[Tango-L] Men and classes

rtara rtara at maine.rr.com
Mon Jul 10 17:02:48 EDT 2006


We had a teacher here in the OTHER Portland, who was masterful in creating
classes that everyone could benefit from. The were about balance, quality of
movement and body awareness. Women, as well as, men at any level,  could
gain from these classes.

Naturally, there were a few "steps" that used the skills that were being
taught. 

Many tango dancers have never taken any other kind of dance or movement
classes. To be taught by a trained dancer in dance technique adds so much to
one's ability to dance confidently, but also to more profit from "Step"
classes. This guy had also graduated from medical school, so he had a
wonderful understanding of body structure, as well.


Best regards,

Robin

Tara Design, Inc.
www.taratangoshoes.com
Toll Free in US: 1-877-906-8272

18 Stillman St.
So. Portland ME 04106
207-741-2992-- 


> From: Ed Doyle <doyleed at gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 13:49:21 -0700
> To: Tom Stermitz <stermitz at tango.org>
> Cc: tango-l at mit.edu
> Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Men and classes
> 
> Hi All,
> I have the singularly good fortune of living six months of the year in
> Portland Oregon, and six months of the year in Fort Lauderdale,
> Florida.  All the teachers in Portland (and there are many) seem to me
> to spend an equal amount of time in their group lessons on follower
> techniques.  Often as a warm up, everyone, leaders and followers spend
> time walking backwards in a giant circle.  Although this is primarily
> for the followers, I think I have benefited as a leader too.  If
> anyone here gets the chance to take group classes from Oscar Caballero
> and Roxana Garber in North Miami Florida, there is no question that
> they are very very concerned with follower technique - try them and
> see.
> Happy tango-ing.
> Ed
> 
> On 7/10/06, Tom Stermitz <stermitz at tango.org> wrote:
>> I'll second what Jay says.
>> 
>> Perhaps you are taking classes from the wrong teachers. There are a
>> number of excellent teacher who present material for both the men and
>> the women. Ask around. Try taking from different teachers.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Jul 10, 2006, at 1:39 PM, Jay Rabe wrote:
>> 
>>> Your comments are at least historically valid about the
>>> worthlessness of
>>> group classes for followers beyond a certain point. However, that
>>> observation also has been made by many others in addition to
>>> yourself over
>>> the years. As a result, at least here in Portland, there has been a
>>> growing
>>> effort on the part of instructors to include content aimed
>>> specifically at
>>> followers and their technique. In conclusion, I would say that this
>>> evolution in teaching is changing the landscape, and, again at
>>> least in
>>> Portland, it is becoming less and less true that followers cannot
>>> benefit
>>> from group classes even with several years of experience.
>>> 
>>> J in Portland
>>> www.TangoMoments.com
>>> 
>>> ----Original Message Follows----
>>> From: mallpasso at aol.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I think that after two years of group classes any further group
>>> classes for
>>> women are a waste of their time and money since most of these
>>> classes are
>>> geared towards leaders learning new steps, etc.  Instead, women
>>> should focus
>>> on taking privates to work on their technique.  Ditto for men, but
>>> after
>>> four years of group classes, so they can also work on their technique.
>>> 
>>> My two cents worth.
>>> 
>>> El Bandido de Tango
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tango-L mailing list
>> Tango-L at mit.edu
>> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
>> 
> _______________________________________________
> Tango-L mailing list
> Tango-L at mit.edu
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l




More information about the Tango-L mailing list