Tango Improvisation
Jean-Pierre Sighe
in many ways, it is good to juxtapose the two dances, tango and kizomba. They are both walking dances. Both are closed-embrace dances. Both travel in figures. Both are rooted in the habanera, and sprang from call-response of the candombe. Both are improvisational experiences.
These dances share so much in common that skilled tango dancers can easily pick up the kizomba movements without affecting its originality. In fact, one could argue kizomba is the quintessence of the early days of the tango, enriched by the rhythms of he milongaas. In those days, the solo dancing of the candombe was incorporated the couple-dancing with the embrace, bringing forth a new complexity to the dance.
Dancing is in essence similar to playing a musical instrument. Rhythm serves as the common platform. Without the rhythm, there is no music, thus no dance. I have sometimes heard people in tango speak of dancing the melody. They say this to express what they perceive as a contrast or differentiation to dancing on the beat. As a musician, i want to be categorical here: there can be no melody without the rhythm. There is no such thing! Bearing that in mind, the dancer, just like the musician, has the powerful guide of the rhythm, to create or compose. In both tango and kizomba, understanding the habanera constitutes the secret of improvisation for both the musician and the dancer.
With a good dose of sophistication added, the mastery of the scale clearly helps a musician improvise. This sophistication is the difference between an inspired improvisation and a dull one. This premise is applicable to all of the dancer’ s improvisation.
Both tango and kizomba dancers must have a good understanding of walking experience. This includes a good ability to maintain their balance before any improvisation can be undertaken, including the awareness of their individual axes as well as their common third axis. They must be conscious of where their own axis, and where their partner’ s is. They must be able toi establish the connection necessary for them to dance, and understand role they are assuming— leading or following— and the imlications of these roles.
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Tango dancers have cleverly made the partner-following the center of theier dance. This concept makes the improvisation easier, gentler, more inspired, fun, and positively adventurous. These same discoveries in tango are key to kizomba.
The focus and role of the leader is to provide the space into which the follower will walk with ease. In other words, as a leader, I am aware of where my partner is on her axis and in the third axis we are sharing. From where my followier is, I can understand what step can she can execute with ease. I can create a pleasant surprise, during the execution of that step without pushing or pulling my partner.
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