1187 Tango Travel in Packs
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 14:51:30 -0600
From: Tom Stermitz <Stermitz@RAGTIME.ORG>
Subject: Tango Travel in Packs
A batch of Denver people just returned from Buenos Aires. There is
something about the shared excitement that makes those of us stuck
behind feel really jealous, despite getting some vicarious enjoyment
out of it.
I think the key point is that the Denver people went as a group.
While being individually transformed, more important is bringing back
a GROUP transformation that will have a long-term impact for them,
but also on the rest of us who couldn't go (this time).
The same thing happened back in 1996 when I was in the first
generation of tango dancers in Denver.15 of us beginners went to
Buenos Aires...talk about an eye-opener! We came back determined to
actually learn how to tango! When a quarter of your community gets
together on something it really has an impact.
Lindy Exchange
This group energy is also what made the original Lindy Exchanges so
thrilling. They weren't organized around a Festival or "Workshop
Weekend", nor even by putting out an "invitation". Instead, they
started as a "visitation" when a whole group of Chicago dancers
dropped in on San Francisco and then Washington, DC. They made a
bunch of friends who later returned the favor, and the rest is
history: https://windyhop.org/wclx/history.asp
It doesn't have to be a festival.
It doesn't even have to be a big tango city.
This past year a group of Ann Arbor tango dancers did road trips to
Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus & Chicago. I mean, who ever heard of
tango in Ann Arbor, and suddenly they put on a festival and get
almost 200. (And the dance level was good!)
I have a couple of specific suggestion that will really enhance the
experience and generate long-term rewards:
(1) As I mentioned above: Travel in a Pack
Since a lot of local milongas have only 50-60 people, it only takes
10 visitors to make a big impact. Suddenly a buzz goes through the
room that "those people" from Atlanta (or wherever) are here. Talk
about raising the testosterone and pheromone levels.
(2) Arrange your group to be gender-balanced.
I know, women are so eager to travel to find new partners. You don't
have to dance with "your guys" unless you need someone to show you
off to get that first dance; you can trade your partners like
baseball cards to the locals.
More importantly, you need both men & women to bring back the shared energy.
--
Tom Stermitz
https://www.tango.org/
stermitz@tango.org
303-388-2560
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 18:27:34 -0600
From: Brian Dunn <Brian@DANCEOFTHEHEART.COM>
Subject: Tango Practice Groups (was: Tango Travel in Packs)
Tom wrote:
>>>
A batch of Denver people just returned from Buenos Aires...
I have a couple of specific suggestion that will really enhance the
experience and generate long-term rewards:
(1) As I mentioned above: Travel in a Pack...
(2) Arrange your group to be gender-balanced...
<<<
I agree with Tom that traveling in a pack definitely has its rewards. For
future reference, though, it's probably worth clarifying that most members
of the recently returned group Tom mentions got together for purposes other
than traveling to Buenos Aires. Our original motivation was to create an
ongoing tango practice group, to improve together by working sustainably and
intensively on our tango. I think the positive effect of our return, if
any, on our local community will stem more from this commitment than from
the fact that we happened to travel together.
Of the eight dancers in this group, six had been meeting once or twice
weekly as a tango practice group in Boulder for almost a year, organizing
semi-private lessons with visiting teachers, videotaping each other in group
classes, substitute teaching for each other's tango instruction gigs, and
putting on the occasional performance (the other two fellow voyagers were
students of ours who joined us for the CITA part of the BsAs trip). Rather
than forming a group so we could travel together, we traveled together
because we had already formed a group.
It's true that forming a group just for traveling, without further ongoing
commitment, is a low-maintenance way of sharing a certain amount of group
buzz resulting from a BsAs trip. As Tom describes in his recounting of his
earlier trip, if everyone is at beginner level together, the effect is
maximized. Most of the current Colorado tango scene sprang from the context
of that first Daniel Trenner-sponsored trip Tom was on. The two later trips
I took to BsAs with Daniel had only a fraction of that transformative
energy. But seven years after that first group trip, the impact of a group
of returning BsAs pilgrims on the more mature local community may well
depend on factors other than that they were merely traveling together, more
or less by chance.
