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TOCA STUDENT · Lesson 08 · Tarraxo and feeling

Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops

Silence is part of the phrase. You do not have to fill every space with another movement. A pause can create tension, breath and meaning, and control is what makes silence readable.

Dawou Tarraxo, pioneer of Tarraxo. Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops

Stay connected while nothing visible happens. Let the stillness stay alive in the body. Frozen is cut off. Still is available.

Sometimes the strongest movement is the one you do not make.

In tarraxo the pauses carry as much as the accents.

Dance the silence, step by step

  1. THE MUSIC DOES NOT DISAPPEAR WHEN THE SOUND STOPS.
  2. Silence is part of the phrase.
  3. Do not fill every space with another movement.
  4. A pause can create tension, breath and meaning.
  5. Stay connected while nothing visible happens.
  6. Let stillness remain alive in the body.
  7. Control makes silence readable.
Can you stay present inside a pause?

The full carousel

Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 1 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 2 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 3 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 4 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 5 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 6 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 7 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 8 of 9 Dance the silence. Tarraxo musicality is what you do when the sound stops, slide 9 of 9

This lesson comes from the book

Page 93 of The student's book by Dawou Tarraxo, the TOCA Method page this lesson comes from
The student's book · page 93

The student’s book takes dancers from the first foundations to real feeling. The teacher’s guide gives instructors the structure to pass it on. Both in English, French and Spanish, on Amazon and Apple Books.

The student’s book The teacher’s guide

The method

T O C A

Two bodies. One connection.

TTouchThe connection with your partner. Feeling through contact, never through force.
OObservationListening to your partner’s body, energy and tempo.
CControlMastery of your own movement. Precision without tension.
AAwarenessFull presence: with yourself, your partner and the music.