[Tango-L] Everyone's "one of the most respected and well-known dancers in Buenos Aires"

[Caroline Polack]

I've been doing a lot of browsing on the internet, of various tango schools 
and teachers, in North America, and of course Argentina. Is it just me or is 
every single teacher "one of the most respected and well-known tango dancers 
in Buenos Aires"?

Says who? It's not possible for every single one of them to be "one of  the 
best" or there wouldn't any "best" at all. I would like to know who sets the 
standards and who exactly is considering those teachers to be "one of the 
best" or is there alot of self-proclamation going on?

I see it here too, braggadacio. I was at a Milonga hosted by my tango school 
where I was approached by an older man who tried to persuade me to stop 
taking lessons at that school and instead learn with him because he is one 
of the "best" and had been travelling to Buenos Aires every year for the 
last 20 years. Well, so did my tango teachers. I find that to be very bad 
manners, to be approached by someone who is trying to convince others not to 
take lessons from the teachers hosting the milonga. Competiton can sometimes 
be a little too backstabbing for my liking.

So, I am thinking, how does making annual pilgrimages to Argentina 
automatically make you the best?

What makes me laugh is when I come across a website that features just one 
teacher and they write about themselves in the third person, with all those 
effusive reviews of how they are one of the "best in Buenos Aires".

One thing I can say for sure is that generally speaking, most tango teachers 
have no lack of self-confidence.

_________________________________________________________________
Play Q6 for your chance to WIN great prizes.  
http://q6trivia.imagine-live.com/enca/landing