Take 3 - Boleo Essence
For Followers: Instead of talking about what boleo is here, we want to talk about what it is not. It is not something that goes into your back and it is not something that ricochets through the body. By creating the control in the body, the throw back in the thigh, the looseness in the knee and then, later, the accent from the thigh and calf, you make this accent of the boleo more pure and powerful.
- Artist Name:
- Mandragora Tango
- Song Title:
- La Cumparsita (Superstar)
- Album Title:
- Let's Have Dinner And Go Dancing
- Artist Website:
- http://www.mandragoratango.com
From website: Mandrágora Tango is a tango band headed by bandoneonist Bob Barnes and guitarist Scott Mateo Davies, 2 Minneapolis-based musicians who are wildly passionate about tango. We have been playing tango for dancing and listening since 2001 and we are still going strong. We've played in over 40 cities all over the United States.
- 00:04
- I think boleo is about the same thing for both of us,
which is a little bit unusual for us. - 00:09
- It's not that unusual.
- 00:11
- Maybe not.
- 00:12
- It just seems unusual when
we’re doing the videos,… - 00:14
- ..because we’re so aware of the times
when we’re different. - 00:16
- Yes, I think we’re trying to look for ways
in which we have different opinions about it. - 00:20
- Normally, we’re very aligned about things about dance.
- 00:23
- But, in this one we have the same opinion,
which is that boleo is about... - 00:27
- ...making your body into a spring or
the pull of a rubber band. - 00:31
- And David says finding the muscular dynamic that lets you do that.
- 00:35
- And it’s also about the accent for both of us.
- 00:39
- Yes, so let's talk about each. For the accent,
it could be in any direction, going… - 00:45
- ..this snap at the end…..or a snap at the end…
or a snap at the end… or whatever it is. - 00:51
- This isn’t really tango, but a kick at the end,
that top… - 00:55
- D: ..that’s the top. Yes.
N: Boleo is about the top, the accent at the top. - 00:58
- So, sometimes you see people…
- 01:01
- ..accenting the bottom, you know, like they're the whinnying horse…
N. That's not. - 01:03
- ..and that’s not what boleo is.
- 01:06
- In terms of being a spring,
if she gives me energy in the frame here… - 01:12
- ..and she pushes through and I’ll go
"and wop" - 01:16
- ...and you’ll see that travel through my body, wop,...
and I sort of delayed it extra so you could see it travel. - 01:24
- But, it’s about reaching to the very end of
what your body lets you do… - 01:28
- ..touching the top with the accent
and then coming back. - 01:32
- That’s really, really a good point.
- 01:34
- So, when the leader throws a boleo
for the followers,… - 01:36
- ..make sure you let your body reach the end.
- 01:38
- So, I’m going to show you the wrong.
- 01:41
- If she throws me the boleo and I go,...
- 01:44
- D: ...you’ll see that there’s so much control.
N: Yes. - 01:46
- D:The muscle is getting in the way.
N: There’s no rebound. - 01:48
- You want a rebound.
You want your body to always.... - 01:51
- So, your body goes all the way, bang,... it hits
and then it comes back. - 01:54
- That’s easier to do and easier to see,
if you’re not doing a boleo. - 01:58
- If he just pivots me,
I go as far as I can and that’s easy. - 02:04
- But, once you get the boleo involved,
do it again… - 02:07
- It’s a little harder to see that I’m letting my body,
which doesn’t pivot as much as his does,… - 02:11
- ..go to the very end of what it can do
and then snap back. - 02:14
- And that’s how I get the rubber band.
- 02:16
- Yes, and that’s a wonderful exercise.
- 02:17
- So we want you to do this at home,
with your feet together. - 02:20
- D: The together boleo is the most important one,...
N: Yes... - 02:22
- ...like that.
- 02:22
- D. Let's say this again.
N. Here he’s got a good one, (so you can) - I’ll let him do it. - 02:25
- You’ll see it.
- 02:27
- He’s got a lot of flexibility there.
- 02:29
- So, he’s going to the very edge.
- 02:31
- I have less flexibility,
but I still go the very edge. - 02:34
- See that reach at the very edge?
- 02:38
- And that is a wonderful exercise,
so do that at home. - 02:40
- Or with us.
