[Tango-L] What Does It Take to Dance Tango?

[Chris, UK]

I wrote:

>> El Immortal Pacheco
> Nice to find my spelling checker has a sense of humour! ;)
>"El Immortal Pichuco"

Thanks to those who pointed out it is "I-N-mortal". Now if someone could 
just check the word "El" for me... ;)

------------

Lois asked:

> So how does a teacher get her students to a milonga if they don't 
> think they're ready?

You could find out by signing-up for Keith's beginners' lessons...

But he could probably tell you the answer for free: she doesn't. The 
issue is not how a teacher can get pupils to go, but what has the 
teacher done/not done in the first place such that they don't want to.

> I tell my beginners that ... the first time they step on the milonga
> floor will be terrifying.

As Dave said: youwch.

> I would love to have the kind of influence that you seem to credit
> teachers with

I credit teachers with very little influence over individual pupils.

But a lot over the group. It seems to me the average class-based course 
soon expels those that have an affinity for tango, when either they find 
they can dance and would rather do that than classes, or that they can't 
stand the frustration of the class teaching model's incompatibility with 
their natural respect for music, partner and self.

Those who are left - the ones continuing with classes - are often to 
teachers the successes, but to tango are actually the rejects. No 
surprise that teacher finds it hard to inject a class of rejects into 
the milongas. They'll be far happier remaining in the twilight world of 
the tango classroom, all the way up to "advanced". Or even to "teacher".

Have you tried sending pupils to spend a few months in the milongas  
/before/ their first class? I'll bet you'd find the group you get back  
has a completely different make-up. And lots of teaching problems just 
won't arise. Not least because the pupils will have some idea about what 
they are dancing to, and why.

Chris