Víkþórr and I have a fetish in common: we are language fetishists. Languages and grammar turn us on. Beyond that, we also have a lot of non-sexual fun communicating in different languages. We mix languages all the time, to express ourselves, to explain things, to fight, and to love each other.
We speak English most of the time, for laziness reasons. But we also use French, German, Norwegian and Japanese as well as some Spanish and Old Norse, and occasionally some other languages such as Esperanto, Russian, Latin or Icelandic.
We rarely speak the same language for a long time. Usually we switch languages during the course of a conversation or we throw some foreign words in. Different languages are more or less able to express certain things. What requires a clumsy, lengthy sentence in one language can be tackled with two words in another language. I usually prefer to go for the most efficient, elegant or accurate version. I like this kind of flexibility.
What I love most is when we mix all kinds of different languages in the same sentence. We don't do it on purpose, it just happens spontaneously. It's so much fun! So for example we once said:
Rose: I liebe norsk de plus en plus cada dag! ("I love Norwegian more and more each day!": en, de, no, fr, sp, no)
Víkþórr: It freut meg zu høyra. Aujourd'hui hadde ich very Lust en turka tomato. :/("I'm happy to hear. Today I very much felt like eating dried tomatoes.": en, de, no, de, no, fr, no, de, en, de, fr, no, en)
Rose: Je quería bringen deg some til Strasbourg. Ek skal envoyer sie med the Post. :) ("I wanted to bring you some to Strasbourg. I'll send them via mail": fr, sp, de, no, en, no, fr, Old Norse, no, fr, de, no, en, de)
What is of course even more fun than to mix languages is to mix languages while talking about languages! Once, Víkþórr explained to me what "helder" means in Norwegian and I explained to him how to use "eher" in German, all of this while mixing Norwegian, Spanish, French, German and English.
Actually, we even mix languages inside of words. For example, we take one verb from one language and give it an ending from another language. Or we apply prefixes from one language to another one. The result may look like "I was schmusing with you" or "I'm still klembing you". ("schmusen" = "to cuddle" in German, "å klemba" = "to hug" in Norwegian)
We mix languages when we fight, too. He hates Bokmål, the Danish version of Norwegian (or rather the Norwegian version of Danish, depending on how you see it). When I want to annoy him, I just send him a hug... in Bokmål. Or I just throw some random Bokmål words at him. That's like insulting him. When he wants to annoy me, he says something romantic to me, in Italian. Italian is my big turn-off, I just can't stand it.
(05:53:22 PM) Víkþórr Veggiss Berurjóðr: Ciao, mi amore bella. ;) ("Bye, my love beautiful" - or something)
(05:53:31 PM) Rósíngr: >:|
(05:53:38 PM) Rósíngr: En klem fra meg. :þ ("A hug from me" in Bokmål)
(05:53:44 PM) Víkþórr Veggiss Berurjóðr: You started it. >:)
(05:53:50 PM) Rósíngr: Jaja! ("Jaja", literally "yesyes" in German, can be used as "Yeah, sure" but also as "Leck mich am Arsch" which means "Lick my ass". Not exactly a sexual proposition here.)
(05:54:04 PM) Víkþórr Veggiss Berurjóðr: Grazie di Vittorino. :þ (Some more infamous Italian)
(05:54:25 PM) Rósíngr: Grrrr.
(05:54:33 PM) Rósíngr: Sentralstasjon. ("central station" in Bokmål)
Throwing random words at each other is a lot of fun. Of course we do that in positive ways too. When we feel particularly romantic, we say each other's favorite words.
(10:45:06 PM) Rósíngr: Sucre. :) ("sugar" in French)
(10:45:18 PM) Víkþórr Veggiss Berurjóðr: :) Dyri. ("the animals" in Norwegian)
(10:45:22 PM) Rósíngr: Begeisterung! ("Enthusiasm" in German)
My favorite Norwegian words are "dyri" ("the animals"), "ikkje" ("not"), and "nei" ("no"). I love it when he says no to me! Provided it's in Norwegian.
I love mixing languages. What about you? How much do you mix languages in your daily life?
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Self-Expression and Creativity. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Self-Expression and Creativity. Mostrar todas las entradas
miércoles, 21 de octubre de 2009
viernes, 16 de octubre de 2009
Will you Write a Novel next Month?
November is National Novel Writing Month! Who will join me and write a novel? :-)
The goal is to write one 50,000-word novel between November 1st and November 30th, midnight, no matter how crappy it is. I think this is fun! And it's less than 2,000 words a day. Should be doable.
Have you ever dreamed of writing a novel and never done it? Join me!
Do you love writing but think you don't do it good enough yet to write a novel? Join me!
Do you have no clue what you could write about but love the idea? Join me!!!
You can do it. :-) This is a wonderful opportunity to let go of expectations and just do it.
If you want to connect with me on the NaNoWriMo site, my login there is Schweinerei. This is German and means "mess", "rascality" or "swinishness". I like that word, it's so cute. :-)
I have no clue what I will write about. It will probably be a crime novel, with a very wicked murderer and a very smart detective. Or just a few of the fantasies I have in my head. Except for the sexual ones maybe. Or should I add them too?
I also haven't decided which language I'm going to write in. Víkþórr and I had the idea of writing a multilingual novel together, mixing all kinds of languages. For example,
And when Óláfr saw what ???? had done, he said: «Þú skalt deyja, því at þú hefir stolit vínbér frá mér!». ???? answered: ????????????.
I think that's a very cool idea, even though nobody else would understand it of course. However, my intuition is telling me to write alone this time. I haven't made up my mind about the language yet.
This language mixing thing certainly is interesting! We do that often. I feel like writing a blog post about it. (Edit: I did! It is here.)
So - will you write a novel next month? :-)
The goal is to write one 50,000-word novel between November 1st and November 30th, midnight, no matter how crappy it is. I think this is fun! And it's less than 2,000 words a day. Should be doable.
Have you ever dreamed of writing a novel and never done it? Join me!
Do you love writing but think you don't do it good enough yet to write a novel? Join me!
Do you have no clue what you could write about but love the idea? Join me!!!
You can do it. :-) This is a wonderful opportunity to let go of expectations and just do it.
If you want to connect with me on the NaNoWriMo site, my login there is Schweinerei. This is German and means "mess", "rascality" or "swinishness". I like that word, it's so cute. :-)
I have no clue what I will write about. It will probably be a crime novel, with a very wicked murderer and a very smart detective. Or just a few of the fantasies I have in my head. Except for the sexual ones maybe. Or should I add them too?
I also haven't decided which language I'm going to write in. Víkþórr and I had the idea of writing a multilingual novel together, mixing all kinds of languages. For example,
And when Óláfr saw what ???? had done, he said: «Þú skalt deyja, því at þú hefir stolit vínbér frá mér!». ???? answered: ????????????.
