[Tango-L] HouseDance - not just walking

[WHITE 95 R]

Wonderful post Fan, I could not say it better myself. I will say that as far 
as the pros teaching bits and pieces of their better (more intricate and 
showy) stuff, I believe it is because that is what that people who come to 
their classes expect. Also, there is a wealth of material that can be 
learned by taking those classes. Technique and timing are absolutely 
necessary to do those steps well. Body control and proper posture are also 
emphasized in these lessons. All these things are invaluable to the social 
dancer as well.

Many people who love the tango were first attracted to it by the wonderful 
performances of the tango stars. Although they also learn all about the 
magic of social dancing, many people still respect and admire the pros and 
their impeccable dancing. The people also want to be better dancers and they 
aspire to emulate their tango idols.

There is nothing wrong with learning more about tango and perfecting one's 
technique or broadening one's repertory. Unfortunately some people bypass 
the basics and never really learn to simply dance tango. They are the ones 
who concentrate on trying to learn performance tango and try to practice 
what they have learned at the local milonga. Obviously, this causes other 
folks to become frustrated, irritated and irate with the inexperienced 
"obstacles". Unfortunately this degenerates into lumping all advanced or 
performance style dancers into the "bad guy" role. That's too bad for a lot 
of reasons. Not least of all the unfairness of the accusations but also the 
fact that many self styled "social dancers" could definitely benefit from 
more advanced classes with the pros they so disdain.

Cheers,

Manuel




>From: "Fantasia Sorenson" <bichonheels at gmail.com>
>To: "Tango-L List" <tango-l at mit.edu>
>Subject: Re: [Tango-L] HouseDance - not just walking
>Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 10:21:58 -0400
>
>Fantasia dons her Government Issue flak jacket and weighs in on the
>controversy...
>
>Personally, I have never seen a performer disrupt a milonga, only would-be
>performers. Whenever I've seen actual stage performers (I mean ones who are
>currently engaged in professional show/tours) show up at milongas after
>their shows, they have without fail danced quite beautifully and serenely.
>
>The performers I've seen at milongas dance differently from the way they do
>on stage. They're the ones who CAN dance stage choreography, but at 
>milongas
>they DON'T. The only ones I've seen attempting to dance stage choreography
>in milongas are dancers who AREN'T professional performers. The ones who 
>are
>best qualified to do it there, in fact don't do it there.
>
>It's the non-professionals who don't seem to draw a distinction between
>milonga and stage. They long to be performers themselves, and lacking a
>stage to dance on, they dance as large as a stage on a social dance floor.
>Even real stage dancers don't do that.
>
>Meanwhile, I might be the only girl in the milongas in my town who dances
>with her feet on the floor 100% of the time. I've stepped back into someone
>because I was led that direction, but I have never whacked anyone above the
>ankle... ever.
>
>Ironically, at least to me, the stage dancers who dance so beautifully on
>the social floor don't teach social dancing in their classes. They teach
>bits from showy dancing that they don't even do themselves in a milonga.
>That's the part that I don't get, why Argentines who are such beautiful
>social dancers themselves are so inclined to foster non-social dancing in
>their teaching.
>
>Fan
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>Tango-L at mit.edu
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