[Tango-L] Community Expansion Brainstorming

[Michael]

Reading (in some cases skimming) messages on this topic
remind me of high school. What does it take to have a good
school. Good administrators, good teachers and good
students. I'm just going to concentrate on the students.
Some people who go to school are pupils. They just show up
and make minimal attempts to learn or have no desire to
learn. Their goal is just to pass the tests. Other people
are students in the correct use of the word. They actually
study. Study includes reading textbooks, completing
homework, and engaging in dialogue in class.

It's NO different in tango. Some dancers take classes soley
to memorize a series of steps. These are the pupils. Then
there are others who actually study, as in when I lead X,
the woman does X. If she did Y, the first question is what
was wrong with the lead. (I've had too many situations where
the woman did EXACTLY what I lead, even though it wasn't
what I INTENDED. There's a big difference between the two.)

The dancers in the community will determine the quality of
the community. Steps vs. Understanding. I remember very well
when Lucianna Valle came to Washington, DC. Her workshop was
called "How to make your dancing beautiful." She said at the
beginning of the workshop "Take lessons for 10 years, study
very hard, and call me in 10 years. S***, I'm a dance
teacher, NOT GOD!" Some people had a look of absolute shock
on their face. Others didn't have a clue what she was
talking about. Some just nodded in understanding.

Daniel Trenner said at Tango Locura in Montreal in 1999(?)
"To learn how to dance tango, you have to learn how to
dance. To learn how to dance, you have to learn how to move.
But some people try to learn how to dance tango without
going through dance."

My private teacher told me that learning how to dance is
like building a house. You need a solid foundation.

Dancers decide for themselves how good they want to be. It
ranges from "just show me something, anything so I can get
out on the floor" to "teach me so I understand tango."

Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
It still feels like fall. Going to NY next weekend to
celebrate my birthday

I'd rather be dancing Argentine Tango