Dance: Difference between "Dancers' Argentine Tango" and "Argentine Tango dancers' Tango"

I watched a video from "So You Think You Can Dance" show. Two dancers dancing a(n Argentine) Tango.

[Link to the SYTYCD dance video, via facebook:]
https://www.facebook.com/SoYouThinkYouCanDance/videos/1983275195062611/UzpfSTEwMDAwMDY1MTIxMzYyOToyMDY5OTQxMTI2MzcwOTA4/

It was impressive dance. As a spectator, I fully enjoyed the dance.


At the same time, I thought "This is a 'Dancers' Argentine Tango'. But this may not be 'Argentine Tango dancers' Tango'."

Here I feel like adding some elaboration to it.


"Dancers' dance" is danced by trained dancers, whose body is that of a "real" dancer, and whose execution is that of "real" dancer. Here, dancer is a trained person who has impressive body and motion.

Great dance can be performed when the dancer(s) have three key ingredients; (1) the body (how they look, and look right), (2) knowledge (demonstrate what they should do for the particular kind of dance), and (3) execution (how well they dance/move).

Trained dancers have right body and beautiful execution/motion. Their choreographer can supply the knowledge, even if the dancers were not grown in the dance community. 


And the particular choreography in the show did not use much of traditional Tango figures, but was heavy with crowd-pleasing Stage Tango moves.

That was why I thought it was a "dancers' dance".


An "Argentine Tango dancer" is not always a trained dancer (many are). But they usually come from social dance floor, where you can get by with basic moves only.

Tango basic elements are; Standing. Walking. Back ocho. Forward ocho. Cross. and Giro.

Then you can add other leg usage like Barrida, Parada, Gancho, Enganche, etc, and embellishments like enrosque, tap, drag, boleo, etc.

Combining these, there are recognizable Tango figures.

"Recognizable" means "familiar". 

While they dance Argentine Tango in parties/milongas, Argentine Tango dancers see these elements, moves, and figures many times, and get used to them. These elements, moves, and figures have become a part of community knowledge and tradition. Argentine Tango dancers use and share these common, familiar moves. 

Knowing them is somewhat like having a community ID. They can distinguish whether a dancer belongs to them or not.


It takes some "nod" and doing recognizable AT figures to be recognized as Argentine Tango dancers. The "Dancer's dance" had little "recognizable Traditional Tango" contents. All meat, no fillings.They were mostly using impressive moves that only elites can use. Common AT dancers would have little to relate.


There are many AT dancers and teachers who emphasize "Authentic" Tango. Because they want to emphasize their ties to the community and tradition.

If you see yourself as a traditionalist, you'd understand this easier.


This mentality by traditionalists would explain at least in part why traditionalists tend not to like nuevo music, dance, and dancers. To traditionalists' eyes, nuevo dancers are strangers who speak different dance language. 



Hope this note clarified the concept and the difference between "Dancers' Argentine Tango" and "Argentine Tango dancers' Tango".

Just a thought.

Life/Science: Graduation season, ending of Summer 2018

My graduate research assistant successfully defended his thesis last week and is graduating. 

That also means he is leaving the lab, as of this Friday 8/24/18.

He started working with me in 2015. Since then, he earned authorship in one original research article and two review articles.  


On this past Monday (8/20) the journal office notified us that our review manuscript was accepted for publication. They accepted the manuscript as is, in the first-submitted form. 

"Our reviewers have now considered your paper and have recommended publication in #####. We are pleased to accept your paper in its current form which will now be forwarded to the publisher for copy editing and typesetting." 

I can tell you, straight acceptance rarely (almost never) happens. Usually it takes one or two revisions. Anyway, the acceptance added one to his publication/authorship count. Let's say it is part of his good luck.


He is leaving some data to be published. I'll be working on them to complete the manuscript this fall, while writing up a grant proposal(s) with October deadline. It will be busy.


