[Tango-L] Get Real!

[Keith]

 As usual, most of what Sergio says is true, although I think he greatly underestimates Ballroom
 dancing ...."Once you learn about ten patterns for a dance you are considered to know that
 dance." I don't think so Sergio, that wouldn't even get you to the the first level - Bronze Medal
 stage.
 
 In most of the world, maybe not the US, Ballroom dancing is now known as DanceSport and it's a
 very accurate name. It really is a sport, requiring a lot of energy, a high level of fitness and at least
 some natural physical ability if you want to dance it even reasonably well. One of the great things
 about AT is that it's accessible to just about anyone. I firmly believe that ANYONE can learn to 
 dance AT at a social level and I've think I've proved that more than once with some of my students :-).
 The same is not true for Ballroom. I know many people who are competent social AT dancers who
 would never be able to learn Ballroom simply because they don't have the physical ability. Many
 people go to Ballroom classes every week for years and enjoy it for the exercise and the social 
 environment. But many will never be good enough to actually got out to dance socially at a Ballroom 
 and Latin party. It's one reason why professional dance partners are in such high demand.

 Someone recently posed the question - why do you dance AT? I think the above is one of the
 reasons. Many find Ballroom too difficult and too physically demanding and then find success in the
 much less physical AT. In my case, as my age advances and my physical abilities decline, I find I 
can no longer dance Ballroom at the level that I would like. I fully expect AT to extend my dancing 
 life by at least 15-20 years. But I still dance Ballroom for the exercise and, on my good days, for 
the sheer exhilaration of flying around the dance floor, perfectly synchronised with my partner.

 Finally - the main difference between Ballroom and AT? IMHO, Ballroom is all about dancing the
 figures while AT is all about the feeling - and it comes from that delicious embrace. Ballroom Tango
 and AT are so totally different, IMHO, they cannot be considered as even remotely similar.

 Keith, HK


 On Thu Mar  6 11:06 , Sergio Vandekier  sent:

>
>
>Differences between Ballroom Tango and Argentine Tango. I will mention just a few of them: