[Tango-L] Germans teaching Argentine tango in the USA

[Club~Tango*La Dolce Vita~]

Club ~Tango*La Dolce Vita~
~ Dani Iannarelli ~
 
Dear List,

I'm a bit late as I've only just seen Janis's latest twisted posting.
 
Janis's prejudice does not seem to stop at non-'milonguero' dancers, she seems also to apply her cockeyed views to her typecast of nationalities.

Not all Argentines can dance (as I remember a world class Argentine teachers whose name I will not disclose once said in a workshop) or, indeed, teach dance. It's like saying that all Italians are great singers, all Scots are tightfisted, all Australians wrestle corocodiles, all Aliens are green and from Mars... typecasting/generalisation is simply wrong. In fact I myself remember, on my first visit to BsAs for tango 10 years ago, going to a 'tango' class which was absolutely crap; the teacher was Argentinean, a porteno...! There is good and bad everywhere and in every society.

In teaching tango (indeed, ANY dance form), it is the teachers' methodology, concepts, imparting of information that is important. We all (except Janis, it seems) learn AT LEAST a little something from absolutely anyone! We can learn a way of working that is so specific to our own personality, style, poise, character, bodytype that can perhaps trigger a somewhat familiar something within our individuality that encourages us to lateralise our way of applying what we know of our tango and our approach to the technique, the dance.

What's wrong with seeing a couple dancing, appreciating their dance style and thinking "Hey, I'd like to get them over to [whatever country/city] to teach". It doesn't matter if they're two feet tall with three eyes and five legs...if you think their particular style and/or methodology would be particularly beneficial to your group, then what's the problem?! Certainly, their nationality is 100% entirely irrelevant!!!

The thing with Argentina (or, more properly, Buenos Aires) is that the tango is their culture. Having said that, this tango culture has ancestral (if you like) cultural roots (especially the sensuality/machismo/femininity of the dance) with Italy (listen to Neapolitan folk songs/music... not forgetting the traditional dance and the accordion), Spain (language) and, I suppose to an extent, Germany (bandoneon) France (look at the Apache dance)...!

Thus said, having been borne in and culturally associated with Buenos Aires, the tango appreciates a huge concentration of dancers having been raised in this tango culture. This breeds a concentration of excellent dancers/teachers/schools etc.

However, this does not exclude other countries/nationalities as being capable of becoming world class tangueros/teachers...! With the exception of a few countries, no names mentioned (although I live in one of them), generally, European tango (especially Italian) is excellent.

I have looked at these teachers (Dtelef & Melina) dancing and, to me, they seem pretty good. I think the Americans will learn quite a bit from them.

Why doesn't Janis just live and let live...??? Do we constantly have to put up with her backbiting and nonsensical bias???

Cheers

Very best wishes
Dani ~
`El Zorro de Tango' >:-)))))
 
~Tango*La Dolce Vita~
 
Email: dani at tango-la-dolce-vita.eu
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>Am I the only person who thinks this is crazy?
>There are dozens of Argentines teaching in the USA in addition to hundreds
>of Americans who teach.
>Why are they organizing classes for Germans?
>Is it because these Germans travel at their own expense on tourist visas?
>Or because there is so much money to be made from weekend workshop and
>festivals?
>What can you get from a German couple in two days that you haven't already
>learned from Argentines or Americans?