[Tango-L] I think that the nebula has lifted

[Sergio Vandekier]

When I read Derik's notes I knew he was upset about something but I was not 
sure I quite understood the reason for his frustration; now after reading 
Michael's last few notes I think I understand better.

When you exert an unjust tyranny, sooner or later there is going to be a 
reaction that will oppose it, frequently  not with moderation but like a 
pendulum will shift in the opposite direction; to the other extreme.

We have many examples in society: China and Russia failed to adjust with the 
times and kept their population in the middle ages, under tyrannical 
exploitation well into the 20th century when many other countries had 
changed to a more liberal form of government. The result was the terrible 
communist revolutions that affected both countries:  The pendulum shifted in 
the opposite direction.

Here we have a tango community that apparently had been controlled by "close 
embrace all the time dancers" who if I remember well used to write in the 
list asserting that their's was the "real tango" the only one that could 
offer all the benefits of the dance.

After long discussions on this list they finally accepted that tango has 
many faces, many styles and they are all good and deserve respect but... the 
same characters now come with the idea that "close embrace all the time" is 
the only possible "social form of dancing tango".

Well, it seems that Derik was venting the frustration of a lot of people in 
that community.

And...guess what he shifted the pendulum the other way. He brought Andres 
Amarilla and started a group of Nuevo Tango dancers.  If we were to accept 
the  description of Michael we have to accept that they are beginners in 
that style....no problem they will continue to learn and they will become 
good at it like anybody else.

Trina, (whom I know personally and had the pleasure of dancing with in close 
and open embrace,  is an excellent dancer and teacher), had the feeling that 
Derik's was a "local" problem that had to be solved in his community but I 
think that we all can learn something of this:

There are many tango styles as described many times before. When you "dance 
socially" you do it following certain Etiquette rules: "the milonga codes".  
It does not matter what style you dance; if you are able to follow those 
rules, any social gathering to dance any style of tango is "Social dancing".

The gatherings can take place in a salon, a club, or a private home where 
there is a celebration with a tango dance.

Summary: We have to abandon stupid dogmatism and finally accept the fact 
that there are many styles of tango that deserve due respect.

....my final advise: careful because the pendulum may shift the other way 
again.

Have sweet dreams, Sergio

For further information on the subject please see   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_Tango

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