[Tango-L] Videos and criticism, the right arm lead

[Sergio Vandekier]

Sean says:

1- "Often, videos are presented as "educational" tools. In that case, they certainly should be critiqued in the same way we all judge any other pedagogical discourse.

2 - In my opinion, Huck made a fair criticism of the video which in fact resulted in an interesting and informative follow up discussion."

Huck's comment "he waves his left arm around more than a drunk partygoer doing the chicken dance at a wedding reception."


3 - Trini says:
"Excess movements diminishes that expression - even if it's something as playful as milonga. But that's just me. "

4 - Jean-Pirre 's video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKfu2wOG154


1 - I agree, we should use a video as an educational tool. What I said was that there is no need to use personal attacks, to ridicule or to humiliate a poster.

It is more constructive if somebody says - I would like to know the general opinion on movements of the left arm in milonga candombera, I personally find it unnecessary, not esthetic etc. Then he is giving a personal opinion (see Trini #3) on a dancing subject without using a personal attack, to ridicule (see #2).


Going back to the video in question; I do not know Jean-Pierre, in the past he attacked me writing pages and pages, calling me all sort of names (bigot, etc.) because I dared to say that the tango was not "invented" by blacks...

...but I tried to be objective; he calls his video, "Having fun with milonga candombera", as far as I know nobody danced that way till recently when some pertinent music appeared or reappeared and people started to "re-invent" the milonga candombera as a new stile of dancing milonga.

These facts, "having fun with" and the inexistence of this style till recently gives the dancer a lot of latitude with respect to artistic interpretation of the music.

It required like in the case of Ernest, a detail study of the candombes in Montevideo, for instance.

Notice that Jean-Pierre not only moves his left arm, he places it on his chest and at waist level.


As to Huck's comments, 1 - "Find me an Argentine instructor who advocates that sort of arm movement and I'll gladly reconsider my opinion."

2- "What is the point of posting them, if we can'tuse them as a teaching exercise and discuss what we like and what wedon't like about them?"


As a general rule of ballroom dancing, we do not move the left arm but as I just said this is a "re-discovered" "re-invented" style. This gives lots of latitude for individual interpretation.

You can say: I like or dislike the way John dances without personal attacks that waste a lot of our time, and then offer some base to your opinion as a subject for discussion.

As to the movement of the right arm to lead front ochos or whatever,(this is another example of

*** (prejudice" based in ignorance of the different styles of tango).***

Most people that dance in open embrace will use the right arm to lead, the ones that use "only" the chest are those that "only" dance close embrace.

Notice : I could have omitted the ***() paragraph in parenthesis with the same final result, by not having omitted it, I run the risk of offending Huck, which is totally unnecessary. I did it on purpose to show an example. I sincerely apologize to Huck before hand.

Best regards, Sergio





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