The Beijing papers:

VI-

We will conclude this series of six articles on tango with a
substantial interview that was realised last spring in Montreal, Canada.
Enjoy!



Sensitivity, the senses, the sensation of silence and heightened
awareness.
A tango conversation between Noel Strazza and Richard Sagala

(translation from French: Carole Newman

Presentation of Noel Strazza:
Buenos Aires-born Noel Strazza has studied the tango with its
Argentine masters. A gifted professional dancer, with a rigorous
training in both classical ballet and contemporary dance, Noel's
versatility has enriched many distinctive dance companies. She has
featured in numerous international festivals.
Her dance partnership with Pablo Veron began in August 2000 and has
taken the couple all across the world to teach and perform.
To name a few,
here are just some of the places and circumstances in which Noel has
found herself over the last five years:
A tour of Korea and Japan with Pablo Veron, October-December 2005
Guest appearance with Pablo Veron at the « XXII Gala of the Stars »,
Place des Arts, Montreal, September 2005
« Tango Sinfonico" with Pablo Veron and the Potsdam Kammerakademie
Orchestra, Germany, August 2005
Tour of Australia and New Zealand with Pablo Veron, October 2004
Show with Pablo Veron and the Buenos Aires Tango Via Orchestra at the
Theatre de Chaillot, Paris, June 2003
Show with Pablo Veron and the Quintango orchestra in May 2002 at the
2002 Washington Tango Festival in the National Building, Washington D.C
Show with Pablo Veron and the Color Tango Orchestra at the Fireworks
Tango Festival of Los Angeles, July 2001
Show with Pablo Veron at the Gran Ballo di Gala, Salone di Prima
Classe della Stazione Maritima in Genoa, December 2000.
Show with Pablo Veron and the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the
Varmland Classic Festival, Karlstad, Sweden, August 2000
Noel also teaches regularly in her adoptive hometown of Montreal at
the Studio Tango as well as in Buenos Aires.

The Interview begins….
-Does the tango, independent of passing crazes and period dance
styles, have a definitive character all its own? And can we pin down
exactly what its underlying essence is?
N.S. Yes, I think it always comes back to the same thing, this
feeling of connection between two people coming together as one, of
two completely different energies meeting to create something quite
magical together: of being able to feel deeply, and enter into a game
that is really a conversation, and then to be able to dance all that.
That for me is the very essence of the tango, this sense of
connection and improvisation. It is that which is so enriching and
ever-present, and yet which tantalisingly changes each time, depending
on our partner, our own state of mind at the time, the stage of life
we're at, our reaction to the music – all these things are in
permanent change and evolution. If I think of the Twenties, of the
Eighties or even of my day today, that fact never alters. That is the
tango's lodestar, guiding the dance, be the style more traditional,
more modern, or the accompanying music modern or traditional.
-Connection and improvisation, then. So is connection an attribute
exclusive to the tango and not to other couple dances?
N.S. No, not especially. It's difficult because we tend to make an
abstraction out of the word "connection", whereas I find it a very
concrete thing.
-Then let's talk concretely about it.
N.S. We need connection in all couple dances. I don't know them all,
but I'm familiar with some of them through having danced them. The
minute we no longer dance alone, we need connection: Usually one
person leads and the other follows. The tango is the dance "par
excellence" to distinguish the leader and follower roles, so I don't
know whether connection has more rapport with the tango per se but,
yes, its strong role identification perhaps makes it even more
noticeable. It also seems to me that, in the other dances, there are
far more cues to help couples follow each other in the dance than in
tango. In the tango there now exists a nomenclature that is being
elaborated as we speak but, before that, hardly any signals existed.
-Before when?
N.S. I'd say that from the Nineties onwards, when the craze for what
was called the new tango - the « nuevo tango »- first appeared, a
group of people began to identify certain dance codes or, to put it
better, a nomenclature for teaching purposes. They began to accord
tango a terminology in order to better identify individual steps or
sequences. But not to the point of robbing the dance of its rich
potential for improvisation. Quite the reverse….
