1002  Labels

Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 17:32:29 EST
From: Charles Roques <Crrtango@AOL.COM>
Subject: Labels

Greetings,

The diversity of styles and opinions is not really the critical issue because
that is indeed healthy, at least for discussion. I think the problem lies in
people learning these categorized styles too soon (which includes most people
and even some teachers) without a refinement of the basics of technique.
Walking with knees together, bringing feet together (or collecting), placing
your weight over the balls of the feet, good posture, and other elements are
essential no matter what style you choose. I see many people forget about all
that in search of the tango grail, without realizing they had it all along.
We start in open style because it is easier to learn but as one improves and
learns balance and leading and following, we advance to dancing close. Too
many people treat that as a particular style or do variations of it, or worse
start teaching it as a particular way to dance. It is actually a normal
progression to gradually move closer as you become accomplished. And no it
doesn't matter what the name is.

The only tango that is important is your tango but don't confuse that with
proper technique. You still need to learn that. And don't confuse someone's
style for good dancing either. You can learn a hundred styles and still not
dance well and that is the real problem with offering it as a style. Milena
Plebs or Miguel Zotto can probably dance any style they want but the reason
it looks great is because of their attention to good technique, not their
mastery of the style itself.

Cheers,
Charles Roques