Bandoneonist, composer, and leader.
(4 February 1889 – 29 April 1953)
A patriarchal figure of Tango, a bandoneon player of the heroic period when bandoneon became the instrument most representative of the groups devoted to Tango. His contribution to the definitive adoption and recognition of bandoneon and, consequently, of Tango in the different milieus and social strata has been valuable and decisive.
His first tango was “La payanca”.
“One evening, when the dancers had run through our repertory, I had to improvise, and that was the resulting number. After seventy or eighty pieces, one after another, you had to improvise.” Continue reading at www.todotango.com…
In the case of dancing Tango, we are required to develop a way of walking.
As with our posture, our human walk is also unique.
As with our posture, our human walk is also unique. In the case of dancing Tango, we are required to develop a way of walking which, remaining natural, serves the purpose of walking in the intimate company of our partner, embraced by each other, among other couples, creating a silent poetic dialogue with our bodies and in connection with the cadence of Argentine Tango music. This kind of music was devised to serve such a purpose, and always guides us on how to move in such situations.
Technical details and exercise:
After shifting your weight to one foot, move the leg that is free of weight forward and backward like a pendulum, maintaining light contact with the floor, using the “inside edge position” when passing through the “collect position” when both feet are together.
If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to learn to dance Tango, you can:
Violinist and composer
(30 January 1891 – 7 October 1925)
In 1920, Tango entered its definitive stage. Julio De Caro had already begun to record and his style drew the attention of his fellow musicians, he woke controversies and, since then, two trends coexisted among tango orchestras: the traditional and evocative stream, the avant-garde and innovative stream.
By that time Tito had led a downhill life for over five years, ruined by alcohol and cocaine, until his death in 1925. He was neither a prop of tango, nor he left a big oeuvre.
His most important composition is, no doubt, “Elegante papirusa”.
The chronicles of his time show him as a virtuoso violinist.
We, humans, are unique among all known species. Our upright posture manifests extraordinary qualities.
From the perspective of a milonguero, good posture is not merely instrumental.
By the way we stand up and present ourselves, we tell our own story, who we are, what we strive for, our dreams, our ideals, our thoughts and emotions. Through working on our posture we work not only on our body but on our entire persona. Therefore, from the perspective of a milonguero, good posture is not merely instrumental, achieved and developed only for the purpose of dancing well, but, in addition to our dance, the way we exist, presented to ourselves and everybody. What we can see in our posture (whether it’s the same or different from what everyone else sees) informs about us and shows what we can improve about ourselves.
Technical details and exercises:
Legs and feet together, your weight distributed equally between them.
Bring your weight to one of your feet. Your vertical axis should displace in the direction of the foot that gets your weight.
Inside edge of your free of weight leg’s shoe in contact with the floor (“inside edge position”).
Your supporting leg’s foot resting comfortably on the floor, conducting the weight of your body through it to the floor.
Knees close to each other. Your knees maintaining a constant relation to your axis, which passes through the center of your body, from the top of your head to the center of the base of your body in regard to your weight distribution on one foot or between both feet.
Hips leveled, both ilium of your hip bone at the same plane parallel to the floor, aligned to your transversal plane.
Torso aligned with a vertical axis, resting on your head, which rest on your legs.
Neck and head aligned with the same vertical axis line.
Your head resting on your neck, which consequently rests on your torso, torso on your hips and hips on your legs and feet. Alignment of all your body parts to your central axis becomes essential.
Eyes looking forward. Sight aligned with the floor, looking to the horizontal line.
If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to learn to dance Tango, you can:
Augusto Berto
