[Tango-L] Technical vs Sensual - Where are the Engineers from?

[Ilene Marder]

Some people learn by being told exactly where to place the foot...some people learn from more subtle imagery... it's not about good teacher/bad teacher...perhaps more about whether you respond in a right or left brained kind of way...
we are talking about MOVEMENT after all...the imagery helps many of us put the whole thing together...
and yes, there is nothing like having your foot physically placed in the correct position by the observant teacher... but it's not good/bad -one or the other....
my .02...





burl burl wrote:

>*The kind of teaching where they tell you to walk like a cat or sink into the floor is never 
>  very useful.  A good teacher should be able to tell you exactly what to do without 
>  resorting to analogy. * Your leg does go someplace specific (to within a half inch) and
>  your shoulders or embrace shift quatifiable amounts.  The best teachers can spot 
>  what you're doing wrong and say--"you need to put your left shoulder a few inches farther forward in this turn, so your partner feels the lead...etc"
>   
>   
>  If you tell someone to walk like a cat they may easily think that means slinking around your hips latin-style or coming down on your toes first or forcing your head 
>  forward like a duck.  Just because you can dance it doesn't mean you can teach.  It is 
>  not enough to demonstrate how things are done by example.  A good teacher corrects 
>  minute details, and not by saying "A slightly smaller cat" rather by saying, "2 inches 
>  to the right with your Knee bent slighty more."  If you can't be very specific you either
>  don't know what you want or don't have the skill to see how to correct your student.
>   
>  Sloppy teaching tends to propate myths--for example, how many times have we heard
>  one beginner say to another:
>   
>  "Don't use your arms, you lead with your shoulders."  
>   
>  Now does this mean I have my arms at my side?  Does it mean I can't apply any 
>  preasure with my arms?  Do I just kind of leave my arms behind when I turn my
>  shoulders?  A good teacher can tell me exacactly what to do, a bad one just
>  gives me more platitudes to repeat.  I will just go around saying, "Listen to the music"
>  and "it is all in the connection" and "You can dance a whole dance and only
>  move 2 feet down the dancefloor if you really feel the music." (which you can do
>  but is sure plays havoc with the line of dance).
>
>yours
>  Burleigh
>
>		
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