[Tango-L] Milongas by age difference?

[Sandhill Crane]

--- On Mon, 12/21/09, Brian Dunn <brianpdunn at earthlink.net> wrote:

> My main point is that people tend to go to classic
> milongas to RELAX, and people tend to go to
> practicas to GET BETTER

Something yanks my chain here -- it's the implication that
people who go to the milongas aren't GETTING BETTER.
The above statement is flatly misleading -- at a milonga
one does GET BETTER, indeed, while one is RELAXING.
It's just that one is not LEARNING NEW STEPS.
But new steps aren't any more important than music or
the social aspect of tango, which one absorbs at
the milonga, or, for that matter, solidifying the
steps one knows already.

> visible emotional connection between partners, gracefully
> fluid, rhythmically satisfying execution of intricately
> nuanced improvised solutions to available navigation
> problems, all while remaining very musical in their
> expression, and without disturbing those around them.

Well, that sounds heavenly. Sadly, here in the States
I have to deal with people who are outwardly imitating
the steps of these divine beings, but lacking their
finesse and awareness. 

> Whether or not somebody does a colgada is not telling
> us much about the most interesting and valuable
> things that may be going on in their dance.

Now this is certainly something we can agree on.
Why is it, then, that people who want to imitate
the young, talented folk of BA start with only
the most obvious, superficial aspect, namely, the
steps they're doing? I don't blame people for
wanting to imitate their neat, cool role models;
I think the responsibility falls on their teachers,
or maybe their teachers' teachers.

Eventually, I guess, one learns that the essence of
tango is not in the colganchovolcasada, but that
seems to take years and years; many people I've
seen at festivals who are supposedly good dancers
in their home communities haven't figured it out.
The conclusion I've reached is that it's extremely
important for all teachers to teach about the "interesting
and valuable", non-step stuff from the very beginning,
and to emphasize it in every class.