The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 20 Mar 1999
to 21 Mar 1999
Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango
To: Recipients of TANGO-L digests <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 03:00:02 -0500
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango
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Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 20 Mar 1999 to 21 Mar 1999
There are 15 messages totalling 907 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Tango Buenos Aires
2. Newspaper clipping
3. Question for Followers
4. Practica now The Learning Curve
5. Tolerance? (Re: Newspaper Clipping)
6. Tango In Heidelberg (2)
7. San Diego Activities (2)
8. Tango in the News
9. La Practica
10. On stuffy teachers.......
11. looking for Jak Karako
12. On teachers and stuff.
13. !Baile Tango!
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 02:20:24 -0600
From: Joe Grohens <joe @WOLFRAM.COM>
Subject: Tango Buenos Aires
Dear List,
I just got back into town from seeing Osvaldo Requena's "Tango Buenos Aires"
in nearby Decatur, Illinois.
The audience was small (I don't know ... maybe 200?).
I think this was partly because Millikin University is on Spring Break,
and Decatur is a small factory town.
Anyway, point I want to make is that this show is excellent, and worth seeing.
I remember a month or so ago someone saw the show in Las Vegas and said
"don't waste your money". I'm here to say it's worth your money and
a few hours' drive to see this show. It is not big and shiny and
expensively costumed like Forever Tango. It is small, and intimate,
a bit loose, and very warm. The dancers are clearly having a good time.
They have an immediacy and spontaneity that I think Forever Tango lacks,
frankly. And I loved watching every step and gesture.
The orchestra, with Osvaldo Requena playing piano, is worth the price
of admission alone. If you live in the U.S., even SF and NYC, you
can't have many opportunities to hear live Tango orchestras. And
these guys are great.
The show closes with a malambo (which I had never heard of before),
ending in an astonishing performance by dancer Nestor Ruben Gude
where he swings circularly some bola-like ropes with wooden balls attached,
striking the balls on the floor in a 6/8 rhythm and making an accompanying
rhythm with his feet somewhat like flamenco. I don't know what this was,
but it was rhythmically about as compelling as hearing some Cuban congeros
in the advanced stages of a rhumba.
They play in Chicago tomorrow night (Sat 20 March).
One last word ... Osvaldo Requena!
Joe Grohens
Champaign, IL
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 14:09:55 -0600
From: Guy Barbe <gbarbe @GETUS.COM>
Subject: Newspaper clipping
List
In particular to Eduardo you wrote:
<From your comments we can see that you are new in this thing of
tango. You>
<are not Argentinean, nor rise in tango. Even though you are very
welcome to>
<dance tango, you can develop your own philosophy on what is tango.
But don't>
<patronize us!!!!>
<We, the Argentineans, used to say, "la vida es una milonga" (life is
a>
<milonga), well, it seems that life is "many milongas". If you don't
like our>
<milonga...organize yours, but let's us enjoy what we do.>
Let me remind you that the list is a forum where people will express
their opinions, and they are just that OPINIONS not to be degraded.
If you don't agree say so, and state why you don't. I do take offense
to your text. It is a very chauvinistic statement which is, in my
view, far worse than the Clinton's or Prince's of the world doing the
Tango!!
I am going to Buenos Aires, this Friday and see first hand how the
Argentineans do dance in their Milongas. I am sure it will be fun and
look forward to it and meet some of the dancer you named and hopefully
learn from them what Tango really is.
Unload that big chip and enjoy
Guy
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 09:10:00 EST
From: Verena Faigle <VERENAV @AOL.COM>
Subject: Question for Followers
Since this discussion is going on, I'll participate...
Kate wrote:
"When you (Pepito) say:
> But it is the art of the follower to make her sense of rhythm felt,
> giving the finishing touch to the process, and/or taking over "the
> rhythm section" when she feels the leader is in doubt. Dancing with
> ladies who can do this is for me THE complete dance experience,
> particularly when I have difficulties following the beat of a given
> orchestra and she can give me the key to understand it! A sublime
> communication experience!
'...you are assuming a) that all men are as sensitive to their follower
as you talk of being, and b) that they are *aware* that they aren't
dancing to the music. Would that this were true. Too often, the fact
is that men do not dance in relation to the music at all. (For the
record, I'm not saying this is exclusive to men, they're just the ones
I dance with, so don't flame me on being sexist here.) It's the
perpetual problem of their concentrating on the patterns they want to
do, rather than just connecting to the music or their partner. ' "
I agree with that.
