[Tango-L] To infer that I am against close embrace is totally wrong. Stop this crap about close-embrace and open

[Derik Rawson]

Dear Robin:

I agree with everything you have said, but when I hear
Tine say, "We are a close embrace shop" and "I never
teach forward ochos". then I do not buy her openness
to all styles at all.

To make it very clear once again, I dance close
embrace 60 to 80 percent of the time, BUT NOT APALIDO
(which is finally being seen as not very practical)
AND NOT ALL THE TIME!  To infer that I am against
close embrace is totally wrong.  To infer that I bump
into people all the time is also totally wrong.

I am for all styles, and for musicality (which is why
I prefer dancing with skilled musicians) and for great
navigation even in impossible conditions in an
unregulated public space.  I do not require a perfect
wooden dance floor, predictable music, and a traffic
cop to be able to dance tango.

As for "the friends', they sound more like a tango
mafia, which is telling everyone here on this list how
to behave and dance. Trini says, "my tango
group"...translation..., "my people", and we all know
what that means amongst the "wise guys", don't we.  It
is a term that is used in fact my the mafia to
indicate "their gang".

I did not respond to Trini, because she ordered me to
respond to her and she told me how to answer...lol. I
do not do that. I have responded to her many times in
the past, but I certainly do not work for her. She
does not direct me or my tango.  I am not in her gang.

Bottom line:

Let us truly open up tango to all styles and dance
them all, and let us become real friends.  I dance all
styles and would encourage others to do the same.

PS- Andres Amarillo definitely dances all styles. 
That is why like the way he dances.

Derik
d.rawson at rawsonweb.oom


--- robin thomas <niborsamoht at yahoo.com> wrote:

> You know from September last year until pretty
> recently I saw Andres and Meredith almost every
> week.
> We were invited to a lot of the same places to
> teach.
> I've known Meredith for maybe 4 or 5 years. I took
> classes with Andres in Bs.As..I think I'm regarded
> as
> a "close-embrace all the time"  teacher. 
> 
> You know not once did we ever discuss whether
> someone
> should dance one way or another. It is simply a non
> issue. It's kind of a embarrassing for us to see
> people we know fighting about such non issues. 
> 
> Derik, I'm not sure if you realize Tine invited
> Andres
> and Meredith to teach at Yale and that she took
> classes wih them in Bs.As. where she has been many
> many times, and that she's completely fluent in
> Spanish as well as French, Flemish, German and
> English. I've spent a lot of time around her and
> she's
> never suggested that it's better to dance close or
> open. She enjoys dancing both ways herself. We've
> been
> teaching people to dance close at Yale because
> people
> seem to seem to dance something that is more
> recognizable as tango in its feeling quicker that
> way.
> Most of the guest teachers she has invited teach
> figures or concepts from an open embrace. Because
> everyone realizes that whatever you choose to do you
> should be able to do both well.
> 
> When I started teaching there were very few people
> teaching figures that were really useful for crowded
> floors and there wasn't much emphasis on musicality.
> Things have really changed. I'd say it's the norm
> now.
> 
> 
> Non of the good dancers bump into me in the
> milongas.
> it doesn't matter what their personal style of dance
> is. Good dancers don't bump into people. Good
> dancers
> are musical too, whether they are leading ocho
> cortados or colgadas. 
> 
> 
> www.robinthomastango.com
> 
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Derik Rawson
d.rawson at rawsonweb.com
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