[Tango-L] Outside Influences (was The Original Tango Festival)

[Kace]

Chris, UK wrote:
> I recall a workshop here taught by Veronica Villaroel alone, where she 
> struggled to get herself lead in the step she required by beginner guys 
> picked from the class. Followed by a workshop by Carlos Gavito alone, 
> having no trouble demoing by leading beginner girls.
No surprise there. 

As a learner I have studied for 8 years under a variety of male and female
instructors.  I have found it invaluable to take the same topic several
times, under different instructors and at different workshops, to get 
the benefits
of both leader and follower perspectives.  Each repetition helps to 
crystalize
the material a little more, although I suspect it will never reach absolute
clarity as long as men and women remains different genders.

However, as an organiser of workshops who has to hire instructors, I
subscribe to a theory of unequal teaching effectiveness:

Best
1. Strong leader and strong follower
2. Strong leader teaching alone
3. Strong follower teaching alone (focusing on the follower's role)
4. Woman teachers who teach both lead and follow roles
Weakest

I find that generally teachers who try to do number 4 often over-
intellectualize the topic with too much body-mechanics, with the
result that the student becomes even less sure about how to take
a simple step.

This is not unlike how single parents may try to be both father
and mother but at the end still fall short of either.

Kace
tangosingapore.com