Especially in Germany I noticed that many people are all crazy about figures.
Its like a concept they have in mind: Figure a, is followed by figure b, which
is followed by figure c a.s.f....... So the just do crazy "giros" when the
music is soft and tender...
In that case I do as I learned from argentinians: Dance one dance - and get
out of it. There is nothing wrong in telling a man, that you want to take a
break. There is no reason why you should dance with someone who doesn't take
care of you.
Ramiro wrote:
>>You must choose -- dance with the music "by yourself," or block out
>>the music and dance with your partner. An awkward dilemma, and I
>>can't blame a woman who chooses the music. Yet, I think choosing
>>to dance with your partner is closer to "tango."
As for me its no dilemma, I just do the following: I concentrate on my
technic. So I have something to do. Its actually a great opportunity to train
your balance and the movement of your feet. And as soon as the music stops, I
say thank you and goodbye... If a dancer doesn't listen to the music, he's far
away from tango anyhow. So Ramiros 2nd option isn't getting you closer to it
either.
I too think that woman have to mark the rhythm. Especially in cases like the
"ocho" or if your partner is doing "traspie" or on "caminadas" a.s.f. . As a
finishing touch - and as a main part of dancing tango. (And its something more
you can train, while dancing with one who has no relation to the music....)
There is no reason to dance off the music just because your partner does so...
But its no dancing for pleasure, its practising - and if this happens at a
milonga just say goodbye after the first dance :-)
For argentinians the music is really important. They just love it. The best
explication about the importance of the music I heard from Omar Vega. He loves
to tell his pupils what his old teacher told him, when he started as a
beginner:
"Boy, you have to honour the music more than your mother".
If you know what the mother means to an south american, you may get an idea
about what the music is for tango.
Keep on listening to the music :-)
Verena
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 20:09:55 -0500
From: Jeff Allen <dancebook @EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Practica now The Learning Curve
Hi Rosita, Stephen, and List Members,
Both of you have begun to introduce a topic that is important to convey
to any students of Tango,
"The Learning Curve." I will remind my students as often as they
approach some of these same
thoughts about my feelings to separate their dance teaching and coaching
experiences from their
Practica and from their Practica their Milonga participation. There
are clearly three differing levels
of performance and expectation here by any single dancer or as an
aggregate, the dance couple.
Teaching, the first level: Your teacher should be able to bring you
incrementally to the highest level
of your dancing within the content of any given material and the
dancer's previous experience and
practice. Once you leave the watchful and caring eye of the teacher the
student tends to drift back
into some, but hopefully less of their own bad habits. The third eye of
the teacher should always be
able to lift your standard of dance to its highest level. Group class
instruction is good for learning
new choreography however please know and remember that you resolve the
material in a group
within the context of your present ability. Private coaching is always
worthwhile because an
accomplished teacher should have the ability to change your resolve.
Practice, the second level: Practice to achieve growth and development
in Tango is not a Milonga or
Bar! You're alone with or without a partner, its time to set a goal for
your practice time. A goal that
is obtainable and realistic. Pick out one or two figure types and work
them to death! My friend,
Carlos Gavito, said in a conversation with me (in essence), "If a
teacher killed me on a lesson, then I
knew I gained something on that lesson if not then it was not worth my
time. Then I worked
(practiced) like Hell to kill him, when I returned to the next class.
I'll show that 'son of a gun'!"
Blend quiet music less practice counting aloud and then bring things up
to speed by adding music.
Remember music brings a pressure to your performance level because music
is the most unforgiving
aspect of dance! It will indeed bring out every single fault that you
have in your dance both as a
leader and a follower. By the way, I lead every single Male student I
have and am totally in favor of
this approach. Sometimes in a moment a new leader being lead by an
accomplished dancer can
unravel confusion about things like pressure and force, rotation, body
and arms moving in
conjunction with one another, etc. In business a good manager is often
defined as, one who never
asks a subordinate to do something they cannot do themselves. This,
historically, has always been a
good approach to Tango. In the Tango the leader suggests and attempts
to influence the follower
and then follows them to the resolve. The couple itself is lead
spatially by the follower virtually all
the time. Use, patience and forgiveness with yourself and your partner
instead of EGO!
