[Tango-L] Navigation

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Nice post, Ron.  Daniel Trenner is the only teacher I've had in recent memory to teach this navigation in beginning classes.  One teacher here has incorporated it into his beginning classes, but it's too early to tell what effect that has on those students' introduction into the community, which follows a forward mode.  We've been trying to emphasize it more in milonga with limited success.  I do believe, though, that it is one of those essential things dancers should be aware of, even if they don't use it themselves.
 
I've gently asked other Argentine teachers who have been around as long as Daniel, and the general response is that the direction the man faces doesn't matter, they just make adjustments as needed.
 
I've also noticed issues with certain vocabulary since milonguero style has become more prevalent.  Such as women having more difficulty recognizing moments to cross and anticipating ocho cortado rather than forward ochos.  Anyone else have that experience?
 
Trini de Pittsburgh

 

--- On Thu, 1/13/11, RonTango <rontango at rocketmail.com> wrote:


----- Original Message ----
> From: Ming Mar <ming_mar at yahoo.com>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbUai1Lv5-0

This video provides a very good example of how experienced dancers navigate in 
the milongas of Buenos Aires. 

Almost every man who has any sense of navigation in the US proceeds around the 
floor walking facing forward in the direction of the ronda, using turns when 
forward progression is no longer feasible. This is how we have all been taught - 
walk forward and turn if you can't walk forward anymore.. I have never met an 
instructor who has taught otherwise for tango, although I have met a rare few 
who teach a different (perhaps optional) mode of progression for milonga.