2555  Teaching on a positive note

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 20:20:15 -0500
From: Leonard Kunkel <image10@SWBELL.NET>
Subject: Teaching on a positive note

In the tango community, I have found that there are a lot of good and
dedicated teachers. I would think that most dancers that have taken on
teaching believe themselves to be very good teachers and that they can
offer something to those less experienced.

I do not mind saying that I believe myself to be an excellent teacher
and continually get better the more I teach. I delight in discovering
ways to instruct that were never taught to me, breaking down the dance
in such a way as to make it easy to teach and learn. Unlike many who say
it is difficult to master, I feel I have been able to demystify the dance.

Counting couples as two, I, myself, have had close to 50 different
instructors. Most have been beneficial, a few have been detrimental, and
then there were a few that made a profound impact causing me to leap to
another level.

Using the information I have from so many instructors, I expose my
students to all techniques, even those I do not recommend or to which
there is controversy. I tell them why there is controversy and why I
choose to dance it the way I do.

I encourage my students to pick and choose to make the dance their own.
I do not want students mimicking me. I want them to enjoy and dance the
way that gives them the greatest pleasure and fits their own personalities.

Blessings to all
leonardo k