-So this nomenclature is truly useful for teaching ?
N.S. I think so. It's useful, but you also have to know how to teach
what has been passed down through the oral tradition and not abuse it
with this kind of codification. If not, the whole thing could become
artificial and choreographed, which goes entirely against the grain of
tango. So I believe that this ascribing of a terminology, this
codification, can only help if one incorporates it into teaching as a
means of explaining the dance, but not it as an end in itself, since
we'd risk losing sight of the dance's true nature. And we mustn't
forget that those who have embarked on this work are people who have
come up through the tango tradition, and very much so, and know
exactly what tango was, and where it was coming from. But they had
difficulty in studying with masters who didn't have at their
fingertips the wherewithal for transmitting their knowledge. So these
people undertook the task of rendering transmissible what they
themselves had acquired from the oral tradition by using as an
intermediary a little decoding process to throw light on the subject.
-We've spoken of the Nineties, but put in the context of the entire
century, are we speaking here of a natural evolution in the dance, or
a revolution? How are we to view the arrival of modernism in, let's
say, the last fifteen years?
N.S. I think we're talking of an evolution. We must learn to be more
willing to embrace this idea of permanent evolution, yes it's exactly
that, an evolution, but not a linear one. At any given moment it might
seem that nothing new is happening and yet, ten years hence, something
will erupt onto the scene; it's an evolution, but one that is neither
continuous nor regular. A growing number of people are dancing, but
only a handful will emerge, and bring either new or different
dimensions to more or less alter the evolution's course. I'm talking
of the one-offs who have left their indelible mark on the dance. But
surely everyone should have their own style and, since we're talking
of an improvised dance, for me, the ideal would be to have as many
styles as there are dancers.
-Would that indeed be the ideal?
N.S. Absolutely, that would be the ideal, but at the same time we are
all human beings, seemingly alike in that we are all beings with two
legs and a heart… but there are times when one of our number stands
out from the rest as having a presence which is that much more
different. But I'm not sure that there are that many actual
differences in style.
-So the tango encourages the dancer to express his own style and
personality but are we in danger of trying to cultivate originality
for originality's sake, to the detriment of the core values of the dance?
-N.S. I think we have to let things be. The person who is going to
break out is going to do so even despite himself. It's not by
shutting oneself up in a room of wall-to-wall mirrors with the
intention of creating a new movement that a new movement appears. One
has no control over that.
We're also talking about a degree of talent here, inspiration, a
tenacity for work and research… if you like that sort of thing then
you have to dig deeper.
-It's necessary to study, then, but is it possible to do so without
masters?
N.S. I think so.
-Can one then learn tango without the tutelage of a teacher?
N.S. Without the direct influence of a teacher, yes I think so. But,
nevertheless, it's important for each and every dancer to find a
suitable "master", be it a source of reference, be it a partner, or a
role model one admires, who will help us establish certain benchmarks
and set us on the right path to our own evolution.
-However, if I can draw on personal experience here, when you consider
that it's more than three and a half years now that we've been working
together, all this heightened consciousness and awakening to the real
sensations emanating from the correct movements and the exchange of
energy that it induces, never could I have done it alone, or with a
partner, or through all the workshops in the world.
N.S. Ah! Thank you… (she laughs)
No, it's true, it's very true.

-So I find it very strange, this idea that one can learn this dance
without working one-on-one with a teacher who is guiding our progress.
N.S. Yes, that's so. We need a hands-on mentor, and I would say that
in the life of every dancer, no matter who, there needs to be someone
he can talk to, engage in a free exchange of ideas, an exchange of
presence and energy.
-There's a saying in Zen, « Ishin Denshin »,that means that the Zen
spreads from my heart to your heart, from my spirit to your spirit.
Is it the same in the tango?
N.S. Yes, you could say that.
