The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 20 Apr 2000
to 21 Apr 2000
Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
To: Recipients of TANGO-L digests <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 03:00:37 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
From: Automatic digest processor <LISTSERV @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 20 Apr 2000 to 21 Apr 2000 (#2000-108)
There are 4 messages totalling 227 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. The Usefulness of Video Reviews
2. Planting a seed
3. Tango/Lindy Exchanges Re: Planting a seed
4. a dance experience
REMINDER: Announcements of Tango events or products should be sent to
Tango-A and not to TANGO-L. To subscribe to Tango-A, send the
command "subscribe Tango-A Firstname Lastname" to LISTSERV @MITVMA.MIT.EDU.
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 17:17:57 -0500
From: Stephen P Brown <Stephen.P.Brown @DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: The Usefulness of Video Reviews
For a number of years, I have been watching, reviewing and rating
videos that offer instruction in Argentine tango. Due the courtesy of
Alberto Paz, the fruits of that labor can be found on Planet Tango
<http://www.hooked.net/~tangoman/revu-1.htm>
I started the reviews by getting my hands on the 22 videos that I knew
existed at the time, buying some and borrowing others. In my naivete
and inexperience in dancing tango, I found it relatively easy to rate
the videos by a simple criterion: Can I learn something useful from
them?
As the number of videos grew and my experience with tango expanded to
include teaching, I moved on to other subjective criteria such as the
quality of the dancing (including form and musicality of movement),
the quality of the video production, the clarity of the instruction,
and the usefulness of the material for social dancing (or other stated
purpose). For videos intended for advanced dancers, I also look for
originality of the material, which puts an ever increasing burden on
the newer videos purporting to offer advanced material. Always at the
forefront of my mind is a variation of my original question, Can the
viewer learn something useful from the video?
Keeping up is proving challenging. The number of instructional videos
for Argentine tango expanded by more than 30 during the past year, and
the number of videos that I know of now stands at nearly 100. I am
finding it increasingly difficult to even keep up with the new videos
*and* remember with any accuracy material in videos that I borrowed and
saw four or five years ago.
In addition, some of the newer videos specialize in areas that I do
personally consider interesting, such as exchanging lead and follow or
developing choreographies for stage dancing. I try--but find it
challenging--to assess those videos from the perspective of what they
are trying to accomplish, rather than what I personally consider
interesting.
I am also finding that my format of rating all videos based on their
suitability for learning is limiting. In particular, some videos are
intended to document individual styles of dancing tango, and some are
intended to serve as a reminder to students who had attended
particular workshops. Reviewing such videos for their instructional
content ignores and undervalues the purpose for which they were
originally produced.
As you might expect, I have received annoyed to angry responses from a
number of video producers or dancers who thought I undervalued their
video or overrated a competitors' video. I have also received
numerous positive responses--from readers, as well as from producers
or dancers whose videos I rated favorably. To date no one has
personally questioned me as to whether I might have a commercial
interest in the reviews, but some have questioned whether my opinion
is well-informed. I would shrug off all these negative repsonses, but
I recognize to some extent that all the favorable and unfavorable
comments I have received contain elements of truth. Other than the
few videos that mix ballroom tango with Argentine tango, I consider
all the videos that I have rated useful in learning to dance tango.
People who know me, my dancing or my tango friends and mentors are
likely to know the inherent biases that I have in rating instructional
videos even better than I do. For me, the Osvaldo Zotto/Mora Godoy
videos remain the standard by which to judge the quality of other
videos. Like my principal instructor, Nito Garcia, I consider Osvaldo
Zotto to be one of the great dancers of his generation. In addition,
the Zotto/Godoy five-video series is a model of production values and
clarity of instruction.
A few have suggested that I have let production and entertainment
values overwhelm other aspects of the ratings. I do not think this is
completely true, but I find it difficult to rate highly an
instructional video that puts me to sleep, where I have trouble seeing
what is being done, or where the dancing is poorly executed.
I have considered dropping the ratings in favor of reviews or a simple
listing, but I doubt the usefulness of such limited information. I am
trying to develop ideas that deemphasize the ratings in favor of the
reviews, perhaps supplemented by comments from the readers and the
producers or dancers.
I welcome private comments, as well as an open discussion on this
forum.
With best regards,
Steve (de Tejas)
Stephen Brown
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 19:13:04 -0400
From: Robinne Gray <rlg2 @CORNELL.EDU>
Subject: Planting a seed
Hello list folk,
A few months back I wrote about the possibility of adapting the Lindy
Exchange concept to tango as an idea worth exploring. "Exchanges" are long
weekends in which folks from all over convene in a selected city for social
dance rather than for workshops. (That is the soul of vernacular dance
forms, is it not?) Some wondered how/whether the concept could work.
