[Tango-L] When I was a hiker..

[Krasimir Stoyanov]

Very good observation, Igor, I arrived to the same conclusion, tango-wise.
Now, when I know "the mechanics", I see all the time strange things said and 
written about tango, how to dance it and feel it. Almost all teachers are 
preaching, instead of teaching - so for me, they are not tango-teachers, 
they are tango-preachers. And they all preach pretty much different and 
often contradictory things.
And this is very sad, because people deserve better treatment. Simply said, 
directions that they could understand, not strange sophisticated high-ordeal 
stuff.

The dance has two (at least?) levels - one of them is purely technical, or 
bio-mechanical if you wish. The other one is the spiritual level - the 
music, the feeling, the tango-living. The latter one is far more difficult 
to teach, if possible at all. That's why most teachers concentrate on the 
mechanics. But most of them actually explain nothing. Do-it-like-me system 
is awful in a class that badly needs some basic walking, leading and 
following improvements. Yes, walking, leading and following are impossible 
to separate, they are one and the same - the right walking is impossible 
without being led properly and knowing how to transform that lead. The right 
following is impossible without correct walking, and the lead is futile in 
such a case.

And I think this is what must be taught - the holy trinity of tango - 
walking, leading and following. All the rest is easy, when based on proper 
walking, leading and following skills. Of course, one thing is missing, the 
pivots, and they are the next important thing to learn - and they benefit 
greatly from the good execution of the trinity. A pivot following an 
imprecise step is going to be a disaster.

So, what else do we need - leading and following smoothly through the steps 
and pivots - this is 99% of the dance. The rest is not so important and to 
the people's preference - figures, combinations, adornos - vanity fair.

Many people reading this will say - "Hey, of course, we know that walking is 
important". But what they don't know is that they don't walk correctly - 
nobody is there to tell them and teach them. Of course, some people do know 
how to walk, but they are minority even in Argentina.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Igor Polk" <ipolk at virtuar.com>
To: <tango-l at mit.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 11:02 PM
Subject: [Tango-L] When I was a hiker..


> When I was a hiker
> I have learned never trust locals for directions. They are not able to 
> give
> it.
> Probably they know the things too well to mention important details to me,
> or they never were interested in what I was interested,
> or they plainly did not know, but "my uncle says..",
> or even more plainly were trying to fool me around.
>
> I have found that a simple map, and commons sense instincts, and ability 
> to
> use Sun and Stars for orientation serve much better.
>
>
> Igor Polk
>
>
>
>
>
>
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