Q Tango is Albuquerque-based Tango band. They played at the night of OK tango festival milonga on 5/31/14 weekend.
Erskine Maytorena is the band leader, and he happened to be in Tulsa today. The OK Tango event organizers arranged an afternoon Tango musicality workshop with him. So I went.
Musicality workshop by a professional Tango band musician is got to be interesting, and something you don't want to miss. After all, all dancers have to follow the music. That means, all dancers have to follow the band leader. It will be good to listen to what he has to say, right?
The workshop was a 3-hour, "condensed" version of contents usually covered by over 8 hours. Yet, the points were very clear and the way he presented was excellent. It was not a lecture, but was a participation-practice style workshop.
Following are a few of my "take home" mental notes. Wordings are not the same as his.
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Tango music has "Rhythmic" part and "Expressive (melodious/vocal)" part. You dance accordingly.
Traditional Tango bands evolved the play style over years; original (older) bands tended to play with more emphasis on "Rhythmic" component, catering to walking/marching dancers.
He demonstrated how d'Arienzo modified bandneon play style to add more "breathing" to the song. Sometimes it is how the instrument is played by the musician that changes the mood and dance-ability of the song.
Dancers follow the band and music. Evolution of the music was a driving force of the evolution of the Tango dancing.
Later on, emphasis shifted toward melodies and Expressive component, so dancers could have more interpretation and "freedom". The music became more concert-style music instead of dance hall music for dancers. So it became more challenging for dancers in a sense. Then Piazzolla came, and he further broke down many rules in Tango music as a dance music.
When the leader leads expressive part, he "lifts" her and support her axis, so she has an option to use his arm as a support, use embellishments and dance with more freedom.
Slow down, or stop, are great ways to dance with music. Allow her to play with freedom, and slowing down is the right thing to do for the purpose in a social dance setting.
The communication is made through dancers changing tension and through tactile sensation. She can communicate her musical interpretation to the leader, too. Good leader would go along.
Many Tango music are "layered" with Rhythmic part and Expressive part, allowing dancers for choosing and for interpretation.
Smiling follower is the indicator of successful Tango.
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It is impossible to take notes for everything from the workshop. These are examples of my version of the take home message, and many more good points were made. The points were very practical from the dancer's standpoint.
I loved the workshop. If you get an opportunity, try his workshop. Listen to the band, too.
They have a website and a facebook page.
http://www.qtango.com/index.php?id=8
https://www.facebook.com/qtango