I think that's a very cool idea, even though nobody else would understand it of course. However, my intuition is telling me to write alone this time. I haven't made up my mind about the language yet.
This language mixing thing certainly is interesting! We do that often. I feel like writing a blog post about it. (Edit: I did! It is here.)
So - will you write a novel next month? :-)
miércoles, 14 de octubre de 2009
First Adjective Story
Víkþórr and I wrote our first common adjective story a couple months ago. We chose to write it in English, since English is the language that the sum of us masters best. ;-)
In case you don’t know what an adjective story is, the principle is simple: one person writes a story, but leaves all adjectives and adverbs blank. Another person, who doesn’t know the story, randomly chooses lots of adjectives and adverbs. Those get inserted in the first person’s story in the exact order they were submitted in by the second person. The result is... funny. :-)
Víkþórr wrote the story and I gave him the adjectives and adverbs. I love our first common creation! Here it is:
Once upon a time there were some enthusiastic goblins living playfully at a flat farm. Enormous goblins as they were, they would often help out without the sexy farmer or his sarcastic wife noticing them. They would only do so if they were given a rhythmic bowl of flying porridge on the Yule* evening of every year, however.
One year, the farmer’s hectic son and his rather sick family were there for Yule celebration, and the son’s delicate wife told her charming daughter to put the porridge secretly in the barn, but she tripped and fell deeply on the way there. Wise as she was, she didn’t want to tell her mother, so she forcefully brought the family’s horny dog and accidentally made him clean up the mess, then put the perfect bowl in the barn.
When the goblins found it, they were drooling. To avenge this, the invisible goblin pissed in the jumping milk tank, and the others ran unilaterally to the basement of the house and pulled out all the fake electrical devices, then rudely cut the power supply. They let loose the sheep and the cows, and exactly screwed the wheels off of the farmer’s undead car and his son’s purple one.
The humans had a fucking time gathering the angry herd, and the goblins mistakenly went into the the house to eat the humans’ porridge. When the humans strongly came back in, the brilliant daughter gently told them what had happened. From his smelly hole in the attic, the attic goblin heard what they said, and when the humans, still without electricity, went to bed, he skilfully sneaked out in the barn and told the annoying goblins there. They were so messy that they decided to fix everything and leave the farm madly. The generous farmer was gross when nobody ate the porridge he put in the barn the following years.
The goblins left for the holy, unimportant forest surrounding the farm. There, they planned to live with the wood goblins. Living in the woods wasn’t for them, though. They found it anxious, in fact. It was so puristic to have snow everywhere. They froze so much that they decided to ask the uptight wood goblin elder for advice. He told them to return to the farm before ending up enlightened. They were too strict, however, and even though the ice started growing from their delighted noses, they ventured into the tedious mountains to try their luck with the mountain and cave goblins, whom most goblins thought were crazy.
Although the caves suited them painfully, they felt giant there. Something lacked in their life. They did, after four years, admit that the wood goblin elder was conscious. They returned to the evil farm, but to their surprise, another goblin family had moved in. They were ferocious, and the goblins fought each other for the right to the farm. The colourful goblins won their lousy home back, and the distracted ones had to move. They were now lame, and intended to stay. All of them agreed that it had been a precise experience, and quickly went to sleep in their now funny barn.
*“Yule” is the English name of the ancient Germanic celebration that was replaced by Christmas to adapt the countries’ traditions to Christianity. Here it’s used in the sense of “Christmas without Christ”. Old Norse: “jól”. Modern Norwegian: “jol”.
Writing this story together with Víkþórr definitely was a precise experience! I’d like to repeat it. Not too often though, or else I could end up enlightened! :D
Anyone else willing to write adjective stories with me? Or with another reader? If some of you send me some stories and others some adjectives and adverbs, I'll publish the results for your delighted noses.
In case you don’t know what an adjective story is, the principle is simple: one person writes a story, but leaves all adjectives and adverbs blank. Another person, who doesn’t know the story, randomly chooses lots of adjectives and adverbs. Those get inserted in the first person’s story in the exact order they were submitted in by the second person. The result is... funny. :-)
Víkþórr wrote the story and I gave him the adjectives and adverbs. I love our first common creation! Here it is:
Once upon a time there were some enthusiastic goblins living playfully at a flat farm. Enormous goblins as they were, they would often help out without the sexy farmer or his sarcastic wife noticing them. They would only do so if they were given a rhythmic bowl of flying porridge on the Yule* evening of every year, however.
One year, the farmer’s hectic son and his rather sick family were there for Yule celebration, and the son’s delicate wife told her charming daughter to put the porridge secretly in the barn, but she tripped and fell deeply on the way there. Wise as she was, she didn’t want to tell her mother, so she forcefully brought the family’s horny dog and accidentally made him clean up the mess, then put the perfect bowl in the barn.
When the goblins found it, they were drooling. To avenge this, the invisible goblin pissed in the jumping milk tank, and the others ran unilaterally to the basement of the house and pulled out all the fake electrical devices, then rudely cut the power supply. They let loose the sheep and the cows, and exactly screwed the wheels off of the farmer’s undead car and his son’s purple one.
The humans had a fucking time gathering the angry herd, and the goblins mistakenly went into the the house to eat the humans’ porridge. When the humans strongly came back in, the brilliant daughter gently told them what had happened. From his smelly hole in the attic, the attic goblin heard what they said, and when the humans, still without electricity, went to bed, he skilfully sneaked out in the barn and told the annoying goblins there. They were so messy that they decided to fix everything and leave the farm madly. The generous farmer was gross when nobody ate the porridge he put in the barn the following years.
The goblins left for the holy, unimportant forest surrounding the farm. There, they planned to live with the wood goblins. Living in the woods wasn’t for them, though. They found it anxious, in fact. It was so puristic to have snow everywhere. They froze so much that they decided to ask the uptight wood goblin elder for advice. He told them to return to the farm before ending up enlightened. They were too strict, however, and even though the ice started growing from their delighted noses, they ventured into the tedious mountains to try their luck with the mountain and cave goblins, whom most goblins thought were crazy.
Although the caves suited them painfully, they felt giant there. Something lacked in their life. They did, after four years, admit that the wood goblin elder was conscious. They returned to the evil farm, but to their surprise, another goblin family had moved in. They were ferocious, and the goblins fought each other for the right to the farm. The colourful goblins won their lousy home back, and the distracted ones had to move. They were now lame, and intended to stay. All of them agreed that it had been a precise experience, and quickly went to sleep in their now funny barn.
*“Yule” is the English name of the ancient Germanic celebration that was replaced by Christmas to adapt the countries’ traditions to Christianity. Here it’s used in the sense of “Christmas without Christ”. Old Norse: “jól”. Modern Norwegian: “jol”.