The Milonga, the third level. The practice a Milonga or public dance
provides is just that, public or
swimming with the sharks. Now you have the ongoing music and the random
bodies about the floor
attacking you and your partner, or for most in the beginning, it just
seems that way. You did learn to
drive in an empty parking before you went out in traffic. While an
accident or failure on the Milonga
floor is not nearly as threatening as one in traffic it can be to your
emotions and ego. That is unless
you have been schooled as to the reality of the public dance or
performance. YOU WILL NEVER
DANCE YOUR BEST IN PUBLIC! A beginner can lose as much as 70% of their
present
performance level while dancing at a Milonga for the two reasons I just
mentioned. A top
professional dancer will readily admit that to perform publicly at a
level at 80% of their BEST
practice is about as much as they can hope for.
What I am saying through all this is, to improve your weakest level of
dance you must improve the
standard of your preceding level. You will never dance in public better
than 80% of your most
consistent practice level. If no practice level exists other than in
public you cannot expect much so
you shouldn't be hard on yourselves. Arrange with a practice partner
or even a few and take some
quiet time out of the eye shot of others and practice.
Raising the standard of teaching experience will raise your practice
level. Raising the standard of
your practice level will raise the standard of you public or Milonga
level. The dancer should look for
an improvement at each level from their last in that level's
experience. There will be always some
loss of level between the beginning of any session and the ending of the
same. This loss is natural,
that's why we should consider a warm-up time. Realistically, what
you're looking for in the Learning
Curve is to start a level slightly better or higher than your last
experience at that level. I hope some
of this is of value and relief to those who are experiencing the usual
and normal frustrations of
partnering in Tango.
Kind Regards,
Jeff Allen
http://home.earthlink.net/~dancebook/tango.html
rosita marie wrote:
Steve wrote:
>This example shows why going to a practice can be important to
developing
>skills. Few teachers explicitly work on leading step length in their
>classes, and a milonga is not really the best time to develop new
skills.
Steve touchs on a very good point, that is, a practica is for practice
and the milonga is for dancing! Do many cities hold practicas? Do
people go to them? So often at a milonga dance traffic is stopped
because one couple is going to work on that gancho/sweep combo
till they get it right! Or just as unnerving is the guy who is going
to
teach the beginner a new step and is heard above the music
saying "PUT YOUR LEG THERE!" Doesn't he know that is
awkward and embaressing for the woman. Of course these
"teachers" are never in classes or at practicas.
If there is a practica in your city please make use of it. As Steve
said, it is the best place to work on your dance skills and steps.
Even if there is no partner to dance with, it is a usefull place to
work on your walking, ochos and boleos without bumping into a
kitchen chair!
Practice more Tango,
Rosita
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 13:10:11 -0800
From: "Brannigan, Mary" <Mary.Brannigan @WWIRELESS.COM>
Subject: Tolerance? (Re: Newspaper Clipping)
Saludos,
I must say that I'm very disappointed at the way this latest thread has
degraded into flaming fellow members. Being a member of this list means
that you're somebody who is involved in someway with AT. And to be involved
with AT, means that you are a passionate person.
But, let's not let our passions (about politics, personal philosophy or
ethnicity)override the respect due to our fellow lovers of AT.
I find it bitterly ironic to read a page full of flames and at the end,
see the deliverer demanding more tolerance from the person being flamed.
And I was particularly dismayed to see the following comment :
>"...we can see that you are new in this thing of Tango. You are not
Argentinean, nor
> rise in tango."
While the two not-so-subtle flames above were directed at somebody else,
the statement in between about "You are not Argentinean", hit a nerve.
Our ethnicity is one of the few things that we as individuals have no
control over. To take the fact that someone was or was not born in such and
such a place and then attempt to twist that fact into an insult is the
basest form of discrimination.
We can't all have the privilege of being born Argentinean (and I say this
with complete respect for the culture and people of Argentina). Just
because somebody was not born in the homeland of tango however, does not
mean that he/she does not experience the intensity and passion of the dance
any less than a native.
All members of this list share one thing in common: a love and dedication
to AT. If nothing else, let this bond be cause enough to garner
consideration before replying.
