Mike found another one.
http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm
One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. There was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing.
Reading - 35% reduced risk of dementia
Bicycling and swimming - 0%
Doing crossword puzzles at least four days a week - 47%
Playing golf - 0%
Dancing frequently - 76%.
That was the greatest risk reduction of any activity studied, cognitive or physical
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Getting the Music Right- a GOOD ORDER for Learning Musicality
* A Few of My Favorites *
1. Francisco Canaro- clear and simple beat, slow
*Cuartito Azul *Gloria
2. Miquel Calo- clear and simple beat, slow
*Al Compas del Corazon * A La Gran Muneca
3. Carlos DiSarli- clear and simple beat- you can add a vocal dimension
* Nido Gaucho *La Capilla Blanca
4. Juan D'Arienzo- (the rhythm king) hear and learn to move to the 2x4 rhythms
* Pampa * El Flete
5. Anibal Troilo- subtle rhythms or add the vocals of Fransisco Fiorentino
6. Ricardo Tanturi- subtle rhythms or add the vocals of Alberto Castillo
7. Alfredo De Angelis-solid music between smoothness of DiSarli and the drama of Pugliese
8. Osvaldo Pugliese- challenging rhythms in his later years, but wonderfully compelling
9. Rodolfo Biagi.- 2x4 rhythms with striking elements of his own.
PS Don't forget to DANCE the side step.
1. Francisco Canaro- clear and simple beat, slow
*Cuartito Azul *Gloria
2. Miquel Calo- clear and simple beat, slow
*Al Compas del Corazon * A La Gran Muneca
3. Carlos DiSarli- clear and simple beat- you can add a vocal dimension
* Nido Gaucho *La Capilla Blanca
4. Juan D'Arienzo- (the rhythm king) hear and learn to move to the 2x4 rhythms
* Pampa * El Flete
5. Anibal Troilo- subtle rhythms or add the vocals of Fransisco Fiorentino
6. Ricardo Tanturi- subtle rhythms or add the vocals of Alberto Castillo
7. Alfredo De Angelis-solid music between smoothness of DiSarli and the drama of Pugliese
8. Osvaldo Pugliese- challenging rhythms in his later years, but wonderfully compelling
9. Rodolfo Biagi.- 2x4 rhythms with striking elements of his own.
PS Don't forget to DANCE the side step.
Monday, January 2, 2012
From TANGO-E-VITA
Now that Mike is taking the musicality to a new and much more serious level he has been searching the internet for a connection to the mysteries of the beat. The following 3 entries are not from me, but from TANGO-E-VIDA.
FIRST ENTRY:
The concept of leading and following in tango is radically different then in predictable dances. The woman follows by "feeling" her partner's chest-changes. Inside the dance-hold which is a spiral, the partners feel the circular movements. The more the other is sensitive towards you, the more the experience will be intensified. The tanguero's movements which must be clear and simple, giving one step-direction at the time, and he should go about it with a quiet and relaxed manner, and he has to be relaxed to be fast. The movement power is generated from the lower abdomen and legs. Upper body strength and muscle-tonus can extent the elastic guiding, especially when the tanguera is doing a boleo. There is no pushing or pulling by the man and he also must listen and respond to the way the lady moves. She has the abilities and capacities to sabotage, to delay and to dislocate the effect of leading. This gives the man a dynamic dimension of uncertainty, which is a good test for his frustration level. This is the addictive thing, for both.
ENTRY 2:
The woman gives the freedom to the man to express herself by forming the dance, he is responsible for giving to her a safe, structured space in which she can express herself freely according to his playing and she can play back. The goal is a pleasant dance experience that gives memories.
ENTRY 3:
In Argentine tango, the act of stepping is philosophy, physically walking a fluent stream of energy, continuously flowing and graceful in shape. But beauty is more than being graceful, if tango is erotic, it is manipulative and violent too. A passion needs unpredictable surprises and breathless rhythmic accumulations, as in Mozart. It deepens the contact and gives an energy-kick, physically. This can be seen in the stepping. The tango rhythm is based on the 2x4, 2 strong beats on 4:
1 2 3 4
A way to make this 1-2 -mark visible in the act of stepping is ...
on 1 : lifting the knee and the heel of the foot, and slowly starting moving = expanding like a bandoneón.
on 2 : stretching the leg, fast like a clasp-knife, and putting the foot down like a knife-thrust, a thrusting flash, a strong stab to the heart, una puñalada with an Argentinian Facón.
As stabbing happens fast, quick, the duration of the marking moment is extremely much shorter than the earlier lifting of the knee, the extending. That contrast gives a striking tension, a noticeable suspense.
It looks like:
_______1_______ ... /2\ _______3_______ ... /4\
etc...
It sounds like La Yumba ...
