[Tango-L] The Good Dancer

[Christopher L. Everett]

Gibson Batch wrote:
> Thanks to those who replied so kindly with my earlier posting from today.  I 
> hope this continues as I touch on a more sensitive topic.
>
> I am curious about what makes a good dancer, or should I say, what makes a 
> dancer think that she/he is good.
>   
Good is such a relative thing.  If I'm good, then what is Pablo Veron?
> To me, a good dancer should be able to make virtually any-and-every 
> allowance for the music, the partner, the space, the floor, and the 
> atmosphere in the room.  This is equally true for followers and leaders.
>   
Uh, not so.  I will say that every good partner I have ever had has felt 
different, but they all have felt right.

There are allowances I refuse to make in any way shape or form.  
Partners that put their weight on me see themselves disposed of 
unceremoniously.  The accomodation for that is sticking my right hand 
into their right armpit and holding them up a bit off the ground so that 
I can take their weight off my shoulder and onto my legs.  Of course if 
they weigh 180 lbs, that's impossible.
> Can you dance Tango to Pink Floyd?  
Pink Floyd isn't tango music.  Be definition, whatever you do with Pink 
Floyd isn't tango, is it?
> Can you dance on a rough concrete floor or gravel?
If you can pivot on  a floor like that without tearing the ligaments in 
your knees, more power to you.
> Can you dance with someone who has no timing? 
If you're not with the music it ceases to be dance.  Interesting 
tango-derived movements with nice background music.
> Can you dance in sandals or with someone who is?
>
>   
OK, a willingness to sacrifice some connection with the floor at times 
doesn't take you out of the boundaries of tango.
> I would think good dancers would enjoy themselves under any circumstances.  
>   
Uh, no.  I've seen too many people universally regarded as good dancers 
not having fun with their students or at tourist milongas dancing with 
foreigners to build business.  Once you become aware of their nuances of 
expression, you can tell when they're on the floor for another reason 
than fun. 
> A good dancer should also make the dance safe for their partner and everyone 
> around them.
>   
Agreed.
> I would hope good dancers would want to spread the wealth of their skill and 
> get out on the floor, most especially with someone inexperienced.
>
>   
The practica is the right place for that.  I would hope that all good 
dancers are still going to practicas and spending a bit of time with 
newer dancers.
> The 'Good Dancer' snob mentality is not exclusive to tango.  I have seen 
> self-proclaimed 'good dancers' in virtually every one of the 15-or-so dance 
> forms I have experienced in the last 8 years, including most folk dances, 
> salsa, ballroom (the worst offenders) and swing.
>   
It might not be "snob" that you see, but a simple selfishness.  When you 
alter your dance to accommodate someone's bad habits, it can take a 
while for your normal dance to reassert itself.  Meanwhile, your partner 
is going, "Hey, what happened to this guy?"  Dancing with a lot of 
newbies will hose your dance in a matter of weeks, as your 
accommodations of unskilled dancers becomes a matter of habit.

Now that I have moved to Minneapolis from Iowa, I am glad that I have a 
higher level of dancer available to me. 
> But it always upsets me to see eager new people turned away from those 'good 
> dancers' who know how to dance.
>   
"Eager newpeople" I understand.  The place for them is the practica.  
When they have some basic skills in place, the milonga is a more 
welcoming place.  Of course, in many smaller communities, milongas have 
a way of becoming practicas, and that's OK too.

Christopher