My thanks to everyone who took the time to read my 2p worth. And if,
after reading, you should feel the need to flame, please spare the rest of
the list, and instead send them to me directly at :
marybrannigan @hotmail.com.
-Thank you.
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 16:52:07 +0000
From: Sansour <sansour @IBNM.UNI-HANNOVER.DE>
Subject: Tango In Heidelberg
Hi guys,
it has been a long time ago that we discussed here on the T-List. Last
week I subscribed again. I needed a little distance, and in the
meanwhile I came here
to Hannover to work on a project for 1.5 years. Sorry for not being
online.
> just in case anyone of you should be in Europe / Germany / Heidelberg in
> April, be sure not to miss the big event:
>
> Tango Ball in the King's Hall on Heidelberg Castle ("Schloss")
> April, 10th, 8.00 p.m.
> Music by Sexteto Canyengue
> Dance show by Ricardo y Nicole
>
> infos at http://www.condetango.de (subject "specials")
I want to miss it :)
I wish the organizers good luck, nevertheless, I want to write my honest
opinion:
Ok, the castle of Heidelberg is nice, but once you are in the
hall, you will not see more than a hall, like all other halls.
Yes the musicains are worth to go there, they are also in
Karlsruhe (24. of April) where the tango lovers from everywhere will
meet,
but I would not die for seeing the performers of the ball in Heidelberg
and also
not for dancing with the folk there.
All tango-lovers and people familiar with Tango
know exactly what I am speaking about.
But well, it is question of taste.
> The ball is held by Juergen and Andrea Graf, who came from Berlin one year
> ago and settled down with their new tango school ("CondeTango") right in
> the center of old Heidelberg. They dance a marvelous, beautiful, and very
> elegant Tango style and are brilliant teachers. Since they opened, Tango
> scene in HD has started to get bigger and bigger and attracts many people
> from everywhere around.
To this point I would like to tell you more about the Heidelberger
Tango-Scene.
Four years ago Hulya, Verena, and me started to teach tango and to
develop the tango-scene in Heidelberg.
I think many peolple will agree when I say
we are good and we know how it works. We worked very
hard at the beginning, until we started to believe that the scene is
strong
enough to survive. We had 3 classes with more than 10 couples each.
We offered people good tango quality. But after a short time, a lot
of people started also to teach in Heidelberg, e.g., some of our
students, salsa
teachers, ball room teachers, and dancers who came from outside.
To my opinion they are actually not that good.
Like everywhere else, at the end, only the quality (the best and
strongest)
will survive. This of course is a natural
process, and we know that.
This makes us feel ok. We are no longer angry, although the new teachers
are less qualified and are actually spoiling our work of years (I have
nothing against good dancers), since we know: once the tango students
get adult and know more about tango,
they sooner or later are going to recognize that their best choince is
working with Emile and Hulya.
I have nothing against Juergen and Andrea, they are for sure better than
all
the other teachers in Heidelberg. Andrea is a very nice person,
I like her. I also thought of working with them, but I finally
decided to wait another year, since both have to change
and develop first, I think.
> place. You can't imagine a finer place for dancing T.A.!
Ich habe mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren :)
yes Heidleberg is nice, but don't you know that without the right
persons
(the right dancers) even the most beautiful place of the world is boring
?
Apart from all of that, I wish the organizers really good luck.
Regards
Emile Sansour
Ps: Each time I visit the USA (espeacially the east coast)
I notice that the tango scene is changing continuosly.
Would you like to discuss that point with me here. What are the
diferences
between Europe and USA. What is happening nowadys in the USA. How is the
future going to look like. Would you like to start the discussion ?
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 10:14:01 -0500
From: Florentino Guizar <GUIZARF @TCG.COM>
Subject: San Diego Activities
Can some one in San Diego send me info about classes or milongas in
San Diego for weekend of April 3-4. Thank you.
tino
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 20:20:04 -0500
From: Melinda Bates <tangerauna @EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Tango in the News
Like Eduardo I am puzzled by both Chan's and Kathleen's postings about tango
at the White House, in President Menem's house, and on the tv and news. In
what sense is any of this "bad publicity"? It is simply another high
profile opportunity to expose people to tango who might otherwise never hear
or see it. Were these celebrities actually dancing tango - clearly not.
Were they responding with enthusiasm (and maybe passion) to the beautiful
music and dance they had just seen? Clearly, yes. What is wrong with that?
