Tango Musicality Tips

So I’m a musical retard but I think I figured it out. Musicality is simply understanding the relationship between different notes in tango music.

There are really only 2 kinds of notes. I’ll call them “heavy” and “light”. And the organization of different tango music genres, typically organize the heavy beats of a certain way.

  • Tango (steady walking beat): 1…2…3…4
  • Waltz (swaying beat): 123.123.123
  • Milonga (kinda fast and choppy): 1…341…341
  • (warning: these are not how musicians would explain the beat placements but I explain it this way for non-musically trained listeners)

The light beats are basically all the lighter beats played between the heavy beats. They vary between different orchestras and different songs (which open doors for your musicality). The skill of your musicality refers to your ability to “notice” (and perhaps dance) the light beats while still following the heavy beats. Without this skill, it would appear as though you were dancing the same way to every since song (since the heavy notes are generally the same in all songs).

Dancer’s Foot Injuries

The 2 problems that are most common are Achilles tendinopathy and turf toe. It all start a couple months ago when I got sick of my foot problems and went researching on the internet. I found all sorts of helpful information that might help other tango dancers.

Here were my foot injury symptoms:

  • pain in a tendon near the ankle when bending my big toe upwards
  • pain in the same tendon near the ankle when curling my big toe downwards
  • clicking sounds coming from the tendon inside and just under my ankle
  • pain when rolling my body weight forward off the toes of my foot (especially the big toe)
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Toe Walking vs Heel Walking

Which is better? Heel walking or toe walking? I’ve heard arguments for both sides. The heel is more natural, elegant and relaxed. The toe is more powerful, controlled, and smooth. Javier Rodriguez is a heel walker. Gabriel Misse is a toe walker. Many of the pros all split right down the middle. And then when you ask them why, their answers are all over the place. Who’s right and who’s wrong? Which one is better for you? I HAVE NO IDEA! Continue reading

Geraldine Rojas tango technique

My short hour-long experience with Geraldine Rojas and Ezequiel Paludi at DIVO in Santa Monica was quite a humbling one. Geraldine and Ezequiel pretty much laughed at us and made fun of us for an hour. They poked fun at the way we walked, did ochos, and ESPECIALLY the way we danced. At one point they asked us, “Do you want to learn tengo? Or TANNNNG-O?” (mimicking the American accent on the latter pronunciation).

Everyone yelled in unison, “We wanna learn tango!” And so they began… Continue reading