The Wavy Language of Vals
CLARISA ARAGÓN & JONATHAN SAAVEDRA
Collection containing 7 lessons with lifetime access | It’s easy and pleasant to get under the spell of Vals. The fluidity, the dreaminess, the lightness… this entire merging experience. Ultimately, all things Vals have some romance to them. And it is its distinctive music that gives Vals these qualities. Then, we have the waves, or how we imagine being playful with the levels in our dance. Imagine a line of beauty that bends in all directions… Vals is like a sparkly conversation between two dreamy people, who can’t stop but imagining fantasy worlds, and dancing them.
- 7Online lessons
- 80.42Minutes
- ∞Lifetime accsess
Since the music of Vals has a different structure than that of Tango, and of Milonga, we need to study it separately. We believe that in tango, ideas come, and our creativity is amplified while we’re practicing, while we’re working with our body, our mind and our senses. This is a collection made to sustain your tango work. Cadenas by the bit, cadenas by the movement, embodying Vals musicality, changing levels while dancing… a lot of Vals knowledge is here for you. Put it to work, and eventually, create your own expression of it.
Introduction into Tango Vals12.29 min
Welcome to the enchanting realm of Vals! The key to immersing yourself in this magical world lies in attuning to a certain mood, aligning with the captivating melodies of Vals music. Embracing the Vals dance requires no specific steps. Instead, you will harness the tools you have acquired thus far in your tango journey, changing some details and transforming them into dreamy sequences that will carry us on a boundless voyage through the realm of Vals. Allow a tango Vals song to resonate within you and ponder: What emotions does Vals evoke? What internal impulse compels you to dance the Vals?
- Tango
Our First Concepts of Vals. Playing with Levels15.55 min
How can we distinguish between the dance styles of Tango and Vals? While it may be somewhat easier to spot the disparity in Milonga, where movements are faster, sharper, and more dynamic, Vals poses a unique challenge. In this lesson, we will focus on specific aspects that, when applied to simple steps, will enable you to infuse your dance with the essence of Vals. Unlike Tango, where we strive to maintain a consistent height as a couple when moving in space, Vals encourages deliberate changes in levels, resulting in the creation of graceful curves, undulating waves, and the inherent fluidity that defines Vals dancing.
- Tango
Embodying the Vals Musicality10.49 min
Let’s start by listening to Vals music. You’ll immediately notice that unlike in Tango and Milonga, in Vals we have three beats that are very important, and the first beat is the strongest one. To truly sync our dance with the enchanting rhythm of Vals, it becomes imperative to develop an ear for recognizing that initial beat. You'll soon discover that Vals compositions come in various tempos, some slower and others faster. And cultivating a keen musical sensitivity for Vals, just like we do for Tango is very important for our creative expression. Because in Vals, too, we have different orchestras with their unique styles and personalities. This lesson is packed with knowledge and exercises designed to propel you forward in this journey of self-expression.
- Tango
Deepening Vals Musicality Concepts. Playing with Beat Combinations15.04 min
It’s time to explore the captivating depths of Vals music. Vals comprises three beats, where the first beat exudes the utmost strength, followed by a comparatively weaker second beat, and finally, the third beat, which is the most delicate of them all. However, we won’t dance all the time using these beats in the same way. In Vals, too, let’s encounter an array of diverse combinations, enabling us to unleash our creative expression on the dance floor. This time, while listening to Vals music, our focus will shift towards attentive listening, capturing every intricate detail. Let's decipher the sounds played by each instrument in the orchestra. By training our ears to discern these nuances, we unlock a world of unforeseen resources to enrich our dance.
- Tango
Closing the Vals Musical Phrase7.19 min
In our previous lesson, we were focusing on diverse beat combinations for our dance. Now, we’ll work on something different, namely on closely a musical phrase in a way were we involve the strong beat of the next unit of a musical measure. It's worth noting that although a Vals musical measure consists of 3 beats, in contrast to Tango's 4 beats, a Vals musical phrase encompasses 8 strong beats, mirroring the structure of a Tango musical phrase. Consequently, the manner in which we conclude our musical phrases to initiate a new one can bear similarities. In this occasion, we’ll start concluding our musical phrase, commencing from the 7th strong beat within the phrase. Really focusing in the technical details in this lesson, and diligently engaging in its exercises will prove pivotal to our Vals dancing progress.
