[Tango-L] Not dancing with the music

[Michael]

Well, what happens in class? The teacher shows a pattern, exhibits it with
music, and tells the students to try the figure. When the class messes up,
the teacher will say something like "Men, you have to give a lot of rotation
so the woman knows you're leading a molinete" or "Ladies, take big back step
so you don't trip over a feet." I've never heard a teacher say in class "Is
anybody listening to the music?" Why is there surprise that men don't listen
to music? The music is more like Muzak you hear in elevators.

 

How many dancers understand the music of milonga? How many times do you see
couples dancing tango to vals?

 

Ming wanted to know how women tell men they are off beat (or any other
complaint?) Simple, don't dance with them anymore. (I think I used
Aristophanes Lysistrata as a suggestion.) Women have a lot of power in
tango. Either they don't know it or don't know how to use it. 

 

If teachers ignore women's complaints, then women should stop attending
their classes. I remember a very old Tango L message from a woman in
Washington, DC who came to the conclusion that 80% of class time was spent
helping the men lead the figure and 20% of the time was helping women follow
well. Women were paying the same amount for class but not getting the same
amount of benefit. (That could be a separate topic.)

 

Michael

Came home to New York where the Argentine Tango is better

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Ming Mar

 

People aren't dancing with the music even when the music is d'Arienzo, so I
don't think the problem is difficult music.  

Do the men know that they are not dancing with the music?  Do they even know
they're supposed to?  It is impolite to criticize someone, so how are they
ever going to know?

 

When leaders don't dance with the music, they move at odd unpredictable
times.  This means that followers have to pay total attention to the leaders
and ignore (not listen to) the music.  Students do what they've learned,
meaning that the men have learned to dance ignoring the music.  Why aren't
(more?) women complaining to the teachers?  Do the teachers dance with the
music?