1791 Approaches to Teaching Tango
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 17:55:52 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Approaches to Teaching Tango
Although we may aspire to dance Argentine tango socially, I think it is
inevitable that those of us living in Asia, Australia, Oceana, Europe and
North America are going to learn much of our Argentine tango by taking
formal lessons. Somehow through the process of that instruction and
sometimes by overcoming it, we have to find our way to navigating and
developing our own styles for dancing tango socially.
I think there are three major approaches to tango instruction:
1) Memorized patterns
2) The Structural Approach
3) Small Elements
Though styles of dancing and the approaches to teaching tango need not be
linked, each of these approaches to dancing has become associated with a
style of dancing. Memorized patterns are often taught by instructors who
have a stage background, teach "salon-style" tango and rely on the
eight-count basic. The structural approach is typically taught by
instructors associated with nuevo tango. Teaching tango as small elements
is primarily associated with milonguero-style instructors.
I think the evidence shows that a person can find their way to
improvisation, good social dancing skills and their own style through any
of these three approaches to teaching. The real questions are which
methods of instruction work best for most individuals; how well can the
students dance before they reach their own tango; and how many dancers
will be encouraged to go on to find their own tango?
Memorized Patterns: Learning tango as memorized patterns produces dancers
who cannot navigate until they break free of their patterns. Dancing
memorized patterns also inhibits development of rhyhmic skills. I think
it is also likely to be a route in which many people never find their own
tango, though some obviously make it.
Structural Approach: The structural approach organizes the many elements
of tango, but it often leaves people to find those elements on their own.
As such, the structural approach may work best for dancers who already
know a signficant amount of tango and who have an analytical mind for
learning and an intuitive mind for dancing. The structural approach may
overwhelm and discourage those with limited tango experience bcecause it
gives them a huge amount of material to digest at once. Working to
develop a mastery of the structure can also delay the development of
rhythmic skills.
Small Elements: Learning to dance in small elements has the great
advantage of maintaining natural navigational skills from the beginning.
The small elements also allow the dancers to concentrate on developing
their rhythmic skills. In both these ways, teaching in small elements
probably does the most to encourage dancers to stay with tango. The
downside is that because dancers can reach mediocre acceptability with
relatively little work, they may remain shallow in their dance skills--and
may not care if they are having a good time.
My own experience learning, teaching and observing how other dance and
learn makes me hesitant to offer a one-fits-all formula for teaching, but
I lean toward thinking that small elements ought to be emphasized in most
beginning through intermediate classes; structure should be taught
gradually as dancers develop a knowledge of tango in their bodies; and
teaching memorized patterns is best reserved for dancers who are capable
of disassembling those patterns and making them their own.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 16:17:55 -0700
From: Trini or Sean - PATangoS <patangos@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Approaches to Teaching Tango
--- Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG> wrote:
> Structural Approach: The structural approach
> organizes the many elements
> of tango, but it often leaves people to find those
> elements on their own.
Hi Stephen,
Having studied nuevo in bits & pieces, I don't quite
understand what is mean by the structural approach.
Could you please give an example, say, how would one
discuss the cross in a structural approach?
By your categories, I think I teach a method combining
the structural and small elements approaches fairly
equally.
Trini of Pittsburgh
=====
PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance.
https://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 10:48:59 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Approaches to Teaching Tango
Trini wrote:
>Having studied nuevo in bits & pieces, I don't quite
>understand what is mean by the structural approach.
What I am calling the structural approach means to teach a generalized
understanding of the structure underlying tango movments. This means
teaching generalized turns, cross-foot walking, parallel walking, etc.
without necessarily teaching specific tango step patterns.
The connection between the structural approach and nuevo tango comes
through Gustavo Naveira: Gustavo Naveira (with the help of others) began
examining the underlying structrure of tango. From that analysis,
previously unexplored combinations of steps emerged. Although most of the
advocates of tango nuevo emphasize a new structural analysis over specific
figures, some of its most identifiable figures are overturn ochos and
change of directions in turns. It is possible to teach these dance
elements without teaching the structural approach to tango.
>Could you please give an example, say, how would one
>discuss the cross in a structural approach?
In a structural approach, one possible way ot analyzing the cross is to
look at it as a modified forward step in a generalized turn. Looking at
the woman's first five steps of the eight-count basic, we find that it is
a stylized turn.
forward -- forward
side -- side
back -- back
back -- twisted side
cross -- modified forward
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 14:34:04 -0600
From: Darrell Sanchez <darsan@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject: teaching tango
I am interested in hearing people's opinions on the underlying theories they
incorporate behind the teaching of tango elements and how the see them
relating. Feel free to back channel me.
Thanks,
Darrell
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 13:28:56 -0400
From: Michael <tangomaniac@CAVTEL.NET>
Subject: Re: teaching tango
Darrell:
There are two rules I follow. The first comes directly from Daniel Trenner. He said at Tango Locura in Montreal in 1999 (or was it 2000) =
that you first have to learn how to dance before you can dance tango. Before you can dance, you first have to learn how to move. A lot of =
people try to dance tango without going through dance first.
Moral of the story: You first have to learn how to move. People think walking is easy. When they start to learn how to dance, they discover =
(at least the serious students) how badly they walk.
The second rule comes directly from my private teacher, Joe. "Get the woman moving first." If the man moves first, he will crash into the =
woman. If the leader's upper body moves first, the woman will move out of the way.
To quote Carlos Gavito " I lead, but I follow."
Moral of the story: The couple moves in a straight line. If a man steps around the woman, it's because he is afraid he is going to step on her =
feet. BUT, if his upper body moves first, the woman will move out of the way.
Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
4 weeks to Denver tango festival
12 weeks to New York tango festival (www.celebratetango.com)
8 months to retirement
----- Original Message -----
From: Darrell Sanchez
To: TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 4:34 PM
Subject: [TANGO-L] teaching tango
I am interested in hearing people's opinions on the underlying theories they
incorporate behind the teaching of tango elements and how the see them
relating. Feel free to back channel me.
Thanks,
Darrell
