[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [TANGO-L] New book about the Tango/Performance tango
Lois wrote:
Then there's my conscience. I know teachers who teach this stuff first,
and who deceive their students into thinking they are dancing real
tango. The students really think they are getting somewhere, as they
dance far apart, and lead and follow their never-ending ochos and unlead
boleos. Then one day they wake up - they've spent weeks learning moves
that are useless. They will have to start over. I have resisted this and
start my students learning connected walking. Yet I lured in a whole lot
of new students who will expect to learn ganchos the first night.
...
Lois Donnay, Minneapolis
www.mndance.com
612.822.8436
This could be seen as a clever business strategy.
It is common enough in either Ballroom or Tango.
That is:
Show your beginners a bunch of vocabulary that they can't possibly
succeed with. Since they will never figure out how to dance from it,
they will have to keep coming back to you for more vocabulary. This
will create a hunger for more and more fancy steps (filtering away
those who "just want to dance).
Also, by instilling so many bad habits, they will have no choice but
to come back for hundreds of hours of privates in order to get fixed.
This goes along with the strategy of Performances and Showcases:
Set up a showcase, and your students will frantically take lots of
privates to prepare. Charge them for the costume, charge them for an
expensive dinner, charge them to dance with you, charge their parents
and friends. There's gold in them thar hills.
One additional consequence...these strategies cause more of the men
to get frustrated and quit. Women are more likely to pay to have
coaches train them up. Women are more likely to pay just to get the
experience of dancing with a great leader. With fewer men in your
community, the women are more desperate to come take more privates.
The most unfortunate aspect of teaching all this show stuff is the
moment these beginner show-boaters show up at a crowded milonga. They
can't navigate the floor, none of the good dancers will dance with
them, and they haven't a clue as to getting from here to there.
In contrast...
Sure, good tango requires practice, time and private lessons help a
lot. But, the basic rhythms and walking steps of social tango are not
so hard. Get them up dancing socially, hearing the music and feeling
comfortable. Then those who wish to do fancier material can go on.
--
Tom Stermitz
http://www.tango.org/
stermitz @tango.org
303-388-2560
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------