Re: [TANGO-L] Community growth...Teacher Challenge

[JSyverson <JJCSyverson @ATTBI.COM>]

I have to jump in on this conversation and say from a fairly newcomer's
perspective, this is a difficult thing!  In fact, breaking into the "tango"
scene is difficult in and of itself just due to the fact that there is such
a mystique regarding Tango.....and then when you finally figure out where
and how to start, you then have to struggle through the groups/clicks issue.
In some cases, you are welcomed openly or in most cases, you are left to
wonder why you feel like such as outsider.  Few "good" dancers ask beginners
to dance, there is little to no camaraderie until you are "accepted" as
being capable, and all the while you are struggling to learn the nuances of
tango because it is rarely discussed.   As a new dancer, you have to ask
questions, read articles, and seek the information out - it's difficult to
say the least.

Although I haven't had near the opportunity as most to dance all over the
world in my short one plus years as a tanguera, it is very apparent that [we
have the ability to scare new people off] just by not being open.  If I
hadn't wanted to learn Argentine Tango so badly and if I hadn't had the
opportunity of having a world-renowned instructor take me out on the floor
the very first time I went to a milonga to show me the beauty of the dance,
I would have left like many other newcomers.  As a beginner you watch all
the incredible dancers and hope that someday you will dance just as graceful
and elegant as they.  It would be a welcomed change to have top notch
dancers open up, say Hi once in a while, or even say excuse me when they
brush past you like you weren't even there.  A little kindness, a smile, and
a thought or two as to how each of us felt when we were beginners would go a
long way to changing the culture of the communities.

It is such a wonderful dance, I hope that together we can all keep it alive
by bringing in new members and letting them experience the wonders of
Argentine Tango!

Happy Holidays!

Jodi Syverson


-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango
[mailto:TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of Robert Hauk
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 3:25 AM
To: TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: [TANGO-L] Community growth...Teacher Challenge

Ramu Pyreddy wrote:
>
> On a related note -
>
> Maybe this was discussed in this list before.
> But why is that swing, ballroom and salsa communities are
> thriving whereas tango communities are always struggling to
> survive - let alone grow. Salsa clubs and ballroom studios
> can be found in small cities and big towns - so obviously
> it is economically feasible, whereas clubs dedicated to
> only tango are rare - (extinct as a matter of fact,
> TangoNadamas in Chicago just got closed - it is a shame).


Hey everyone,

This is a good question.  Whenever the discussion comes up there are a
lot of good ideas presented that probably all help bring in new people
and keep the ones that are already around.  With all the talking you
would think it would be easy to bring in people and keep them.  And
still everyone wonders why more people don't dance tango.

There is a factor in this that exists nearly everywhere and somehow
doesn't get mentioned in these discussions.  I don't know why but it
seems that in almost every community I have visited there isn't just one
group of people doing tango, there are two or more.  This would be great
except for the fact that most often these various groups are quite
antagonistic toward one another.

I don't know what it is about tango but it seems to have attracted a lot
of people who want to own the one true tango and be the one fountain of
true tango knowledge.  There is so much arguing about which style of
tango is the real one (how many times has that come up on this list),
and how everybody should dance and how everybody should conduct
themselves, I wonder when people take the time to dance and enjoy the
experience.

When new people come to tango they discover that they must take sides in
these fights.  They quickly learn that if they take classes from one
teacher they can't take classes from another, or else they will have to
switch groups.  They quickly have to learn which milongas they will be
welcom at, and which people they shouldn't dance with.  Of course new
people don't know so they start with one group, innocently go to the
other group's milonga, get told what is wrong with the teachers they
started with and that they should take classes with this teacher
instead.  They find themselves in the middle of this mess and my guess
is that they probably just decide that it is easier to go dance salsa or
swing and leave these crazy tango people to fight among themselves.

If we could just agree to disagree and get on with the dancing.  No one
of us knows everything about tango, and we never will.  We all share
something in common, we are all crazy about tango somehow.  If the
energy spent fighting was spent working together tango would grow
everywhere.  It takes a lot to build a real community, and our little
dance communities are a place to practice.

I wish you all happy tango communities, and great dancing.

Robert