Bryan de Valdivia

clicker tango

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:15:00 +0000

A Clicker is a toy that makes a noise, "click, click."

What's it good for?

Well, a clicker is an Event Marker. It produces an audible signal to mark the instant something happens.

I have a background in sports, where we used verbal cues as event markers for good technique, but clickers are far more precise. It takes a much shorter time to send as well as process a mechanical noise than it does to interpret a verbal signal.

I used clickers in the late 90's to train dogs as well as oxen.

I've used clickers in tango practicas and classes since 2005.

Clickers can be used in tango in at least 3 different ways:

Technique/Proprioception

The teacher can be the "clicker" while the student is the "clickee."
When the student executes the Exact technique that you wish them to execute, you "click" them, thereby signaling precisely what you want them to accomplish. In this manner, they can experience multiple execution strategies and find the one that works for Them- all without, "hmm, a little more to the left, now right," etc. Students may also click each other, which has the benefit of the "clickers" becoming fluent with the visual criteria.

Aliaception (leader example)

In this case we work in groups of 3. The couple embraces while the "clicker" stands out of line of sight of the woman. The man leads a leg extension and the "clicker" signals when the woman's foot is precisely where the man was supposed to lead it. This way, the man learns exactly what the woman feels like when she is doing this movement, in addition to gaining exactitude in his lead.

Improvisation (the Cross example)

Groups of 3. The couple embraces while the "clicker" stands outside the woman's line of sight. The "clicker" signals what they would like the man to lead, to cross, or to not cross. If the woman executes what the man was supposed to lead, they get a "click." This way, the man must be fluent in his lead, no taking 20 steps to get into perfect position, and the woman gains clarity of what the man intended her to do, without the man being able to fake it.

I appreciate your thoughts and feedback, if you prefer to do so privately and anonymously just click here.

Equipment Suppliers

Clickers: Pet or Party supply stores

Clicker Usage in Animals: google "clicker training"
Clicker Usage in Athletes: TAG Teach International
Book I started my clicker journey with: Don't Shoot the Dog!

Music in your Head

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:24:00 +0000

Here's another project I've been working on ...

Teachers, have you ever had difficulty getting a student to recognize what element in the music you would like them to dance to ? You know, like a gancho to a double time, or a contra boleo to a syncopa ?

The catch being, not in being clear in your description, but in having the student hear what you hear, and learn to wait for it.

Well, I've had that problem plenty, and I've been trying to come up with a solution.

First I tried- Play the song, then repeat just a snippet so students can identify the musical element, so everybody can be on the same page.

But then we had the problem of them knowing where in the song those musical accents occurred. Yes of course, I could just tell them, well, you've got to listen to the music a lot, and know the songs (which I do espouse), but I was looking to be more helpful than that ....

Solution: Work the song with a music editor, highlighting certain portions of it with amplification or by inserting cues that foreshadow the accent.

For example:

Cues inserted as drum for double time, clave for syncopa, foreshadowing musical elements by 2.5 seconds

Then I came across the problem of folks inadvertently becoming accustomed to ignoring the music while learning a new movement.

Solution: Don't play music when you're solely working on a move.

Well, neither of those solutions were satisfactory. If I play music for the whole class with cues in it, the ladies can trend to back leading when they hear a cue. In other cases, if I don't play music while we're learning a new move, it dulls the mood.

So, here's what I came up with:

You'll notice no music in the background, and Yes, this is a musicality class.

Take a close look, most folks have headphones on.

Here's the catch, they're listening to one of two different frequencies, being broadcast in the room, simultaneously, with one frequency playing the song in its original form, and the other frequency playing the song with cues added, both songs perfectly synced.

This way, if you have the headphones off, we know you're working on technique, and can come around and help you with that. If you've got the headphones on, you're working on applying the movement Musically, and we can listen to the song ourselves with our own radios and help you match your dancing to the music. Oh, and nobody but you knows what frequency you're listening to, so there's far less incentive to back lead.

Problems solved.

Ok, not really, still a work in progress, always a work in progress, but at least now I'm not conditioning my folks to ignore the music, Plus I had one of the most gratifying experiences of working on musicality in a group setting.

We were working on doing contra boleos to syncopas, a quarter of the song played, and Nobody tried to lead a boleo !

