[Tango-L] In defense of the basic eight count steps

[Mario]

OK..I am up to my neck in Tango classes..almost every night of the week I am in a class, 
   practica or milonga. It is costing me upwards of $250 a month (Astrid will be happy).
    I am taking class from three different teachers..one professes 'connection' and 'musicality'.
    other is just a darn good teacher who has taught almost all of the good women that I've had 
     the luck to dance with. The third is an Argentine Tango Nuevo star who is the real deal 
    and so I am in the class.
    This last teacher is the one I want to talk about. When he announced that 'This is the  
      basic eight which you will be using for the rest of your Tango life'...I winced but was there
      for whatever he showed us.... we practised the basic eight for the first 1 1/2 hrs class..
      what I liked is that we did it again and again and again and again...I got to try it several
       times with his partner a pro and she critiqued my form...I made a lot of mistakes..
       I got some of it corrected.  We used a variation which included a forward cross from 
         where step five would ordinarily lead to a back cross.. we followed in the next class 
          with another eight count series that included back ochos and front ochos etc etc..
           very sophisticated stuff...for me..  I will continue with the next post.