[Tango-L] Beginner to Intermediate

[Brian Dunn]

Dear list:

Christopher L. Everett wrote:
>>>
Someone told me a story of going to CITA and encountering
a beginner woman who enrolled in all the advanced classes
because, "... that way I can dance with all advanced dancers
 and I can improve faster!"
<<<<

Damn, Christopher, you got my story out before I could!! ;>...but let me
flesh out a few details and a denoument.

The incident was a searing example of the flaws of self-ranking, made worse
by the brazenly enthusiastic cheeriness with which the follower in question
recounted to me the cleverness of her strategy.

At CITA 2003, students signed up for classes on the web, and were eligible
to sign up on a ranked schedule based on the date of their tuition payment.
Signups were first-come-first-served for those eligible at any given time.  

When our three-couple group paid, all the men got in the advanced classes
that they wanted.  But only one of the women got in, because all the
follower slots were filled with early-bird followers.  So the followers in
our group made do with classes other than the ones their partners were in.

As it turned out, a woman staying at our hotel was in the salon-style
advanced classes with me.  When I rotated to her, I discovered she didn't
know the code of the turn.

At breakfast the next day, I spoke with her about the classes we had taken
the day before.  I asked her a general background question about how long
she'd been dancing.  When she said "three weeks", my expression must have
reflected my surprise, because she eagerly shared with me in a tone of
delighted self-satisfaction the quote Christopher used above.  This tone
continued as she said,"Oh, I know the guys in the class are probably upset
to have to dance with me, but I don't care (BIG smile here) - it'll still be
good for my dancing!"

So the followers in our group, some of whom were professional dancers, got
to contemplate her good fortune and cleverness over breakfast with her for a
week.

But this story ends happily in a way. (And in fairness, for all I know, CITA
has worked out some of the kinks in the last four years...).  

OUR happy ending arrived a week later, when our group commenced an
absolutely magnificent week-long workshop given by Gustavo Naveira and
Giselle Anne.  Our group signed up for this seminario because Deb and I had
busted our butts in an advanced workshop with Gustavo in 1999 organized by
Daniel Trenner.  The saving grace of this 2003 workshop was also featured in
the buttkicker in 1999: bring your own partner, with whom "you will be
working more than 75% of the time".

Daniel had said that he and Gustavo had worked out between them the idea of
being with your partner, because if people were way over their heads with
the material, at least partners would be able to comfort each other in their
misery without inflicting their lack of preparation on others in the group.

As a result, as students we no longer take advanced classes where rotation
is required.  As teachers or organizers, we require couples to sign up
together in classes we define as advanced, and then offer them the option of
choosing to rotate if they want with people they think are at their level.
(In the Intensivos we offer in Buenos Aires with Luciana Valle, almost all
students opt to dance exclusively with the staff, which renders the issue
more or less moot).

By requiring people to find partners themselves, we may lose some students
in those classes as a result, but it's more than worth it.  And frankly, in
most communities, requiring people to pair up for at least a workshop
creates a useful reality-based dynamic around the whole question of
"beginner", "intermediate" and "advanced" levels.  After all (just like in
the old days in Buenos Aires), you can't fake out the people who dance with
you every week.

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