It was Awesome, they were so into having their movement fit the music, this was their first time with this song, they weren't comfortable enough with the music yet, so everybody just listened, and bid their time till they could predict the syncopa and only then try to lead the contra boleo to the music !!

I appreciate your thoughts and feedback, if you prefer to do so privately and anonymously just click here.

Equipment Suppliers

Music Editor: Adobe Audition

FM Radio Transmitters: Ramsey Electronics
Portable FM Radios: Coby CX-96 Radio with Arm Band

Becoming a Natural

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 03:26:00 +0000

What's a "Natural ?"

Natural
.... Noun
.... 3. One with an inherited talent at something.
............ She's a natural dancer.

A Natural moves freely and well. They flow. A Natural knows their body, as well as their partner's. They make it look easy. A Natural moves with the ronda, el marca big things to big music when there's big space, ella keeps her feet underneath her and gets cuddly when the space is tight and the music intimate. They do just the right thing for just the right partner and make them feel like they're the only one in the world while dancing.

A Natural can go to a class and learn the dance by watching the teacher and soaking up figures and steps. They can intuit how to fit these to the music, their partner, and the ronda.

Some people have it, some don't.

But what do they have?

What if instead of trying to learn what an accomplished dancer does, we could learn to be a "Natural" ourselves, then we could take anything and make it our own, without being tied to a particular style or manner of teaching.

Put another way- A Natural excels in these areas:

1. Aliaception
2. Proprioception
3. Quality of Movement (how to move)
4. Movement in Space (where to move)
5. Musicality (how movement relates to music)
6. Floor Awareness
7. Physical Fitness
8. Entrega

Without these, everything is much harder.

It's hard to learn a step because you don't have accurate body awareness, so you don't know if your feet are in the right spot. It's hard to execute the step with your partner because you have trouble feeling their center of gravity. It's hard to connect because you have difficulty being vulnerable. It's hard to dance to the music because you have trouble hearing the beat or coloring your movement with it's sentiment. It's hard to dance at the milonga because you're so concentrated on yourself and your partner that the people around you seem like an intrusion.

Improve them, the rest becomes easier.

Weekly Classes

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:54:00 +0000

Private Lessons in Munich call 01578 1442 421

Enhanced Reality Tango

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:59:00 +0000

Ever wish that you could watch yourself dance?
See what your teacher sees when they correct you?
See what it looks like when you do it correctly?

Feel what it looks like?

That's the key, and a big shortcoming for training with video.

Yes, with video you can see after the fact what you look like. Teacher points out something when it's wrong, you watch the replay, Repeat when it's good. However, you never know that Exact instant what the movement Feels like, Proprioceptively.

For that, you have watch yourself in real-time. Feel within yourself what it's like to have upright posture, feel within yourself what its like to have proper leg extension, feel within yourself what it's like to have a smooth and balanced pivot, at the same time you're doing it.

Yes, there's a tool that's pretty good at these things-
it's called a mirror :)

A mirror is pretty good if you're walking or standing.
By yourself.
Frontally.

But falls apart once you start dancing. You do a pivot and can't see yourself anymore. Walk parallel to the mirror and turn your head but that body perception is different than when you look ahead. You can't see to the right in close embrace, etc, etc.

Hence, this tool. Total geekdom. A Head Mounted Display. Virtual Reality goggles. For tango.

Take a video camera or two, point them at yourself, hook them up to a wireless transmitter, then slip the suckers on and watch yourself dance, from any angle, real-time, no matter which way you're facing or what you're doing.

I know, weird.
But it works.

You can walk by yourself or with a partner, see from any angle and in any embrace what it looks like when you move, focus within yourself so you can remember what that movement actually Feels like, then do something about it, that second, and learn a new movement pattern.

With wireless pressure sensors, you can monitor if your embrace has a proper compression curve, or if your foot displacement is smooth, beyond what most people can feel. All while making sure you look good doing it.

How you feel to your partner, this tool can't help you with, and that's more important than all of the above.

You'll need a dancer whose opinion you respect to give you feedback on the emotion conveyed by your embrace, your care, the freeness of your movement, musicality, and expressiveness.

Upcoming

Work out technical details to outfit whole tango class with HMDs.

