[Tango-L] ENDEMIC PROBLEM

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Hi Jonathon,

Tom’s email came in right after I had realized that all of
the pre-registrations so far from out-of-towners for Andres
& Meredith’s upcoming workshops were from single men or
couples.  Of the locals, interest has been all types -
single men, single women, and couples.  So I’d say that
Tom’s observations fit with our own.

This supports my theory that when women believe that they
need a partner in order to get better, they lose interest
in studying.  That occurs at many dance levels and is one
of the biggest reasons I hear of women leaving the dance. 
I do not hear that from men.  Then there’s the economics
factor.  Traveling for workshops may not be seen as cost
effective, especially if they sit around at a milonga.  And
who knows what the actual level of dancing at the workshop
will be.  For a short time last year, a couple of women
were paying men to take workshops or dance with them at
milongas in other cities.

Since we have been around since the start of the community
eleven years ago, I have made a few observations:
- Between years 3-5, women either level off or go for the
gusto.  What provokes the latter is whether they have
gotten over the "step/ornament" phase or if they start
teaching/organizing.
- women are more likely to stop studying tango because of a
romantic interest than a man.
- women are more likely to compromise their technique
because of a romantic interest studying tango than a man.
- women at high levels who continue to take workshops are
usually teachers, so they are also looking for new teaching
techniques.
- women who continue to study and are not teachers tend to
take privates, though they do not reach the high level of
those who continue to take workshops.

Regarding workshops, the need for women teachers can often
be overlooked.  By this, I mean women who are on equal
teaching footing with the man, not just a partner.  When I
take a workshop, whether a woman is also teaching is a
factor I consider.

With men, the incentives to get better are much more
obvious because the results of getting better are much
clearer.  With women, the results of getting better are
more subtle and are more often felt than seen.  So I think
it is a lack of knowledge of how far good following can go.
 Unless men tell them, women just do not know.  

What I think is that people, especially men, are more
protective over a woman’s ego than they are over a man’s
ego, so women are not told the unsugarcoated truth.  So
their knowledge is limited.  Growing up, men are told
variations of "don’t make your little sister cry", so is
this any surprise?  As a general rule, men will not compare
women in front of a woman, but women will compare men in
front of a man.  It’s tougher for men to verbalize how a
women feels in his arms without hurting a woman’s ego. 
It’s easier for a woman to talk about a guy’s musicality or
vocabulary without damaging another man’s ego.

Trini de Pittsburgh



PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society 
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance. 
http://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm


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