[Tango-L] Women's technique

[ceverett@ceverett.com]

In the case of Salas, he defined the highest level of the dance for a
while.  Then he got worse.

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:26:37 -0700 (PDT), "Trini y Sean (PATangoS)"
<patangos at yahoo.com> said:
> 
> --- Keith <keith at tangohk.com> wrote:
> 
> "The purpose of the exercise is just to keep the hands
> against the wall while doing the turns. In that way the
> body stays facing the wall while the hips rotate, i.e. you
> twist at the waist. The problem with beginners practicing
> Ochos without the wall is that they tend to turn the
> complete body, including shoulders."
> 
> Keith is right that most beginners will turn as a block if
> they are asked by an inadequate teacher to do ochos in the
> middle of the floor. We don't use the exercise to teach the
> ocho as a step. We use to help the students learn to
> disassociate the ribs from the hips. The problem with
> providing the wall crutch is that the students will
> invariably use their arms to restrain their ribs while
> their hips turn. They don't have to lean on the wall to do
> this. It only requires a very light touch with the
> fingertips, and tension in the arms, shoulders and back to
> restrain the ribs. That tension is disastrous when the
> student tries to do ochos with a partner.
> 
> Keith's error is in thinking and teaching that
> disassociation is created when "you twist at the waist".
> Movement of the body occurs at joints. There is no waist
> joint. Disassociation of the hips and ribs is only possible
> by twisting the spine, particularly the lumbar spine. This
> is not a pointless semantic distinction. When you think of
> twisting the spine instead of the waist, it becomes
> immediately apparent that creating tension in the back is
> counterproductive.
> 
> Good teaching becomes an exercise in problem solving. A
> problem with having beginning students execute ochos in the
> middle of the floor is that they tend to turn as a block.
> Having them execute ochos against a wall solves the
> turning-as-a-block problem, but it defeats the purpose of
> the exercise, and it creates worse problems. Our solution
> is to use exercises that teach the students to disassociate
I suspect that a lot of tango teachers don't put much
effort into learning how to teach. They use the same
methods that they think their teachers used. The problem
with that, as Keith pointed out, is that they were "not
paying enough attention to what the teacher wanted you to
do – not unusual in beginner students."

If teaching your students as well as you were taught is
good enough for you, maybe teaching isn't your calling.
Some dancers (Salas and Gavito at least) are held as sacred
by the community, because they have defined the highest
level of dancing tango. IMHO, there are not yet any
teachers who qualify for deification. The art of teaching
tango is still in its infancy.

Sean
> the hips and ribs and to sense the positions of their ribs
> and hips. (When they start, most students can't feel the
> difference between turning as a block and spiraling.) Once
> they develop that sense, we introduce the ocho exercise. We
> might introduce the ocho exercise later than some teachers,
> but I am sure our students become proficient much more
> quickly than students who got a "head start" by working
> with a wall.
> 
> I suspect that a lot of tango teachers don't put much
> effort into learning how to teach. They use the same
> methods that they think their teachers used. The problem
> with that, as Keith pointed out, is that they were "not
> paying enough attention to what the teacher wanted you to
> do – not unusual in beginner students." 
> 
> If teaching your students as well as you were taught is
> good enough for you, maybe teaching isn't your calling.
> Some dancers (Salas and Gavito at least) are held as sacred
> by the community, because they have defined the highest
> level of dancing tango. IMHO, there are not yet any
> teachers who qualify for deification. The art of teaching
> tango is still in its infancy.
> 
> Sean
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>        
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