[Tango-L] Argentine Tango on Dancing with the Stars

[JFPaloma@aol.com]

To WBSmith:
 
The opinion I expressed at what I saw on Dancing with the Stars  last night 
was not "disdain bordering on intolerance" as you interpreted it  to be but 
simply profound disappointment and bewilderment that a show  with all the money 
and resources at hand could not have made more of an effort  to present good 
Argentine tango.  Naturally, when Dancing with  the Stars presents Argentine 
Tango, we all expect stage tango.   But good stage tango, please.  
You don't announce at a car show that you're going to present a Mercedes  and 
then bring out a Ford with a Mercedes hood ornament.  It doesn't matter  if 
the Mercedes is a sedan or sports model, it doesn't matter what color it  is, 
what matters is that it is a real Mercedes.
 
WBSmith said "because we might love steak doesn't mean we don't enjoy fish  
and vegetables..."  True but when a restaurant offers steak, I want a good  cut 
and cooked properly.  I don't want a slab of meat dumped on my  plate.  
 
And please WBSmith don't assume you are the only one who has an  appreciation 
of Fred Astaire, Baryshnikov and Bojangles.  Loving those  talented artists 
doesn't mean I have to accept sloppy tango done to bad music in  order to prove 
I'm "well-rounded".  
 
What was on TV last night was not "passionate, sensual and involves an  
intricate and intimate connection between a man and woman".  It had none of  those 
elements and all the aspects of a bad apache dance.  
 
Argentine Tango gets so few chances to be seen by millions of people and  
last night was the perfect opportunity to erase stereotypes about the dance  and 
show its true artistry.  I've talked to many people today who saw  the show 
and all have said that the tango they saw was brutish  and harsh and showed no 
trace at all of emotional beauty I've been  telling them.