[Tango-L] Elitism

[HBBOOGIE1@aol.com]

Bob I agree with you Orlando  Paiva was my hero and the maestro of elegant 
tango. 
I often watch the ego  driven men trying to lead beginners in moves way 
beyond their limits only adding  to their frustration and embarrassment. I find 
a simple walk with an  intermittent turn danced to the music is all that’s 
needed to put a beginner at  ease and let her enjoy the dance without any 
fear or frustration. A simple tanda  like this gives her reason for wanting to 
continue dancing tango. As far as  experienced followers not wanting to 
dance with someone who’s dancing with  beginners that’s ridiculous. I would 
think that you would be admired for dancing  with a beginner especially if you 
we’re doing it well. 
David

/4/2011  1:30:44 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, rhink2 at netscape.net  writes:
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

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