Developments:
The current version of Rasche Notation is available in the pocketbook:
Rasche Notation 2.
Animation of symols (posted on 03rd january 2011):
Here is a web animation, to help understand some symbols of RN2:
Animation of step symbols.
Colgada symbol (posted on 01st November 2010):
There is a new symbol
≠ that can be used to describe a colgada. Normally, it's assumed that steps are balanced, with each dancer
on their axis.
A colgada is different to a normal step: a step is taken towards the partner's standing foot,
btoh sharing the same axis, leaning away from each other.
This symbol describes a step to the standing leg of the partner, hence a colgada.
The symbol is similar to = meaning contact and Ø meaning leaning axis.
An example of its use is L%≠ meaning Left foot
(L) steps between partner's feet (%) towards standing leg (colgada) (≠).
The symbol previously meant 'not the same as...', but this is a better
use of this symbol (and context can distinguish these).
iPhone/ ipod Touch (posted on 30th August 2010):
To set up a home-screen image on your iPhone/ iPod Touch for this
webpage:
First, click on the '+' at the bottom of the
display.
Then, click on 'Add to Home Screen'.
Rasche Notation 2 pocketbook (posted on 21th July 2010):
The newest version of the notation
Rasche Notation 2 is now available in the
pocketbook:
Rasche Notation 2.
YouTube deep links (posted on 22nd March 2010):
It is possible to
deep link into a YouTube video,
whereby the video can be started at a specific moment in time. To
do this, the YouTube URL address should have the following extension
(e.g. time= 16 minutes and 05 seconds):
#t=16m05s
This enables you to describe a step and have the exact time within a
video associated with it. To include the time into the Notation, simply
put 16:05 on the Description line!
Software (posted on 04th March 2010):
Software is now available to animate dance steps using Rasche
Notation (free to download):
Software:
Dance step software. See tab 'Tools' > and click on 'Rasche Notation').
Developed by Fred Bolder,
Het Dansblad (The Dance Magazine).
eBook (posted on 08th October 2009):
The new
eBook:
Tango Companion eBook is now available.
It consists of selected extracts from the two books 'Argentine Tango -
Class Companion' and 'Rasche Notation'. It is an epub document, suitable
for eReaders.
Unicode/ASCII symbols (development posted on 08th October 2009):
Some symbols used in Rasche Notation are in Unicode and not in ASCII,
which means that they are too specialised to be read by programs and
devices that can only write ASCII symbols (e.g. MS-Notepad and eReaders). For this reason,
new ASCII symbols are
required. Note that these are alternatives, not replacements for the
symbols used in Rasche Notation:
k
Legs (was an omega symbol. Now a 'kicking' k).
r Partial weight transfer (was an upside down ‘U’ symbol,
now, an 'r' is visually half an 'n').
n Full weight transfer (was and upside down ‘U’ symbol with sharp corners,
now the most similar ASCII symbol: 'n').
d Dynamic movement (was similar to an italics ‘d’ symbol,
now just a normal 'd').
µ
Axis of rotation (was a phi symbol, now a mu symbol can also be used).
Superscript and subscript are used to reduce space. If these
cannot be supported, it is possible simply not to use them.
The other Unicode symbols are less frequently used and can be described
as further information: longhand and in brackets.
Facebook (development posted on 22nd April
2009):
When writing or posting messages on Facebook (and probably other
internet postings too), repeated blank spaces are reduced down to one
space. This can shrink and then confuse the vertical alignment used
between the different lines of notation. An effective method to adapt is
to use repeated full stops (e.g. 1...... 2...... ). The notation has
full stops defined as separating punctuation between different steps, so
using repeated full stops in this way fits the system of notation.
Different fonts represent dots and letters with different pixel widths,
so this can also change the vertical alignment. A similar font to that
in Facebook can be represented using 'Trebuchet MS', 'MS
Reference Sans Serif', 'Lucida' or 'Veranda' in Microsoft-Word.
Video subtitling with Rasche Notation (development posted on 30th March
2009):
It is possible to notate a video with captions or subtitles, using
Rasche Notation. This is a slightly different circumstance to writing on
paper, as the dance is visible on the video, together with the music. Furthermore,
there is limited space on screen for writing. Therefore, the best method
to notate is to write the Man and Woman step symbols, only as they appear, on two
rows. This can be done with different software, but an example is to use
a
YouTube
video, and subtitling it with
Overstream.