Isn't Chan's argument that tango is about passion? Well, that is just what
we see in these moments.
The President was not dancing tango. But he was moving very nicely to the
music for a non-tanguero (remember, he has been a musician all his life).
Mrs. Clinton was following President Menem, who is a dedicated tanguero.
The Prince of Wales appeared (to me) to bring grace and energy to his
efforts to dance to this difficult music, both with a professional dancer
and with Ms. Menem. People who saw this in person or on the news were
enchanted. How is this "bad publicity"? Who is Chan to say it was not from
the heart? If they were just stiff politicians or public figures, they
would have been too self-conscious to get up in front of the world to try
this. (Just try getting an ordinary guy to get up in front of any strangers
to try a new dance if you think this is a small thing....)
It is wonderful to hear tango on the television, even in a commercial. Does
it confirm my choice to dance tango - don't be silly. Those of us who
commit ourselves to tango are clearly not motivated by external approval -
it's too darn hard for too darn long. But does it make me smile, and does
it perhaps bring someone new to tango? Of course.
If people are truly interested in helping the tango community to grow, these
would seem to be pretty simple principles to build on.
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 10:31:16 -0600
From: Stephen P Brown <Stephen.P.Brown @DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: La Practica
Rosita and Jeff bring up interesting perspectives on the practice.
Rosita wrote:
[A] practica is for practice and the milonga is for dancing! Do many cities hold
practicas? Do people go to them? ... Practice more Tango.
Jeff wrote:
>Practice: You're alone with or without a partner, its time to set a
>goal for your practice time. A goal that is obtainable and realistic.
>Pick out one or two figure types and work them to death!
Within these comments are many suggestions for practice. Personally, I
most like the instructor-supervised practice that is common in Buenos
Aires, but relatively uncommon in North America. If your city does not
offer a supervised practice, and no instructor can be prodded to provide
one, an unsupervised practice is better than none. Getting together with
a practice partner, and perhaps a few other couples is also a
possibility. The Dallas tango community began with two couples, who had
instructors in other cities, getting together to practice.
--Steve de Tejas
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 14:45:09 -0700
From: Bruss Bowman <Bruss @QMACS.COM>
Subject: Re: On stuffy teachers.......
One of the most important reasons I dance Argentine tango is its intensely
individualistic nature. Even within the major "schools" of tango one can
find a very rich variety of individual styles. The Gustavo school is a
great example. One only has to watch Fabian, Gustavo, Pablo Veron and
Chicho dance to recognize the major theme they all share and yet appreciate
the very unique styling they all bring to the dance.
So many people fall into a rather passive acceptance of whatever the teacher
du jour is offering, this is why the contradictory elements of differing
teachers becomes problematic. This passivity is also bothersome in that as
dancers we only become a mirror of the teacher or teachers that we learn
from, this is exactly the issue I have with the "ballroom" incarnations of
tango, international & American, in which all the Soul has been removed and
only the steps remain.
Ultimately it probably doesn't matter much whether you study with a very few
teachers or many. More important is your active participation in the
learning process. Challenge each teacher's premises by trying on their
style and ideas. Do they work for you in your body/mind, if not why not?
Take those things from each teacher that work for you and make them your
own. Disregard the rest. Find out who you are as a tango dancer and don't
dance like anyone else other than yourself. Of course at that point you
will have become a hopelessly arrogant individualist but better that then a
tango dancing lemming headed over a cliff :-)
Best Regards,
Bruss
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 17:06:53 -0500
From: Dolores Longo <madolo @CSI.COM>
Subject: looking for Jak Karako
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I apologize to the list for posting this, but my computer crashed and I =
have lost some of my addresses.
Jak, it appears that I don't have you e-mail after all. Can you please =
get in touch with me ASAP. I have some answers for you. Regards, Dolores
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<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>I apologize to =
the list for=20
posting this, but my computer crashed and I have lost some of my=20
addresses.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Jak, it appears that I don't have you e-mail after =
all. Can=20
you please get in touch with me ASAP. I have some answers for you. =
Regards,=20
Dolores</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
=_NextPart_000_0004_01BE72F4.0D3DE760--
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 15:19:52 -0700
From: Tom Stermitz <stermitz @CSN.NET>
Subject: Re: Tango In Heidelberg
>Hi guys,
>
>it has been a long time ago that we discussed here on the T-List. Last
>week I subscribed again. I needed a little distance, and in the
>meanwhile I came here to Hannover to work on a project for 1.5 years.
