We are watching some Show Tango videos. We got an opportunity to perform, and are preparing for it.
This time we are not inclined to choreograph a routine. The promoter asked us rather not to, to preserve spontaneity of the Tango dance.
We are also not inclined to do small, tight embrace style either. The promoter wants a show and we got a big floor. We are encouraged to dance big. I guess the performance will be somewhat similar to strictly swing situation in West Coast Swing circuit, in which we know the partner but don't know the song. We got to improvise to the song, but we can be prepared to show a certain showy moves with the familiar partner.
This overall setting makes me wonder, what makes a show a show.
In Argentine Tango performance, there are many Milonguero or Salon style dancers who show just that style, meaning they dance what they would dance in a crowded milonga in a big, wide open floor. Of course they got applause from discerning watchers, for doing nice tight ocho cortado with the music, and for looking comfortable doing it, or something like that. If well done, they look like a nice little European car running on the narrow pavement road of an old European city.
However, when you are dancing to a broader audience who does not know much about Tango styles, it get's trickier. Large and tricky moves are almost always a better bet for such shows, assuming the executions are good.
Sure, eventually it is about the quality. But the quality of the Milonguero/Salon styles is tend to be less visible. Sometimes you cannot even tell the partner's quality until you dance with the partner. The quality is primarily felt, as Tango is a very sensual dance. In contrast, show-style exaggerations make the quality very visible.
Partner dance can be danced to your partner, or danced to the audience. This difference makes the major difference between the Milonguero or Salon style and the Show Tango.
Well, it's not a matter of which one is better. It is a matter of what we want to show in a show. As a performer we got to decide what to show and dance the dance.
Last weekend, we went to Quartz Mountain Resort state park for hiking. Somehow the wildlife activity was higher than our previous visit. We saw raccoons, deer, a porcupine, a skunk, an armadillo and many other bugs and butterflies. It was also nice to have a time to lay down on a boulder at night, look up the sky, and listen to the nature quietly. Nature is beautiful with both lively active side and profoundly quiet side.