Writing this story together with Víkþórr definitely was a precise experience! I’d like to repeat it. Not too often though, or else I could end up enlightened! :D
Anyone else willing to write adjective stories with me? Or with another reader? If some of you send me some stories and others some adjectives and adverbs, I'll publish the results for your delighted noses.
jueves, 18 de junio de 2009
New Habit #5 - Blogging every day
"Blogging every day for at least one hour" was my fifth One New Habit a Month Challenge goal. I've had a hard time with this one! The month is over, here's my report.
A new purpose - and a new face - for my blog
Check out my new theme! Isn't it wonderful? I love it.
I'm completely reorganizing the site at the moment, partly because I love change, and partly because as you may know I have decided to merge my blog with my PD Signpost website idea. This blog is not just about my own life anymore. Additionally I want to make it a personal development platform, to share personal development resources and help people solve their problems. Many changes are required to adapt the blog to its new purpose. That's why it's such a mess right now.
I chose entirely new categories and tags, wrote a couple new pages, and a few more are under construction. I also installed many new plugins, especially a series plugin. I want to be able to write series. Only the most recent posts are tagged and categorized for now. I'm far from being done! It's a lot of work.
Challenges I encountered
I've found it difficult to write every day. On some days I feel very talkative and outgoing, have a lot to share and could blog for ten hours straight. On other days, I feel the need to focus on my inner life and have a hard time squeezing any communication out of myself.
What I feel inspired to write about varies as well. It highly depends on my mood, and my mood usually changes before I'm done with one post. As a result, not many posts get published, even though I write a lot, because they're all in various states of unfinishedness.
It doesn't help that my posts tend to be very long. One of my drafts already has 10,000 words, and I wrote only about 1/5 of it. Of course not all drafts are that long. Nevertheless, it takes me hours to write them.
Right now I have 48 drafts and about 200 ideas on paper. There is so much I want to write about. Logically I should be relentlessly blogging like crazy. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.
I'm also stuck in analysis paralysis, permanently wondering which post to write next. Like, "To write about X, I first need a post about Y. But to explain Y, I need Z and W. But for W, I need X! Argh." I'm always trying to find the most logical order for my posts. Even when I succeed, there are several "threads" and I don't know which one to begin with. This is turning into a headache!
Will I continue?
Yes.
I just love writing on my blog so much. Doing it every day is an excellent idea. It will force allow me to come up with new solutions. I'll need to find a way to increase my productivity despite of my introversion, scanner personality, overly logical mind and perfectionism!
Sounds like a nice program.
Until now the goal simply was: daily blogging. From now on the new goal is: productive daily blogging!
A new purpose - and a new face - for my blog
Check out my new theme! Isn't it wonderful? I love it.
I'm completely reorganizing the site at the moment, partly because I love change, and partly because as you may know I have decided to merge my blog with my PD Signpost website idea. This blog is not just about my own life anymore. Additionally I want to make it a personal development platform, to share personal development resources and help people solve their problems. Many changes are required to adapt the blog to its new purpose. That's why it's such a mess right now.
I chose entirely new categories and tags, wrote a couple new pages, and a few more are under construction. I also installed many new plugins, especially a series plugin. I want to be able to write series. Only the most recent posts are tagged and categorized for now. I'm far from being done! It's a lot of work.
Challenges I encountered
I've found it difficult to write every day. On some days I feel very talkative and outgoing, have a lot to share and could blog for ten hours straight. On other days, I feel the need to focus on my inner life and have a hard time squeezing any communication out of myself.
What I feel inspired to write about varies as well. It highly depends on my mood, and my mood usually changes before I'm done with one post. As a result, not many posts get published, even though I write a lot, because they're all in various states of unfinishedness.
It doesn't help that my posts tend to be very long. One of my drafts already has 10,000 words, and I wrote only about 1/5 of it. Of course not all drafts are that long. Nevertheless, it takes me hours to write them.
Right now I have 48 drafts and about 200 ideas on paper. There is so much I want to write about. Logically I should be relentlessly blogging like crazy. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.
I'm also stuck in analysis paralysis, permanently wondering which post to write next. Like, "To write about X, I first need a post about Y. But to explain Y, I need Z and W. But for W, I need X! Argh." I'm always trying to find the most logical order for my posts. Even when I succeed, there are several "threads" and I don't know which one to begin with. This is turning into a headache!
Will I continue?
Yes.
I just love writing on my blog so much. Doing it every day is an excellent idea. It will force allow me to come up with new solutions. I'll need to find a way to increase my productivity despite of my introversion, scanner personality, overly logical mind and perfectionism!
Sounds like a nice program.
Until now the goal simply was: daily blogging. From now on the new goal is: productive daily blogging!
miércoles, 20 de mayo de 2009
One New Habit a Month Challenge #5: Blogging
There are so many great daily habits that I'd like to adopt. Every month I have a hard time choosing. This time, I let my intuition guide me. It told me that the most appropriate new habit now is "blogging every day for at least one hour".
I'm surprised. There are many other habits which I would find way more important. For example early rising, or learning a foreign language. Actually I never thought of blogging as a potential daily habit! But when I asked my Higher Self which new habit would be most aligned with my goals and purpose now, this is what I got. I have no clue why, but hey, I trust my Higher Self unconditionally, so let's do it!
So I will be blogging for at least one hour every day this month. It doesn't mean that I will publish one post a day. For most of my drafts I will need way more than an hour. But I will be working on it daily.
I'm happy I'll give myself permission to express all the things I have in my head. There is so much I want to write about. Sometimes I even have entire blog posts download into my mind instantly and it's frustrating not to take the time to write them down. And all those unfinished drafts! Time to kick all of the stuff out.
Month 4: developing intuition
The past month was very, very exciting. I'm SO happy I chose to work on my intuition. It was an excellent decision.
I'm still working through Unlock your Intuition by Andrea Hess. The book is fantastic. I'm able to ask yes/no questions to my Higher Self now, and I'm in the process of learning open-ended questions as well. I also signed up for Andrea's six weeks Ignite your Intuition class, which is a slightly different approach, and just as great.
I absolutely love intuitive work. I will definitely continue to do it daily.
I'll write a separate post about it for those interested in psychic and spiritual stuff.
Have a wonderful day! :-)
I'm surprised. There are many other habits which I would find way more important. For example early rising, or learning a foreign language. Actually I never thought of blogging as a potential daily habit! But when I asked my Higher Self which new habit would be most aligned with my goals and purpose now, this is what I got. I have no clue why, but hey, I trust my Higher Self unconditionally, so let's do it!
So I will be blogging for at least one hour every day this month. It doesn't mean that I will publish one post a day. For most of my drafts I will need way more than an hour. But I will be working on it daily.
