2456 Learning and teaching tango
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 13:41:50 +0000
From: Sergio Vandekier <sergiovandekier990@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Learning and teaching tango
Dear friends I am sure that most of you have been exposed to the teaching
technique of several different instructors.
I think that it could be interesting and instructive to know the following:
1- How and what were you taught during the first ten lessons of tango. Were
you aware that the instructor was teaching a particular tango style? -
Salon, Milonguero, Nuevo Tango, Social dancing, Stage tango. Are you able to
distinguish those styles? what nationality was your instructor of?
Now and looking back what were the elements taught to you that delayed or
fastened your learning process and your skill to dance properly at the
milongas. What would you have done differently? What do you wish it would
have been different?
2- To the teachers on the list the same questions. How do you start teaching
tango? What style?
Best regards.
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 16:29:42 +0000
From: Rick Jones <rwjones2001@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Learning and teaching tango
My first ten -- actually, umpteen -- lessons were simply open embrace taught
to (mainly) classic tango orchestra music. I was not too aware of the many
different dancing styles at that time by name, although I could certainly
tell from watching that two people dancing close embrace were doing
something very different from two people doing a show routine.
The two things that hindered me the most were (1) the relentless focus on
learning steps, and (2) the frequent mismatch of gender during group
lessons.
My first teacher tried -- in my opinion -- to cram too many steps into each
lesson. Often it was three new steps in a one hour lesson, all taught from
both the left side and the right side (for a total of six new things). I
barely had time to absorb one step before we were off learning another.
When I or anyone else said we're going to fast, the teacher would say we
would get the details later, we were just being exposed at that point.
After many months, I did not feel that I was really getting anywhere.
This was compounded by public group lessons in which the gender match was
often mismatched, with many more men than women. I would arrive with my
wife, and it was not unusual for me to sit out a third of the dancing as
partners rotated.
The fix finally came at a wedding of two class members. A number of people
from our class were invited, and it was really the first time we had to
share notes. It turned out we were all a bit frustrated.
What we ended up doing was forming a private group of about a dozen, and we
decided we would invite teachers to teach us what **we** wanted to learn,
not what they felt like teaching. We also made a rule that there would be a
more or less equal gender match.
We found a really excellent close embrace teacher (because by that point we
all knew that close embrace what really what were had been looking for) who
has been exceptionally responsive to our needs. For about four months we
met once a week for 2 - 3 hours and worked on whatever seemed reasonable at
the time: maybe steps, maybe leading and following, maybe posture, maybe
feeling the music. Later we switched to once every two weeks, but again for
2 - 3 hours. I cannot tell you what a vast difference it has made.
My wife and I went to BA recently and felt totally at ease dancing in the
milongas. So at ease, in fact, that after the first night we threw away our
itinerary and just focused on dancing each and every night for the remainder
of the trip. We were not by any means perfect dancers -- although we were
lucky enough to meet up with Pichi and one of her milonguera buddies on
several occasions to iron out some details -- but the bottom line was that
our teacher in the States had more than amply prepared us for getting out on
an Argentine dance floor with some level of confidence and competence.
Best wishes,
Rick Jones
Washington DC
Dear friends I am sure that most of you have been exposed to the teaching
technique of several different instructors.
I think that it could be interesting and instructive to know the following:
1- How and what were you taught during the first ten lessons of tango. Were
you aware that the instructor was teaching a particular tango style? -
Salon, Milonguero, Nuevo Tango, Social dancing, Stage tango. Are you able to
distinguish those styles? what nationality was your instructor of?
Now and looking back what were the elements taught to you that delayed or
fastened your learning process and your skill to dance properly at the
milongas. What would you have done differently? What do you wish it would
have been different?
2- To the teachers on the list the same questions. How do you start teaching
tango? What style?
Best regards.
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 15:09:47 -0500
From: "Christopher L. Everett" <ceverett@CEVERETT.COM>
Subject: Re: Learning and teaching tango
Sergio Vandekier wrote:
> Dear friends I am sure that most of you have been exposed to the teaching
> technique of several different instructors.
>
> I think that it could be interesting and instructive to know the
> following:
>
> 1- How and what were you taught during the first ten lessons of
> tango. Were
> you aware that the instructor was teaching a particular tango style? -
> Salon, Milonguero, Nuevo Tango, Social dancing, Stage tango.
Social Dancing, with a close embrace
> Are you able to
> distinguish those styles?
Not at the outset, but I can now.
> what nationality was your instructor of?
The man was Argentine, the lady was from the US.
> Now and looking back what were the elements taught to you that delayed or
> fastened your learning process and your skill to dance properly at the
> milongas.
I decided to take my time and get connection and walking working well,
before adding many elements. After 3 months I added ochos and 3
months ago I started work on giros. Somewhere in there I nailed down
leading the cruzada,
> What would you have done differently?
Nothing
> What do you wish it would have been different?
I wish my brain wasn't going into total overload during every weekend
workshop I took for the first six months. Also I wish someone had told
me how much eight hours of dancing in one day can drain a guy and
that I needed to get in shape (once I did, six hours of workshop and
two hours of dancing at the milonga wasn't so bad).
--
Christopher L. Everett
Chief Technology Officer www.medbanner.com
MedBanner, Inc. www.physemp.com
