[Tango-L] Can only Argentines teach (& learn) Argentine tango?

[Lois Donnay]

I have heard a lot of suggestions on how to pick tango instructors.
1. They dance really, really well
2. They have been promoted well and travel a lot
3.  They have danced a long time
4. They communicate well
5. They have lived in or go to Buenos Aires frequently

No one seems to mention my favorite: for my money, the best teachers are the 
ones who turn out the best students, and the most students who stick with 
tango. I don't look at how a teacher dances, but how their students dance.

Men, ask the women which teacher turns out the best male dancers. Women, ask 
the men whose students they like to dance with.

As to Janis having her prejudices, that's OK - but lots of people have hired 
her, (a good idea, by the way) to help them understand and fit in to the 
BsAs cultural and dance scene better. Should they have hired a native 
instead? I don't think so. Janis knows Americans well enough to understand 
how they think and predict what they might do, and head their faux pas off 
before too many Ugly American incidences.

I still regret that few Argentines remain on this list....

Lois Donnay



> As soon as one categorizes tango instructors and dancers based on national
> ancestry, one falls into a logical fallacy that any construct exists as
> 'all-or-none'. A probabilistic approach provides a more realistic
> explanation. There are Argentine tango instructors and dancers of varying
> ability and their are non-Argentine instructors of varying ability.
> Milongueros who have spent many years in the milongas of Buenos Aires not
> only understand tango better than anyone, they define it. However, given
> that, they may not be able to communicate their knowledge, perhaps because
> they are not motivated to do so or, if motivated, they do not have good
> teaching skills, perhaps because their knowledge of tango is so deeply
> ingrained they do not remember how they learned it. There are also 
> language
> and cultural differences that make it difficult for anyone other than
> porten~os to understand them.
>
> There are non-Argentine instructors who have learned from milongueros,
> either by taking instruction from them or observing them closely or even
> studying with Argentine instructors who have done this and kept touch with
> reality by frequenting the milongas. These non-Argentine instructors are
> very important for the growth of tango worldwide. They may not have the
> knowledge and experience of milongueros, but in gaining a significant 
> amount
> of knowledge from the source of tango, they represent tango accurately, or
> at least they should if they are to be credible.
>
> Contrast these non-Argentine instructors with Argentines who tour and 
> teach
> throughout the world and teach a version of tango that is disconnected 
> from
> the milongas. They know they are teaching tango for exhibition but because
> they are Argentine, they are believed to be accurate communicators of the
> tango of their country of origin. The Argentine instructors of exhibition
> tango are more likely to have the effect of creating a non-Argentine 
> version
> of social Argentine tango outside Argentina than are non-Argentines.
>
> There are some Argentine instructors who do teach the tango danced in the
> milongas of Buenos Aires. Some of them are very good instructors. They are
> to be treasured for the knowledge they have, obtained close to the source 
> of
> tango.
>
> So, if you want to learn Argentine tango as a social dance as it is danced
> in the milongas of Buenos Aires (isn't that what we all strive for in
> embracing this dance of Argentine origin?), the best alternative for 
> someone
> who cannot spend a significant amount of time in Buenos Aires is to find 
> an
> instructor who has spent a significant amount of time in BA milongas and
> understands and communicates the essence of the dance (e.g., partner
> connection, musicality, navigation, improvisation). If that instructor is
> Argentine, all other things being equal, there is an increased probability
> of understanding the character of tango as a social dance. However, all
> other things are not always equal, so a non-Argentine may provide a better
> pathway to understanding tango.
>
> As a final comment, if you are at all serious about tango, you need to go 
> to
> the source yourself to assess the validity of what you have learned. Go to
> Buenos Aires, spend a significant amount of time at the milongas and be 
> sure
> to observe how the best dancers dance. Make the effort to talk to 
> porten~os,
> to the best dancers themselves if you have the opportunity. This is the
> source of tango. To really understand tango, you need to connect to that
> source.
>
> Ron
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