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Click here:
Read reviews of Rasche Notation
Reviews:
Review of Rasche Notation
by Eran Braverman, June 2010.
TangoInfo.com.au (a Tango
information website).
"It is the opinion of the owner of
Tango Info that the Rasche Notation system succeeds in what it seeks to do: to record,
simply and succinctly, the steps and body positions of the lead and follower relative to the music. It cannot, nor does it
purport to be a, a substitute for lessons, nor can it record every subtlety and nuance of every movement. However compared
to all other dance notation systems that I have seen (such as Labanotation) it is infinitely easier to use and understand."
Review of Rasche Notation
by Fred Bolder, January 2010
Het Dansblad (The Dance Magazine),
read
the article: Dansblad 116.
The website has dance step software
DcWin which uses Rasche Notation.
"...Rasche Notation is quick to learn and the writing of steps does
not take much work. Obvious information [within the dance] need not be
included, so that a compact format remains..." (translation).
Review of Rasche Notation
and workshop
by Ruth Zimmermann, March 2009
Tango Oblivion, Totnes, Devon, UK (
www.Tangoindevon.co.uk).
Ruth is the organiser of the very popular Tango Mangos.
"Thomas Rasche - notation workshop:
Where would you start if you had to write down Tango movements in a way
that will enable you to do it fast, concise, containing as much information
as possible in as few symbols as necessary? And once you have written it
down, would other people be able to decipher it? Would you yourself remember
what it meant some weeks down the line?
These were the thoughts that went through my head prior to Thomas'
workshop. As a Tango teacher, I have many note books full of long hand
descriptions of my class preparations and movement ideas that I have
collected over the years. My notes made sense when I wrote them, but often
they don't anymore. I thought that from this perspective Tango notation
would be of immense help. Another part of me was skeptical - how can you
write down the feeling of Tango, why would I want to write down what is
essentially an improvisatory dance for me? And if you managed to write down
the movements, how much or how little does this capture of the essence of
Tango anyway?
Thomas Rasche has devised an astonishingly comprehensive and concise
system, using easily understandable signs and reducing information down to
the absolutely necessary. His presentation is equally pithy and to the
point: within two hours he introduces the system in its entirety and people
are able to start using it. I guess it will take some time of playing around
with it to become proficient in reading and writing it, just like with any
other language. Beside the advantage of acquiring a tool, people who will
use his system will be challenged to gain insight into the precise nature of
a movement that encompasses both the leader and the follower. The system
also has inbuilt space for one's own improvements and additions.
And what about the essence, the feeling, can it be captured by the
notation? I don't think so, but then this is also the case with the written
word or with music notation, and yet, with practice we find it possible to
read feeling into a text or a piece of music. So maybe it is a good thing to
stay away from trying to notate everything.
The concise nature of the Rasche notation makes it userfriendly. I
certainly bought one of his prepared note books and will start using it."
Review of Rasche Notation
by A.W., March 2009
attending the workshop at
Tango Oblivion, Totnes, Devon, UK.
"Quite an ingenious system -very useful for choreography- also very
useful for 'improvers' like myself to have the movements broken down into
parts- so that I remember all the individual components (techniques) of the
steps."
Review of Rasche Notation
by Richard A. February 2009, UK.
review of the book 'Rasche Notation'.
"Thomas has produced a true shorthand that is very neat, clean and
powerful for noting Argentine Tango steps. For anyone who's ever forgotten a
move they loved in class, here is the answer!"
Review of Rasche Notation
(as originally appeared in the book 'Argentine Tango - Class Companion')
by Damián Esell, (
www.damianynancy.com)
international teacher and performer.
review of the book 'Argentine Tango - Class Companion'
"...The author [of the
Argentine Tango-Class Companion book] has...endeavoured to find a
way to write down the dance of tango; with astonishment and happiness I can
say that he has achieve it well: described with clarity at the end of the
book, a system of notation to read-and-write which is usable with a bit of
practice..."
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