Comments on: The Internet Makes the World Smaller http://uwmike.com/articles/2006/10/23/small-world/ Hacker, Engineer, Dancer, Gentleman Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:32:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Mike Purvis http://uwmike.com/articles/2006/10/23/small-world/comment-page-1/#comment-3898 Mike Purvis Tue, 24 Oct 2006 03:44:51 +0000 http://uwmike.com/articles/2006/10/23/small-world/#comment-3898 <p>Perhaps <em>subtle</em> was a poor word choice. Tango seems to have fewer established figures than the lindy-charleston family, so it's more up to the leader to express the music and communicate that. Which lindy hoppers should do too, of course, but you can get away a lot longer with just using the music as a metronome and not responding much to it.</p> <p>But there's a lot more physical contact with which to pass that information. Tango seems to be done in as close an embrace as is comfortable, whereas even lindy's "closed" position leaves each partner with their own space.</p> <p>Anyhow, there's the other issue; Lindy is safe and fun and challenging enough that people travel by the carload to other cities to do it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_exchange" rel="nofollow">with complete strangers</a>. Even if we ever got to the <a href="http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-1146652503208054852&q=tango" rel="nofollow">really spectacular Tango stuff</a>, I can't really picture doing it on a regular social floor. (Compare that tango video with a <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=1-DAyS-DxK4" rel="nofollow">swing clip like this one</a>...)</p> Perhaps subtle was a poor word choice. Tango seems to have fewer established figures than the lindy-charleston family, so it’s more up to the leader to express the music and communicate that. Which lindy hoppers should do too, of course, but you can get away a lot longer with just using the music as a metronome and not responding much to it.

But there’s a lot more physical contact with which to pass that information. Tango seems to be done in as close an embrace as is comfortable, whereas even lindy’s “closed” position leaves each partner with their own space.

Anyhow, there’s the other issue; Lindy is safe and fun and challenging enough that people travel by the carload to other cities to do it with complete strangers. Even if we ever got to the really spectacular Tango stuff, I can’t really picture doing it on a regular social floor. (Compare that tango video with a swing clip like this one…)

]]> By: Christine http://uwmike.com/articles/2006/10/23/small-world/comment-page-1/#comment-3897 Christine Tue, 24 Oct 2006 02:24:34 +0000 http://uwmike.com/articles/2006/10/23/small-world/#comment-3897 <p>Doesn't having more subtle communication make it a more challenging dance, i.e. more fun?</p> Doesn’t having more subtle communication make it a more challenging dance, i.e. more fun?

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