>Sorry for not being online.
...
>Emile Sansour
>
>Ps: Each time I visit the USA (espeacially the east coast)
>I notice that the tango scene is changing continuosly.
>Would you like to discuss that point with me here. What are the
>diferences
>between Europe and USA. What is happening nowadys in the USA. How is the
>future going to look like. Would you like to start the discussion ?
>
>Sansour <sansour @IBNM.UNI-HANNOVER.DE>
The US has a few cities with 8 years of experience and a large number with
4 years. We have a number of isolated individuals with 8 or more years of
tango. I think that Europe has a lot of 10 and even 15 year old communities.
As someone living in an active 4 year old community, I would like to hear
from some of the Europeans about the next 4 years. We have a core of 60
people who could be considered intermediate, but I feel like very few are
punching through to find "real" tango.
On the other hand, things are much better now than at the beginning. I feel
like a beginner in a new community takes two years to learn tango and
another two (if ever) to unlearn bad habits. Now a newcomer can learn tango
in a year, and if they work carefully with good instruction they can even
avoid bad habits.
You comment on the quality of the teachers in Heidelberg. We have a similar
issue with perhaps ten different people teaching tango.
How should a beginner evaluate which person to learn from?
I have some other questions:
What is "real tango" anyway?
Can a talented dancer learn to be great at tango even if they receive poor
training?
Should we emphasize quantity over quality?
Should we emphasize quality but fewer newcomers, so that they aren't
swamped by so many beginners?
Should we emphasize social energy and friendliness over technique?
How important is the sexual energy?
Speaking from Colorado, I feel it is overwhelming when there are three
times as many beginners as intermediates. When the Tango Lesson movie came
out and a big beginner class sent us 60 newcomers, the top half of our
community (20 intermediates?) declined in skill, until the newcomers either
came up to their level or stopped coming.
There is no Argentine community in Colorado, and so many of us are learning
this dance "second culture". It is like learning salsa when you don't have
any native Latins to model on...how can you learn latin motion in your
hips, when your community consists of gringos repeating the salsa "&-1-2-3,
&-1-2-3".
Or it is like swing where the newcomers want to learn how to throw the
woman over their head at the first class, and then they go teach aerials to
all their friends.
>To this point I would like to tell you more about the Heidelberger
>Tango-Scene.
>Four years ago Hulya, Verena, and me started to teach tango and to
>develop the tango-scene in Heidelberg.
>I think many peolple will agree when I say
>we are good and we know how it works. We worked very hard at the beginning,
>until we started to believe that the scene is strong enough to survive.
>We had 3 classes with more than 10 couples each. We offered people good
>tango quality. But after a short time, a lot of people started
>also to teach in Heidelberg, e.g., some of our students, salsa
>teachers, ball room teachers, and dancers who came from outside.
>To my opinion they are actually not that good.
>Like everywhere else, at the end, only the quality (the best and strongest)
>will survive. This of course is a natural process, and we know that.
>
>This makes us feel ok. We are no longer angry, although the new teachers
>are less qualified and are actually spoiling our work of years (I have
>nothing against good dancers), since we know: once the tango students
>get adult and know more about tango, they sooner or later are going
>to recognize that their best choince is working with Emile and Hulya.
>
>I have nothing against Juergen and Andrea, they are for sure better than
>all the other teachers in Heidelberg. Andrea is a very nice person,
>I like her. I also thought of working with them, but I finally
>decided to wait another year, since both have to change
>and develop first, I think.
...
>
>Regards
>
Tom Stermitz
2612 Clermont St
Denver, CO 80207
Chautauqua Publishing / Ragtime Interiors
"On-Line Arts & Crafts Movement Resource Directory."
(303) 388 - 2560
stermitz @ragtime.org
http://www.ragtime.org/ragtime/
http://www.tango.org/dance/
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 19:16:09 -0500
From: "Walter M. Kane" <oldzeid @FRONTIERNET.NET>
Subject: Re: On teachers and stuff.
From: Peter Tyson Friday, March 19, 1999 9:14 PM:
> I ... liked to learn from a couple of teachers.
> This chap ... said that he thought learning from just one
> teacher was better ...
