[Tango-L] [SA] RE: San Diego close embrace Festival 2010 and floorcraft

[Have to Tango]

In reply to Tony's mail about the San Diego festival: 
 
 
> Maybe I'm missing something, somewhere... but, I've visited and carefully read each page. I can NOT find the term 'close embrace' used anywhere on the site... 
 

The website for the upcoming San Diego New Year's festival does not claim that it is close embrace, nor is there any hint of it.  The ad for this past New Year's festival (http://tango.org/festivals/sandiego/2009sdtangofest) says (and I quote):
 

"The 3rd Annual San Diego Tango Festival will be a Southern California treat for all tango dancers who love the social tango popular in the milongas of Buenos Aires: close, subtle & romantic."
 
Further down on the page, the site claims that San Diego has a "great close embrace community." Thus, it is easy to see --through a bit of reading between the lines perhaps paired with a bit of wishful thinking ; ) -- how one might get the impression that the festival was intended only for traditional close-embrace milonguero dancers.  I certainly did get this impression upon first reading of the ad some months ago. And this is not because I am looking for such an exclusive festival.
 
Critically read, however, the ad nowhere actually promises a "close embrace" festival. Indeed, some of the teachers listed prefer a changing embrace and even excel at both open and closed styles. Brigitta Winkler, for example, is expert at dancing both traditional milonguero and dynamic, improvisational open figures, while one of the other teachers listed prefers a close-embrace "nuevo milonguero" style. I wonder whether a variety of styles and figures were taught at the festival's classes.
 
I agree with Tony that poor floor craft has become an almost universal phenomenon.  I have danced in many different cities and countries, and I have suffered my fair share of injuries, most (perhaps all) caused by a close-embrace dancer moving against the line of dance (or else just not paying attention). The danger increases markedly as soon as a dramatic work by Pugliesi is played. 
 
A few accidents in the past were unfortunately the result of my accepting a dance from an unfamiliar (close-embrace) leader, who was himself clueless about floorcraft.  As a follower, I now dance only with leaders I have already observed; and I have long ceased feeling that I must accept a dance because I have to be "nice."  
 
I feel it is as much the follower's obligation to stamp out bad floorcraft as anyone's.  Followers must turn down (or abandon) a leader who can neither protect her/him from poor dancers nor avoid causing harm and inconvenience to others. And if, in spite of my best efforts, I find myself dancing with a poor or unjudicious navigator, until l I have the opportunity to politely dump him/her (with a thank-you after the first song), I keep my eyes open, execute no gancho nor any off-the-floor boleo, no matter how s/he tries to force one. 
 
Usually said leader immediately assumes I am unable to follow or am not experienced enough to execute the figure which, ironically, sometimes leads to his trying to "teach" it to me!!! But if enough followers do the same, s/he'll get it sooner or later or be put out of business.
 
A very fine dancer once told me that his first priority on the dancefloor was to protect his partner. Apart from the incredible trust and connection a follower can have with such a leader, just imagine what it would do for general floorcraft if all leaders made this a priority, regardless of their style!
  		 	   		  
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