- Tango
Cadenas by the Beat in Vals10.56 min
In tango, “Cadenas" refer to a concatenation of steps, where we seamlessly string together the same movement in a sequence. When constructing Cadenas in sync with the musical beat, the objective is to identify the precise connection point to initiate our movement forming the Cadena each time consistently on the same beat. Cadenas represents a unique moment in our dance, as they stand out as something special and distinct. Consequently, they are performed selectively, only occupying a brief segment of the music that best aligns in terms of rhythm or any other noteworthy musical element introduced by an instrument or vocalist. In this lesson, you’ll learn to recognize these moments, learn to include a Cadena in your dance, as well as see and try examples of Cadenas for Vals.
- Tango
Cadenas by the Movement in Vals9.30 min
Circularity stands out as a prominent characteristic of Vals. Bearing this concept in mind, let’s now embark on the final lesson of the Vals collection! This time, we will be creating Cadenas, where the connection between the series of identical steps will be always the same movement. In this lesson, Clarisa & Jonathan will teach a Cadena composed of circular motions, one that is easier to use in a social set up like a milonga. While circular Cadenas often demand ample space, which is ideal for performances, this Cadena offers the perfect solution for the space we have available in the milonga. Additionally, there is an exciting twist awaiting you! Followers, you will have available the necessary impulse to add subtle embellishments, while ensuring that you utilize the available time without interrupting the flow of the Cadena.
- Tango
The Wavy Language of Vals
Collection containing 7 lessons with lifetime access | It’s easy and pleasant to get under the spell of Vals. The fluidity, the dreaminess, the lightness… this entire merging experience. Ultimately, all things Vals have some romance to them. And it is its distinctive music that gives Vals these qualities. Then, we have the waves, or how we imagine being playful with the levels in our dance. Imagine a line of beauty that bends in all directions… Vals is like a sparkly conversation between two dreamy people, who can’t stop but imagining fantasy worlds, and dancing them.
Collection containing 13 lessons with lifetime access | Tango is not only dance. It’s not only music. It’s a complex, fascinating artful culture, that accompanies you in a transformative journey of inner and outer exploration. One that connects deeply with our subconscious realm. The spine of tango has been built of stories of human experiences, behaviors, expressions, feelings… Tango speaks through the unsaid and reads through the unwritten. Tango creates bridges that pulse in synchronicity. It is a powerful form of participative contemplation, communication, a form of empathic inter-personal and social interaction. Tango is a way of living. A way of continuous self-actualization...
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Collection containing 12 lessons with lifetime access | The more lessons and workshops we take, more steps we learn. And yet, the most important in tango, is to return to the base over and over again… When we have a problem in a big, beautiful, very difficult step, most of the times, it occurs because of a problem in our base. When we have the tango fundamentals deeply ingrained in our body’s memory, in a solid, flawless way, everything else becomes effortless and pleasantly achievable. Let’s really master the fundamentals!
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Collection containing 13 lessons with lifetime access | Turns are like invisible rituals. They have something cathartic, mystical, even sacred to them. They are the same and different every time. Turns in tango symbolize the most perfect geometrical figure of them all - the circle - and yet, when we perform them, we draw with our feet on the floor, a very different geometry. We step on imperfect squares, or triangles. With Turns, it feels like working on something where there’s no moment of perfection, where you’re always changing things and tweaking things, like you don’t have to finish it and deliver it. You can play with Turns forever…
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Collection containing 10 lessons with lifetime access | Did you ever think that tango gives us some sort of ocasional break from the modern world? And its music might be the ultimate element, teleporting us in a realm parallel to the one existing outside tango. Tango music has distilled the beauty of different times and kept it almost untouched, so that we can use it as rare drops of supernatural time travel potion. This is a collection of lessons that will inspire you on how to dose this potion, also known as tango music.
- Tango
Collection containing 15 lessons with lifetime access | Clarisa & Jonathan’s favorite tango orchestra is Pugliese. It only makes sense that their tango style would be non-linear, bright, unexpected, bold, profound, mixed… We see them as valuators of the unique. They want you to be you, not them. That is why in this collection, as in all their teaching, Clarisa & Jonathan will deconstruct the meta concepts they use in order to build their dynamic, even striking way of dancing. Take these concepts and use them as tools to create your own, unique expression. Study the lessons in this collection, and prepare for a quantum leap in the quality of your dance!
- Tango
Collection containing 8 lessons with lifetime access | Clarisa & Jonathan are celebrators of music. When watching them dance, you feel like tango music comes to life, becoming the guide. And so, the two dancers merge into one, where music is the other entity of the tango couple. Clarisa & Jonathan celebrate the silence between notes, to only later, with an unexpected intensity, almost devour them. And then, they would go to the other end of the spectrum. Through a sudden or smooth passage, they would employ the sweetest energy, in order to barely step on just some of the notes…
- Tango
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