[Tango-L] Serpentine youth in Zagreb..look out!

[Myk Dowling]

Trini y Sean (PATangoS) wrote:
> --- On Wed, 11/19/08, Myk Dowling <politas at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Argentine Tango is a social dance, with no ruling body to define and 
>> control it. As such, it is free to adapt to changing preferences of the 
>> people who dance it. 
> 
> -----
> 
> That’s an excuse, not a reason.  There’s a difference.  Good posture
> is Tango 101.
>
Social dances are defined and controlled by the community of people 
dancing them. And yes, I agree that posture is a critical element of 
Tango, and it's one of the defects in my own dancing that I'm working 
hard to fix at the moment.

I'm not recommending Tango Anarchy, just a continuation of the current 
state of affairs.

> I do hold couples doing a FORMAL PRESENTATION to a higher level of
> tango than I would for others simply dancing at a milonga. 
> Presentations should be measured by their OUTCOME, not their output.  
> Read Mario’s post again.  His first reaction is along the lines of 
> “What the h…?”  This is outcome.  This presentation failed in that
> regard.  It also failed with me.
> 
I was replying to Anton's comments, not Mario's. Anton was expressing a 
desire for some potent authority to define Tango and make it easier to 
assess. I happen to think such a thing would be the death of Tango's 
diversity, just as International Ballroom has turned ballroom dancing 
into a codified nightmare where taking an unauthorised step will get you 
thrown out of a competition. More importantly, where those competitions 
are seen to be the purpose of the dance, instead of the enjoyment of the 
dancers.

Myk
in Canberra