[Tango-L] floor craft -2

[Tom Stermitz]

On Oct 14, 2010, at 2:04 AM, Jack Dylan wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Sandhill Crane <grus.canadensis at yahoo.com>
>>
>> A phenomenon that I've observed at festivals in the US
>> (saw it just this last weekend in Portland) is that a
>> solid line forms at the edge of the floor, and the
>> rest of the floor is more sparsely filled.

It's nice to have a clean outer lane.

It's even nicer to also have a clean second lane.

Straddling the lanes or Zig-zagging between lanes is problematic.

> Some people just don't belong in the ronda, eg. beginners who
> haven't yet developed the necessary skills to improvise on any
> given step and others, often skilled dancers, who want to dance
> more fancy figures that take up a lot of space and those who
> want to dance Nuevo.
> ...
> Jack


Beginners can do fine in the outer lane. It does depend on what they  
have been taught. Simple walking steps are within their control,  
whereas ochos and turns aren't. In my beginner classes I make sure  
they have the foundational vocabulary for handling the outer lane, and  
we repeatedly practice navigating the dance floor in the first weeks  
and months. Then these new dancers feel successful when they go to the  
dances.

The intermediates are the main navigational hazard. They know too much  
vocabulary that they can't mange for navigation, and get stuck out in  
the middle like "swooping of dying tango swans who gobble up all the  
floor space".

Some people stay intermediate for years.


Tom Stermitz
c: 303-725-5963
http://www.tango.org
Denver, CO 80207