University is a school. People come and go (graduate). While they are here, if they are working with me, I want them to have something to show, some tangible results. That may help their next and future move.


Thank you for your help and good luck with your career.

Science: A Press Release from Stephenson Cancer Center on our latest work (8/14/2018)

Following is a Press Release/News article from Stephenson Cancer Center on our latest work on Alzheimer's disease, published today 8/14/2018.


 I have been working on "genomic instability in the body" research theme. The research has been done mostly in the context of carcinogenesis and its prevention. But later on, "genomic instability in the body" turned out to be involved in many other biological events including aging.

Then, after my mother's diagnosis in 2015, I got personally motivated to study Alzheimer's disease, which led to the study in this press release.

This is a part of an ongoing story. I will follow this up.


                                                                  #####

Stephenson Cancer Center Investigators Apply Cancer Research Tools
to Help Unravel Alzheimer’s Disease

Investigators at the Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center are utilizing cancer research methods and tools to advance the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease. Results of these efforts have been published in Aging Cell, a highly regarded journal in the field of aging research.

“In 2015, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Hiroshi Yamada, the lead author for the study. “As I started to learn about the current status of Alzheimer’s disease studies and clinical practice, I was surprised to learn that over 98 percent of about 400 Alzheimer’s drug candidates tested in clinical trials have failed.”

There is no current cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which is a leading cause of cognitive impairment and death among people aged 65 and older. Existing drugs can help neuronal function and delay progress, but they do not address the root cause of the disease. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 64,000 Oklahomans age 65 or older live with Alzheimer’s dementia – a number projected to increase to 76,000 by 2025.

Yamada, a cancer researcher by training, learned that genomic instability, his specialty, was potentially involved in Alzheimer’s disease. His cancer-focused work has looked at the effects of genomic instability, or the high frequency of genetic mutations, within the body. His research specifically focuses on how genomic instability causes molecular changes, influences biochemical and immune defense systems against cancer, and eventually causes proneness to certain types of cancers.

Yamada decided to investigate whether genomic instability has a role in causing or facilitating Alzheimer’s disease. To test this hypothesis, he utilized preclinical models of genomic instability developed for cancer research.

One of his experimental models showed spontaneous accumulation of amyloid-beta, a protein known to contribute to Alzheimer’s onset and progression, at old age. This was different from existing studies for Alzheimer’s disease, which have been based on early-onset models, depending on forcible expression of amyloid metabolism component(s) in the brain. These existing models will develop amyloid-beta plaques and other pathological features, but whether they recapitulate molecular events involved in spontaneous, late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which is over 95 percent of cases, is questionable. 

Much of Alzheimer’s disease drug development has been based on an assumption that drugs that work on early-onset Alzheimer’s disease will work on late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. With many costly failures in clinical trials, some pharmaceutical companies have withdrawn from Alzheimer’s disease drug development, despite the unmet clinical need. Some speculate that the high failure rate in clinical trials may be partially attributed to current drug test models that may not properly represent some aspects of spontaneous, late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Yamada’s insights point to a link between chromosome instability and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. His new model, focused on old age, is thought to be the first genetically defined model for spontaneous late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. This will be a useful tool with which to test Alzheimer’s disease drug candidates, as well as to find biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease risk assessment or diagnosis.

Yamada’s research group is now hypothesizing that certain classes of cancer drug may be able to interfere with amyloid-beta accumulation. They are in the process of proposing tests. If the “drug repurposing” approach proves effective, the drug could potentially be available to clinics in 3-7 years, instead of the normal 15-20 years that it takes to develop a drug from scratch.

“Once an effective drug for a difficult disease is discovered, medical practice will change,” said Yamada. “We are hopeful that our study will lead the charge for Alzheimer’s disease treatment in clinics.”

