[Tango-L] Close all the time vs all ranges debate

Fri May 5 11:50:55 EDT 2006

Again we are looking this from our illusion of the central position  and our 
love of Tango being that central point. As is our desire to be good  at it and 
make it a mutually gratifying experience. It does not matter the  style, it 
is this love of Tango that drives us.

The rub is reality. Teachers need students, students need to be infected  
with the central point. Some are infected almost immediately, some aren't.   Some 
come as couples, with one partner 'requiring the other, for the good of the  
order, to participate".  The both have to enjoy the learning experience to  
come back for the second lesson.  To some, the thought of trying to learn  
something new and perceptively complicated while joined at the chest is  
frightening and an invasion of their privacy. Why, culturally, it is an invasion  of 
their space, it is a commitment to a stranger that makes them uncomfortable,  
there are probably many reasons. The point is that it inhibits some.

In addition, to pay money to learn how to walk is a turn off and a bore,  
when first you don't have a good understanding of why you need it and two, you  
want to go home and think you have learned something.

Hence, some teachers begin with an open embrace, where each student  learns 
to manage their own axis and each learns the 'basic patterns".   As classes 
progress, and the teacher lays sufficient ground worked on the  cultural 
background and the need to walk and be in balance, close embrace is  more easily 
introduced. I will not discount that the difference in learning  curves will cause 
problems and if the teacher allows bad habits to develop, the  result might 
not be to good. But, we have good teachers and unfortunately bad  teachers.

The critical part of this approach is that the teacher must always be  
providing info and guidance on the basics, the walk, the balance, the importance  of 
the connection, the need of listening to the music, as well as encouragement  
to listen to the music outside of class.

This approach is neither right or wrong, but seems to me when recruiting  new 
dancers from the general populace, a open embrace approach is better. This  
is from experience as I still have not been able to total bridge the gap with 
my  spouse on the close embrace with strangers routine, but that is another  
quest.

A well motivated group could well begin in close embrace and do well. Again  
the key is that the client base either as it exists or is desired will or 
should  dictate the method of teaching in the beginning classes. As students 
desire to  learn more and progress styles of teaching as well as learning styles  
change.

IMHO, just some thoughts,

Bill in Seattle

In a message dated 5/5/2006 8:11:45 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
michaelfigart at yahoo.com writes:

Hello  Aurora,

And welcome to the wonderful world of Argentine Tango. It  really is
wonderful, please don't get a mistaken impression by viewing some  of the
"animosity" on this list. I'm looking so forward to seeing all  my
friends at the Memorial Day festival in Denver, I had a real blast  at
Atlanta festival last month, etc, etc. If it wasn't for tango, my  spare
time would probably still be limited to watching TV, playing with  my
Labrador, and yardwork.

I'm of the personal opinion that  Argentine Tango is best taught first as
a close-embrace dance (for reasons  I won't go into here), but I do
believe that it's very possible to teach  beginners in the open style
also, if done correctly. Both require stringent  attention to developing
VERY basic skills, with much emphasis on  connection, and leading mostly
with torso (actually I think we should lead  and follow with every fiber
of our being, but the upper torso (read; chest)  is the "communication
center" to transmit and receive).

A famous  tango expression; "To learn Tango we must first learn to  walk".

Teaching figures from the start is a classic way to get off on  the wrong
foot. To start off right; Posture, embrace, connection. Axis,  balance
(sometimes shared), center, weight, changing weight. Walking,  walking
with the music, stopping, walking again. Walking and throwing a  few
"quick-quicks". A few weeks of this and maybe time to throw in  ocho
cortado to help keep people interested. Then cross-footed  walking,
getting in and out of cross feet, cross-footed walking inside,  then
outside, your partner. Then some back ochos. Technique,  connection,
communication, technique, connection, communication, etc,  etc.....You
get my drift.

Any teacher who teaches ganchos inside of  8 wks should be drawn and
quartered, in my opinion, whether teaching open  or close.

Forget the figures, concentrate on feeling comfortable in  the
frame/embrace, developing the technique, teaching your body how to  move
naturally, and also naturally with another body, in this new  wonderful
"walk".

Look for teachers who just ooze "natural" in their  movements, who seem
to have the music in their hearts, who concentrate on  the communication
aspects, and who tell the leaders that their primary goal  is to make
their followers happy and secure, and to learn how to interpret  the
beautiful music.

Save the figures for later, they may still seem  a little difficult at
first, but at least learning them won't induce the  bad habits inherent
in the dancers who, from the first, concentrate on  looking good, instead
of feeling good.

Best of luck, please email  anytime I can help, and I look forward to a
tanda sometime!

Regards  to all,

Michael Figart II
Houston TX

-----Original  Message-----
From: tango-l-bounces at mit.edu [mailto:tango-l-bounces at mit.edu]  On Behalf
Of Aurora Nemirow
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 3:30 AM
To:  tango-l at mit.edu
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Close all the time vs all ranges  debate

I take a class at my university for beginning tango. This is  my  
second term, and I wanted to share a few observations and ask  your  
thoughts:

Last term was my first ever tango class and my  teacher began with  
open embrace. We learned more figures and even  got to touch on rad  
things like ganchos and boleos. Around the 8th  week of class, we  
began doing close embrace. The leads in class  found it very difficult  
(vocally! ;) to do any of the figures they  had learned in open, in  
close. I think starting in open allowed a  bit of "cheating" with  
posture, use of arms (as in  shoving-me-around-the-floor-with-arms use  
of arms), and what my  teacher calls duck-walking (cartoon cowboy  
walks for those who have  not had the pleasure).

This term, we've begun with close embrace.  Personally, I'm thrilled  
because my friends that continued from last  term get to work on all  
the things they know in close embrace. BUT,  the learning curve is so  
different! It seems to take longer for the  brand new dancers to  
understand the connection in close embrace (and  every figure is first  
taught in close), but once they get it, they  can dance it in open.  
One of the leads even mentioned to me that he  totally got how the  
thing he was doing at the time (the cross maybe?  I forget) could  
easily be B.S.ed in open. But at our weekly  practicas I've danced  
with him in open a few times and he, as with  all the leads new this  
term, can lead it just fine. The thing about  beginning with close  
embrace is that we have spent more time working  on getting the  
connection that we have learned very few figures. Its  definitely a  
trade off.

This all leads me to think that  perhaps close embrace is a good way  
*to begin* teaching AT. Like  Christopher said, it really forces the  
dancers to understand what a  good connection feels like. For those of  
us that are just jumping  into the dance, the idea of connection is so  
foreign that, I  believe, it may be more constructive to shove it  
under our noses at  first. Only once we understand what it is that is  
being asked of us,  we can back off and use arms, legs, earlobes for  
connection. I know  for myself that having begun in open and then  
spent this whole term  in close, I have a much stronger understanding  
of my connection in  any embrace.

To me this is similar to many things. For instance, few  people could  
take an integral without understanding the concept of a  tangent line.

What do you think about this? I would love to hear  stories about  
other beginning classes, or your own experience  beginning with one  
type of embrace. And what you thought about  another kind when you  
branched out. Thanks a ton  guys!

Aurora @ PDX

p.s. sorry about how long that  was - didn't mean to write a novel! Whew!

p.p.s. Tine a while back you  asked about people at other  
universities? Me! Me! Portland State U.  is simply brimming with new  
tangueros. Can I hit you up for ideas  and such?
_______________________________________________
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