Equipment Suppliers

HMD & Transmitter: Virtual Realities (Not Recommended)

Travels

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:11:00 +0000

Bryan currently resides in Munich, Germany.

upcoming ...

2009

??

past ...

2009

Valletta, Malta: July 17 - 22
Dusseldorf, Germany: Tangocamp Germany, June 26 - 28
Evia Island, Greece: Tangocamp Greece, June 11 -14
Buenos Aires, Argentina: April 13 - May 13
Cologne, Germany: March 28
Nuremberg, Germany: March 27
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Spring Tango Festvial, March 20 - 22
Beesenstedt, Germany: Halle Tangomarathon, February 20 - 22
Munich, Germany: Moved on January 11

2008

New York, New York December 21 - 28
St Louis, Missouri: Hot Winter Tango, December 5 - 7
Freiburg, Germany: TangoMafia Tango Festival, November 21 - 23
Annonay, France: October 3 - 5
Salzburg, Austria: July 22 - 24
Hamburg, Germany: July 3 - 8
Berlin, Germany: June 20 - July 2
New York, New York: May 14 - 18
Kansas City, Missouri: Stone Soup Festival, May 1-4
New York, New York: March 14 - 17
Los Angeles, California: March 6 - 13
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: February 22 - 24
New York, New York: February 8 - 11
Ann Arbor, Michigan: Fire & Ice Festival, January 18 - 21
State College, Pennsylvania, USA: January 11, Back Home!
Zurich, Switzerland: January 6 - 8, 2008
Munich, Germany: December 1, 2007 - January 11, 2008

2007

Heidelberg, Germany: December 16 - 18
Turin, Italy: August 28 - December 1
Munich, Germany: August 20 - August 28
Berlin, Germany: July 26 - August 19
Frankfurt, Germany: July 24 - 25
New York, New York: June 1 - 3
New York, New York: May 25 - 27

Intention

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:57:00 +0000

is often mentioned in tango. It's an almost magical quality that accentuates the marca, clarifying and giving purpose to the movements. Yet, what is it? Physically, quantifiably, how is this property expressed?

intention
....Noun
....1. A course of action that a person intends to follow.

Hmmm, what do I do when I "intend" something?
Well, when I intend to do something I form a idea in my mind, prepare to do it, then execute. Ok, usually I procrastinate a whole lot before execution, but that's beside the point.

As it applies to tango:

1. Form an idea= No physical correlate.
2. Prepare= Assume a mechanically advantageous skeletal position, if it's a big movement utilize momentum.
3. Execute= Take physical action.

Therefore, intention lies in the preparation for movement, which is made clearer by holding a purposeful idea first.

To make a long story short, it is circular, spiral, or loopy movement, depending on the plane in which you are going to going to move, that happens first in the negative and then the positive. The greater or more challenging the movement, the more important and greater the preparation.

For example, if I am going to jump up, I first crouch down. The bigger the jump, the lower I get.

In tango walking (1), I have the weight first on the ball of my weighted foot, then I transfer it to my heel as I engage the leg muscles by bending my standing knee and ankle, send my COG past the tip of my toe (aiding balance with contra-body movement), while extending my free leg and landing on it's heel.

The greatest incidence of intention usually occurs when starting from a dead stop, and is less pronounced in each succeeding step that occurs in the same direction, at the same speed, length, musical cue, as the first one. "Momentum," both physical and psychological, assists.

The neat thing is that we can actually see this happening below:

The "camel hump" that I note at 18 sec. is the weight going onto the ball of my foot (first hump), then back to my heel (dip), and subsequently highest as it rolls back through my forefoot (second hump) then zero as the foot becomes unweighted.

Compare this with the normal walking (2) at the beginning of the video, where there is no preloading of the heel, but instead the weight just spills over the forefoot, while my free leg is moving forward to catch me.

To Do [ a little help please :) ]

Analyze the gait patterns of other tango dancers with similar as well as disparate walking styles for how intention is expressed. In addition, analyze how the degree of resistance that the woman provides affects the gait mechanics. Analyze intention in other tango contexts.

Endnotes
1. Tango walking= in the style I utilize most frequently, that of being relatively smooth with only minor up and down motion, utilizing the slight bending of the knees and ankles for leveling and impulse, while maintaining a near perpendicular attitude with my spine in relation to the floor.
2. Provided by Steve Pastor, thanks!

