I'm really noob in dancing. And I have a problem because we are going to dance a modern tango dance. So can anyone differentiate Latin and Modern Dance of Tango? And can anyone give some steps links on it? PLEASE! I NEED HELP... Thank you!

Well, yes. Assuming that by "modern" you mean "Standard," Tango is one of the five dances in the syllabus. Because Tango music - and dance - have Latin origins, it's easy to see how someone could think that it's a Latin dance.

There are also Smooth (American) Tango and Argentine Tango.

You can find videos on this site for Modern and Smooth Tango (and posibly Argentine - I haven't looked). These will give you the appearance of the dance and introduce you to the basic steps.

If you need to learn some Tango then you need to find a professional immediately and start taking some instruction. You aren't going to learn how to Tango on this board or using a video.

If you can't afford a pro then try to find a sympathetic friend who has some exposure to the Tango. As the old saying goes, you're going to need a partner anyway.

Dancing is not a skill that one picks up overnight. Whatever it is that you need will require some work on your part.

jj

"You aren't going to learn how to Tango on this board or using a video" is good advice. You need an expert to (among other things) look at what you are doing and make corrections as needed. But videos can be very helpful. If you can see something done correctly as many times as you need when you are away from your instructor, you have an advantage. Unless you are an unusual person the small details won't stay in your head after your lesson. Very often you won't appreciate the importance of some little thing your instructor tells you until you gain maturity as a dancer. So write things down, and get some added help from videos.

Tango is a stacato dance with sharp movements that flows across the floor in a combination of steps and partner interplays to give it a Schizophrenagenic flavor (go away closer.) I personally consider it to be a more mature dance than any of the latin (with the exception of Paso Doble). The latin dances have a flirty youthful feeling to them. They are dances of seduction and of flirtation (with the exception of Paso). Tango is more emotionally complex. It is why it can be more difficult to dance convincingly.

Whoever has given you a modern Tango to dance when you can't differentiate Tango from Latin is doing you a disservice. It can be a difficult dance to even learn, and forget about mastering it. It's worse when you speak of modern because there is really no such thing as a "modern tango step." What you are talking about is what professionals and advanced amateurs do. You take steps that are not classically considered tango and interpret them so that they follow the spirit of the dance. You of course will throw in a few traditional steps, a tango pose a chasse a few lunges....

You need to get some actual professional intervention if you embark on this adventure. In the meantime. Go to youtube and look up world superstars of dance tango. You'll at least see what you are setting yourself up for...here is an example....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-jRHDYvl4I

Actually Belle, As Scriv. would say " its the easiest of the 4", and the one dance that is actually closer to "walking ".

One has to understand his theory, which essentially was this.. with no more than 4 variations one can negotiate a complete circuit of a dance floor. In Amer. style this would be even more simplified

As to calling " Amer. style " Tango, it is much closer to the original form than the Intern. style .

In addition, one has to consider the 3 different styles of music, which many today, seem to ignore.

T/Arg also has sub groups , Milonguero, Salon and Nuevo, which also have different musical acceptance for their styles .

As JJ stated, videos were never intended to "learn" from, but were meant primarily as an addition to the Private/ Class lesson ;they have been often portrayed as the easy answer, to solving complex issues , and many were intended for Prof. use.

terence,

I should clarify and say that my assumption was that she is talking about American Style. I didn't think she was speaking of Argentine of which I dance Milonguero, Salon, and Vals.

I don't know if I agree that it is the easiest. Perhaps you could say that the footwork is less complex but when you are talking about the characterization of the dance I've seen a lot of people who just can't get it right. They make it too angry or too violent or too....something. To get that stuggle between two people right takes some actual skill. In a modern tango it is not the steps that make it a tango it is the music and the pictures and emotions that the dancers evoke. I agree any schmuck can do a basic and most of the rest of the steps....but can the dancer transcend into the deeper meaning underlying the dance?

For a modern tango to work, the dancer must create the ambiance and I'm sorry but foxtrot, vw, and waltz just aren't that emotionally complex.

You need to put his words into context..

As compared ( and remember this is Intern style ) to the other 3 dances, tango is the easiest for a Beginner to assimilate.

And, even if it was Amer.style, the formula would work even better !.. Ive taught it to thousands, with that principle .

He was not making a technical comparison ,but a pure nuts and bolts approach.. in other words, what is more simple than.. Walk, walk.. walkwalk. It requires little technique, and may convey immediate gratification ; .


Im not a big believer in over simplification, but I think his theory makes a very good point .

"Perhaps you could say that the footwork is less complex but when you are talking about the characterization of the dance I've seen a lot of people who just can't get it right. They make it too angry or too violent or too....something. To get that stuggle between two people right takes some actual skill."

If you spend some time with a truly expert teacher learning the nuances of how tango steps mechanically work, you may find that the emotional and musical character of the dance follows from this quite naturally.

If instead you try to portray tango without a firm grasp of how it works, then that is when you have to be a good actor.

I believe there to be some truth to this. My teacher is working with me to master the USISTD silver tango syllabus, and the process of walking correctly (and on time), maintaining the correct body position / stance and frame, do "assist" in learning how to express the character of the dance. There is almost an "osmosis" effect from it all. I am deeply affected by some music, so what I like as a really good tango just adds to my ability to get into character

Also, I'm a big fan of learning videos, but without my professional teacher, . . .. Folks, if you're serious about your learning, you need an experienced teacher who has paid their dues.

but terence...the point is that she is wishing to dance a modern tango. A modern tango doesn't have anything to do with the mechanical work of the appropriate syllabus steps...

Besides...the mechanics...well that is the backbone, the skeleton and it has to exist or there is no dance. In time though you want to be able to flesh out those bones, to put together the elements that make the dance beautiful, that make it something that touches souls. Mechanics don't touch souls. If they did then the art of humans as dancers...as singers, as thinkers, lovers and friends... would be obsolete. Why buy a Steinway for $100,000 when a keyboard takes care of the mechanics...why a Stradavarius, and what in the world is so special about a Picasso?

I am not speaking to acting in dance. Acting doesn't work, it just looks like acting no matter how good you are at it. I am speaking about the moment when you transcend the sheer mechanics and become one with the music and use those mechanics to express a pure and raw emotion in a moment of time. Surely someone who has danced as long as you have has had those moments, seen those moments and understands what I am speaking about.

I love the tango for its complexity and its depth. I love it for its raw sensuality, its passion and its foundation that is based in betrayal. Maybe Tango is not these things for you. Maybe these are not emotions that speak to you. They speak to me. Yes, I love the Waltz and yes I have heard many times over that the Slow Foxtrot and the Rumba are the hardest of the dances. I've never struggled with the Foxtrot and the Rumba is one hell of a tough dance to master....mechanically but not emotionally. You have to master your body to master the Rumba. But Tango...aside from a burning leg ache...no the mechanics aren't difficult. The problem is that to be a part of a true exploration of its soul...takes someone who is emotionally complex and has had more life experience than your run of the mill 21-year-old.

Just my opinion...