I'm happy I'll give myself permission to express all the things I have in my head. There is so much I want to write about. Sometimes I even have entire blog posts download into my mind instantly and it's frustrating not to take the time to write them down. And all those unfinished drafts! Time to kick all of the stuff out.
Month 4: developing intuition
The past month was very, very exciting. I'm SO happy I chose to work on my intuition. It was an excellent decision.
I'm still working through Unlock your Intuition by Andrea Hess. The book is fantastic. I'm able to ask yes/no questions to my Higher Self now, and I'm in the process of learning open-ended questions as well. I also signed up for Andrea's six weeks Ignite your Intuition class, which is a slightly different approach, and just as great.
I absolutely love intuitive work. I will definitely continue to do it daily.
I'll write a separate post about it for those interested in psychic and spiritual stuff.
Have a wonderful day! :-)
viernes, 6 de marzo de 2009
A Few More Beautiful Tibetan Songs
As some of you know, I'm fond of contemporary Tibetan music. I already shared many of my favorite songs here. Now I found a few more that I absolutely love and thought I'd share them too.
The Dalai Lama song. Isn't it beautiful?
A song by Tsetan, Choedar & Nyimdol: Lokphepdang. Every time I listen to this song, I feel deeply in love. :o
This one by Gangshuk: Mani Dobum. Live, with costumes and choreography.
Kunsel Woenhang by Kunga Tenzin.
And recently I discovered Sherten: Nhing Tam.
Such beautiful music just makes me very happy! You not? :-)
The Dalai Lama song. Isn't it beautiful?
A song by Tsetan, Choedar & Nyimdol: Lokphepdang. Every time I listen to this song, I feel deeply in love. :o
This one by Gangshuk: Mani Dobum. Live, with costumes and choreography.
Kunsel Woenhang by Kunga Tenzin.
And recently I discovered Sherten: Nhing Tam.
Such beautiful music just makes me very happy! You not? :-)
lunes, 3 de noviembre de 2008
Get Creative in November!
Hi all,
Looks like November is the month of creativity. I'm a bit late with this, but I thought I'd let you know. If you'd like to do something creative this month, here are a few nice opportunities. It's not too late to join!
Join NaNoWriMo
November is the National Novel Writing Month. It should be called InNoWriMo, International Novel Writing Month, though. Every year in November, thousands of people all around the world write a novel.
Everybody can do it, the goal is not to write high-quality prose, it's just to frantically write down whatever pops into your mind as fast as possible, without editing, without trying to be good. You can edit it in December!
If you succeed in producing a 50,000 words first draft by November 30th, midnight, you win.
Of course I signed up :-) I have no clue what I'm going to write about, but I'm sure it's going to be awesome.
If you're interested, have a look at the NaNoWriMo homepage.
Join NaBloPoMo
Similarly, you can go for a 30 days blogging challenge: one blog post a day till November 30th, together with many others. See the NaBloPoMo homepage.
Join AEDM
AEDM is the Art Every Day Month, and it's November, too. If you're neither a writer nor a blogger, but would like to get more creative and to share your creations with others, have a look at the AEDM site.
I really like the idea. It's about all kinds of creative activities, be it painting or music or cooking or crafting christmas tree decorations with toilet paper. Sounds like a lot of fun!
Are you blocked?
In case you
think you can't be creative
have some creative dreams that you don't realize for some reason
just want to get more creative in your daily life
or want to improve your ability to solve problems creatively
I highly recommend The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. It's an amazing book I'm working through at the moment.
The Artist's Way is a twelve weeks course in discovering or recovering your creativity. It's for blocked artists as well as for all those who just want to be creative. I'll post a review when I'm done with the journey.
So... It's November! Be happy, get creative! :-)
Looks like November is the month of creativity. I'm a bit late with this, but I thought I'd let you know. If you'd like to do something creative this month, here are a few nice opportunities. It's not too late to join!
Join NaNoWriMo
November is the National Novel Writing Month. It should be called InNoWriMo, International Novel Writing Month, though. Every year in November, thousands of people all around the world write a novel.
Everybody can do it, the goal is not to write high-quality prose, it's just to frantically write down whatever pops into your mind as fast as possible, without editing, without trying to be good. You can edit it in December!
If you succeed in producing a 50,000 words first draft by November 30th, midnight, you win.
Of course I signed up :-) I have no clue what I'm going to write about, but I'm sure it's going to be awesome.
If you're interested, have a look at the NaNoWriMo homepage.
Join NaBloPoMo
Similarly, you can go for a 30 days blogging challenge: one blog post a day till November 30th, together with many others. See the NaBloPoMo homepage.
Join AEDM
AEDM is the Art Every Day Month, and it's November, too. If you're neither a writer nor a blogger, but would like to get more creative and to share your creations with others, have a look at the AEDM site.
I really like the idea. It's about all kinds of creative activities, be it painting or music or cooking or crafting christmas tree decorations with toilet paper. Sounds like a lot of fun!
Are you blocked?
In case you
think you can't be creative
have some creative dreams that you don't realize for some reason
just want to get more creative in your daily life
or want to improve your ability to solve problems creatively
I highly recommend The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. It's an amazing book I'm working through at the moment.
The Artist's Way is a twelve weeks course in discovering or recovering your creativity. It's for blocked artists as well as for all those who just want to be creative. I'll post a review when I'm done with the journey.
So... It's November! Be happy, get creative! :-)
miércoles, 14 de mayo de 2008
Beautiful Tibetan Songs
I'd like to share with you some of my favorite Tibetan songs. They're so beautiful. Don't expect meditating monks though - this is contemporary stuff.
What I noticed first is that there are many songs about the Land of Snows, its identity and its political situation. This one is a very beautiful example. Can't stand watching the images though :( Many youtube comments also reflect the current tensions, like those to this song. This one is the first Tibetan song I discovered.
A few months ago I was sitting in front of my computer doing I don't remember what, when suddenly I heard a voice in my head clearly and distinctly saying "Tibet, music". So I typed exactly this into youtube and found this song. I loved it immediately. I had never heard of Tibetan music before, and was amazed to discover how many great artists and wonderful songs there are!
My absolute favorite Singer is Om Amchok. I love his velvety voice.
My favorite song is called Ngapcho Ngachu, which means "1959", year of the Tibetan uprising. If you like it, also listen to Kyoway Mikchu and Dhel Sem Rolmoe. Om Amchok lives in exile in Canada. You'll find more info about him as well as his newest songs on his MySpace profile.
This here is interesting to watch for westerners. It's a concert with four singers and a colorful choreography in the background. I like it very much.
One of the singers in the previous video is Kunga, his songs are wonderful. Listen to Yi Re Kyo, it's deeply touching. Metok Karpo is another one of my favorites. If you like Kunga, there are many beautiful songs by him on youtube, like Waiting for mother, Drenlu, or Ama. Ama means Mother if I understood it correctly.