In dancing, as in knife-fighting and boxing, it is nice to know that the flexibility of the body increases when the feet are in a more open \ /-position rather than close together, stiff.
http://users.telenet.be/Tango-E-Vita/go2_bestanden/Tango-E-Vita.htm Tango-Evita
FIRST ENTRY:
The concept of leading and following in tango is radically different then in predictable dances. The woman follows by "feeling" her partner's chest-changes. Inside the dance-hold which is a spiral, the partners feel the circular movements. The more the other is sensitive towards you, the more the experience will be intensified. The tanguero's movements which must be clear and simple, giving one step-direction at the time, and he should go about it with a quiet and relaxed manner, and he has to be relaxed to be fast. The movement power is generated from the lower abdomen and legs. Upper body strength and muscle-tonus can extent the elastic guiding, especially when the tanguera is doing a boleo. There is no pushing or pulling by the man and he also must listen and respond to the way the lady moves. She has the abilities and capacities to sabotage, to delay and to dislocate the effect of leading. This gives the man a dynamic dimension of uncertainty, which is a good test for his frustration level. This is the addictive thing, for both.
ENTRY 2:
The woman gives the freedom to the man to express herself by forming the dance, he is responsible for giving to her a safe, structured space in which she can express herself freely according to his playing and she can play back. The goal is a pleasant dance experience that gives memories.
ENTRY 3:
In Argentine tango, the act of stepping is philosophy, physically walking a fluent stream of energy, continuously flowing and graceful in shape. But beauty is more than being graceful, if tango is erotic, it is manipulative and violent too. A passion needs unpredictable surprises and breathless rhythmic accumulations, as in Mozart. It deepens the contact and gives an energy-kick, physically. This can be seen in the stepping. The tango rhythm is based on the 2x4, 2 strong beats on 4:
1 2 3 4
A way to make this 1-2 -mark visible in the act of stepping is ...
on 1 : lifting the knee and the heel of the foot, and slowly starting moving = expanding like a bandoneón.
on 2 : stretching the leg, fast like a clasp-knife, and putting the foot down like a knife-thrust, a thrusting flash, a strong stab to the heart, una puñalada with an Argentinian Facón.
As stabbing happens fast, quick, the duration of the marking moment is extremely much shorter than the earlier lifting of the knee, the extending. That contrast gives a striking tension, a noticeable suspense.
It looks like:
_______1_______ ... /2\ _______3_______ ... /4\
etc...
It sounds like La Yumba ...
In dancing, as in knife-fighting and boxing, it is nice to know that the flexibility of the body increases when the feet are in a more open \ /-position rather than close together, stiff.
http://users.telenet.be/Tango-E-Vita/go2_bestanden/Tango-E-Vita.htm Tango-Evita
Sunday, January 1, 2012
DiSarli, Pugliese, D'Arienzo
Salon-Style Tango- Our dance.. It takes practice to understand it, find it and keep it.
Salon-style tango is typically danced to the most strongly accented beat of tango music played in 4x4 time, such as DiSarli. Those who dance salon-style tango to Juan D'Arienzo or Rodolfo Biagi typically ignore the strong "ric-tic-tic" rhythm that characterizes the music. Salon-style tango requires that dancers exercise respect for the line of dance.
Ric-Tic-Tic Rhythm
Ric-tic-tic is onomatopoeia for the staccato rhythms that are prominent in the music of Juan D'Arienzo, Rodolfo Biagi, and some other golden-era orchestras. With Biagi on the piano, D'Arienzo's orchestra debuted in the 1930s with the ric-tic-tic rhythm. Although some describe music with the ric-tic-tic rhythm as 2x4, the characteristic rhythm of this music is actually created through a variation in accented beats that yields an alternation of single-time and double-time rhythms. For example, the music might be played one and two and, one and two and, one and two and, one and two and (where boldface represents the accented beats), and the dancers might respond slow, slow; quick, quick, slow; slow, slow; quick, quick, slow. One might express the chararacteristic stacatto rhythm of this music as one, two; ric, tic, tic; one, two; ric, tic, tic.
Some tangos contain more complex rhythms and longer phrases of double-time staccato accents. Juan D'Arienzo's "El Flete" contains a rhythmic figure of one and two and one and two and, one and two and one and two and, one and two and one and two and, one and two and one and two and. For the dancer adhering strictly to the accents, that rhythmic figure becomes the demanding and rapid fire slow, pause, slow, pause; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause; slow, slow, slow, slow; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause. For a dancer taking the music at half speed, the rhythmic figure becomes the familiar slow, pause, slow, pause; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause; slow, slow, slow, slow; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause (where boldface represents the beats used for dancing).
Salon-style tango is typically danced to the most strongly accented beat of tango music played in 4x4 time, such as DiSarli. Those who dance salon-style tango to Juan D'Arienzo or Rodolfo Biagi typically ignore the strong "ric-tic-tic" rhythm that characterizes the music. Salon-style tango requires that dancers exercise respect for the line of dance.
Ric-Tic-Tic Rhythm
Ric-tic-tic is onomatopoeia for the staccato rhythms that are prominent in the music of Juan D'Arienzo, Rodolfo Biagi, and some other golden-era orchestras. With Biagi on the piano, D'Arienzo's orchestra debuted in the 1930s with the ric-tic-tic rhythm. Although some describe music with the ric-tic-tic rhythm as 2x4, the characteristic rhythm of this music is actually created through a variation in accented beats that yields an alternation of single-time and double-time rhythms. For example, the music might be played one and two and, one and two and, one and two and, one and two and (where boldface represents the accented beats), and the dancers might respond slow, slow; quick, quick, slow; slow, slow; quick, quick, slow. One might express the chararacteristic stacatto rhythm of this music as one, two; ric, tic, tic; one, two; ric, tic, tic.
