[Tango-L] Respect

[Nussbaum, Martin]

Hbboogie sets up a phoney boogeyman in Gustavo by using a truncated clip
excerpted from a performance, not a socail dance setting. That whole
kung fu tanda link is either a satire or an outright lie and is pure bee
es.  If you notice, the couples there are dancing on a raised stage. I
have danced on the same social dance floor as Gustavo in boulder and
never saw or felt any kung fu at any time, he was a much more skillful
and respectful dancer than anyone else. Furthermore, those occasions
would have been ones in which he would have had a motive to "stretch
out" because he was loosening up for a later performance, yet his dance
was always quiet and in the line of dance, no one was physically
intimidated, mayeb emotionally so by the honor of dancing socailly on
the same floor of such a craftsman. What's more, Gustavo never claimed
to invent any new style, what they were seeking was a pedagogical method
of analysis of tango structure, because the older milongueros were not
so adept at explaining what it was they were doing. The strucutre of the
dance created new possiblities in terms of expansion of concepts that
were long used by tangueros of the past. There is nothing new under the
sun, and there is no such thing as tango nuevo. Look at old clips of
Edwardoa nd gloria arquimbo performing huge movements.  People in their
youth do wild and crazy experimentation, and it's a normal and healthy
process. I heard that even Gavito was fast and wild when young, and only
in maturity settled on a more nuanced style.  I never saw or read any
alleged "apology" by Gustavo of anything he taught or did, nor do I
think any apology is warranted.  I did read in chicho's recent article
an assumption of partial responibility for some people missing the
essence of tango, but I also have taken many classes with him and all
the other people to whom the so-called nuevo movement is attributed, and
I take from them an emphasis on how to connect with a partner, how to be
musical, how to lead with maximum efficiency.    The problem isnt the
style, there has been stage tango around for a long time, but in the
past people knew the difference between stage and socail dancing and
were more respectful of the rhonda, now so many want to do stage tango
on the dance floor it disrupts the flow. But I don't believe you can
blame the teachers for teaching what the public demands. They have to
eat.  You can blame the milonga hosts who allow "anything goes", to be
all things to all people.  in the wish to attract as many attendees as
possible. If anyone in any style is interfering with the enjoyment of
others, really interfering, the hosts should have a conversation with
that person.