Carole Edrich Weblog

tango maths

Last night I took some shots of Monica Romero and Omar Ocampo at the Crypt in Clerkenwell. One of them came out so well I showed them the image straight away. I had already promised any good images from the evening and they'd offered a lesson in return.

Feeling that my photographs might not be good enough to warrant the lesson, I suggested that we schedule an outdoor shoot too. Pictures taken in iconic London locations would surely useful and with better light I could be surer of good quality images. Monica would only consider it if I accepted another lesson first!

Los Ocampo at the Crypt
(c) Carole Edrich 2007

Tango's very complicated. It can be elegant, humorous, assertive.... Good dancers can convey whatever they choose. While each movement is controlled, the body is relaxed. The passion comes from the link between lead and follow which (when it goes right) is both focussed and intense. Despite the discipline required there is huge opportunity for self expression.

During class Omar kept saying "In tango, one plus one equals one". He meant that two people dancing well together will perform as a single, integrated unit. That level of communication between two people calls to something deep and ancient within us. It's an incredibly sensual feeling which can make the walls seem to spin or the rest of the world disappear.

Los Ocampo at the Crypt
(c) Carole Edrich 2007

I'm happy to send shots off to editors who can decide what they want to use and whether they want to publish my images at all. But private tango lessons are very expensive and I don't want to let Monica and Omar down. Their dancing combines intimate, controlled and sensual communication with excellent stagecraft. It draws the audience in. As if that's not enough, they're really nice, genuine people. A good photo should show all of that. It should also be clear, well composed and interesting Quite a challenge considering I've had a digital SLR for just four short months.

The pressure's on. Can I deliver?

We'll just have to wait and see.

Monica and Omar will be performing and teaching dance in the UK for 3 more weeks.

- Go here for a short bio,
- Find public lessons and workshops at The Tango Club
- For private daytime lessons with the Ocampos contact Kele at Kensington Dance Studios
- They will also teach and perform on:
October 20th and 21st in Windsor,
October 22nd and 23rd in Bristol
October 27th in Leeds
October 28th in Liverpool
and on Sunday October 29th in Maidstone.

Their site is here, you can also reach them on +44 78 555 97 546 or at losocampo @ hotmail.com

Posted by carole at October 7, 2007 02:16 PM