Here a very beautiful one by Yadon featuring Kunga: Bashe.
I love Yadon's songs too, especially Kyabjuk and Penchen Gyalwa Mi Sung. He wrote a mother song too, Makye Ama, and a particularly inspiring love song, Rigzin Wangmo.
Here we have another impressive choreography, and a very powerful, terrific song: Gangchen Pa by Drolma Kyab. What a cool guy. Windhorse is another great song. And here's a very nice one: Kyo Shay. Feel the freedom?
I also like a few of Tsering Gyurmey's creations, like Shidey Nyima and Gyatsoe Ting Gyi Norbu. And Khu Sim Sim, I suppose it's a love story with a sad ending? Hey Sonam is light, nice and sounds more like dance music.
If you enjoy such songs, you'll probably like Phurbu T. Namgyal. He lives in the USA and his music sounds way more like happy pop. Here's Kyo Lhang Lhang, Chak Sum Tsel and Nyam Du Dro. Good to dance to!
I always have to dance to this one: it's Kharag Penpa Tsering, Len Chik. This song gives me such strong movement impulses that my body just begins to jiggle and hop. Would love to dance tango to that one!
To finish with something peaceful, here is Techung. His style is more traditional. My favorites songs: Bho Bhang Kyo Lhu, Nyi Lam Nang, Losar, and Land Of Snows.
If you're interested in more Tibetan music, check tibetlink and jigdo's profile on youtube.
May Tibet find Peace and Freedom.
What I noticed first is that there are many songs about the Land of Snows, its identity and its political situation. This one is a very beautiful example. Can't stand watching the images though :( Many youtube comments also reflect the current tensions, like those to this song. This one is the first Tibetan song I discovered.
A few months ago I was sitting in front of my computer doing I don't remember what, when suddenly I heard a voice in my head clearly and distinctly saying "Tibet, music". So I typed exactly this into youtube and found this song. I loved it immediately. I had never heard of Tibetan music before, and was amazed to discover how many great artists and wonderful songs there are!
My absolute favorite Singer is Om Amchok. I love his velvety voice.
My favorite song is called Ngapcho Ngachu, which means "1959", year of the Tibetan uprising. If you like it, also listen to Kyoway Mikchu and Dhel Sem Rolmoe. Om Amchok lives in exile in Canada. You'll find more info about him as well as his newest songs on his MySpace profile.
This here is interesting to watch for westerners. It's a concert with four singers and a colorful choreography in the background. I like it very much.
One of the singers in the previous video is Kunga, his songs are wonderful. Listen to Yi Re Kyo, it's deeply touching. Metok Karpo is another one of my favorites. If you like Kunga, there are many beautiful songs by him on youtube, like Waiting for mother, Drenlu, or Ama. Ama means Mother if I understood it correctly.
Here a very beautiful one by Yadon featuring Kunga: Bashe.
I love Yadon's songs too, especially Kyabjuk and Penchen Gyalwa Mi Sung. He wrote a mother song too, Makye Ama, and a particularly inspiring love song, Rigzin Wangmo.
Here we have another impressive choreography, and a very powerful, terrific song: Gangchen Pa by Drolma Kyab. What a cool guy. Windhorse is another great song. And here's a very nice one: Kyo Shay. Feel the freedom?
I also like a few of Tsering Gyurmey's creations, like Shidey Nyima and Gyatsoe Ting Gyi Norbu. And Khu Sim Sim, I suppose it's a love story with a sad ending? Hey Sonam is light, nice and sounds more like dance music.
If you enjoy such songs, you'll probably like Phurbu T. Namgyal. He lives in the USA and his music sounds way more like happy pop. Here's Kyo Lhang Lhang, Chak Sum Tsel and Nyam Du Dro. Good to dance to!
I always have to dance to this one: it's Kharag Penpa Tsering, Len Chik. This song gives me such strong movement impulses that my body just begins to jiggle and hop. Would love to dance tango to that one!
To finish with something peaceful, here is Techung. His style is more traditional. My favorites songs: Bho Bhang Kyo Lhu, Nyi Lam Nang, Losar, and Land Of Snows.
If you're interested in more Tibetan music, check tibetlink and jigdo's profile on youtube.
May Tibet find Peace and Freedom.
lunes, 4 de febrero de 2008
Baroque Music I - Vivaldi
Guess what my computer's name is? It's Antonio, in honor of Antonio Vivaldi. I love Vivaldi. He's amazing, he's got such a power! Listen to that BOMB. So much energy, so much life! There is just everything in his music. Sometimes he's melancholic, sometimes playful and light. He's painfully sensitive at times, he can be deeply sad, express desolate sorrow, and also sound upbeat and joyous. He's enthusiastic, exuberant, funny and a bit crazy.
He's just beautiful.
I have a burning passion for baroque music in general, and Vivaldi especially. Since one post would not be enough to cover baroque anyway, I'm just going to start with him.
If you don't know this kind of music yet, please take your time and concentrate when you listen to it. You'll probably need a while to get used to it and notice how beautiful it is. At least that's what most people say. I don't know, I fell for baroque within two minutes when I first heard it.
The Four Seasons
You probably know his most famous work, The Four Seasons, even if you don't know that you know it. It's so famous that you can even hear it as background music in the supermarket from time to time, at least in France. Here's the beginning, it'll seem familiar to you: La Primavera (Spring).
There are many different interpretations of this work, this one was Nigel Kennedy. Here another piece, conducted by Fabio Biondi: L'Invierno (Winter). Isn't that totally powerful?
And this one is just amazing! Nigel Kennedy again. Listen to that energy, to that tremendous force! L'Estate (Summer).
On a side note, this last piece inspired many modern musicians. For example here's a techno-remix by Vanessa Mae, and that's Jean-Michel Jarre's version.
Instrumental music
So what did Vivaldi write besides supermarket music? Among other things, a lot of instrumental music. Some nasty people say he wrote the same concerto a thousand times. ;) He mostly wrote lots of concerti indeed, with or without a solo instrument. The Four Seasons are concerti too. Here just a few more.
His concerti generally have three parts: the first one fast, the second one slower and more contemplative, or even sad, and the third one fast again, shorter and brighter than the first one.
This violin concerto is one of the most famous ones. Here the version by Nigel Kennedy (solo violin) and Berlin Philharmoniker:
Part one, Allegro (Allegro = cheerful, lively)
Part two, Largo (Largo = slow) Listen how sensitive and melancholic....
Part three, Presto (Presto = quick, fast) The final firework!
You'll find more nice concerti to listen to later at the bottom of the page, if you like that stuff. I want you to listen to the rest first, before you reach the saturation point.
Vocal music
His vocal music is what I love most about Vivaldi. I'm a fervent fan of baroque singing, and what he created is just amazing. There are operas and other pieces with secular topics, but in my eyes his religious music is the most beautiful ever. Listening to it is for me an extremely intensive and exhalting experience.
