[Tango-L] HouseDance - not just walking

[Ed Doyle]

Ron said: "I have seen performance oriented dancers become a navigation
hazard on the social dance floor...."

Ron I couldn't agree with you more.  When I pay to see a show, I want to see
the best possible stage dancing, but when I come to a milonga, I do not come
to watch stage dancers, no matter how good they are, intimidate myself and
others with their high kicks and staccato all over the floor navigation.
Even if they never crash into another couple because of their skill, they
still ruin it for everyone else in the ronda because the rest of us have to
use so much concentration protecting our partners and ourselves from their
performance steps that we can not enjoy the dance or provide our partners a
good dance.

Having said that, I have also seen some outstanding stage dancers in
milongas who blended right in and added to the enjoyment of everyone in the
ronda. I once was fortunate to be at a milonga where two professional
couples were literally playing, where one would do a complicated pattern and
then the other would match it and add a step, but both did this in a way
that never disrupted the ronda or posed any distraction to those about
them.  So, as Keith and Igor point out, being a professional stage dancer
does not preclude being a good citizen at the milonga, nor does it guarantee
it.

my two cents worth.

Ed


On 5/13/07, Tango Society of Central Illinois <tango.society at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> On 5/13/07, Keith <keith at tangohk.com> wrote:
> >
> > You may not like it, but the best dancers are professional stage
> performers and I, for one, want to see the best. So, thanks Igor - great
> video - wish I was young enough to try it.
>
> 'Best' is context-dependent. The skills needed in exhibition tango and
> social tango are different. There may be some tango stage performers
> who are very good social dancers, but this is hardly guaranteed and I
> have seen performance oriented dancers become a navigation hazard on
> the social dance floor.. Even if a stage performer looks good on the
> social dance floor, looks can be deceving. The test of a good social
> tango dancer is how well-connected he or she is to you (and other
> dancers) on the milonga dance floor. The former may not be that
> apparent until you are in the abrazo.
>
> Ron
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