7 Bumping on the social dance floor
From: Andy.Ungureanu [Andy.Ungureanu@T-ONLINE.DE]
Sent: Montag, 12. Februar 2001 22:31
To: TANGO-L
Cc: Andy.Ungureanu
Subject: Bumping on the social dance floor
Natarajan Balasundara wrote:
> There is only one thing for a beginner to try to do
> before everything else and that is to not to bump
> into anyone or let anyone bump into you no matter
> whose fault it is and *still try to keep to the
> music* i.e., not stop. I also think perhaps it is
> also the most difficult part :-)
Not to bump into anyone (actively)is ok. Do not let anyone bump into you
no matter whose fault it is, is well educated but leads to following
consequence:
The show off and wrestler needs four times more place as the "well
educated" dancer. Every "good" dancer navigates around, so the wrestler
has no problems and continues his stuff. He will never feel something
wrong about his dance. Other beginners will see him and his fancy
figures and begin to imitate. The good dancers end by making some small
movements, trying to escape all the mine fields and finaly get away from
the floor.
I think it is ok if you let him bump you from time to time (never your
lady), generously smile and make him feel it is his fault.
Andy
From: rajan [rajan@EMC.COM]
Sent: Dienstag, 13. Februar 2001 09:58
To: TANGO-L
Cc: rajan
Subject: Re: Bumping on the social dance floor
andy Ungureanu wrote:
> I think it is ok if you let him bump you from time to time (never your
> lady), generously smile and make him feel it is his fault.
I would rather avoid him since most of the time there are other people
(like yourself :-) who will do the favor and besides it would be a
waste of time trying to educate anyone and dangerous if you are an
outsider or if the other person for your bad luck happens to be
professional bouncer ;-)
The only reason I was suggesting 'not to let anyone bump' is because
most of us are self-righteous and are prone to think that every time
there is a bump it is always the someone else that is at fault...
rajan.
From: Andy.Ungureanu [Andy.Ungureanu@T-ONLINE.DE]
Sent: Mittwoch, 14. Februar 2001 21:04
To: TANGO-L
Cc: Andy.Ungureanu
Subject: Re: Bumping on the social dance floor
Natarajan Balasundara wrote:
> The only reason I was suggesting 'not to let anyone bump' is because
> most of us are self-righteous and are prone to think that every time
> there is a bump it is always the someone else that is at fault...
>
This is true aspect. If the bump comes unexpected, there is a high
probability that it is your fault. You should allways know where the
other couples around (even behind) you are and what they are gooing to
do next. Beginners and experienced dancers are predictable,
intermediates are not allways, so you have to keep a larger "safety
space" to them.
Knowing what happens behind you is not physical nonsense, maybe it is
zen, or just as simple as turning from time to time, even a proper led
ocho gives you about 340deg of sight.
Andy
From: amilsolrac [amilsolrac@YAHOO.COM]
Sent: Donnerstag, 15. Februar 2001 20:00
To: TANGO-L
Cc: amilsolrac
Subject: Re: Bumping on the social dance floor
Andy Ungureanu <Andy.Ungureanu@T-ONLINE.DE> on floor craft:
>
Not to bump into anyone (actively)is ok. Do not let anyone bump into you no
matter whose fault it is, is well educated but leads to following
consequence: (...) The good dancers end by making some small movements,
trying to escape all the mine fields and finaly get away from the floor. I
think it is ok if you let him bump you from time to time (never your lady),
generously smile and make him feel it is his fault.
<
(Yes get away from the floor ... or give up on an otherwise attractive
venue.)
I very much agree with Andy. Early on, I cared above all to avoid collisions.
If there are drunk drivers present (a safe assumption --- sometimes a single
one can affect the living conditions of an entire floor) ... if so, the pure
collision avoidance strategy is generally effective only in relatively
un-crowded parties or practicas --- which is where I went at first, for
months on end: studio events. As you go on to "real life" this strategy has
an immediate bad consequence. Yes, you can still minimize collisions. One way
is to walk only forward (WITH the ronda, of course), literally run away from
known terrorists, etc. Unfortunately, when things go wrong, they may go
royally wrong. Your lady is in a vulnerable position. If the (new comer or
old timer) Tango Genius [just] ahead in the ronda decides to take a detour
through your current location, he will very likely hit your lady, or have her
lady perform high gauge body piercing on yours. So one needs to learn how to
offer one s own back to these hazards and "take it like a man" if the
fanciest dodging somehow fails. I also agree with Andy that the "goody two
shoes" approach does not result in virtue rewarded. Some people in my area
believe in it. They believe in the "no fault" approach. I do not. (Sorry,
sorry, sorry ... I am not thrilled when my lady does the sorrying for me, it
is like chiding me for being hit.) People who do not understand the ronda, or
do not care, are re-inforced in their ways. This is not speculation, it is
fact. I am preparing a web site on navigation. One of the articles is on just
this topic. Soon, those who do not want to be reminded of mayhem on the pista
will be spared large scale deletion operations. I will be able to do one
liners too.
Andy continues making eminent sense in the subsequence posting. His remarks
prompted me to think: are there cases in which the man who collides, rather
than the man leading the couple who is hit, can be at least partially
excused? My answer: yes, one. If a man emerges from a change of front that
puts him facing the ronda, his back pointing *straight* down the direction of
dance; and he immediately takes 1-3 back steps (maybe even more, the exact
number depending on crowd density) into clearly free space that no one else
seems to be moving into; and some other couple is led across / against the
ronda into that free space, causing a collision, the interloper is the
primary culprit. Well, there may be another case, though not quite as clear.
If a man leads a giro for which there is enough space to begin with; makes it
tight and controlled, i.e., nearly in place, taking up only as much space as
it is reasonable, given the crowd conditions, no drifting; and the turn is
reasonable in duration; and if another couple is un-necessarily lead too
close and contact occurs, the interloper may be the primary culprit ... But I
would be careful not to jump to conclusions --- the dervishes are one of the
worst dangers and annoyances on the tango floor. Experienced milongueros are
not above giving a little leaning push to a man who is doing some
"expressive" pause or some silly in-place figure and holding up the entire
flow for some ridiculous amount of time; or a preventive shove to a chicken
without a head who is threatening his lady' safety. If I ever did those, I
forgot ... but I would not really see it if anyone else seemed to be doing it
...
As far as I can see, in almost all other cases, just as on the road, he who
hits is he who is at fault. Just as on the road, it is almost always quite
clear who hits and who is hit. If two couples converge and collide (usually
these collisions are more annoying than dangerous, but body trepanation by
stiletto heels still cannot be excluded) the innocent man is the one leading
a step more nearly straight down the direction of dance. Practically always,
he will be also the one stopping and/or veering to avoid the collision, and
the wanderer (i.e. the chicken without a head) the one insisting on
consummating the collision. If you are a believer (as some teachers profess
to be) in the theory that keeping to the outermost ring (and, of course,
moving around always counterclockwise) will solve all your troubles, do not
come to NY. You will be regularly hit by chickens without a head moving out
into territory that they cannot see. There is even an old argentinean
"milonguero", a feature of the community, who will try to hit you Every Time,
even if he sees you. Sometimes I think, particularly when he sees you.
Apparently, he does not like to see you there.
Cheers,