-Or from my body to your body, from my feelings to your feelings?
N.S. From one being to another with all that being has as such; they
have a body, a heart, a skin, a spirit, a sense of music, a sense of
life – a sense of all that, I think, and all that is what is going to
be brought to the connection, on their meeting in the dance.
-It seems to me that, in your teaching, you attach great importance to
quality, am I right?
N.S. Quality in what sense?
-In the sense of the genuineness that emanates from the right feelings
that get generated by the excellence of the movement, from clarity,
that sense of truth, really, that we find in all good art form...
N.S. Yes, quality in the sense of honesty in fact. There is no
quality without honesty, I believe, and when one speaks of connection
and this profound capacity of being able to let go in an
improvisation, all that must stem from honesty. You can't improvise
on the basis of falsity. You can't give something to someone else if
you're not prepared to commit yourself to the other with complete
honesty and feel that the other absorbs it equally into what is their
total honesty.
The minute one tries to fake this channel of communication through
false interpretations, the underlying truth has evaporated, the
improvisation no longer exists and, in the final analysis the
connection isn't there either.
-Do you see it as your duty as a teacher to bring each of your
students to a realisation of this notion of honesty that is in the
centre of a good dancing technique?
N.S. Yes, completely.
-Even though that person only intends to take one or two lessons and
just wants to amuse himself ?
N.S. Yes, because the tango is a form of amusement for me too. I enjoy
the feeling it gives. I've been very fortunate in finding the tango to
give me that. I certainly didn't come to the tango in order to dance…
I've danced all my life. I came to the tango because I couldn't
comprehend how one person could invite you to perform just one
movement with him, and then that situation would repeat and repeat
itself until the couple was dancing an entire dance solely on the
basis of step-by-step improvisation and the communication between
them. I couldn't understand it. Even when I was doing duos and pas de
deux I never felt that. The duos in contemporary dance and in ballet
consisted of movements that each of the two learned on their own and
then someone put them together. It wasn't a question of intense
communication all the time, all the time, all the time. That's why I
wanted to know more about the tango, so that I could take it all in.
And that's what attracted me, and amazed me, and that's what I try to
communicate. And I even try to convey that to the person who just
wants a little light entertainment from the dance, by trying to make
him see that the more he takes it up, and the more it appears hard to
understand, the easier it's going to be in the end; no-one's being
forced to learn complicated steps and hyper-difficult sequences, but
if some-one can learn how to connect in all simplicity with another
person then he'll have in his grasp all the enjoyment of this dance.
And if that person can't fully appreciate the significance of that,
then they must be made to realize that maybe they should be learning
another dance…(laughter)
I'm not going to torture anyone, but I'm going to try my utmost to
convey what the tango's essence means to me, and do it in the most
simple and enjoyable way I can.

-So this mysterious connection that unleashes the freedom to
improvise, that's what fascinated you?
N.S. Yes, quite, because at the time I was a member of a contemporary
dance company that was doing choreographies to Piazzola pieces. The
choreography consisted of bits of contemporary dance interspersed with
bits of tango choreography. But when I saw that, and when I saw the
people who were actually dancing the tango in the tanguerias and
milongas, I was in no way seeing the same thing. So when I saw myself
on video doing my little tango steps, I said to myself, we're not
doing the tango at all… but I didn't understand why.
So I said to myself that I really had to find out what the tango
actually was in order to know whether I was dancing it or not. I'm
insisting on this point because this is something I've lived and felt.
No–one actually taught me. Well, yes, they taught me, but I wasn't
entirely sure, because I was just listening to their words. I finally
convinced myself of the truth through my own physical efforts, because
the teachers had given me sufficient input for me to be able to take
myself to the point of being able to feel tango in my soul and with my
body.
-You always attach great importance to the student's transcending the
technical skills you're trying to develop in them in order to feel
their effect at a sensory level. I can certainly bear witness to that.
