2235  Navigation, floorcraft, and "milonga simulations"

Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 11:00:15 -0700
From: Brian Dunn <brian@DANCEOFTHEHEART.COM>
Subject: Re: Navigation, floorcraft, and "milonga simulations"

Steve wrote:

> Teaching exercises are not always designed to be literally translated into
> social dancing. They can be designed to give people alternative solutions
> to navigational problems that can arise while they are dancing.

Andreas replied:

>>>

Agreed! Exercises are methods to get people somewhere, to kick off a
development into the desired direction...Practice and application (dance)
are two quite different things.
<<<

Another useful distinction is between two kinds of practice: the difference
between an instructional lesson and a simulation. With the chairs and
benches and all, we and Andreas pursue a common goal - the recreation of
some aspects of the milonga experience in a "safer" setting, so that one can
more calmly polish one's visceral-response skills without risk in a
quasi-realistic environment.

In writing about the culture of the Argentine milonga, Marta Savigliano
("Tango and the Political Economy of Passion") once said, more or less, that
milongas can be seen as a theatrical performance "where all in attendance
are both cast members and audience members." It's a common observation that
"one's best performance may only reach 85% of the technical quality of one's
best rehearsal." Rehearsals in general can be seen as progressively more
accurate simulations of the performance experience, used as insurance
against the debilitating effects of stage fright and performance pressure.
Given the emotional intensity of some milonga experiences I recall, "milonga
simulations" such as Andreas and I describe seem like a generically useful
training approach, especially for tango newcomers.

Besides, they really are fun! Everybody was smiling and laughing...

All the best,
Brian Dunn
Dance of the Heart
Boulder, Colorado USA
1(303)938-0716
https://www.danceoftheheart.com