Sebastian Bolivar y Cynthia Palacios in Busan (2023/04/29) #1

[@stex5026]

Such is the SOTA of Argentine tango in 2023. Boring, stiff, self-actuated boleos, incomplete weight transfer... Ugh...

[@PrincessCarolyn3]

Then, who (if you don't mind me asking) do you think is doing things correctly? What couples do you find 'interesting' let's say? I would honestly like to know, thank you!

[@stex5026]

@@PrincessCarolyn3 To clarify, this is not a multi-choice question where one can only get a point by choosing the "correct" answer. Rather, it's a design problem, where you assess each design by how well it serves its intended purpose, or as a maker, you know how difficult or easy it is to execute something in a certain way. Or for a consumer/user/viewer, an implementation could be multi-faceted and nuanced versus something that is mono-flavored. For me, movements that reflect musicality are critical; if you hear the music in phrases, in single/double/half time, then, are the movements rendered in the way that you hear the music? As for dynamics, I look for overturns and dissociation so a sequence could be long (matches the musical phrase), fluid (minimal shoulder tensions, not many stop-reset), with interesting accents (I know sacadas, boleos, etc. are timing critical and difficult to execute)... To my eyes, there are so many incredible tango videos on KZbin that are accumulated over the past 25 years. Those great performances (particularly those of Arce, Chicho, Naveirra) if you change the music, they'll look weird. While, taking this one as an example, you can substitute the music, and it probably makes no difference to the viewer. And that says something. Tango, like most arts, is very personal. However, very often the dissents arise more from different emphases on different criteria...

[@stex5026]

@@PrincessCarolyn3 Hi. i might be worth clarifying that everybody is doing things correctly according to his/her definition of correctness. The difference is where you place your emphasis and attention. I always pay attention to how the pair approaches the single/double/half time in the music and how they move to that interpretation. I look for long sequences accented by boleos/sacada/etc. I also look for relaxed shoulders and ability to overturn and dissociate. But why are those elements important? Because they are much harder to do and they require higher mastery (especially for the leader); there is a huge difference between leading from the shoulders vs leading from the bottom. And the results are night-and-day, to my eyes. So, who do I find "interesting"? Well, if you start paying attention with the aforementioned criteria, you will start seeing thing differently.