[TANGO-L] Memorized Patterns and Improvised Tango

[Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown @DAL.FRB.ORG>]

On one of the many regional tango websites, you can read the following:

"Tango is a highly improvised dance.  Actually, at the advanced levels all
dances are highly improvised.  It is only the beginning and intermediate
dancers who struggle and memorize frozen, rigid patterns.  That's OK
everyone needs somewhere to start .  Its good to have a solid foundation
and then branch out from there.  The problem. though, is some people don't
realize tha the steps they learn in beginning lessons are only a
foundation and are not meant to be the end-all, be-all."

I am afraid that I do not see how learning frozen, rigid patterns in
beginning lessons provides a solid foundation from which to branch out. As
Tom Stermitz has pointed out, men typically arrive at their first class
with an ability to navigate.  After a few lessons of memorized figures,
they lose all that ability.  Why not start out with teaching that
integrates tango directly into walking which is the backbone of tango.

See Daniel Trenner's comments about the basic in tango.
http://www.danieltrenner.com/daniel/ar_basic.html

With best regards,
Steve

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas

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