Adela and Pedro dancing to Di Sarli's "Siete Palabras" at Milonguita
Please try to learn how to do adornments like Adela Galeazzi.
We encountered these videos of Adela on Youtube.
We don't know Adela very well, but we were struck by her footwork the very first time we saw her dance in Glorias Argentinas in 2007. Here was this striking, beautiful milonguera with four-inch stiletto heels, doing the most precise, grounded, musical footwork with the greatest of ease. Her walk was so grounded it seemed that her shoes could make groves on the floor, but her following was so light and agile she floated like feather - an incredible combination. The milongueros that danced with her didn't want to let go of her - including milongueros from the show Milonguisimo like Horacio Prestamo.
Adela and Pedro dancing to D'Arienzo's "Pabellon de las Rosas" at Milonguita
(this video has been sped up at the end probably due to processing error)
(this video has been sped up at the end probably due to processing error)
Adela (and also Geraldine Rojas, by the way) doesn't "do" adornments - she owns them. The difference between Adela, Geraldine, and most other followers who "do" a lot of adornments is a question of unity. It's not a matter of knowing this adornment, or that adornment, and trying to incorporate them into your dancing - it's a matter of being "one" with every aspect of your dance.
We hope that we will have the good fortune to be able to see Adela's exquisite dancing again the next time we are in Buenos Aires.
3 comments:
I feel that Adela overdoes the adornments. Yes, this is an exhibition in Plaza Bohemia, but shouldn't an exhibition show how they normally dance on the floor?
Pedro and Adela competed as a couple in the 2004 Campeonato Mundial. Adela was also the regular partner with Horacio Prestamo a couple years ago.
I know that a man can feel everything a woman does with her feet while dancing. I learned to keep my feet quiet and concentrate on the music rather than trying to impress dancers on the sidelines. A man can't see the adornments done by his partner. If one dances for one's partner, the adornments aren't necessary.
Frankly, all that foot flapping and knee lifting by Adela is excessive, even for an exhibition in a milonga where few women get so carried away.
Dear Janis,
I agree with you. I have been through my "flagrant adornista" period as well, and at this point of my evolution I can definitely say that I choose NOT to do adornments. There is something to be said about following and dancing with your partner and enjoying his interpretation of the music, instead of exhibiting all the adornments ever done in the history of tango for your adoring public and dancing "at" your partner rather than "with" him.
One additional problem with adorning is a question of balance. When I look at the dancing of tango couples that we admire - for example Osvaldo and Coca, Lito and Lidia Filippini, Beto and Amanda - I see harmony, concord in their dancing. The women is doing no more or less than the man, and this adds to the beauty and the feeling of their dance. With the over-adorners, no matter how dazzling or technically proficient, I always perceive a great imbalance. The "one woman show" has the effect of spoiling the harmony between the partners, and I suppose that it can't be too much fun for the leader either.
This is something that Man Yung and I would definitely want to avoid in our dancing. However, adorning is still the first choice of some followers in their interpretation of the dance. And in addition, in my experience, a lot of adornistas out there are adorning to cover up technical imperfections (i.e. can't walk with your heels brushing together? Do an adornment to cover it up!) or to show that they are still "good dancers" even when they are unable to follow well (how many times have I seen a flurry of adornments from an adornista immediately following a glitch in the following?) In these cases, followers would do themselves a service to polish their following and their basics in the dance to the same extent as Adela, instead of adopting adornments piecemeal from "women's technique classes" and "Youtube" and thinking that they are the next incarnation of Geraldine. After accomplishing this, all their foot flapping and knee lifting would be a good deal less grotesque.
Thank you for your comment and for the chance to expand my perspective on this topic,
Irene
Adornment is about personality. A woman can and should have her own personality in the dance. And adornment is a way for the woman to express her musicality. Tango, in many's eyes, is a woman's dance.
A man definitely feels adornment done by his partner. A man who has good musicality appreciates good adornment that marks the music.
Now if the woman has the ability to adorn aesthetically and musically is another matter...
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