I was very lucky to find several nice versions of the aria Cum Dederit on youtube. That's a part of the motet Nisi Dominus and one of my favorite arias ever. In this one, Cum Dederit and Amen are sung by Philippe Jaroussky, a great countertenor. I love this wonderful guy, and I love the Ensemble Matheus and conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi. It's simple, I'm in HEAVEN when I hear that!!!
Philippe Jaroussky, Cum Dederit, Amen
What you heard in the second part of the previous video is the beginning of Vivaldi's Stabat Mater. It's basically about Maria's pain when she must see her son die on the cross, so it's very sad, and that's why the singer Marie-Nicole Lemieux looks like she's suffering so much. I love the Stabat Mater! Here are two small extracts of Andreas Scholl, another countertenor, singing it. If I'm not wrong, it's with Chiara Banchini and her Ensemble 415, in case you want to buy the CD:
Andreas Scholl, Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Andreas Scholl, O Quam Tristis (which means "oh how sad")
Vivaldi also wrote some choral music. His Gloria is a mix of chorals and arias for one or two singers. This very CD with Alessandrini as conductor is the first bit of baroque music I discovered and it was a revelation. I heard it and fell in love immediately.
Gloria
Gloria, choral.
Here an extract of another version, in my opinion not so good, but just for you to hear an aria:
Gloria, Laudamus Te
You also have to hear some opera. Listen to Philippe Jaroussky in this fantastic aria, isn't he absolutely wonderful?!
And in that one, he's playing a singers fight together with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, that's SO funny, I LOL every time I watch it: Nel Profondo modified.
Well, that's my Vivaldi. If you like it, here's more material:
More singing
Here the same extracts of Nisi Dominus as above, this time sung by Andreas Scholl with the Australian Brandenbourg Orchestra & Paul Dyer:
Andreas Scholl, Cum Dederit
Andreas Scholl, Amen
I had this CD and absolutely loved it, but someone borrowed it and never gave it back, and of course I don't remember who that was, since I give my things away all the time.
And here's the complete Nisi Dominus by Sara Mingardo, with the Concerto Italiano & Rinaldo Alessandrini. Part two begins with the aria Cum Dederit that we've already listened to twice. It's very interesting to compare the versions!
Nisi Dominus, Part one
Nisi Dominus, Part two
Nisi Dominus, Part three
If you liked Sara Mingardo, the Concerto Italiano & Rinaldo Alessandrini, I found two more complete CDs:
Here's more choral singing: Magnificat. Wonderful, especially in part two the aria Esurientes. I loooove it. Listen to it very loud!
Magnificat, Part one
Magnificat, Part two
And here's a Salve Regina.
Salve Regina, Part one
Salve Regina, Part two
Salve Regina, Part three
More Concerti
This one is very nice: Concerto for 4 violins and strings (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi).
Here a peaceful Concerto for Lute (Il Giardino Armonico & Giovanni Antonini).
This one with mandolin is so beautiful! (even though I would have played the second part much slower) : Concerto in C Major (Il Giardino Armonico & Giovanni Antonini).
I find this one heavy, suffering, and in the third part conquering and forceful. A darker side of Vivaldi. No matter how he feels, it's beautiful: Allegro - Largo - Allegro (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi).
A light, fast and playful one: Concerto for strings "Alla rustica" (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi).
What I love particulary are his concerti for cello. Here you have a very brilliant and elegant one: Allegro - Largo - Allegro (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi). I don't know about you, but it makes me happy!
He's just beautiful.
I have a burning passion for baroque music in general, and Vivaldi especially. Since one post would not be enough to cover baroque anyway, I'm just going to start with him.
If you don't know this kind of music yet, please take your time and concentrate when you listen to it. You'll probably need a while to get used to it and notice how beautiful it is. At least that's what most people say. I don't know, I fell for baroque within two minutes when I first heard it.
The Four Seasons
You probably know his most famous work, The Four Seasons, even if you don't know that you know it. It's so famous that you can even hear it as background music in the supermarket from time to time, at least in France. Here's the beginning, it'll seem familiar to you: La Primavera (Spring).
There are many different interpretations of this work, this one was Nigel Kennedy. Here another piece, conducted by Fabio Biondi: L'Invierno (Winter). Isn't that totally powerful?
And this one is just amazing! Nigel Kennedy again. Listen to that energy, to that tremendous force! L'Estate (Summer).
On a side note, this last piece inspired many modern musicians. For example here's a techno-remix by Vanessa Mae, and that's Jean-Michel Jarre's version.
Instrumental music
So what did Vivaldi write besides supermarket music? Among other things, a lot of instrumental music. Some nasty people say he wrote the same concerto a thousand times. ;) He mostly wrote lots of concerti indeed, with or without a solo instrument. The Four Seasons are concerti too. Here just a few more.
His concerti generally have three parts: the first one fast, the second one slower and more contemplative, or even sad, and the third one fast again, shorter and brighter than the first one.
This violin concerto is one of the most famous ones. Here the version by Nigel Kennedy (solo violin) and Berlin Philharmoniker:
Part one, Allegro (Allegro = cheerful, lively)
Part two, Largo (Largo = slow) Listen how sensitive and melancholic....
Part three, Presto (Presto = quick, fast) The final firework!
You'll find more nice concerti to listen to later at the bottom of the page, if you like that stuff. I want you to listen to the rest first, before you reach the saturation point.
Vocal music
His vocal music is what I love most about Vivaldi. I'm a fervent fan of baroque singing, and what he created is just amazing. There are operas and other pieces with secular topics, but in my eyes his religious music is the most beautiful ever. Listening to it is for me an extremely intensive and exhalting experience.
I was very lucky to find several nice versions of the aria Cum Dederit on youtube. That's a part of the motet Nisi Dominus and one of my favorite arias ever. In this one, Cum Dederit and Amen are sung by Philippe Jaroussky, a great countertenor. I love this wonderful guy, and I love the Ensemble Matheus and conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi. It's simple, I'm in HEAVEN when I hear that!!!
Philippe Jaroussky, Cum Dederit, Amen
What you heard in the second part of the previous video is the beginning of Vivaldi's Stabat Mater. It's basically about Maria's pain when she must see her son die on the cross, so it's very sad, and that's why the singer Marie-Nicole Lemieux looks like she's suffering so much. I love the Stabat Mater! Here are two small extracts of Andreas Scholl, another countertenor, singing it. If I'm not wrong, it's with Chiara Banchini and her Ensemble 415, in case you want to buy the CD:
Andreas Scholl, Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Andreas Scholl, O Quam Tristis (which means "oh how sad")
Vivaldi also wrote some choral music. His Gloria is a mix of chorals and arias for one or two singers. This very CD with Alessandrini as conductor is the first bit of baroque music I discovered and it was a revelation. I heard it and fell in love immediately.
