[Tango-L] "Stay away from self appointed tango teachers." Re:Public Service Announcement (2nd Law)

[Derik Rawson]

Dear Lois:

--- Lois Donnay <donnay at donnay.net> wrote:

"Go to the teacher who has put the most good dancers
on the floor."

By your definition, I would be a good tango teacher,
because I have introduced a lot of people to Argentine
tango, and most of them are now great dancers (don't
ask me, ask others about that...lol)....BUT, I am not
a tango teacher.  I just encourage people to have some
fun, and they do it on their own.

I think encouraging people to dance tango often, and
providing venues for them to dance their asses off is
much more important than telling people what to do. 
The Argentines are really great dancers because they
start dancing tango when they are 6 years old, and
they learn it mostly from their close friends.  They
have their own tango.  Argentines do not look like a
teacher.  That is bad. They look like themselves. They
are individuals, not programmed robots.

--- Lois Donnay <donnay at donnay.net> wrote:

" How about another suggestion - ask a person whose
dancing you admire *where they learned*. Especially if
you are not a professional dancer who can pick up
dances easily."

I have found that the really great Argentine tango
dancers, usually have little professional dance
training, and they have learned Argentine tango from
their friends.  The people with professional dance
training are usually the problem on the dance floor in
Argentine tango.  They are usually quite stiff and
rigid. They always try to "look good" and execute the
perfect step, but they do so usually without following
the music. They have a hard time with improvisation,
and prefer to do preset choreography.  The women often
back-lead the men, if they get a chance. They usually
only dance well with their friends who have memorized
and practiced the same steps they know. They cannot
dance well with people outside of their own little
preselected group of friends.  To me, this is not a
good thing.

I will always vote for the musicians, who can dance
with anyone.  They can follow the music, and will do
so, even if the step is not perfect. To me, that is
more fun, and you know what?  It works! The music is
what ties the dance partners together, not the perfect
step.  What makes a great dancer is dancing. My
opinion.

PS-  Practice makes perfect, not teaching...

Derik
d.rawson at rawsonweb.com


--- Lois Donnay <donnay at donnay.net> wrote:

> How about another suggestion - ask a person whose
> dancing you admire *where
> they learned*. Especially if you are not a
> professional dancer who can pick
> up dances easily. Go to the teacher who has put the
> most good dancers on the
> floor.
> 
> Lois Donnay
> Minneapolis, MN
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: tango-l-bounces at mit.edu 
> > [mailto:tango-l-bounces at mit.edu] On Behalf Of
> Derik Rawson
> > Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2006 11:22 AM
> > To: Tango Tango; tango-l at mit.edu
> > Subject: [Tango-L] "Stay away from self appointed
> tango 
> > teachers." Re:Public Service Announcement (2nd
> Law)
> > 
> > 
> > Dear All:
> > 
> > --- Tango Tango <tangotangotango at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > "As a dancer's propensity to teach increases, his 
> > propensity to learn decreases at the same rate"
> > 
> > My view on learning tango:
> > 
> > "Stay away from self appointed tango teachers."
> > 
> > You are the customer.  Why not just watch someone
> > dance at a milonga.  If you want to dance like
> them,
> > "you ask them" to teach you what they know.  Do
> not
> > let people "tell you" that they are teachers.  You
> > make that decision yourself.
> > 
> > Derik
> > d.rawson at rawsonweb.com
> > 
> > 
> > --- Tango Tango <tangotangotango at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > Neil's 2nd Law of Tango states:
> > > 
> > >  "As a dancer's propensity to teach increases,
> his
> > > propensity to learn
> > > decreases at the same rate"
> > > 
> > > 
> > > This message was brought to you by Operation
> Halt
> > > Sacrilege & Heresy In
> > > Tango
> 
> 
> -- 
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> 
> 
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> 


Derik Rawson
d.rawson at rawsonweb.com
http://www.rawsonweb.com
713-522-0888 USA Landline Direct to Portable Cell Phone
281-754-4315 USA Landline Voice/Fax
d.rawson at cal.berkeley.edu
d.rawson at haas.alum.berkeley.edu
rawsonweb at yahoo.com
Europe/Asia
rawsonweb at compuserve.com
Paris, France
 
 


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