[Tango-L] beginners and milonga

[Crrtango@aol.com]

Doug wrote:
<<<<<<<What if beginners were taught Milonga, and the first, say six or so 
songs of the
Milonga after a beginner lesson were Milonga, and the beginners were
encouraged to change partners after EVERY song (I agree with Carol
Shepherd's comments regarding the negative impact of tandas on beginners)?
Yes, not PC and totally culturally incorrect.  But it might help get
dancers, especially younger dancers, having fun and dancing a lot sooner.
It might even get them to stick.>>>>>>>>

Sounds good for a practica...maybe, not a social dance.

Traditionally, tango is taught first in its basic form, then as waltz, then 
milonga because they are  progressively more difficult and variations on tango, 
not the other way around (if taught correctly). The basic steps and elements 
that one learns in tango are the foundation for the other two. Unfortunately 
milonga is often not taught properly and students are heavily influenced by 
performances they see instead of learning to dance it socially. Milonga is quite 
a bit different from tango...it is not just faster tango. Although it is 
rhythmic and fun it also is more subtle and has smaller and different steps, and 
others that are rarely done, if at all, like crosses, which are common to 
regular tango.   Theoretically, it sounds fun to start that way, but pedagogically 
speaking it is a little like putting the cart before the horse. 

cheers,
Charles


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