK".
- 05:58
- So we keep it very functional.
- 06:01
- So, this idea of moving with your whole body - it's not only something that I would say is functional for a physical movement,
- 06:07
- but you can even put it in an emotional context, or in the context of communication.
- 06:11
- So, for example, sometimes I see people do this: they'll say,
- 06:16
- "No, don't give me that, I really don't want it", you know, there's this beautiful apple pie, "No, no, I can't take it".
- 06:22
- Or, for example, you'll have people do things like "Oh, that would be wonderful."
- 06:29
- And you ask, "Why is that funny?" Why is it funny if someone says, "Oh, that would be wonderful"?
- 06:34
- And the answer is because they're not acting as one, right?
- 06:37
- So it makes sense if I say, "That would be wonderful", right, and there's no humor in that.
- 06:42
- But, if I say, "That would be wonderful", you know I'm not really saying that at all.
- 06:47
- And what's more interesting: it's not the mouth that tells the truth. It's the body.
- 06:53
- So, if you think about it in this context, then you'll say that communication that is whole body,
- 07:00
- that all of you gives the same message, starting with the body, is communication that makes sense.
- 07:06
- And communication where something is going against that, let's say I do this:
- 07:12
- I say, "I'm really happy."
- 07:17
- What do you believe? And the answer is you believe the body. And, if things are lying, and I say, "I'm really happy",
- 07:26
- what do you believe? You see the happy waving hand, but there's a sad body. This one's very confusing.
- 07:30
- But, probably, you'd believe the body over the hand, because the body's more towards the core.
- 07:35
- And it's not just that. So, if we think of tango as, you know, performing, as four things, that you've got ...
- 07:42
- The dynamic in your body, which this is obviously about; you've got the use of timing; you've got the choreography you're doing;
- 07:49
- And then you have a sense of acting. Well, in some sense this is about the acting as well.
- 07:53
- So, for example, if you see me, and I'm here, and I say, "I'm so happy".
- 08:02
- And you see I'm smiling, so it must be true.
- 08:04
- On the other hand, I could say, "I'm so happy", and you believe me more.
- 08:11
- Or, I could say...
- 08:16
- "I'm so happy", and now you really do believe me, because my whole body is about that.
- 08:20
- So, as you're wanting to make an emotional message, or any type of communication,
- 08:25
- the extent that the communication is whole, it makes it that much more powerful.
- 08:29
- And in the context of performing tango, then, you'd say "We're acting something, we're acting passion"
- 08:35
- And then that's believable, because the whole body is being in that place of passion.
- 08:39
- So we spent all this time showing you how being whole in your body is just vastly, vastly important, and it makes a huge difference.
- 08:48
- And you're, like, "Yes, David, we want it, what do we do?" And, right, there's this question, "David, I get it, but how?"
- 08:57
- And the answer... I'll give you a couple of exercises, so, for the leaders, imagine you're pushing a 500 lb object
- 09:04
- David!
- 09:06
- Who is not the follower, who, of course, is light as a feather and incredibly wonderful.
- 09:10
- Right
- 09:11
- Not to say that heavy is bad. I just dig myself deeper.
- 09:18
- But you're moving a 500 lb object, and you push,
- 09:22
- and if you were to move something that was 500 lb, you'd really dig in, you'd gird your loins, you'd tighten your abs, and then you'd push.
- 09:30
- And what I want you to do, the first exercise, for the leaders... Actually, this could be an exercise for both,
- 09:36
- is that as you're leading, you'll be pushing on my hips.
- 09:41
- She's just going to follow me, and sometimes, she will be the 5 lb that she actually is
- 09:45
- Right
- 09:46
- And sometimes she will be the 500 lb that she will have to work to be, pushing into the floor, and digging so it's hard for me to move her.
- 09:51
- And I don't know when, so for the leaders, I don't want your body dynamics to change.
- 09:56
- I want your body to be engaged the whole time, because you want to be ready. Right? This is a very functional approach.
- 10:03
- So I'm walking towards her, and I'm walking towards her, and I'm not changing how I walk, even though the pressure changes.
- 10:11
- One more time:
- 10:13
- So I keep my walk the same.
- 10:19
- And believe me, she's making it hard for me sometimes.
- 10:23
- That was fun!
- 10:24
- The other half... I'm panting.
- 10:26
- The other half, now, leaders, we're going to be moving our followers, who in actuality only take 5 lb of pressure.
- 10:33
- And for the followers, I want you to imagine that you're like a tumbleweed or a leaf in the wind.
- 10:39
- And, so, I'm just going to create soft pressure, and she's going to go in that direction. I'm going to create soft pressure...
- 10:45
- And, so, the job for the followers is not what kind of steps you're going to do, it's about just making sure your body can float in whatever direction he takes you.
- 10:57
- And eventually what happens, is you stop... for the followers, is you stop thinking about, "Oh, where do my legs go?",
- 11:03
- and you start thinking, "Let's just move my center of gravity, and let the legs land wherever they need to land".
- 11:08
- And the difference between this and tango is that, as tango dancers, we don't really want to dance like tumbleweeds, you know, or it wouldn't be tango.
- 11:16
- Instead, we add a sense of thickness and time and weight between each of the steps.
- 11:22
- Each of the weight changes, whenever you go over the leg to the leg, and that adds a kind of shape and energy that makes it more tango-like.
- 11:31
- We started this chapter talking about the different areas in which moving with your whole body can make a big difference.
- 11:39
- And then, after that, we talked about different contexts, right?
- 11:43
- That you can approach it from a functional perspective, you can approach it as a way of making communication more powerful.
- 11:50
- After that, we gave you some tools, which you'll have fun with. Practice. Play home with a friend.
- 11:57
- But, the fundamental idea is that this really Is that important and it really does make everything better.
