[Tango-L] How to break couples who do not want to change partners.

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

--- Igor Polk <ipolk at virtuar.com> wrote:

> 
> When one has 4 couples who do not change partners per,
> say, other 6-7
> couples, it is a real disaster. 
> 
> What to do with it?

My advice would be to chill.  Otherwise, you may find
yourself in an awkward position.  For example, I have had
couples stick together for medical reasons (e.g.,
compromised immunity system) or for reasons of language.  I
think most would agree that it's perfectly reasonable for
these couples to want to stay together.  Would you then put
yourself in a position to say, "that couple can stay
together but that couple has to rotate"?  Would you then
announce why when if something was told to you in
confidence?  If a couple really wants to stay together,
it's not worth creating bad vibes just for the sake of
rotation.

If you have problems with gender-balancing, try bringing in
assistants or making the class more technique-oriented with
lots of exercises.  Or encourage the women to lead.

I prefer try to encourage rotation by bringing in
experienced assistants to mix in with the student.  For a
couple who doesn't rotate, an assistant and I will "break
up" a couple and work with them for awhile (but not in
every class).  This helps them get used to working apart.  
The assistant (and sometimes myself) also go into the
rotation.  Over several weeks, one of the non-rotating
partners then usually wants to get into the rotation to get
a chance to work with an experienced assistant or myself. 
Dangling a carrot is better than using a whip.

Trini de Pittsburgh








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