[Tango-L] Tourists & Janis - another perspective

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Nina,

As always, you bring out some very good points and I enjoy
reading your emails.  However, let's not rationalize or
excuse rude behavior, as if the ends justify the means. 
That works on both sides, as well.  Had Janis put a little
more work into it, I am sure she could have made her point
without insulting people.  But that is her responsibility
to own, not others to excuse.

Trini de Pittsburgh


--- Nina Pesochinsky <nina at earthnet.net> wrote:

> Hello, everybody,
> 
> It seems that everyone took so very personally what Janis
> had 
> written.  I have a different take on it.  I assume that
> most of the 
> dancers who had replied and were personally offended have
> at least 
> one place in the world where they are not considered to
> be 
> foreigners.  I do not have such a place, and so here is
> my view:
> 
> Sometimes, it is a great disadvantage to be immediately
> spotted as 
> being a tourist/foreigner.  This usually is a clear
> disadvantage in 
> any new situation where you have not had the time to
> assess the 
> place, the action of the people and their manners or
> attitudes.  You 
> are spotted before you realize where you are in regard to
> other people present.
> 
> If you are in a part of town of any city in the world
> that is known 
> for unpredictable or dangerous situations, there is a
> clear 
> disadvantage in standing out from the crowd.
> 
> In Buenos Aires, if you are spotted in the milongas as
> being a 
> foreigner/tourist before you assess the situation, the
> codes, the 
> people (whether or not you know any of them), the music -
> the general 
> feeling of the milonga - it can greatly alter your
> experience of 
> it.  It changes how people see you, talk to you, ask you
> to dance, 
> accept your invitations, what they talk to you about -
> everything!
> 
> What Janis has described can build some awareness of
> certain 
> signs.  If dancers can become aware of some of these
> behaviors that 
> give them away without their consent, they can control
> it.  I think 
> that it is much more advantageous to choose to be spotted
> as a 
> foreigner/tourist or not instead of it happening by
> default.
> 
> There may be some days when one says "Who cares!  I am a
> foreigner 
> and I don't care who knows it or why."  There may be
> other days when 
> one might decide to have a different kind of experiences
> that are not 
> marked by clear labels of who they are or where they are
> from.  I 
> think that it is best if dancers have a choice in that
> and what Janis 
> has written can help them make that choice from a place
> of awareness.
> 
> The trick is not to be personally attached to any of the
> behaviors 
> that Janis has described and not take the description as
> a mortal offense.
> 
> My very best regards,
> 
> Nina
> 
>

PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society 
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance. 
http://patangos.home.comcast.net/ 



 
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