Gloria
Gloria, choral.
Here an extract of another version, in my opinion not so good, but just for you to hear an aria:
Gloria, Laudamus Te
You also have to hear some opera. Listen to Philippe Jaroussky in this fantastic aria, isn't he absolutely wonderful?!
And in that one, he's playing a singers fight together with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, that's SO funny, I LOL every time I watch it: Nel Profondo modified.
Well, that's my Vivaldi. If you like it, here's more material:
More singing
Here the same extracts of Nisi Dominus as above, this time sung by Andreas Scholl with the Australian Brandenbourg Orchestra & Paul Dyer:
Andreas Scholl, Cum Dederit
Andreas Scholl, Amen
I had this CD and absolutely loved it, but someone borrowed it and never gave it back, and of course I don't remember who that was, since I give my things away all the time.
And here's the complete Nisi Dominus by Sara Mingardo, with the Concerto Italiano & Rinaldo Alessandrini. Part two begins with the aria Cum Dederit that we've already listened to twice. It's very interesting to compare the versions!
Nisi Dominus, Part one
Nisi Dominus, Part two
Nisi Dominus, Part three
If you liked Sara Mingardo, the Concerto Italiano & Rinaldo Alessandrini, I found two more complete CDs:
Here's more choral singing: Magnificat. Wonderful, especially in part two the aria Esurientes. I loooove it. Listen to it very loud!
Magnificat, Part one
Magnificat, Part two
And here's a Salve Regina.
Salve Regina, Part one
Salve Regina, Part two
Salve Regina, Part three
More Concerti
This one is very nice: Concerto for 4 violins and strings (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi).
Here a peaceful Concerto for Lute (Il Giardino Armonico & Giovanni Antonini).
This one with mandolin is so beautiful! (even though I would have played the second part much slower) : Concerto in C Major (Il Giardino Armonico & Giovanni Antonini).
I find this one heavy, suffering, and in the third part conquering and forceful. A darker side of Vivaldi. No matter how he feels, it's beautiful: Allegro - Largo - Allegro (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi).
A light, fast and playful one: Concerto for strings "Alla rustica" (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi).
What I love particulary are his concerti for cello. Here you have a very brilliant and elegant one: Allegro - Largo - Allegro (Europa Galante & Fabio Biondi). I don't know about you, but it makes me happy!
miércoles, 2 de enero de 2008
Dancing Tango Argentino
I HAVE to tell you about tango! I love dancing tango argentino. When I dance, I have a wonderful feeling of freedom and lightheartedness. I can express myself, express the music, express my feelings about the music and about my partner. That makes me so happy. Every time I dance tango, I feel in love :)
Please read my explanations before you watch the videos. It's important that you know a few things about tango before actually seeing it. If you don't know what's exactly going on, you might find it boring, or ridiculous. Only when you know what that really is will you see how amazing it is.
Tango, the music
Tango music is very beautiful. I'll write more in details about it later in another post, since I'd like to focus on the dance here.
Essentially, there are five music types you can dance tango argentino to:
traditional tango
vals: tango in 3/4
milonga: a related dance, generally faster and more down-to-earth than tango
electrotango: the "modern" tango with electronic instruments
non-tango: everything else :)
Tango can be danced to just everything that has a clear and regular rythm, from Vivaldi to Metallica via lebanese folksongs. My former teachers, who are very conservative, would kill me if they hear that (hope they'll never discover this blog), but I want to dance tango to just everything! Every time I hear a song I like, I immediately have some tango impulses going through my body, and imagine how I would dance tango to that now. Some people however (like my former teachers) categorically refuse to dance to non-tango, or even to electrotango.
You'll hear some examples in a moment.
Tango, the dance
What is tango argentino?
Tango argentino is essentially walking around together. One plays the leading role, the other one the following role. Traditionally "the man leads, the woman seduces". But that's changing nowadays. You'll find women dancing with women, men with men, and women leading men. What I would love to try is do both and switch roles several times during the dance :)
How does it work?
There are no fixed figures in tango argentino. The leaders have to improvise everything. They invent the dance in the very moment they dance it. And they have to lead everything. In some dances, when the leading person doesn't lead anything new, the following person just keeps on with the base step. That's different in tango argentino. There is no base step. When the leading person doesn't lead anything new, the following person does... nothing at all. Not even shift their weight from one foot to the other. Since everything is improvised, the following person never knows what comes next. Every step is unique, you don't know what the next one will be. That's very exciting!
How do the leaders lead?
With their chest. The chests communicate with each other. The leaders give move impulses with their chest, or open some space for the follower in a particular direction. The impulse the followers receive goes through their body into the legs, and since the legs are (ideally) totally relaxed, they just follow the law of gravitation and move.
That's why a high technical level is required, so that the impulses flow correctly. You mustn't lose the connection between the chests, or else leading becomes impossible. If you're having a bad posture, the energy can't flow correctly through your body, and you won't communicate well. If your back isn't straight, the impulses will get lost somewhere before they reach your legs. If your legs aren't relaxed enough, they won't move freely. As the leader, if your leading impulses aren't clear enough, the follower will perform unfinished, confused moves - or do something you didn't intend. It's all about communication!
Another aspect is that leading means giving impulses, no orders. It's just a proposition. The followers can block certain moves, they are no passive puppets. They have a great influence on the dance. And they use the leader's propositions to improvise as well. With the impulse they get, they're free to do whatever they want. If I get an impulse to move laterally, I can choose to move immediately and close my legs, or I can let one leg hang behind, or do fancy things with my feet along the way. I can slow down in the middle of my move, or even completely stop. The leader has to wait for me. There are thousands of ways you can go one single step. That's where many factors play a role, like your personality, your creativity, the music, the chemistry with your partner...
This very precise and very intensive communication with a partner on a physical, energetical level is an amazing experience!
What does it look like?
There are many different tango argentino styles, like tango nuevo, tango de salón... But if you're not familiar with tango, going into the details wouldn't make any sense here. (and if you are, you already know about that) When you'll watch the videos, you'll notice that some dancers always stand on their own axis, whereas others strongly lean against their partner. Some dance very close, in tight embrace, whereas others let a lot of free space between them. Some make wide moves or particular moves that others don't use. Everything is possible! It's a matter of style. But the elementar principles are the same.
Now that you know what tango is about (according to me), you will appreciate what you see much more. You may watch the videos now :)
Take a look at this one and bear in mind that everything is improvised, everything is lead. Isn't such a communication just amazing? The music is traditional tango, a very beautiful song called Poema (poem): Geraldine Rojas & Javier Rodrigues.
And now I'll show you El Indio, a very cool dancer, to give you an idea about how freely you can improvise and how many fun things you can do: El Indio plays around.
