4597  Beginners - Intermediate

Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:02:20 -0400
From: "WHITE 95 R" <white95r@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Beginners - Intermediate
To: sergiovandekier990@hotmail.com, tango-l@mit.edu

>The beginner has a good frame, good muscle tone in his embrace, knows how
>to
>lead properly, has good musicality, walks in different ways, navigates the
>floor with dexterity, knows a few figures such as the base (up to the
>cross), front and back ochos. He knows how to stop walking and changing
>direction and how to change the weight of the woman from one foot to the
>other, Figures that utilize a combination of both types of ochos such as
>"la
>medialuna" (half moon) or "el sanguchito" (the sandwich).
>He turns just walking forward or using "gardelitos" (rocking turns), etc.

LOL, Sergio, you've just described what a huge percentage of regular tango
dancers can only aspire to achieve..... "how to lead properly,good
musicality, walks in different ways, navigates the floor with dexterity"....
These qualities are seldom found in the average "intermediate/advanced"
attendees to many a workshop. Usually, by the time a dancer has mastered
those skills, he or she are quite advanced. I know "teachers" who do not
possess those skills...

Personally, I would not teach anything beyond the most basic of tango
movements to anyone until they have acquired some skill and dexterity with
the basics. However, people do get bored and discouraged when struggling to
master something as simple as a weight change like a corte or arrepentida.
However, they seem to enjoy struggling with (and totally mauling) things
such as back sacadas, ganchos, enrosques, volcadas, etc.

I cannot just tell someone "leave this class, you're not qualified to take
it". I don't think many people can be so bluntly honest. It's just hard to
be critical and hurtful, even if being completely correct and truthful.
Generally, people who take material that's too advanced for them in our
classes tend to realize it pretty quickly and they go back to basics. I
think the problem is with people who go to workshops by visiting masters and
they take lessons above their level. Perhaps it's because in their
community, their local teacher has allowed them to believe that they are
more advanced than they are. Or maybe they have no reference to judge
themselves or maybe even they are blind to their shortcomings.

One possible solution to alleviate the problem could be to require people to
register with a partner. This way, if they are in over their heads, they can
fumble with each other and let the more advanced people learn at their
level. This requires that the teacher be clear about what he or she expects
in the way of prerequisites so people know that if they are over their
heads, the teacher will not spend any time teaching them the basics and
wasting the advanced students' time and money...

Manuel

Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 12:30:52 -0700
From: "Igor Polk" <ipolk@virtuar.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] Beginners - Intermediate ???
To: <tango-l@mit.edu>

I have seen many people who dance or expect back sacadas, volcadas,
colgadas, infinite boleos, but they are not able do dance simple steps.

They do not feel them. They do not understand them. They even do not collect
their feet in ochos !!!

What level they are dancing on?

This is not a level. These are different styles.

A lot of people dance greatly with very simple steps. I would never call
them beginners.
If you know how to dance, you have mastered the dance. Period.

Everything else is extra, or belongs to another style.

There are styles in tango. There are many of them, and there are beginner,
intermediate, and advanced level in all of them, and they are all different.
And equal. Every teacher mentioning levels must say explicitly what style
they will work in. That is this what is a greatest source of confusion with
a lesson attendees which is discussed in this thread.

Do not tell me that a person who claims that molinete belongs to a beginner
level, is an advanced dancer of salon or orillero or apilado styles of
dancing. No way !!!! And evidence just supports it.

Igor.