[Tango-L] Headache

[Deby Novitz]

I have been trying to read all these threads on how to step, how to 
turn, how to dance beautifully, blah, blah, blah.  All I can say is that 
if this had been 7 years ago when I was first learning to dance I would 
have had a major headache trying to figure out what you guys are talking 
about. Are you guys printing this stuff out and trying to do it?  I 
realize that many of you do not live in places where there are an 
abundance of instructors.  However, tango in my opinion cannot be 
learned like a computer program dissected down to its lowest common 
denominator.

In my (our classes) we do not allow note taking.  The student may film 
the lesson, but not take notes.  They need to concentrate on their body, 
their partner's body, the music, the teachers - not a pad of paper.  
Note taking is for science class not for dance class. I don't care if 
you are dancing tango, salsa, or swing.  You need to concentrate on the 
movements.  If you are busy taking notes you are not concentrating on 
the movements, OR, they are not natural movements, OR they are too 
complicated and you should not be learning them.

Someone said only women take notes.  You know, that could be true for 
that person.  But I can only remember guys taking notes.  Must be a 
gender thing.

Next off, generally speaking most musicians cannot and do not dance.  
But do not dismiss all of them.  My new partner Fernando Diaz teaches 
and plays guitar.  The women on this list who have been to BsAs and have 
taken lessons with him will attest to the contrary.  Not only is he an 
excellent teacher he is a very good dancer. 

Yes the floors here are crowded.  That is why I go to dance at 2:00 am.  
Tango fantasia was never danced here in the milongas except by bumbling 
foreigners who do not know better.  Some of your favorite name brands 
dance plain old salon style when they are in the milongas and save the 
fantasia for the stage where it belongs.  (Here it is called tango 
ballet)  Most Argentines whether they dance or not do not consider stage 
tango or any other tango other than salon, milonguero, etc. to be "their 
tango."  You can say or think what you want, but the average Argentine 
whether they dance or not is very passionate about tango being theirs.  
Even when they hate it. At least to me it is wonderful to see people so 
passionate about something.

Today a remis driver brought a young Italian man to a private lesson 
with Fernando and I.  He is a nuevo tango dancer.  Surprise! Surprise!  
He has come to Buenos Aires to learn traditional tango.  He said he 
could take classes in Rome, but he decided that if he came here he would 
have access to lots of good teachers rather than just a few.  His 
comments after today's lesson?  "This is really hard, much more than 
nuevo."  He is bound and determined to learn traditional tango and kept 
cursing himself for allowing his nuevo moves to invade his lesson.  He 
says that more young people in Italy want to learn traditional tango.  
They want to come here. 

I do not know why some people get so upset because people look to Buenos 
Aires as the mecca of tango.  Do you get that upset over people who go 
to Scotland to learn to play bagpipes?  Or clogging?  Or go to Cuba to 
learn salsa or play the congas?  I can never remember anyone in the 
salsa community getting so blown out because people loved to go to Cuba 
to dance salsa for all the same reasons people like to come here for tango.

Yeech!  I would never go to La Viruta...except to eat dinner on Friday 
nights.

Piazolla is for listening.  That is the general consensus here in Buenos 
Aires.  But hey, they dance East Coast Swing (Excuse me Rock and Roll) 
to Creedence Clearwater, so what do they know.