[Tango-L] Ojo! Long Post Re: Type-A Tango Salon or Show ?

[Sandhill Crane]

Barbara, thanks for your remarks about the recent history
of tango. I always enjoy reading a first-hand account.

--- On Sun, 12/26/10, barbara <barbara at tangobar-productions.com> wrote:

> A woman could maybe continue on her own (and several on
> this List have) by moving to BsAs and dancing nightly with
> carefully chosen partners, if  she knows how to choose
> them and they will dance with her.
> That wouldn't work so well for a leader . . .

I'm more optimistic about just going to milongas,
I guess. I think that even a man can learn a lot
from his dance partners, if he is paying attention.
(Yes, I know, some people just don't pay attention;
they get stuck in a rut. Too bad for them!)

> Bottom line, we would love any advice on how to convince
> students that they should stick to improving their basics
> for however many years it takes instead of learning
> "new" material . . . .

I've often wished for a kind of magic wand or "clue stick"
as the kids call it these days. If only -- I fantasize --
if only a beginner could experience the feeling of a really
good tango, they would immediately drop the stagey, show-off
stuff and focus on revisiting that golden experience.
I would walk up to people struggling with ganchos or
something and bling! "Of course," they gasp, "now I get it!"

I remember my own clue stick moment -- I had been taking
tango classes for a while but I had never seen close embrace.
The first time I saw that, I was floored. I thought to
myself, I want to know what they know, and I've been
figuring it out ever since.

Now there are people for whom that has no appeal. It just
doesn't register. OK, I guess, but I suspect that a lot of
the people who drop out of tango without really getting
anywhere could really benefit from the clue stick.

It occurs to me that we could improve tango demonstrations
by having the audience crowd around the dancers -- bring
everybody within, say, 10 feet. Maybe then the audience
could sense a little more of the wordless communication
going on in the embrace.