And even though you are not a leader when we're dancing, you always
succeed in guiding me and making me experience the proper feeling that
should arise from the technique, and one that I must learn to
recognise…it's quite exceptional!
N.S. Thank You! (laughter)
-So, from those empty steps on stage at the beginning, you embarked on
and orientated your research towards discovering some real emotions
that would take you to the core, and capture the essence of this dance?
N.S. Yes, that's right. When I'm teaching someone, I would like that
person to dance as they would wish, but I'd also like them to master
certain technical elements so that, once again, they can create their
own style, their own way of moving, of dancing. One can't get to that
point without working on deep personal feelings. So I try to make it
so that this person appropriates whatever has come up in the lesson
through what they were feeling, and not through thought processes nor
constant repetition of mere technical movements, because, when all's
said and done, it would be very easy to forget all that.
And in contrast, a feeling is something one's never going to forget.
A genuine feeling, you're never going to forget it.
-So no putting it on; it's got to be real?
N.S. Yes, it's got to be real, but yes one can also put on an act.
Providing it's done consciously, it can be fabulous. But not while
you're learning, more as a trump card maybe.
-Is improvisation very difficult?
N.S. Well, it demands great … the Spanish word <entrega> comes to
mind. Let's call it being able to give oneself with utter conviction,
to give oneself completely.
-For the leader does that mean giving oneself through the act of
offering, the "yang" idea, and for the follower, through the act of
receiving, the "yin" concept? Can we speak in terms of such polarity?
N.S. As far as roles are concerned, the more the connection grows, the
more comfortable the improvisation becomes and the more the roles
begin to merge. Initially, there is an invitation from the leader to
perform a movement and an acceptance of that movement by the follower
that effectively transforms it. So the follower is replying; the
leader replies in his turn, the follower replies to that, the leader
replies once more, and this game of responding invites us to grow
within the improvisation, and one becomes increasingly alert and more
and more aware and sometimes one can no longer feel who is leading or
who is following…. even though one really knows deep down who the
leader is and who is the follower.
- I think these are key issues for you. It seems- and correct me if
I'm wrong- that you sincerely believe it to be absolutely necessary
for the leader to be directive and really lead, and not as one
sometimes hears to the contrary, to soft pedal a little in order to
blur the lines somewhat. Do you see the bond between leader and led as
hierarchical?
N.S. For me, no.
-Because it's by consent?
N.S. Exactly. That's how it is in tango; I learnt it like that, and I
enjoy it.
-Is it a fundamental characteristic of the dance in your opinion?
N.S. For me, yes, because this is tango that I am dancing. When I
dance this dance, when I dance the tango with all its tradition and
feeling, it ought to be like that.
And I wish to add this, a lot of people use the word "tradition" or
think of tradition as something old: "Everything traditional is old
they would say".
But for me there's no connection between what is old and what is
traditional. Tradition is more akin to something that is linked to
the very essence of a given thing. You could say it's old because it
began a very long time ago… but for me something that is traditional
is rooted in feelings, in essence, and even though it did begin a
long, long time ago, tradition is very rich and extremely important.
Whether one dresses in period clothes or not, draws on steps from a
certain era or not, dances in period style or not, tradition is there,
even if one is dancing to the most off-beat music, dressed in the most
outlandish clothes and with the wildest hairdo thrown in for good measure.
And what I admire in those whom I consider to be great dancers, is
that I see reflected in them a tradition; I see the essence of tango,
be they older or extremely young, ultra modern in style or more
conservative.
-Can you describe for us some key elements of this tango tradition?
N.S. Everything we've been speaking of: well-defined roles, this sense
of connection, this game we call improvisation, two energies meeting
to create something magical, all that is to do with tradition. And
it's not dependent on any particular style. Style evolves, the style
of the steps evolves and the abrazo (embrace) evolves, but tradition
is tradition and the essence of tango remains the essence of tango.
-Has improvisation always been part of the tradition?
