[Tango-L] Atlanta Tango Festival Video

[Tango Society of Central Illinois]

On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 11:38 AM, Keith <keith at tangohk.com> wrote:
> Thanks for  posting the videos Miles. I'll probably get flamed for this, but IMO the best thing
>  about seeing US instructors dance is that it makes the rest of us feel less inadequate, which
>  is how I often feel after watching Argentines. I don't really understand the purpose of the
>  instructors' demonstrations - other than to send everyone to sleep :-).  I'm not saying they
>  should be dancing choreographed show routines but at least they should be of a high level
>  of excellence and difficulty to motivate and inspire their students and others. What these
>  demonstrations say to me is ... "learn from us and achieve a high level of mediocrity".
>  Just my opinion.
>
>  Keith, HK

This is not a flame, just a reality check.

First:
- Tomas Howlin & Juan Suarez are Argentine
- Brigitta Winkler is German
- Marika Landry is Canadian
- Robin Thomas is Irish (Northern)

The Americans are Robert Hauk, Barbara Durr and Hsueh-tze Lee.

I've danced a lot with both Barbara and Brigitta and some with
Hsueh-tze. They are all wonderful to dance with. This is not something
you may see, but something you feel with partners who have a great
connection. All of them are excellent instructors. I've also learned a
lot of tango from Robert. My wife Susana says he is a joy to dance
with.

A good refined tango focuses on partner connection and musicality, not
creating a visual spectacle. The untrained eye may think the dancers
exhibiting boleos, ganchos, volcadas and rapid turns are good dancers
(and some are). However, I have been sent to the chiropractor more
than once by exhibitionists of this type.

We need more demonstrations of good social tango.

Ron