I promised I would give you examples of all music styles. Here you have an example of a milonga: Geraldine Rojas & Javier Rodrigues again. Listen, how fast and lively. And watch what he leads, at that incredible pace...
That's a vals: Adriana salgado y Orlando Reyes. I chose this one because I absolutely wanted you to hear Desde el Alma, that's one of my favorite songs.
And here we have some electrotango: Mariano "Chicho" Frúmboli & Eugenia Parilla. That's the kind of stuff I particularly love dancing to!
Last but not least, I even found a video with non-tango: Klaus Petritsch & Karen Garnett dance to Tom Jones.
As you could see, tango argentino is multifaceted. If you like it, take a look at these:
Here Geraldine Rojas again, with another partner. The video is a bit dark, I'm sorry, but the dance is brilliant: Geraldine Rojas & Ezequiel Paludi.
Finally you mustn't miss Carlos Gavito & Maria Plazaola. Sexy, huh?
So! Aren't you convinced, now, that tango argentino is incredibly fantastic?! Wanna dance with me? :)
Tango dancing parties are called milongas. Every milonga traditionally ends with a special song called La Cumparsita. To close this post, here you have a cumparsita.
I chose one with Eduardo Cappussi and Mariana Flores. They dance very well, but are also very good at performing tango parodies...
Eduardo Cappussi & Mariana Flores.
Please read my explanations before you watch the videos. It's important that you know a few things about tango before actually seeing it. If you don't know what's exactly going on, you might find it boring, or ridiculous. Only when you know what that really is will you see how amazing it is.
Tango, the music
Tango music is very beautiful. I'll write more in details about it later in another post, since I'd like to focus on the dance here.
Essentially, there are five music types you can dance tango argentino to:
traditional tango
vals: tango in 3/4
milonga: a related dance, generally faster and more down-to-earth than tango
electrotango: the "modern" tango with electronic instruments
non-tango: everything else :)
Tango can be danced to just everything that has a clear and regular rythm, from Vivaldi to Metallica via lebanese folksongs. My former teachers, who are very conservative, would kill me if they hear that (hope they'll never discover this blog), but I want to dance tango to just everything! Every time I hear a song I like, I immediately have some tango impulses going through my body, and imagine how I would dance tango to that now. Some people however (like my former teachers) categorically refuse to dance to non-tango, or even to electrotango.
You'll hear some examples in a moment.
Tango, the dance
What is tango argentino?
Tango argentino is essentially walking around together. One plays the leading role, the other one the following role. Traditionally "the man leads, the woman seduces". But that's changing nowadays. You'll find women dancing with women, men with men, and women leading men. What I would love to try is do both and switch roles several times during the dance :)
How does it work?
There are no fixed figures in tango argentino. The leaders have to improvise everything. They invent the dance in the very moment they dance it. And they have to lead everything. In some dances, when the leading person doesn't lead anything new, the following person just keeps on with the base step. That's different in tango argentino. There is no base step. When the leading person doesn't lead anything new, the following person does... nothing at all. Not even shift their weight from one foot to the other. Since everything is improvised, the following person never knows what comes next. Every step is unique, you don't know what the next one will be. That's very exciting!
How do the leaders lead?
With their chest. The chests communicate with each other. The leaders give move impulses with their chest, or open some space for the follower in a particular direction. The impulse the followers receive goes through their body into the legs, and since the legs are (ideally) totally relaxed, they just follow the law of gravitation and move.
That's why a high technical level is required, so that the impulses flow correctly. You mustn't lose the connection between the chests, or else leading becomes impossible. If you're having a bad posture, the energy can't flow correctly through your body, and you won't communicate well. If your back isn't straight, the impulses will get lost somewhere before they reach your legs. If your legs aren't relaxed enough, they won't move freely. As the leader, if your leading impulses aren't clear enough, the follower will perform unfinished, confused moves - or do something you didn't intend. It's all about communication!
Another aspect is that leading means giving impulses, no orders. It's just a proposition. The followers can block certain moves, they are no passive puppets. They have a great influence on the dance. And they use the leader's propositions to improvise as well. With the impulse they get, they're free to do whatever they want. If I get an impulse to move laterally, I can choose to move immediately and close my legs, or I can let one leg hang behind, or do fancy things with my feet along the way. I can slow down in the middle of my move, or even completely stop. The leader has to wait for me. There are thousands of ways you can go one single step. That's where many factors play a role, like your personality, your creativity, the music, the chemistry with your partner...
This very precise and very intensive communication with a partner on a physical, energetical level is an amazing experience!
What does it look like?
There are many different tango argentino styles, like tango nuevo, tango de salón... But if you're not familiar with tango, going into the details wouldn't make any sense here. (and if you are, you already know about that) When you'll watch the videos, you'll notice that some dancers always stand on their own axis, whereas others strongly lean against their partner. Some dance very close, in tight embrace, whereas others let a lot of free space between them. Some make wide moves or particular moves that others don't use. Everything is possible! It's a matter of style. But the elementar principles are the same.
Now that you know what tango is about (according to me), you will appreciate what you see much more. You may watch the videos now :)
Take a look at this one and bear in mind that everything is improvised, everything is lead. Isn't such a communication just amazing? The music is traditional tango, a very beautiful song called Poema (poem): Geraldine Rojas & Javier Rodrigues.
And now I'll show you El Indio, a very cool dancer, to give you an idea about how freely you can improvise and how many fun things you can do: El Indio plays around.
I promised I would give you examples of all music styles. Here you have an example of a milonga: Geraldine Rojas & Javier Rodrigues again. Listen, how fast and lively. And watch what he leads, at that incredible pace...
That's a vals: Adriana salgado y Orlando Reyes. I chose this one because I absolutely wanted you to hear Desde el Alma, that's one of my favorite songs.
And here we have some electrotango: Mariano "Chicho" Frúmboli & Eugenia Parilla. That's the kind of stuff I particularly love dancing to!
Last but not least, I even found a video with non-tango: Klaus Petritsch & Karen Garnett dance to Tom Jones.
As you could see, tango argentino is multifaceted. If you like it, take a look at these:
Here Geraldine Rojas again, with another partner. The video is a bit dark, I'm sorry, but the dance is brilliant: Geraldine Rojas & Ezequiel Paludi.
Finally you mustn't miss Carlos Gavito & Maria Plazaola. Sexy, huh?
So! Aren't you convinced, now, that tango argentino is incredibly fantastic?! Wanna dance with me? :)
Tango dancing parties are called milongas. Every milonga traditionally ends with a special song called La Cumparsita. To close this post, here you have a cumparsita.
I chose one with Eduardo Cappussi and Mariana Flores. They dance very well, but are also very good at performing tango parodies...
Eduardo Cappussi & Mariana Flores.
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