[Tango-L] exchanges

[Tango Society of Central Illinois]

On 6/26/07, Carol Shepherd <arborlaw at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> I have been to tango festivals, salsa congresos, and swing and lindy
> exchanges.  The energy at the tango festivals, to me, is of a different
> kind.  In tango there seems to be a higher percentage of people who are
> focused exclusively on the refining of technique and one's place in the
> dance hierarchy.  A lot of tango seems to be about constantly learning
> learning learning and 'not being worthy'.  Are there ever going to be
> times when we can drop the student demeanor and just 'come out and
> play'?  Maybe it's the inclusion of the lessons and workshops in tango
> weekends?...they become the weekend's focal point for those who would
> rather learn than dance.

It could be that tango is more difficult to learn than salsa and
swing, so more time is needed to learn.

> I would love to see more exchange philosophy and energy (low-key,
> positive, inclusive, non-instructive, pure social dancing) in the US
> tango scene.

Yes, as long as the quality of dancing is good. At some festivals
there is a significant proportion of dancers who do not take
workshops. Unfortunately, this often includes some dancers who could
benefit from taking workshops.

It is a good quality of tango that many dancers seek to improve their
skills. A good combination of instruction and milonga experience
achieves this. Probably this is an important aspect that makes
festivals popular. That, and meeting a lot of new good dancers.

I think we've having fun at festivals attending both workshops and milongas.

Ron