[Tango-L] Elitism

[rhink2@netscape.net]

Guys,

I'm amazed.  I 've been dancing A. tango for almost 18 years, and I've 
never heard anything quite like this.
First, about cliques.  Do they exist? Almost certainly. Are they a 
result of elitism? Well, possibly, but consider this.
When one goes through classes and workshops with a group of people, 
those people naturally tend to "hang" together.
The current vernacular might refer to this behavior as staying within 
ones comfort zone.

If one is having difficulty finding partners, I think one might 
consider other reasons than a neophyte partner.  No experienced
tanguera would judge the quality of tanguero's  dancing by his partner. 
There have been several hundred threads on just this forum saying
followers want there leaders to make them "look good".  You get extra 
credit for making a newcomer look good since that's more challenging.

Indeed, the late Orlando Paiva. know for his elegance and simplicity 
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjpJhWFHCKA), could be dancing
with a broomstick and make the broom look good. I don't think he had 
many of his cabaceos rejected for this reason alone.

Bob
San Francisco