Some tangos contain more complex rhythms and longer phrases of double-time staccato accents. Juan D'Arienzo's "El Flete" contains a rhythmic figure of one and two and one and two and, one and two and one and two and, one and two and one and two and, one and two and one and two and. For the dancer adhering strictly to the accents, that rhythmic figure becomes the demanding and rapid fire slow, pause, slow, pause; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause; slow, slow, slow, slow; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause. For a dancer taking the music at half speed, the rhythmic figure becomes the familiar slow, pause, slow, pause; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause; slow, slow, slow, slow; quick, quick, quick, quick, slow, pause (where boldface represents the beats used for dancing).
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
WEIGHT! WAIT!
Mike maybe thinks he is still in the Melrose Games at Madison Square Garden. I often wear his silver medal close to my heart and think about that time over 60 years ago when he won that stunning piece of silver. But this dance is not a race. When Alberto Paz said, "Go, Mike go!" I first thought he was being kind, but NO he's watching a dance that looks like a marathon. Now we are learning to slow it down and keep it in a small space.
Back to basics we go again.
1. S-l-o-w it down. Lento. Take 2 beats or more for each step.
2. Every step is a tango, Pause momentarily, breathe, settle into the standing leg. wait for me to collect and then mark the next step before you go forward or wherever. Know where I am and then when my feet are collected I'm ready for the next step.
3. Keep the back straight. Remember the exercise on the wall.
4. Be more decisive with the lead.
The cunitas- step to my center and lead me back to your center. Turning them looks great, but not more than 3.
Gustavo wants Mike to practice a traspie after the side step- before the next forward step.
What is different about our tango?. Something inside keeps moving at all times. My focus is on my standing leg. Our embrace is more comfortable. Our weight is grounded. Mostly I'm lost in the music and pushing into the step.
Now I am not TRYING to tango. But I know I'd never win a silver medal or any medal for my so called Argentine Tango.
Back to basics we go again.
1. S-l-o-w it down. Lento. Take 2 beats or more for each step.
2. Every step is a tango, Pause momentarily, breathe, settle into the standing leg. wait for me to collect and then mark the next step before you go forward or wherever. Know where I am and then when my feet are collected I'm ready for the next step.
3. Keep the back straight. Remember the exercise on the wall.
4. Be more decisive with the lead.
The cunitas- step to my center and lead me back to your center. Turning them looks great, but not more than 3.
Gustavo wants Mike to practice a traspie after the side step- before the next forward step.
What is different about our tango?. Something inside keeps moving at all times. My focus is on my standing leg. Our embrace is more comfortable. Our weight is grounded. Mostly I'm lost in the music and pushing into the step.
Now I am not TRYING to tango. But I know I'd never win a silver medal or any medal for my so called Argentine Tango.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Augusto Whispers Again- but not to ME.
A tall, quite striking man showed up on Friday in our afternoon class at the Galerias. He is elegant and walks to the beat. He shows off his long lanky legs and quick pivots. His sense of musicality makes me stare. I stepped away from Mike for a moment to watch. He holds the step until the last moment- waiting, waiting and moves slowly or rapidly to the music. I am engrossed and watching from his waist down to the floor when I hear the whisper of Augusto, "But it's not the tango." "What?", I think. Sr. Lanky Legs is missing the essence of the dance. He's missing the marca and subtle lead with his chest and back- the push into the step from his center isn't there. This is a lesson to me to watch the upper body and the torso. Augusto says the closer the embrace the more torsion is needed from the chest- interesting. Now to try to make it all happen without a thought.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Augusto Whispers
We slip into as many lessons with Augusto Balizano as we can. He has such a variety of classes- levels of dancers, sometimes mostly men, sometimes mostly women and tonight we were blessed with a lesson for only 3.
When I dance with Augusto I get a whisper 1/2 way through each dance.
The First Week: Think only of my supporting leg only and wait.
Last Week: Think of my back as if I'm reclining in a chair- open my chest but also open my back and settle into the chair. Mike is "holding the baby". While all this occurs keep the hip back and in. OH GOD!
Tonight: Resist the step, allow the free leg to feel like it belongs to a rag doll - now, wait until the last moment of the lead and music to move.
His patience shows in his eyes. How lucky we were to have our friend from PA join in a lesson with us this week.
When I dance with Augusto I get a whisper 1/2 way through each dance.
The First Week: Think only of my supporting leg only and wait.
Last Week: Think of my back as if I'm reclining in a chair- open my chest but also open my back and settle into the chair. Mike is "holding the baby". While all this occurs keep the hip back and in. OH GOD!
Tonight: Resist the step, allow the free leg to feel like it belongs to a rag doll - now, wait until the last moment of the lead and music to move.
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