> it's best early on to copy one person's style, then to develop your own.
> ... i just thought it might be an interesting question some people might
want to address on this list?
I'm still at the "sponge" stage of learning tango, so I don't claim to be
able to pass judgment on the quality of any particular teacher, but I can
say that I have benefited from exposure to more than one.
My regular teacher has plenty to offer me. If I never learned from anyone
else, and could learn to tango as well as he does, my tango would not be
too shabby, to say the least. The benefit I have found by attending
workshops and private lessons with visiting teachers (some brought into our
classes by the instructor), though, is mainly differences of emphasis. What
one teacher may take for granted in the communication process is emphasized
by another. Thus, little (and not so little) sticking points have gotten
cleared up, and techniques that I was doing pretty well became a little
cleaner after going down the same road several times with different
instructors.
As far as style is concerned, I suppose we all have to be somewhat
immitative during the development process. But that doesn't mean trying to
be a carbon copy of any particular instructor. I don't think "one size fits
all" applies to tango.
The more we progress, the better observers we become. The styles of all the
teachers, as well as other dancers on the floor are there for us to see and
experiment with, to find what fits our size and shape and whatever natural
ability we might have. Eventually, each of our styles should be our own,
right?
Tangringo
____________________
Walter M. (Tangringo) Kane
Harriman, NY
oldzeid @frontiernet.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tango Lyrics in Spanish and English at
http://www.hooked.net/~tangoman/letras.htm
Por el fomento y progreso del Tango
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 01:09:21 +0000
From: Sandra & Mario <sam @INRETE.IT>
Subject: !Baile Tango!
Dear Tango friends,
we are Sandra and Mario of El Barrio Tanguero of Turin-Italy and we are very
happy to confirm the soiree' that we called !Baile Tango! of Saturday April,
17th with the live music of Sexteto Canyengue.
In that occasion the dutch group will play for us in a new site of turinese
nightclubbing: Supermarket.
Supermarket is a groovy place with fascinating mood and fitted up with one
of the best acoustic appliance in Italy.
Sexteto Canyengue
Founded in 1988 by Carel Kraayenhof and Leo Vervelde, in first istance they
were inspired by the Great Argentinian Maestro Osvaldo Pugliese; in a later
stage they also focused upon Piazzolla's music.
The qualities of Sexteto Canyengue consist of a profound knowledge of the
classic and modern Tango-repertoire. Kraayenhof's own arrangements and
compositions are valuable contributions to the world of Tango; the latter
are described as the missing link between the works of Pugliese and Piazzolla.
They gave concerts all over the world playing a music with remarkable
influences from pop, jazz, salsa, classical and contemporary music, thus
showing that Tango is world music.
Therefore:
!Baile Tango!
Milonga with live music of Sexteto Canyengue
Saturday April, 17th starting 10.00 PM
at Supermarket
Viale Madonna di Campagna, 1 (via Stradella)
Torino - Italy
Admission ticket (included one drink):
Lit. 30.000 for members of El Barrio Tanguero
Lit. 35.000 for non-members.
Info and reservations:
Sandra and Mario - sam @inrete.it - phone/fax ++39.11.8987517
Informations
Marco - markand @tin.it - phone ++39.11.7712949.
Many tangos to all.
Sandra & Mario
El Barrio Tanguero - Torino - ITALY
sam @inrete.it
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Musee/9244/
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 20:57:59 -0800
From: "M. Hamilton" <mh @U.WASHINGTON.EDU>
Subject: Re: San Diego Activities
Please forward replies to me as well. I'll be moving there at the end of
the month... this will be my first tango weekend in San Diego.
I have heard of an Argentine restaurant in La Jolla/UTC area which is
having tango on the weekends - "Patagonia". Does anyone have any details
about it? Has anyone checked it out at all?
Thanks,
Mike
________________________________________________________
Michael Hamilton mh @u.washington.edu
Mr. Bingley...was lively and unreserved, danced every dance,
was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of
giving one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities
must speak for themselves.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
________________________________________________________
On Thu, 18 Mar 1999, Florentino Guizar wrote:
> Can some one in San Diego send me info about classes or milongas in
> San Diego for weekend of April 3-4. Thank you.
> tino
>
End of TANGO-L Digest - 20 Mar 1999 to 21 Mar 1999
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