[Tango-L] Elitism

[Nussbaum, Martin]

There is another problem with elitism that hasnt been discussed yet, and
that is typecasting. I have had the following experience in NYC, but it
may be universal. Lets say some nights I'm feeling in a better mood than
others, feeling genenrous,  I want to spread good tango karma, give back
something to this dance that has enriched my life.  I see a newbie not
being asked to dance. I ask her to dance. We do the best we can, nothing
flashy, just a simple dance. But now better followers, especially those
who are visiting from out of town  who dont know me well, ignore my
cabaceo, assuming that the previous partner i had is "the best i can
do." They didnt see me doing any fad or fancy movement in the tanda. No
attention grabbing open embrace jet down the lane motions that their
friends gush over in rapt admiration. I confess, i used to be guilty of
the gymnastics myself, but I've come to realize that's not the real
fulfillment of tango, there is no subtlety or emotion to it, and when i
watch it done, usually poorly, i am bored to tears,  so my dance these
days is much simpler and quieter.  Anyway, after a tanda with a newbie,
the clique followers do not want to chance being seen dancing with me
for fear of catching the same stigma, and then not being invited by the
elite alpha dogs in the room.  So they wont chance a tanda with me. I
also agree with the prior posts about cliques. Whether its a natural
sociological phenomonen or not, i dont know, but i do know that there
are cliques of people who only dance with those in their clique, or
those introduced by someone in their clique. People dance tango for
different reasons. For some, partners are chosen on the basis of
perceived social status, or dance career enhancement, rather than merely
for a nice tanda.