In addition to Yamada, Stephenson Cancer Center members involved in the study include Dr. Chinthalapally V. Rao, leader of the Experimental Medicine and Developmental Therapeutics Program, and Dr. Adam Asch, Stephenson Cancer Center Deputy Director and Section Chief for Hematology / Oncology at the OU College of Medicine. 

###

About the Stephenson Cancer Center

The Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma is the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center in Oklahoma. Less than 2 percent of cancer centers nationally have earned this prestigious and highly competitive accreditation for outstanding patient care and research. The Stephenson Cancer Center is the largest oncology practice in the state, with more than 70 board-certified oncology physicians and a large team of advanced providers and supportive care specialists delivering the highest standard of patient-centered, multidisciplinary care for every type of cancer. The Stephenson Cancer Center currently ranks number one among all cancer centers in the nation for the number of patients participating in NCI-sponsored treatment trials, and it is one of only 30 lead centers in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network. The Stephenson Cancer Center is Oklahoma’s leading cancer research organization, with 115 research scientists working to eliminate cancer through conducting innovative basic, clinical and population-based research. These researchers are working on 225 cancer research projects supported by $44 million in annual grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and other sponsors. With a legislatively mandated mission to provide statewide leadership in addressing Oklahoma’s cancer burden, the Stephenson Cancer Center supports numerous outreach, education and screening programs in partnership with the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, the American Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and Oklahoma’s Tribal Nations among many other aligned organizations.

Link to the Press Release article/website: https://stephensoncancercenter.org/News/Article/TabId/6745/ArtMID/17400/ArticleID/7812/Stephenson-Cancer-Center-Investigators-Apply-Cancer-Research-Tools-to-Help-Unravel-Alzheimer%E2%80%99s-Disease.aspx Link to original research article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acel.12797

Life: The past 10 years for me was....

My birthday is coming up. I usually check my life, both plans and results, around major Holidays (especially New year's day) and my birthday.

In the process, this year I looked up older records, up to 10 years ago (2008-2018).


Professionally, around 2008, I just started working in OUHSC Department of Medicine, newly working on "genomic instability in the body" research theme with mouse models.

Since 2008, I published 16 papers. Although the more might have been better, the number should be decent enough, considering impact factors of the journals and citations and all. Working on a few more manuscripts now. Probably I can increase the number of collaborative works? 

A few outside grants got funded during the time, including ones from the NCI and private colon cancer foundation, in addition to some internal grants. We filed an intellectual property claim (aka patent) as well.


The US economy and stock market was hitting the bottom during the time. DOW Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was 6507 around March 2009. The DJI was pretty low on 8/1/2008 at 11326. [FYI DJI=25414 (8/1/2018)]

I'm tracking my investments and managing them. It's kind of like gardening. Only occasional attention and re-balancing is sufficient. Thanks to the bull run in the past 8 years, it is up. But I'm cautious considering upcoming midterm election and long term effects of fiscal irresponsibility on national budget by recent GOP and the administration.

In a good economy, the rich with capital make money easier than the poor depending only on wages. In other words, the rich get richer and the difference between haves and have-nots widens faster in a good economy. They say a third of Americans are broke. How sustainable current economy would be, is something you can question.

How correct my forecast will be? I have general idea about my own success rate in economic and other predictions by studying my past personal record. Guess I feel no need to disclose it here, though.



Personally, I was single in 2008. Got married in 2011, and divorced in 2014. Got a cat (2013). Moved once (2012). Published a book on Tango dancing (2012) and have piled up materials for another. Lost my father (2015) and inherited a Rolex that I've hardly worn so far. Traveled to Japan four times (2011, 2015, 2015, 2016). Replaced my car once (2017).

etc. etc.


I saw things that are working, and some that are not. I'll keep doing what works, and change things that are not working as planned.

I wonder what comes in next 10 years. Some will be the things that I plan and make happen. Others will be the things beyond my control, the god business (thus I don't worry about them. Just forecast and act accordingly).


My best wishes to upcoming 10 years.