你探戈之旅的四个阶段

如果探戈对你来说只是所看见的形式——步子，那么你是处在你探戈之旅的第一阶段。在这个阶段，探戈的无形部分还超出你的理解。但是，你不要被步子欺蒙了双眼。它仅仅是海面上冰山的尖顶而已。探戈是一种综合性艺术。虽然你需要知道步子才能跳探戈，但许多同样重要，若不是更重要的事，你也必须知道。此时的你应该把注意力主要放在发展良好的姿势，拥抱，连接，平衡，轴转，上下身分离和行走上。许多学生在姿势尚不好看，身体尚僵硬沉重，拥抱尚破裂断开，行走尚笨拙不稳，而且尚需依靠舞伴来保持平衡的时候，就选择超出自己水平的课程去学习复杂的舞步。结果，那些花哨的舞步对他们并没有多大价值，只是增加他们的坏习惯而已。在这个阶段，你需要克服急功近利的心理，循序渐进，化时间改进你的姿势，拥抱，连接，平衡，协调，轴转，上下身分离和行走，正确地按照标准学好基本步子。这种方法看起来慢，但它会为你奠定坚实的基础，使你能快速进步。

一旦学会了基本步子并开始去舞会跳舞，你进入了你探戈之旅的第二阶段。在这个阶段你会继续学习新步子，但你的注意力应该放在纠正旧习惯和培养新习惯上。如果你的个人习惯不符合探戈标准，或者，如果你在第一阶段养成了坏习惯，你现在需要解决这些问题。这个阶段可能是个漫长而痛苦的时期，因为你一生积累的习惯不容易改变，需要付出时间和努力。你需要一个好老师一点一点地从细节上指点你，帮助你纠正坏习惯。你也可以在镜子前练习，或录下你的舞蹈来分析自己的姿势，拥抱，连接，平衡，协调和动作。你需要不断对你的习惯作出有意识的努力，直到你养成了正确的，符合探戈美学标准的姿势和动作。

当你的舞蹈开始有了探戈的感觉，当你习惯了用正确的方法跳探戈，你进入了你探戈之旅的第三阶段。在这个阶段，你的注意力开始从外部转向内部。一旦步子不再是你的障碍，你可以开始对探戈的无形部分进行工作。你需要提高你的乐感，熟悉不同类型，节奏，速度，情绪，和乐队的曲子，学习跳出每一支舞曲的不同点。你需要学习暂停，学习装饰你的舞步，学习表达你的感情，学习用慢速度和快速度跳舞，学习较高深的，不仅旨在加强舞蹈的外在表现力，而且旨在增添舞蹈的内在感觉的技巧，例如CADENCIA和齿轮效应。你需要提高你身体的柔韧性和协调性，提高用你的身体影响舞伴身体运动并与之和谐同步的能力。你还需要超越舞蹈技巧而成为一个合格的社交舞者。要做到这一点，你需要学习探戈的文化和礼节。随着能力的增长和视野的扩大，你将开始超越你自己。

在舞蹈中超越自我的能力标志着一个重大改变，随着这个改变你进入了你探戈之旅的最后阶段。在这个阶段，你开始注意与舞伴的关系，开始感觉他/她的感情，聆听他/她对音乐的诠释，体察和适应他/她的舞蹈，并与他/她成为一体。你不再为炫耀自己的技能而跳舞，而为让舞伴感到舒服和愉快而跳舞。探戈对你不再是舞步，而是爱的表达。你的带领不再那么强势和困难，而变得温柔体贴和适合舞伴的能力。你想让她感到容易并享受舞蹈的乐趣。你的跟随不再那么笨拙僵硬，与带领相抵触，而变得柔顺轻盈，与带领相和谐。你想让他感觉舒服并享受你。你开始明白探戈的精髓，并象老舞棍那样来理解探戈了。现在，你开始进入了这个舞蹈。

The Four Stages of Your Tango Journey

If tango to you is only what you can see it—the steps, then you are at the first stage of your tango journey. The intangible part of tango is still beyond your comprehension at this point. However, you should not let the step fool you. It is only the tip of an iceberg. Tango is a comprehensive art. Although you need to know the steps to dance tango, there are things equally if not more important that you must know. At this point your main attention should be placed on developing good posture, embrace, connection, balance, pivot, dissociation and walk. (See Tango Is a Language.) Many students take lessons beyond their level to learn advanced steps while their posture is still ugly, their body is still stiff and heavy, their embrace is still broken, their walk is still clumsy, and they still need to hold on to the partner for balance. As a result, the fancy steps that they are learning have little value to them, only enhance their bad habits. At this stage you need to overcome your eagerness to achieve quick results, proceed in an orderly and gradual way, take time to improve your posture, embrace, connection, balance, coordination, pivot, dissociation and walk, and correctly learn the basic steps in accordance with the standard. This approach seems slow, but it will lay a solid foundation that promises fast progress.

Once you’ve learned the basic steps and started to dance socially, you enter the second stage of your tango journey. At this stage you continue to learn steps, but your attention should be placed on correcting your old habits and cultivating new ones. If your personal praxes do not meet the tango standard, or if you gained bad habits during the first stage, you need to fix them now. This stage could be a long and painful period because the wont that you have accumulated in your lifetime is not easy to break. It takes time and hard work. You need a good teacher to work with you in details and correct your bad habits bit-by-bit. You can practice in front of a mirror or record your dance to analyze your posture, embrace, connection, balance, coordination and movement. You need to constantly make conscious efforts against your habits until you have developed and internalized right poise and movements that meet the aesthetics and standards of tango.

As your dance starts to have a tango feel, as you habituate yourself to the correct way of dancing tango, you enter the third stage of your tango journey. At this stage your attentions start to shift from the external to the internal. Once the step is no longer an obstacle to you, you can start to work on the intangible side of the dance. You need to improve your musicality, familiarize yourself with music of different genres, rhythms, tempos, moods, and orchestras, and learn to dance to different pieces differently. You need to learn to pause, to adorn your steps, to express your emotions, to dance in slow and fast motions, and with more advanced techniques aiming not only at the look but also the feeling of the dance, such as cadencia and gear effect. You need to improve the flexibility and coordination of your body and the ability to use your body to affect and harmonize the movement of your partner’s body. You also need to go beyond the techniques and become a socially acceptable dancer. For this you need to learn the culture and etiquette of tango. With the growth of your abilities and the widening of your vision, you will start to see beyond yourself.

The ability to see beyond yourself marks a significant change in your dance, with which you enter the final stage of your tango journey. At this stage you start to pay attention to the relationship with your partner, to feel his/her feelings (See Tango Is a Feeling), to listen to his/her interpretations of the music, to be considerate and adaptive to his/her dance, and to be one with him/her. You no longer dance to show off your skills, but to give comfort and pleasure to your partner. Tango to you is no longer steps, but an expression of love. Your lead becomes less forceful and difficult, but gentle, thoughtful and suited to the abilities of your partner. You want her to feel ease and enjoy the dance. Your follow becomes less bumpy and interruptive, but smooth, light, and in harmony with the lead. You want him to feel comfortable and enjoy you. You start to understand the essence of tango and see tango as what the milongueros see it. Now, you are at the top of the game.