The Tango Project

Met with Courtney Brown on campus to discuss the Tango Project.

 

Here are my notes from the meeting:

 

●       Argentine Tango moves from the chest

●      When doing tango research, always bring your own WiFi router.  Don’t use Bluetooth because it gets blocked by the dancers.

●      Simplify the project

○      stay in close embrace, for example

○      US tango always starts open, Argentine closed

○      there are many varieties of tango

●      Maybe do hand to hand first -- this is an extremely good idea!

●      No stilettos on the iStage!

●      Do an IRB, just in case.

●      The basis of tango is the connection

○      structure of the dance

○      transcendent feeling of being at one with the partner

●      Her research is focusing on text analysis right now, based on written/verbal feedback from dancers

●      She is using the “speckled” (sp?) system (?)

○      motion tracking is very important

 

Courtney’s thoughts about places to go in Phoenix for Argentine tango:

 

●      ASU Tango Club

○      very young, somewhat closed group, not recommended

●      Abrazo (Scottsdale)

●      Z Room (Nick & Steph -- very welcoming and friendly)

●      Mijora’s (Thursday)

●      Milonga (Sunday, 2pm in Scottsdale)

●      El Diablo (Women’s Center near ASU Monday nights -- mostly guys)

 

Courtney is looking for matching funds for a research grant that she recently won.  It occurs to me that I may contact a friend at Intel and bring him up-to-date on what I’m doing these days.  May be some synergy.

 

 

 

Phone conversation with Daniela Borgialli

-    Engineers are avid tango students

•    puzzle mind

•    solutions-oriented mind

•    tend to be musicians

•    really get into it after initial learning curve

-    Structure of tango

•    music is there - strong structure but tango moves not “perfect”

•    structure is clear and multi-layered:  “compasse”

-    Tango originates from the breath!!!

•    Connection exercise:

-    Breath together first, before you even move.

-    Either on inhale or exhale, initiate a move.

-    Embrace —> initiate a breath.

-    Three areas of breath:  shoulder, chest, belly

-    movement is initiated by the belly button, back toward the spine (metaphors, such as heart)

-    connection into the “core” of the being (not just the torso)

•    Connection exercise:

-    Face each other:  hands together (person A hands on top, person B hands on bottom)

•    person A thinks happy, loving thoughts, actively thinks warmly about other person

•    person B senses these thoughts

•    perform this again with negative thoughts

•    can do this with arms interlocked around wrists — somehow even more powerful

-    This is the way in to the embrace

-    In general:

•    have a good attitude

•    go all the way to the fingertips in the embrace

•    Components

-    torso —> crotch to head

-    legs actually cross the torso line

-    intersection makes the two halves work

•    The process

-    mirrors back the idea of the connection between top and bottom

-    Collection —> legs together

•    Compression

-    foot going into floor, bending of knee

•    Projection —> leg unweighted - preparing to take a step

•    Transfer/collection

-    This process is barbaric on some level.  Collection point is not a dead place — it is a breath.

-    pelvis moves naturally

-    need to keep the energy in, so the pelvis moves in a very deliberate way

•    Insights

-    The time it takes to articulate a thought, the nerves have already fired.  So if the leader changes thought, it is too late — the intention has already been transmitted.

-    Interesting to have the palms connected.

•    there’s a presence in the hands without being forceful

•    the lack of presence in embrace makes this stop

•    Head placement may be important also

-    keep head atop cervical spine makes it easier to be connected with the other person

Julie Owens was the co-owner of Equisidance Dance Studio in Phoenix, Arizona.  She was an amazing teacher and a great friend.