N.S. Yes, absolutely, even though all down through the years, there
have always been people who have choreographed the tango.
Choreography's a legitimate way of doing it. But in creating
choreography, the starting point is always improvisation, and you draw
on the sheer magic of being able to improvise; you invent sequences
and other elements. Then you go on to select some of these and bring
them alive and juxtapose them in a way that blends well with the
music, and then costume the piece to help it tell a particular story…
-And it's not the reverse? That you start off with a step sequence
that you know will make a strong visual impact and try to fit it into
a given piece of music?
N.S. Yes, you can do that too, but where have you got that step
sequence? From improvisation!!!
-By concentrating too much on choreography, don't you risk losing the
elemental quality of the improvisation?
N.S. You have to be vigilant, you have to know what you're doing! If
you want it to still look like tango, you must always leave the door
open a little in order to keep the fresh air of improvisation
circulating and refreshing the whole thing.
-When Pablo and you mount a choreography, is there any built-in
flexibility during performance that allows chance elements to arise
spontaneously and prompt improvisations or, conversely, do performance
pressures, technical challenges and audience expectations force you to
place every single step and control everything?
N.S. No, no, no, not in my experience, and especially with Pablo. He
often keeps large sections totally unchoreographed and there are even
times when we want to dance what we'd planned in the choreography but
we never make it because, in the dancing, something has come up
whereby improvisation just takes over because it's stronger than what
we intended. But then I've had the good fortune to work with Pablo,
who is an improviser par excellence, and an extremely good
choreographer too. Working with him, it's never been difficult to
keep the spirit of improvisation alive.
-You're dancing with no safety net?
N.S. Exactly.
-There's risk taking?
N.S. Spot on, absolutely! And personally, I revel in the permanent
dizzy heights of it all!
-So it's not a source of anxiety to be eliminated?
N.S. On the contrary, it's a source to cherish, to nourish, because it
helps us maintain this state of heightened awareness that so
characterizes the tango.
-I once remember your taking me to task over the fact, that in the
course of improvising, I relax the lead and chance takes over. Does
chance have a place in improvisation?
N.S. Yes, chance can make us lose track, and for me – I don't know how
other couples react- but for me the lead is paramount. The more
absorbed I am in my own role, the more I communicate, and the more I
feel I'm an equal partner. That might seem paradoxical but I feel I
have more freedom when I am better led. The better I'm led, the more
I feel I'm being encouraged, and the more ample is my response.
-So to be led with conviction doesn't make you feel more confined?
N.S. No, not at all; I try to give my partner confidence and I think
that any leader who feels confident, the more confident he feels, the
more his partner can commit totally to him and the more totally he can
commit to her. It's at that point that they establish communication.
Never fear giving too much; the more one gives, the more one's going
to receive. So the more I let myself go, the more at ease he'll feel,
and the more he's going to allow me to do what I want as well.
-What is it that characterizes the follower's role?
N.S. In the first instance, you could say that one is there to be
invited. I really like to refer to the lead as an invitation. For me
the lead is not like driving, the lead is an encouragement, an
invitation. So, from this invitation, a conversation springs up. You
can start to communicate and for me that's what the lead is. And to
abandon oneself to the lead in fact, rather than say `abandon", I'd
prefer "empty oneself", be in neutral, without colour, simply there,
present and transparent….
So, through that invitation, I am going to reflect the colour of the
dance: black, blue, red, pink or green, depending on who's inviting
me, depending on the music, depending on my state of mind, depending
on whether it's raining or not, depending on… so many things. That
initially is what the role of the follower is. So far so good, but it
would also be good if the leader could abandon himself to listening
and replying. It's just like a conversation. You're not speaking
right now because you're listening to me but, if I say something, it's
because I want a response from you, and then it's my turn to remain
silent and listen to you.
-You talk of emptying yourself, a creative emptiness. Is that
something you try to teach your female students?
N.S. Yes.
-We say in Zen that "the empty hand can receive everything".