Tango Research Tools

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:39:00 +0000

* Tango is about Feeling, but by sorting out technique, we can put it away and get on with the dancing.

Below is what my laptop looks like. This upload is jumpy, and the audio out of sync, but both are smooth in real life.

I can have two different videos (and annotate them with lines), along with numerous pressure sensors that can be applied to feet, chest, hands, etc.

My summer project is to use these tools to enhance my classroom teaching of beginner, intermediate, and advanced dancers in addition to conducting general research into where and when pressure is applied in the dance.

My winter project is to sort out the data, as well as figure out inexpensive means for all tango learners to implement the research findings- at least those that don't think I'm crazy, or stupid, or both ;-)

My question for you is this:

If you could know where your/your partner's/your student's weight is located at any point in the dance- what would you want to know, why, and how would you use it?

For better quality click monitor 2x then "Watch in High Quality"

Results
.
Tango is an Art ... duh :)
.
What I've found is that the sensors are good at telling me what a particular person or couple is doing, but not relevant for what others Should be doing. Yes, they're good for training in that person or couple's style, but not for any generalized conclusions about tango. Descriptive, not Proscriptive.

Equipment Suppliers

Wireless Force Sensors: Tekscan
Dual Camera Motion Analysis Software: All Sport Systems

Learning the Woman's part before the Man's

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:39:00 +0000

At some point or another every guy hears that in the old days, during the Golden Age of tango, men would learn the woman's part before they would be taught the man's part. The explanation being that tango was taught informally, just a bunch of guys getting together to shoot the breeze and work on their moves, and this, together with traditional gender roles made it unseemly for the ladies to join the men in learning to dance.

Nowadays, this bit of history is used to encourage guys to practice with each other when there aren't enough women in a class, and to encourage the men to learn the woman's part in order to further their own understanding and appreciation of the marca.

I was lucky to learn the woman's part at the same time as I was learning the man's (a girlfriend was my first teacher, y sabe marcar), and the woman's part came along faster than the man's. This gave me a healthy respect for the woman's role, along with clarity in what I had to do as a guy, for by knowing what the woman is feeling, I can change the marca to create the desired effect. Another benefit is that when learning a step or move from another guy, it's oftentimes easier to just accompany them, so you can feel what they're doing, instead of having them break it down and explain it to you, because as the ladies know, sometimes, what the guy has in his head is going on, has very little to do with what the woman is feeling.

Given US American culture, just how feasible is it to get the guys to learn the woman's part ?

Some communities are lucky- where the scene is big enough that going slow to get it right has a recognizable payoff, and where the local stars and teachers are masculine yet able and open to doing the woman's part to get a point across if it's required. However, many communities don't have these things going for them. For these places, what are the benefits to learning the woman's part, and can they be gotten a different way?

Benefits include knowing
. . . how many ways an embrace can go bad.
. . . where the guy is moving and timing.
. . . where a step has it's zing.
. . . associations and options.
. . . asymmetrical musicality.
. . . respect for her role.
. . . aliaception.

How many ways an embrace can go bad-
Is this guy holding his arm too stiff, holding me too lightly, like he's afraid of me, too tightly, not letting me move, etc.
- Another way to learn this is via classroom or private instruction on the embrace, and dancing with women who will give you feedback you will respect.

Where the guy is moving and timing-
Where is he placing his feet, what's that causing to my axis, what part of what he's doing am I paying the most attention to in knowing where to move, what's his timing?
- Classroom or private instruction on where to move. Mnemonic aids are useful for the timing, such as pam-di-di-bam, and listening to the music :)

Where a step has it's zing-
What about this step feels best?
- Ask your practice partner.

Associations and options-
What other steps does this remind me of, are there any interesting detours we could take?
- Ask your practice partner and experiment, use nuevo methodology (try it in parallel vs. crossed systems, on the other leg, mirrored, circular vs. linear, on vs. off-axis, etc.).

Asymmetrical musicality-
Hey, he goes bam diddy bam, but I go swoosh swoosh, where in a song have I heard that before?
- Ask your practice partner, pay attention to it yourself, classroom instruction.

Respect for her role-
Whoa, this is way harder than it looks.
- Good manners.

Aliaception-
The knowledge of another person's body (tension, positioning, and quality of movement) via one's sense of touch.
- Aha! The most common way men gain this faculty is via dance experience and experimentation, which can take a while until you sort out which part you're doing wrong, and which part is her doing. However, this is what women concentrate all the time, it's exactly the perceptive skill asked of them in order to fulfill their role well. Men, by concentrating on this specific perceptive skill, can likewise be more sensitive to their partner, where and how she's moving, what she's hearing in the music, make seamless adjustments, and explore the dance that's in her body- just like the gals gift us every dance :-)

Choreography

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:50:00 +0000

As a dancer and teacher of social dancing I had the propensity to look down on choreographed pieces, pretty to look at but confining to dance. Therefore, it was an illuminating experience to choreograph for Linda F (Italian, 2008 release).
The star of the movie, Victoria di Pace, had show tango experience and we had met at a milonga in Torino, so I figured that as preparation we would just dance a bunch, practice a few interesting elements, and improvise the performance.
Boy, was I wrong... The music was written explicitly for the movie, and was a particularly lively piece, with tempo changes and bare melodic accents. The more we danced, the more it was impressed on me that to do it justice we would have to precisely match its highlights with corresponding movements, its lulls with expressive pauses. In addition, the camera demanded that our movements be reproducible for multiple retakes with different camera angles, making improvisation impossible.
This turn of events was uncomfortable at first, restrictive and unfamiliar. However, as the work progressed I found increasing freedom within its confines. Liberated of the need to consider new movements each dance, we could concentrate on the how and why of each step. What did this walk mean-- was it happenstance, piercing, or tender? How were the character's emotional states conveyed in the dance? Is this how they would have done it at that moment in their lives? Dancing in entire phrases, each step had proper energy. That boleo was not just a boleo, but an expression of anger and a prelude to a penetrating gancho.
At some point the choreography faded from existence. Each movement became instinctive, what fit the music and emotional state best. We could have danced something different at any moment, but chose not to because what we did felt richer than the alternative.
So what do I think of choreography now? It has its place in a social dancer's development even if not the social dance. It improved my phrasing and depth of movement-- what to say, how, and when to say it.

I didn't get to dance for the film, budget problems, but I'll try to catch it on DVD to see what of the project remained.

Torino Ganchos Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:59:00 +0000

DOMENICA 25 NOVEMBRE
Bryan de Valdivia e Sara Falasco

Ganchos Trabados
h. 14,00 - 15,30
Livello: Avanzato
Requisito: Conoscenza di Ganchos e Boleos

Ganchos Fuori Asse
h. 15,45 - 17,15
Livello: Avanzato
Requisito: Conoscenza di Ganchos e Volcadas

Circolo ALDOBARALDO - Via Parma 29b - TO

Per info: Sara (Italiano) 338 77 60 697
Bryan (Espagnol e Inglese) devaldivia(at)gmail.com
Prezzi: 1 Lezione 15 €, 2 Lezioni 25 € per persona
L'iscrizione è obbligatoria e preferibilmente in coppia;

Torino Tango Classes

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:54:00 +0000

Asistiendo a Dorella Gigliotti en Via Mantova 34, Torino

20,30 - 21,00: Tecnica
21,00 - 22,30: Tango

4 Clases en Noviembre:

Nov 5- Introduccion a la figura; 1era parte (con enrosques y sacadas).
Nov 12- 1era parte + Combinacion con Volcada de Reversa
Nov 19- 1era parte + Combinacion con Colgada
Nov 26- Musicalidad de la figura y Repaso

Bryan de Valdivia

noreply@blogger.com (devaldivia) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 10:45:00 +0000

enjoys dancing and teaching tango for all the dance teaches him about life.

His favorite saying is "Bailas como sos," which translates to "You dance as you are."

With his experience as a Faciliator in the University of Missouori-Columbia (USA) Experiential Education program, he finds fulfillment in helping dancers express the person they are or wish to be.

Major influences include Fernando Galera & Vilma Vega (Buenos Aires), Brigitta Winkler (Berlin), and Robin Thomas (New York).

His favorite tango style is that found in the dance halls of Buenos Aires, Cachirulo, El Beso, and Porteño y Bailarín.