[Tango-L] Youtube

[Nussbaum, Martin]

Youtube, and the internet in general,  is and will be the single biggest
thing to happen to Tango, and all performing arts, in history. Way
bigger than radio and TV as a game changer.  Based on my personal
experience of 13 years in tango,  I completely disagree with Charles.
There is a lot to be learned from Youtube. You just need a
discriminating eye, have to know what to look for, and you have to look
really carefully.  And watch the same clip more than once, freeze the
cursor to see what is really happening in the movement.  Yes, you can
even get nuance, emotion, connection, and subtlety from the maestros on
YouTube. You certainly can see unlimited ways to musically interpret a
given tango, and you can then decide what suits your taste and style.
Does it help to have a pro spot your technique on a regular basis?
Absolutely. No question.  But to say that youtube will ruin your dance
is utter nonsense.  I dance 6.5 days out of 7, on average. I focus my
youtube on reviewing clips of my three favorite maestros, and my growing
collection of flip video uploaded clips of myself dancing short workshop
demos.  Watching yourself on youtube is humbling, but necessary.  My
partners tell me my dance is much better than it was in the past. My
musicality is better. My posture is better.  More texture, less nonsense
movements.  If I just stuck to whatever fast buck instructor du jour
passed thru NYC was selling, I would still be doing random acts of fad
gymnastics. It is by watching the elegance and poetry of maestros on
Youtube that I am able to separate the wheat from the chaff, and know
what I want my tango to be.  Also, by carefully watching visiting
instructors on youtube before registering for their classes or privates,
I can make a more informed choice of where to spend my tango bucks.
Youtube, tango on. 
-Martin Nussbaum