[Tango-L] Tango Teaching and certification

[Tom Stermitz]

I completely changed my curriculum when I went to learn a new dance. I  
tried Lindy, but the concepts were too random. I tried West Coast  
swing (basically the same as Lindy, only slower and straightened out).  
Same concepts as Lindy, but the instructional methdology was much more  
directed and clear.

At the basic level, WCS is taught as a set of 6 or 8 "basic" patterns  
that fit the music as a 6 or 8 count moves.

A leader can attend a month of classes and pick up most of these  
patterns one by one, and immediately start dancing. Yes, he's wooden,  
and yes, he's just repeating patterns. 2 or 6 months later (or maybe  
never), a "miracle occurs", and the man is dancing intuitively,  
changing off the different patterns without thinking, swapping in and  
out new moves, and ready to start learning more stuff.

So, I changed from an analytical approach: walking, turns, cross- 
footed theory, to a small-element approach. I also changed to a more  
directed approach: Here's the music, here are 8 or 10 short sequences  
that fit the music. If you have memorized 3 or 4 moves, you are  
already qualified to get up and dance. Yes, their wooden. Yes, 2 or 6  
(or never) months later a miracle occurs....


But, as they say in Perl, there is more than one way to do it, that  
is, tango is also a Pathologically Eclectic Rubish Lister.


On May 2, 2008, at 6:58 AM, Paul Shrivastava wrote:

> As a life long academic also involved in building educational
> institutions let me throw in my 2-cents into this conversation.  I  
> have
> reviewed all the formal "syllabuses" that I could find online (about  
> 20)
> and outlines of about 50 workshops by all sorts of Tango teachers from
> US and BA.  The lack of uniformity and standards is apparent event  
> to a
> casual observer.
>
> Tango to me is simultaneously a dance, a music and a culture.  Just
> learning the steps without knowing the emotional and cultural and
> intellectual meanings behind the dance,  is like learning to bake  
> cakes
> from a ready-made mix, instead of using basic ingredients.  You may
> still get a cake out of it, but it is not the same.
>
> Most Tango teaching today focuses on steps, some teacher/workshops pay
> some attention musicality and emotionality.  But, there as no  
> standards.
> ...
> Paul