What, no big-name draw? No high prices and organizer anxiety over covering
expenses? No horrendous-yet-entertaining backbiting among instructors and
organizers?! Well baby, it's workin'.
The other night my swing buddies informed me how the idea has caught on and
the snowball effect is almost frightening (the organizers are anxious--but
about space, not money). The Exchange hosted by Ithaca is about two weeks
away. Folks can register online and the website tallies and displays the
number of folks who will attend from each metro area. So far we've got 159
people registered, NOT including the Ithacans. The economy of scale is
beneficial: an all-in pass is less than $50 per person. Check It Out:
http://www.csuglab.cornell.edu/~arf4/lindy_exchange/
Of course next week Ithaca will be hosting Facundo & Kely, whom we'll be
delighted to see again (check Matej's website for details). Quality
instruction is a good thing. But eventually I'd love to see tangueros get
together in a spirit similar to the Exchange, should the tango community
ever mature (in many senses of the word) to a degree that would support it.
--Robinne Gray
Ithaca, NY
(the dancingest small town in the U.S.)
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 17:38:14 -0700
From: Mike Hamilton <mikeh @MPL.UCSD.EDU>
Subject: Tango/Lindy Exchanges Re: Planting a seed
We just had our lindy exchange here in San Diego. It was marvellous.
Since it was on the brain, I started to think back to how it all got
started, really.
Back in 1998 just before Swing Out Northwest swing camp near Seattle,
(I remember that because that's where I heard all about this), a bunch
of people from Chicago decided they should all get together for a
weekend and go to San Francisco. San Fran has had one of the best
Lindy scenes for awhile, and Chicago was just picking up. So, about
20 of them called up friends they'd met at camps, found people to stay
with, and then got on a plane and flew out there.
Well, they all had such a good time, that a bunch of the San Fran
people hopped on out to Chicago to do the same thing. It was
basically just a reverse.
Now things started to snowball. People started hearing about it and
thought it was a cool idea. In September 1999, Seattle hosted a lindy
exchange and pulled out all the stops. With a little bit of planning,
they had dancing going until 3 or 4 every morning (later, if I know my
Seattle friends), had t-shirts printed up, etc. etc. Again, it made
sense for the ballroom and club owners to do more things that weekend,
since they knew people were coming in.
San Diego just hosted a lindy exchange, and we put on extra dances.
We had one really cool outdoor venue downtown at Horton plaza... we
just played music from 3-5 outside in the square and danced. There
were about 300 dancers from all over the country swing dancing in the
sunshine.
But, basically, these things started out just being a bunch of dancers
deciding to go to a city that they knew had a lot of great things
going on. It was very informal and there was no real organization at
all beyond calling their friends, getting a place to stay, and getting
on a plane with their dance shoes. Then they just patronized the
normal venues. Again, there's no risk involved, just people going out
dancing.
So, don't necessarily wait for someone to organize something. I'm
sure Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Motreal,
Boston, Miami, and a host of other cities all have great places to
dance every weekend. If you've been to any camps, or any of your
friends have, you probably know people from those towns, or know
someone who does. So, get together with 10 of your favorite dance
friends from your home town, call your friends in the other town, pick
a weekend, and just go!
I'm not trying to discourage people from organizing an event (Hats off
to the two girls in SD who organized our recent lindy exchange). But,
you don't have to wait and it doesn't have to be a "big deal". That's
totally missing the point.
hmm... Maybe I'll have to get together with a bunch of San Diegans and
fly up to Seattle sometime soon....
See you all dancing!
Mike Hamilton
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 22:10:21 EDT
From: Cherie Magnus <MACFroggy @AOL.COM>
Subject: a dance experience
Hi everyone,
Here's something from my repertoire of memories to add to this thread:
On my last day in Buenos Aires I danced an impromptu demonstration in
Parque Rivadavia with a handsome milonguero who owned only the elegant
suit of clothes on his back. We tangoed beneath a huge fig tree to music from
a boombox tied to the bicycle of a grizzled old man. Elderly couples, young
children, even a woman in a wheelchair, all cheered and threw money and
candy at us while we danced. It was a miracle that I could glide so
gracefully
over the rough bricks in backless high wedgies with rubber soles.
Thank goodness I had prayed at La Catedral!
Cherie
Los Angeles
End of TANGO-L Digest - 20 Apr 2000 to 21 Apr 2000 (#2000-108)
**************************************************************