[TANGO-L] Teaching technique

[luda_r1 <luda_r1 @YAHOO.COM>]

Dan wrote:

"Andrew touched on a point when he mentioned the
instructors he's seen
are force-feeding steps to the students with no regard

for technique,
etc.  Therein lies the problem, because without proper

technique,
musicality, and all the other elements that make up a
good social dance,
the men aren't going to learn anything, nor are the
women.  Better study
with those instructors who understand how to teach
social tango and who
know lead and follower's technique so everyone can
grow together.
They're out there, and they're very busy in the
communities that support
social dancing."

Excellent idea! The same instructor I mentioned
previously who specializes in teaching technique, does
not appear to be particularly popular at the moment,
though. But it's changing. Slowly, but noticeably, I'm
happy to see. He says his students tell him that
learning technique is "boring". I've never been bored
for a minute in his classes. I don't get it. But maybe
being good doesn't always mean being popular. The man,
fortunately, has the courage of his convictions and is
determined to stick to his guns. From which we all
stand to benefit in this community.

I also agree with Jai that learning to lead is hard.
But maybe if technique were more emphasized instead of
teaching those killer boleos, before their time, and
keeping the acquisition of a wide repertoir of fantasy
patterns down to a minimum initially until the
fundamentals are reasonably mastered, men would have
less trouble learning to lead since they wouldn't have
to struggle leading all those fancy steps and
concentrate on their leading skills more. I don't
know. Maybe it is, as Jai says, just plain hard and
you just have to bite the bullet and tough it out

I understand that American women simply love dancing
in BsAs because the men (not all of them, naturally)
lead so well. And dance simply. Show biz tango at
milongas is frowned upon in that culture, and aptly
so. Why can't we do the same thing in this country?
Who wants a bunch of Miguel Zotto wannabes around
anyway? I sure don't, and most of the women I've
talked to about this feel the same. The other day I
saw a guy dancing like Groucho Marx. Perpetually and
excessively bent knees, remember? He looked positively
comical. But not intentionally, I'm sure, like Groucho
did. Yet he performed (and I use the word
deliberately) the most amazing assortment of patterns.
Without much regard for his partner, I might add. I
was told he has been dancing for years. Folks who know
him well say that's "just his style". I think that's a
bunch of baloney. Someone should have taken him aside
a long time ago. But maybe he's one of those people
who finds technique boring. A male dancer observing
his performance with me made a much less charitable
comparison, which I obviously can't repeat in this
forum. :)

On the other hand... Larry may have a point about
shortcircuiting certain neurons in the brain before
starting to dance.... ;-)

Luda

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