[Tango-L] Discussion Topics

[Brian Dunn]

Jake, you wrote:
>>>...I'm very much in favor of taking notes...A few days ago, one of my
note-taking students was describing to me the different methods of notation
he's gone through, the trial-n-error experience of putting things into his
own words, and so forth. The little diagrams, etc. It's not such a struggle;
he was speaking with delight...That, to me, is the reason to take a class in
the first place-- tackling the material as ourselves. As students, we have
to translate the lesson into our own terms; and we have to take some
initiative if we're to retain the material...My own note-taking has led to a
lot of analysis, and has influenced the way I teach and the way I dance. It
leads to reflection and speculation; it generates exact questions; it
produces a record. I find it an act both critical and creative. 
<<<

Gustavo and Giselle speak eloquently on this topic in their five-day
advanced/professional seminarios.  

Gustavo and Giselle do not allow students to video *them* during class, but
they do allow students to video *themselves* during practice periods.
However, they specifically recommend against this practice, and they
specifically recommend taking notes by hand.  Their justification goes
something like this:

"When you video someone dancing, what you are actually *doing* is practicing
the use of your camera.  This activity does generate a video record, which
potentially has instructional value, but we know from long experience that
you will rarely or never actually watch the video record you created - and
in the process, all you accomplished was to practice the techniques of
making videos.  As a result, we know that around the tango world there are
kilometers of videotape that will never be viewed again, and the benefit to
their makers is zero."

"On the other hand, if you make written notes on your lessons, even if you
rarely or never look at the notes either, the actual *activity* of making
the notes is forcing you to organize your thoughts and mental contexts for
the dancing that you saw. This development and imposition of meaning on what
you saw is innate in the process of writing notes, and does not occur when
you are making a video.  Because of this, writing notes is much much more
valuable to your understanding of tango than practicing the use of your
camera."

Jake, you further wrote:
>>>
I don't blow my nose on those who watch 
videos or anything, but that's quite a different activity. That's 
watching TV, unless you take notes on the videos too. 
<<<

What Deb and I actually do in Gustavo & Giselle's seminarios (we've taken
five of them, and look forward to more):

1: We take notes during the presentation, on small plastic-covered 3x5 card
spiral-bound notebooks (the spiral holds a short pen) that can be kept
without harm in a sweaty back pocket.

2: We video ourselves doing the material in the class, while explaining
verbally to the camera the critical insights gained from the presentation of
the material while they are still fresh in mind.

3: Before *too much* time has passed, we create a second set of notes in a
computer based on the union of #1 and #2.

As long as we don't get too frantic or tired for #3, this process works well
for us.  

All the best,
Brian Dunn
Dance of the Heart
Boulder, Colorado USA
www.danceoftheheart.com