How To Play a Tango

This is not really a quote, but I'm including it anyway.  Junior Quartet [with no viola].  They'd played a piece I'd arranged for them, a tango.  It was okay, but not very tango-like.

Me: How could you play this more like a tango?
Violin 1 does a sharp breath in through her nose, stands up very straight with her bow in her mouth like it is a rose, and starts doing tango-style steps around her chair.
Violin 2 sees that, and puts her bow in her mouth as well, and does similar moves.
Cello then puts her bow in her mouth and dances with her cello with ballroom dancing-style moves.

I try not to laugh too much as I can see a potential disaster.
Me: Um... Okay.  Bows out of mouths.  So that's how we could act a tango.  How does that work in playing a tango?
Violin 1 [taking out her bow, sitting down]: Ooh!  Like this-
She sits down, her back over-arched, and does strong full bows with her bow in the air, sharply inhaling and exhaling with every stroke, and a slight torso movement side to side.

Me: Exactly.

The great thing about this quartet is that, although they are not very focused for very long, they work hard when they are switched on, and they practice!  Once we've discussed how to make something better, they then do it and (usually) remember for the next time.

What Is A Dance?

Girl in grade 10.  Until recently, she has had a very uncommunicative kind of personality, but she is slowly coming out of her shell.  Today, we were working on a dance - and she was playing it like a girl.  Throughout this conversation I was drinking a cup of tea, and her responses were very prompt and sudden.

Me: What sort of piece is this? [sip]
Girl: Dance.
Me: Er - yes.  How are you- actually, different question.  What is a dance? [sip]
Girl: People jumping around. [I nearly sprayed her with tea]
Me: Okay.  Yes.  People jumping around.  How are you going to make it easy for them to land their feet at the right time?
Girl: Accent.  Start of bars.
Me: Yes.  So, do that!

Dealing With Ballet

It took me many years to realise that many students thought they were relaxed when they were anything but.  And then I realised that most of these girls (yes, girls) were also ballet girls.  There is no relaxation for these girls.  Today, I had a very enthusiastic 11-yr-old dancer trying to convince me she was as relaxed as she could be.

Girl: That is relaxed.
Me: ...Ummm... I can't move your hand at all.  That's not relaxed.
Girl: It's - it's because of ballet!  It's just - ugh.  I can't do relaxed.
Me [with a lightbulb moment]: Oh... Of course.  Can you just... pretend... that ballet doesn't exist...?  Or just ... forget everything you've learned there...?
Girl: Um, not really.  No.  [brightening] Unless you want to talk to my ballet teacher?
Me: Ah, okay. 
Girl [thoughtful]: Ooh.  But - you'd have to wear a business suit.
Me: Okay.
Girl: And high heels.
Me: Ye-
Girl: And more make up.  AND talk in a posh voice.
Me [starting to laugh]: Um, okay.  [posh voice] I think I can manage that.
Girl [enthusiastically]: That was great!  Okay, that should work.

Of course, she didn't tell me the dance teacher's name.  But from how much I know from this girl's life, I should be able track down this teacher.