[Tango-L] Interesting Tango Listing

[Andrew RYSER SZYMAÑSKI]

--- On Mon, 13/6/11, Huck Kennedy <tempehuck at gmail.com> wrote:

>           Let's hope this sorry
> new trend gets nipped in the bud, pronto.

I remember, way back in 1995[?] we had a visiting teacher here in London [UK] - Maria Pantuso - who did just that. She asked us to warm up for a few tangos and watched us for a good 15 minutes, talking to our teacher occasionally. We were wondering what was going on at the time. She eventually explained that as she did not know us she needed to find out where we were at. The ensuing class was shit hot & to the point [giros]. Nothing new about that then, it's just being sensible.

 Yeah, that probably happens in
> Buenos Aires, but for a continuing class that meets
> regularly, in
> which the instructors are very familiar with the strengths
> and
> weaknesses of all the students, not a one-time class
> comprising
> strangers from different communities all over the country.

The opposite is the case. An instructor very familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of all the students obviously does not need to check them out at the beginning of each class [but he should still get them to warm-up....].

if you are spending big bucks to fly to another city, rent a hotel room, and pay festival fees, do you really want to come back moving like a right jerk because you insisted on learning moves you haven't yet got the technique for?

Andrew W. RYSER SZYMAÑSKI,
23b All Saints Road,
London, W11 1HE,
07944 128 739.