Oefeningen in de lessen - 1

Thema van de week: Connection
We hebben gewerkt aan het samenzijn in de dans, de verbinding die je met je partner hebt.
De oefeningen daarvoor waren: spiegelen, balanspunten herkennen, energie sturen in het lopen en afstand bewaren door de volger.

Op de website www.tangoprinciples.com staat een compleet hoofdstuk met subparagrafen over dit onderwerp.
Hier de essentie:

PARTNER CONNECTION

Good partner connection is the heart of tango. In my experience, the inexhaustible magic of this dance is found in the joining of two people into one psycho-physical being. This is why the mark of a good dancer is above all how good it feels to dance with him or her. I know people in Buenos Aires whose repertoire consists of only three different patterns, but who are able to create very enjoyable experiences for their partners through the quality of their movement and connection. But a good partner connection does not have to mean a limited choreography. Ultimately, it is through a good partner connection that the advanced musical and choreographic possibilities of tango are achieved.

I will first discuss Leading and Following, the distinct male and female parts in this dance. I will then describe what I believe are important aspects of good partner connection:
-         Closeness
-         Freedom
-         Effortlessness
-         Balance
-         Stillness
-         Centeredness
-         Synchronicity
These are aspects of the optimal partner connection, which is very difficult to accomplish. But all of them represent directions of improvement, meaning that even a little more effortlessness, balance, etc., creates a better connection. At the end of the section, I will mention some Practical Considerations and the different approaches that one can take before the optimal partner connection is developed.

I say repeatedly that no breakdown, no part-by-part analysis can ever describe dancing fully.  Same goes for partner connection. The following discussion of it may help a serious tango student become aware of and overcome common pit falls and limitations which often go unnoticed. Most of the aspects which I mention - freedom, integrity, balance, effortlessness, centeredness, synchronicity - are desirable in any interaction, and are therefore good to think about. But even so, the most powerful tools for developing good partner connection are our senses. It is first of all about using our physical senses to improve the connection in the process of dancing, but it is also about our artistic, aesthetic senses, as well as our common sense.  Seeing a beautiful connection within a tango couple can do more for one’s dancing than all the reading and thinking about it. Partner connection in tango dancing touches the archetypal level of the psyche. It is inevitably an expression of how we relate to others and especially to the opposite sex. In making a good partner connection, we should first and foremost trust our intuition and our senses to find beauty in it. To think, talk and write about it as I am doing here can at best help this process, but can never replace it.