Re: [TANGO-L] How long does one need to dance to be good?

[Robert Hauk <robhauk @TELEPORT.COM>]

Hello List,

Oleh Kovalchuke wrote:
>
> So how long does one need to dance to be good?  It is reasonably good
> question for a small talk during cortina, but please do not use it as an
> argument or testament of quality. I think a leader can become good after one
> year of dancing. From my experience a follower can become really good in six
> months.

The answer to this question depends on what it means to you to dance
well.  I have certainly met women who dance really well at 6 months.
They are easy to lead, and move smoothly, and can be led to do steps
they have never done before.  For a 6 month dancer they are very very
good.  They still can't compare to a good dancer with a few years of
experience.

Carlos Rojas pointed out that the woman also has a big part in the
musicality of the dance.  Without the long experience with the music,
that musicality is not possible.  Musicality just gets richer with
years, a process without end hopefully.  In my experience as a dancer,
musicality is the most important thing a dancer has to offer, leader or
follower.  Good technique matters, but without musicality the dance
suffers.  I have danced with women who's technique was not great, but
who's musicality was so strong that they were a delight to dance with.
I don't particularly enjoy dancing with someone who's technique is great
but who's musicality is weak.

In my own dancing what it means to dance well changes with the years.
My experience of the dance is deeper and richer now after dancing tango
for nearly 9 years.  Each year I seem to learn something significant
that takes my dancing to another level, the last two years especially.
Each year I know the music better, and feel more layers and more subtle
things.  This deeper feeling of the music changes my dancing for the
better.  I hope this process never ends for me.

Every person will progress at their own rate.  What some can do in 1
year, it will take others 3 years to do.  People can get so worried
about how quickly, or not quickly they are progressing that they may
forget to enjoy where they are.  There is, hopefully, no end to the
learning so in the end it doesn't matter so much how quickly one learns.

Happy tangos to all,

Robert

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