[Tango-L] Let's save the social dance!

[Alexis Cousein]

Tango Society of Central Illinois wrote:
> Very well stated. But ... EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
> 
> The problem is that performance dances derived from social tango
> (e.g., nuevo) are not taught as performance dances. The instructors do
> not say 'this is for performance'. Instead classes and workshops are
> taught in conjunction with 'milongas'. The silence about
> appropriateness leads to performance on the milonga dance floor.

That's not the cause of the problem. I know followers who can do boleos
without ever lifting their foot and moving it only a couple of inches
outward, and I can dance some "performance" figures in very little room
(and others I can't).

A lot I also have to modify so as to not disturb the line of
dance (the frequent problem I can see with people doing some
"figures" is that they seem to want to initiate them in the
exact orientation they were taught, without regard for where
they'll end up. They also seem to be unable to break them up
into smaller parts that can be assembled at will depending
on circumstances.)

All it requires is the right attitude (respect for the space of others
on the dance floor and the ronda), not a different catalogue of
steps.

> Nuevo and tango de salon events should be kept separate. Nuevo dances
> can be held on large floors where the density is low.

There's no need to pigeon-hole anything if you're sensible. A given
floor doesn't have the same density at 10pm and 3am as it has at 1am.
Even a given tanda attracts a different public and causes a different
floor density.

> Dancers should respect the type of dancing that is suggested by the
> advertisement of the event.
> 
Mhhh - what next? Separate dance events for people who step on the ball
of their feet and people who step heel first?

I don't like those rigid pigeon holes one little bit. Tango is a subculture
that's small enough as is, and I do think that cross-fertilisation
between different styles is interesting. We can all learn a lot from others
in this dance, and I don't necessarily want everyone at a milonga to behave
like I do (I don't need the comfort of feeling I'm doing "just like
the others" which makes me "right" as defined by my "peers").

People who don't respect the space of others should be whacked - and that
even applies to me when I'm out of line (it does happen - sometimes the music
and a particularly GOOD connection with a dance partner makes you
enter a trance that's not good for your awareness of others).

And people should be taught to adapt to circumstances. But it can't
really be taught in classes. That's something you can only learn by walking
your kilometres in milongas.

Approach milongas with an open mind and enough humility, and in the end
you'll be fine - after having learned from your mistakes. Usually, if you're
gracious about your gaffes people will tolerate them (to a point - not if
you continue to be blatantly ignoring what you do unto others).

And then once you'll be more experienced you'll bump into people who've
had less experience with a dance floor and be irritated by them. Then is the
time to  remember how pathetic your floor navigation skills
were when *you* started and to be lenient.

All of that has little to do with style. I know close-embrace dancers who can
be just as rude as open-frame dancers at milongas. Especially when they're
so convinced they're the ones doing "real" social tango that it gives them
a huge sense of entitlement.

Awareness. That's what counts. And yes, teachers *should* make their pupils
aware of things and what counts on a social dance floor.

One gripe I have (and that happens indeed more often with teachers teaching
a style closer to "performance") is they sometimes teach patterns that change
your final orientation without making people *aware* that you have to bolt
on something at the beginning or the end or adjust the leading or trailing
steps to "get back" in the ronda - I don't have a crusade against back steps,
but if you want to make them of normal length try to turn 135° first against
the line of dance so that they become forward steps - and be sure there's room...

But their pupils *will* still have to walk to walk to really understand,
no matter how much they're told.