[Tango-L] Four Layers of Tango Learning

[Anna Zelenina]

Carol,

I think learning by watching is a basic skill that ALL people have, it's a natural talent, like the learning by doing ;). 
"observational learning plays an important role in aquiring motor skills throughout the human lifespan".
As detailed in the Dec. 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, 
found that when a person watches someone else perform a task with the intention of later replicating the observed performance, motor areas of the brain are activated in a fashion similar to that with accompanies actual movement. 
(see Journal of Neuroscience, December 2006 "Modulation of Neural Activity during Ovservational Learning of Actions and Their Sequential ORders", pdf available on the website).
The important part is the /intention/ of replicating. 

Observational learning is common, but it seems that the skill is better developed in countries 
were people more often practice this, they are more trained to learn by observation. 
The dance teaching in countries like Argentina or Cuba develops observation skills: 
people dance with you and they also  teach you sequences by dancing and having you watch.
People learn a lot just by observing others in the milonga. And it works.
In Germany, for instance, many dance teachers like to disseminate movements and to teach the dance step by step,  
giving verbal explanations of the movements etc. People get used to being served the disseminated dance, 
and they won't digest it if it's not divided in pieces. But that doesn't mean it's the way they are made 
and that they could not change that. Everything can change. 
Todo cambia. Cambia el modo de pensar, cambia todo en este mundo ;)

Anna

> Some people are very good at learning by watching. 
> While they are watching their sympathetic nervous system is rehearsing 
> the very same move and learning the technique.  Others don't have quite 
> so much of this in their body and they need to "step through" dance 
> moves and positions slowly with a partner and "feel" it kinetically to 
> understand and remember it.
> 
> Once again, it's the way we're made. No one can change it.  It does 
> great damage to deprecate someone by saying "just lead!!! it's 
> obvious!!!" or something like that.  Great way to discourage people who 
> are not made the way you are, to whom it is not obvious.  They just need 
> a different way of approaching and digesting the same information.
> 
> Good teachers will recognize these basic differences in personal style 
> and aptitude and will teach a couple of different way to slice the bread 
> to make the same sandwich.
> 
> Carol Shepherd
> 
> dchester at charter.net wrote:
> > If you want to stay with the bicycle analogy, I recall years back (when teaching my son how to ride a bicycle), explaining things to him was far more effective than having him watch me ride a bike.  It also didn't take months for him to figure it out.
> > 
> > This would lead me to conclude that either properly explaning things is useful, or comparing tango to riding a bike is not a good analogy.
> > 
> > Regards,
> > 
> > David
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >>------------------------------
> >>
> >>From: "Chris, UK" <tl2 at chrisjj.com>
> >>Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Four Layers of Tango Learning
> >>To: Tango-L at mit.edu
> >>Cc: tl2 at chrisjj.com
> >>Message-ID: <memo.20070723015934.3500e at HIDEchrisjj.com>
> >>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >>
> >>Manuel wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>it's very hard to make someone else feels what one feels when
> >>>leading.
> >>
> >>It's very easy. You get them to follow.
> >>
> >>
> >>>It's a liitle bit like ... trying to explain to somebody how to ride a
> >>>bicycle.....
> >>
> >>It sure is. One wouldn't expect anyone to learn to ride a bike through 
> >>explanation rather than direct experience of riding, so why would one 
> >>expect different for tango?
> >>
> >>
> >>>I've tried all sorts of stratagems to impart the "leading" technique
> >>>to beginning men dancers (and a few women as well).
> >>
> >>What happened when you tried getting them to follow?
> >>
> >>
> >>>I'm continually saying to the leaders ...
> >>
> >>... without continually speaking to them.
> >>
> >>
> >>>The devil is in the details. How do you lead something? Is it with your 
> >>>hands? Is it with your chest?.... It is with the totality of your body
> >>
> >>Not enough. It's with the totality of your body and hers too.
> >>
> >>--
> >>Chris
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Tango-L at mit.edu
> > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
> > 
> 
> -- 
> Carol Ruth Shepherd
> Arborlaw PLC
> Ann Arbor MI USA
> 734 668 4646 v  734 786 1241 f
> http://arborlaw.com
> 
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