[Tango-L] Time in Classes, Practices and Milongas

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Too early immersion at the milongas, Ron?  To me, there's
no such thing.  In Buenos Aires, some milongas also have a
beginner's lesson beforehand.  One reason, as Susana Miller
explained to me, is so that people are there when the
milonga starts.  Deejays can start right away with the good
music, instead of having to build the energy up.  Well, it
works.  We've recently started a weekly milonga with a
beginner's lesson, and it's been quite a success and has
encouraged people to take regular classes.

If someone is a navigational hazard, controlling the floor
size will help (ours is about 18'x35').  And an early
lesson will help fill the floor.  Most beginners leave
before more experienced dancers arrive, so it never gets
too crowded.  And there's always teaching the women not to
put up with the guys dancing like gas molecules.

You're right about how some people at milongas really
needing to take more classes.  But those types are always
going to be there.  I think all one can do is work with
those who do take classes, grow your community and let
social pressure take it's course.

Trini de Pittsburgh

--- Tango Society of Central Illinois
<tango.society at gmail.com> wrote:

> In my opinion, there is some balance between taking
> classes and
> dancing at milongas. The purpose of taking classes should
> be to
> prepare you for dancing at milongas. At some point you
> need to go. On
> the other hand, people who have had little instruction in
> tango
> shouldn't be at milongas. They are navigational hazards
> and in lacking
> proper technique they can make dancing with them
> uncomfortable and
> possibly even painful. Its hard to separate facts from
> rumors and
> urban myths, but I've heard that in Buenos Aires (in the
> past?) men
> would not consider going to milongas unless they've had
> at least one
> year experience at practicas. In the US we have people
> dancing at the
> milongas after a 1 hour intro to tango lesson. My guess
> is that Buenos
> Aires has something to tell us about tango here.
> 
> When people are ready for milongas will vary from person
> to person.
> Most likely it is their own comfort zone that decides
> their
> participation in each, rather than their ability. I've
> had some
> students that cringe at the slightest suggestion for
> improvement
> (e.g., "Straighten your spine") yet ping-pong around the
> dance floor
> with utmost confidence at the milongas, and others for
> whom repeated
> encouragement in class will not have them even make a
> milonga
> appearance.
> 
> The key to transition is likely to be the 'practica'.
> Implict
> (actually explicit) in the term is 'practice', which
> implies you can
> make mistakes with being ostracized. But what form should
> this
> practice take? Practicas come in many flavors in the US,
> from group
> led exercises, to people meandering in one-by-one over a
> 3 hour period
> and getting private instruction for $10 or less, to tango
> music
> lacking tandas with no instructional input. In my own
> experience I
> have found group led exercises to be most effective in
> improving dance
> skills. Set up a class structure (pay a fee, arrive at
> beginning, stay
> to the end) set up a line of dance, get people dancing,
> change
> partners, provide group and individual feedback (mostly
> about
> technique), but be sure to provide ample opportunity for
> dancing. If
> people sit, you've failed in your mission.
> 
> There is also room in a student's development for the
> 'tango party', a
> more informal environment with food and beverages, with a
> smaller
> group of people who know each other, socializing and
> dancing without a
> formal instructional structure, although the instructors
> could provide
> feedback on a one-to-one basis.
> 
> Maybe a transition from:
> classes -> practica -> tango party -> milonga
> would get the reticent out of the classroom when they
> should be and
> maybe coral the over-estimators of their own ability away
> from too
> early immersion in the milongas. For the latter group,
> this could work
> because for many of these the social aspects of milongas
> are the
> primary reason they are there.
> 
> Ron
> _______________________________________________
> Tango-L mailing list
> Tango-L at mit.edu
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
> 





       
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