I've heard from members of several different tango communities in the USA
about a certain group tango dynamic: tango communities can start to
"plateau" at a certain level of quality, and tend to maintain that level,
despite the efforts of local and visiting teachers, and despite the desire
of individual dancers to improve. Homeostasis takes over. Practicas begin
to look like milongas, and the milongas show less sizzle than they used to.
Some of us started to express frustration about this. Eventually, we moved
on from sharing our pet peeves about why it was happening, and started
discussing what we could do about it. So about a year ago, we started our
practice group, and (take it or leave it) others may find the following
recipe useful:
1) Find a gender-balanced group of fairly compatible souls who can agree
among themselves that they are "tolerably close to" the same level.
2) COMMIT SERIOUSLY to working together once a week for two hours minimum on
tango material that you all agree is interesting.
3) Initially, try to keep the group SMALL and (very important!)
geographically compact to concentrate the energy and simplify the logistics
of coming together.
4) Find a way to constructively give and accept comments on each other's
dancing (THERE'S a fun one! ;> ).
5) Try developing a habit of meeting for a meal afterwards, which means
you'll stop dancing and start talking with (and listening to) each other.
6) Figure out ways to sustain your commitment in the face of the inevitable
disruptions in plans.
(-- many more rules of thumb, but these are a start --)
At worst, after some initial adjustments you'll probably make some new
friendships and deepen old ones, and your tango will measurably improve. At
best, you'll transform your dance while developing a new set of social dance
partners who share your enthusiasm for leading and being led in
ever-more-exciting new tango adventures. Who knows - you may find you're
planning a group trip to Buenos Aires together - and if so, bon voyage,
happy landings, and watch where you step. But whether you travel together
or not, I predict the energy you put into your group work will return
amplified into your own tango and into your local community in many
surprising, challenging and delightful ways.
All the best,
Brian Dunn
Dance of the Heart
Boulder, Colorado USA
1(303)938-0716
https://www.danceoftheheart.com
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 11:28:36 -0500
From: Lois Donnay <donnay@DONNAY.NET>
Subject: Tango Travel in Packs
We in Minnesota are arranging a "Tango Travel Pack" for late October of
this year. We would like to hear ANYTHING that you have to say about
your trips - suggestions, diaries, sales pitches, etc. Please write to
me at lois@mndance.com
Anyone who wants to come with us is welcome!
Thanks
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango
> [mailto:TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of Tom Stermitz
> Sent: Monday, April 21, 2003 3:52 PM
> To: TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: [TANGO-L] Tango Travel in Packs
>
>
> A batch of Denver people just returned from Buenos Aires.
> There is something about the shared excitement that makes
> those of us stuck behind feel really jealous, despite getting
> some vicarious enjoyment out of it.
>
> I think the key point is that the Denver people went as a group.
>
> While being individually transformed, more important is
> bringing back a GROUP transformation that will have a
> long-term impact for them, but also on the rest of us who
> couldn't go (this time).
>
> The same thing happened back in 1996 when I was in the first
> generation of tango dancers in Denver.15 of us beginners went
> to Buenos Aires...talk about an eye-opener! We came back
> determined to actually learn how to tango! When a quarter of
> your community gets together on something it really has an impact.
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 13:50:50 -0500
From: Lois Donnay <donnay@DONNAY.NET>
Subject: Tango Travel in Packs
I left out the most important information in this - our trip is to
Buenos Aires!
Lois Donnay
Minneapolis, MN
We in Minnesota are arranging a "Tango Travel Pack" for late October of
this year. We would like to hear ANYTHING that you have to say about
your trips - suggestions, diaries, sales pitches, etc. Please write to
me at lois@mndance.com
Anyone who wants to come with us is welcome!
Thanks
