[Tango-L] Getting educated (restated and expanded)

[Stephen.P.Brown@dal.frb.org]

I don't think my previous post on this subject was sufficiently clear. 
I've refined my comments.  The bottom line is that I think it is good to 
find a partner with whom to develop skills and even better to find a group 
with whom to develop skills.  There just isn't enough of a payoff in some 
places to develop skills on one's own.

At some point, most tango dancers choose not to improve because the effort 
required isn't paid back with a sufficient improvement in the quality of 
the dance experience.  In a partner dance, such as tango, the tango skills 
of one's potential partners can greatly influence how much improving one's 
own skills improves the dance experience.  Improving one's own skills 
doesn't do much good if one's potential dance partners have mediocre 
skills.

The required complementarity of skills in dance partners can lead to a 
situation in which an entire community remains mired in mediocrity, even 
though many individual dancers may want to improve their skills.  In such 
communities, where improving beyond the mediocre level is unnecessary to 
participate, individuals have little incentive to improve their skills. 
The quality of their own dance experience won't increase appreciably and 
may reduce the number of potential partners with whom it is enjoyable to 
dance.  Moreover, the better-skilled dancers may also find it difficult to 
keep their skills honed while dancing in a community dominated by mediocre 
dancers.

In such a community, a strong personal drive to excel is necessary to 
launch the person well beyond where their own community stands.  But tango 
is a partner dance, and it is better to find at least one partner who is 
willing to work together toward the same goals of excellent dancing--by 
taking some private lessons and practicing a lot.  But even if the couple 
succeeds in developing their skills dramatically, they find themselves 
mired in a community of mediocre dancers.

Perhaps a better idea is to form a small practice group of both men and 
women, in which all the other people have similar goals and are willing to 
work.  The group might want to consider organizing lessons for themselves 
and attending workshops in other cities as a group, etc.   Most 
importantly, everyone in the group must make a committment to developing a 
high level of excellence in tango.  Once the group has succeeded and 
begins attending milongas in the community, everyone in the group will 
have more potential partners at the milongas.  Moreover, the group may act 
as a seed for better dancing in the entire community.

With best regards,
Steve (de Tejas)