N.S. That's a beautiful analogy.
-We also say that the main attribute of a vase is its emptiness, the
mere fact that it is empty: A full vase is no longer useful.
N.S. Yes, but the "vase" in question has a soul; it has a shape, a
colour, a presence. But not all vases are alike; each differs in
form, qualities and presence. And a sense of her own unique presence.
This is what I try to instil in my female students.
Empty, yes, but with a strong presence, capable if receiving what the
leader is going to give: Not empty, as in dead, without energy.
-What are the basic techniques a follower must master to allow herself
to evolve and achieve full expression in the dance?
N.S. I'd say they were to acquire a sense of silence, an active
silence. A state of awakened awareness.
To be calm, alert, silent and completely aware.
-And inversely, for the leader, what would be basic techniques for a
good leader who wants to flourish and achieve his potential in the dance?
N.S. You've asked me a difficult question because it sets me thinking
of what I would want in return from someone else… because just now we
were talking of my role. But, in the other's shoes, I think he should
be able to offer a tremendous sense of connection with the music.
-Even before his connection with his partner?
N.S. Yes, and that helps him enormously to establish his presence and
determines what sort of invitation he can extend to his partner.
-Does he guide from his musicality or according to his dance technique?
N.S. Musicality is a most important element of technique. Musical
instinct is paramount.
And it's the prime motivation to dance after all. One has always
danced because there has been music, no?
-This musical dimension, does it apply to both partners?
N.S. Yes, of course.
-But it's primordial for the leader?
N.S. For both.
-So for a dancer to develop in the most complete sense, together with
his technique must come a commitment to develop his musical instinct.
Or is that already a given like the colour of his eyes and not
required to be improved through hard work and research?
N.S. No, a bit of both, but you can study and study and study; it's
rather like being able to move well. Some people are considerably
more gifted in this area. It's the same thing with music.
-But aside from one's innate capability, where musicality or sense of
rhythm are concerned, can one boost and further evolve these?
N.S. Musicality is very important, extremely important. It's a hyper
important fountain of inspiration. It's a motivation for even moving
at all. And as a tool in the dance, it helps with leading and responding.
-Freedom in the dance, is it the reward of hard work and effort, or
can one avoid the work and enjoy instant freedom?
N.S. No, I think you have to work to get to that point.
-Work a little, or total dedication?
N.S. Depending on the degree of success you want, but no it's not
easy. (laughter)
It's difficult, and the more you want to delve into the dance, and the
more you want to enrich your experience and go for quality, the more
effort you must make, and the more you must work.
-Is it reasonable to expect that, if someone only wants to expend
limited but well-directed efforts, if they're well-orientated, they
can reach an acceptable level vis-à-vis the quality of their dance?
N.S. Yes, it is an accessible dance, but you mustn't think that you
can avoid having to learn the basic techniques that the tango
tradition requires of us.
-So the amount of effort to be put in can vary?
N.S. It all depends on what your aims are. It's a dance in which you
might need to be extremely supple in order to achieve certain goals.
But it's not necessary to go to those lengths in order to say one
dances tango. Virtuosity and acrobatic contortions are on a completely
different plane and must be seen as separate from the dance itself.
-In our work together, you seem to make much of « intention », and I
know of few people who have conceptualised and insisted on intention
quite as much as you, as a crucial component of leading. Could you
tell us more about it?
N.S. I see intention as a concentration of all our energy and all our
being, and a prerequisite to the invitation to execute a movement.

-It seems that it's the initial phase of preparing to move, right?
N.S. It's a way of harnessing energy; a way of deciding what amount
one is going to call upon in order to accomplish a given aim.
-It appears to me to be more akin to the realms of transmission and
communication than to any physical action you transfer to your
partner's body, if I understand rightly…
N.S. Yes, that's right. It is what precedes, and ultimately results
in an action. To have action without intention is like producing an
action without having adequately invested in it.
-Can you clarify that further?
N.S. It's like an intermediate stage between an idea and its
enactment. You have an idea: you're going to amplify that idea
through intention and finally end up with an action but, before
arriving at the action, a degree of intensity is also involved. So
there is an intention, accompanied by an intensity, and it's all going
to result in an action. Whether that action be short or long, a pivot,
a voleo, a jump, a pause, a suspension, it doesn't matter what the
movement is that you are inviting the other to participate in. What
does matter above all things is that it is preceded by the intention
of what one wants to provoke.
Intention, invitation, execution.
It's all done almost imperceptibly, but distinctly just the same.
-You were speaking of the pause just now. Is making more pauses to our
advantage, in your opinion?
N.S. I believe it's an open choice and each person must do as he
pleases. Personally, I love it.
-But is it necessary?
N.S. Me, I love it. The pause is a silence… Silence contains movement;
silence is an internal action, and it's a very rich element that makes
an enormous contribution to the dance. But it remains a personal
choice. It's like using double time and acceleration, that's
personal. Even so, these are important elements that I try to convey
to my students so that hopefully they will add them to their palette
and eventually use them in their own dance. To me these seem more
useful than teaching fixed step combinations and predetermined
sequences. And even if I do teach a set sequence, I invite students
to include what elements they already command such as silences,
pauses, accelerations, different dynamics, and discrete quality of
movement. So, ten people could perform this same sequence, ten times
in ten different ways. In fact the same person could do it ten times
in ten different ways, and that's what is so rich about this dance.
-We spoke of evolution at the beginning of this interview and how we
should view the future. Have we invented all there is to invent in
the tango?
N.S. No, most certainly not, not even just in terms of combinations.
We're far from having explored them all.
-Faced with seemingly endless choices, of schools and style, what
advice would you give a student to help them find their bearings?
N.S. You have to dance, search, explore, and follow your own instinct!
In my own research, never has anyone told me what to do, never.
-Is that because good teachers didn't exist or because you hadn't
found the right person to direct you?
N.S. It doesn't work like that in Buenos Aires where I learned to
dance; it doesn't work like that at all. The way they learn there is
far more, one might say, teach–yourself. So, for a while, you go to
someone you've come across, to master certain aspects that respond to
a pressing need at the time, but it's difficult. There is no one
person of whom you could say, so-and-so is my teacher, he's my master,
and to whom you would stick like glue and in order to learn everything
there is to know. Anyway, that was my experience.
Before, when there were more of the old dancers around, young dancers
would approach them hoping to learn from them. Not that they had a
school or that they were teachers even. It was more like" Alright,
come round and we'll eat and I'll show you a few steps" or "Come and
have tea at my house with your partner and I'll show you some stuff."
Or " Come this weekend! We're going to watch so-and so dance and you
should see how he moves." It was like that. You were always
responsible for your own research.
It's not necessarily like that in other parts of the world, like here
in Montreal, where there are schools with organized syllabuses and
set timetables -levels one, two, three, four, five, six; that didn't
exist at all there and no-one learned like that in Argentina. It was a
question of going out dancing, taking a course here and there, picking
up everything, writing your own book…studying and constructing your
own dance.
You're on your own! (laughter)
« Here! I'm showing you this and don't ask me any questions about it
because I don't know what the hell I'm doing" (laughter)
… and that without any ill-will at all. But since the Nineties, far
more dancers have begun to teach, tour the festivals and organize
workshops on a regular basis. So there are more opportunities for
taking courses, and if you like a certain teacher, you can follow him.
But don't forget that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get
special attention or a rapport in strictly the personal sense…
-Believe me that, where I'm concerned, I consider it a pleasure and
privilege to have had the opportunity to develop such a rapport and to
have enjoyed your teaching for several years now. Finally, many thanks
Noel, for giving us this interview and accepting to become
"god-mother" to our tango club.
N.S. The pleasure is all mine.


Montreal, 2006-03-09 All rights reserved