[Tango-L] A true tango

[Tango For Her]

--- Keith <keith at tangohk.com> wrote:

> What a strange world this is - and what a strange
> list. We already have Chris UK [who???] telling 
> us that Gustavo Naviera is useless. Now we have
> Krasimir Stoyanov - does anyone even know who 
> he is or how he can dance - telling us that a
> legendary figure such as Juan Carlos Copes doesn't 
> dance Tango. Why do so many have so little respect
> for those who have achieved so much. What 
> is it about Tango that makes people this way? It
> doesn't seem to happen in the other arts. Certainly 
> not in Ballroom dancing where former champions are
> still revered, no matter how much styles may 
> change. 
> 

I don't know a lot of ballroom and I only know what I
know about tango.  Given that, this is my answer to
your question:

In ballroom, the movements, until you become very
good, are just patterns.  There are things open to
interpretation.  But, as a basis, it is a whole bunch
of patterns.  That's where the ballroom teachers make
their money.  And, that's where *some* tango teachers
make their money.

Tango, once you get past, say the
beginner-intermediate stage, is improvised to a large
extent.  For those of us who are lucky enough to break
free from patterns, it is more so.  

With an improvised dance, we each get out of it what
we get out of it.  We are all different.

So, here we are, all different.  A small segment of
the population is head-strong.  Is it possible that
strong-headed people end up on blogs and lists like
this?

One final piece to the puzzle ... and I will use me as
an example.  I excelled at soft tango free from
patterns.  I am told that I make my follower feel
balanced, soft, relaxed, secure ... sometimes, we want
to melt!  When I see a leader with his left foot
jetting out to the left, I know what that does to the
follower's comfort level.  So, that is what I teach
about and write about.

So, when I write, I have to be careful not to discount
other people's reasoning.  We all excelled at
different aspects of this dance and we are all
head-strong.  Sometimes, I fail to remain open minded.
 Many, many times, others fail to remain open minded
to the point that they want to pick on other people.

I am sorry for the few times that I have strayed. 
There are people out there who MUST be right, no
matter what and some of us end up fighting with them
just because they want to fight.  

True tango?  Give me a break!  There are many
different "true tangos"!  Why?  Because it is open to
interpretation!  So, if we can all say what we think
is true tango AND not belittle others, we will learn
IN PEACE!







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