Individual or partner practice has been a debate we have been into for a some time now… It usually goes like this; since Tango is a partner dance, you can’t really practice individually but only with a partner.
Why are we having this argument?
I am not really sure why this is a debate to be honest, to me it is obvious that you need both.
Of course you need to practice with a partner but that doesn’t mean that individual work is not equally important. It is almost like saying that a tennis professional never practices alone, or that soccer player doesn’t work out or do drills alone but only in a team setting…g
Instead though of using examples outside of Tango I will use today’s (Wednesday May 6/20) practice to elaborate on the matter
Relationship Vs Individual dancer
So here is a link to the live practice this week:
One of the questions that came up from the chat was whether or not we change weight in order to change from parallel to cross system. And this is the question that sparked this very post, so again many thanks to sender! 😉
Ok! So the easy answer is, that on the dance floor one of you, you or your partner, will have to shift the weight if you want to change system, either partner will do the trick.
So cross and parallel are systems that describe our relationship with the other, it is not something that characterizes your movement but that characterizes the relationship.
In an individual practice, such as this, you can’t practice the relationship, because you need a partner for that. But you CAN practice the movement of your body within that relationship and you CAN find ways to improve how you move while in that relationship; which is what we do in our classes and practices.
You taking action in understanding your movement, your role and stance in that relationship, further informs your understanding of it and changes the dynamics and the relationship itself.
Both practicing with and without a partner are therefore equally important and effect one another immensely
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😉
Chrisa