Date:    Mon, 6 Nov 1995 11:42:47 -0800
From:    Larry Carroll 
Subject: "Basic" Pattern is Not

One particular "basic" pattern is taught by most of the 30 or so
teachers I've had for the Argentine tango, and the four videotapes
I've seen. But I think it's a mistake to teach it to beginners. I'd
like to know what other, easier patterns TANGO-L members know.

I've seen many teachers spend more than an hour teaching this one pattern.
The students ended up frustrated, still not able to do it, and most of
them decided tango was too hard for them. In every other dance I know,
teachers usually start off with a basic pattern that is simple enough to
encourage students to stick with the dance.
                     __________________________
To make sure we're talking about the same thing, here's the pattern
I'm talking about, from the follower's perspective. (The leader's is the
negative image of it.)

     BEGIN with weight on both feet, ready to step out with
     either foot in any direction. The couple is in
     right-foot-inside position.

  Left foot Forward, Right forward and to the Side, L side then Backward,
  R B, L B and Cross in Front beside the R.

  Usually followed by a Tango Close (Resolucion Natural):
  R B, L B then to the Side, R Close.

     END with weight on both feet, ready to step out with
     either foot in any direction.

  On 2nd step, Leader holds Follower back a few inches and steps further
  a few inches so that they are now in right-foot-outside position.
  The Follower's cross step brings them back to right-foot-inside pos'n.

                                Larry Carroll

Date:    Tue, 7 Nov 1995 04:26:22 -0500
From:    Michael Cysouw 
Subject: Re: "Basic" Pattern is Not

Larry wrote:

>I've seen many teachers spend more than an hour teaching this one pattern.
>The students ended up frustrated, still not able to do it, and most of
>them decided tango was too hard for them. In every other dance I know,
>teachers usually start off with a basic pattern that is simple enough to
>encourage students to stick with the dance.
[following description of eight-step basic]

Some thought about this:

- This eight-step basic is difficult, but almost all people I've seen
learning it for the first time are *not* discouraged by it.

- As you implicitely note: it is just *a* basic, not *the* basic. Tell this
to people if they keep on struggling.

- If you want an easier version, remove the fourth and fifth step. In that
case you only have one problemtic movement (the third step) instead of two
(the fifth one is the other problem). Don't get me wrong: these steps are
by itself not more difficult then the others, but problems will always show
up at these two points, as they are the most vulnerable to imperfections.

- I myself don't think the basic pattern is that bad (although it is if you
give it as the only truth!). In one way or another you want to teach some
technical stuff, and this basic pattern compromises a lot of difficult
movements. The only way to learn these is by practising, and by giving
pupils this basic they can prctice them. I see this basic as a difficult,
but rewarding technical practice.

- In my view the 'real' basic of tango is simply 'moving together'
(resulting in walking if the impuls of the bodies is increased). Work on
this too, making them sensitive for each other (I hate all that talk about
the man being always in the lead: switch it regularly) by changing
directions. Work on bodily communication. etc. etc. I go on talking...:-)

bye
Michael Cysouw
Nijmegen, Holland

Date:    Tue, 7 Nov 1995 11:40:47 MET
From:    Disco%FWT%WMW@CIVP.UTWENTE.NL
Subject: Basico and Beginners

Larry Carroll writes:

        >I've seen many teachers spend more than an hour teaching this one
        >pattern (i.e. the eight-step basico or salida, CD).  The students
        >ended up frustrated, still not able to do it, and most of them
        >decided tango was too hard for them. In every other dance I know,
        >teachers usually start off with a basic pattern that is simple
        >enough to encourage students to stick with the dance.

Although my credentials in Tango cyberspace (which like most cyberspace tends
to emulate an American talk-show) don't entitle me to expect anyone to listen
to my opinions, let me air them anyway.  (There is a substantial if
unsubstantiated basis in experience talking here.)

Let me first agree with Michael Cysouw who responds to Larry (in part):

        >- In my view the 'real' basic of tango is simply 'moving together'
        >(resulting in walking if the impuls of the bodies is increased).
        >Work on this too, making them sensitive for each other (I hate all
        >that talk about the man being always in the lead: switch it
        >regularly) by changing directions. Work on bodily communication.
        >etc. etc. I go on talking...:-)

I couldn't agree more, but this doesn't solve Larry's problem, which is how
to start teaching all this to beginners in such a way that they don't end up
quitting in disgust at their own incompetence (as a reaction to the perceived
difficulty of the 'basico' and by implication the entire dance).

The eight-step basico Larry describes is a bugger, no doubt about it.  After
almost 9 years of Argentinian tango I'm still working away at it.  Of course
the question being begged in Larry's statement is what counts as being able
to do it "right."  What level of expectation do teachers and students have?
If people can't even replicate the pattern of the feet after 'more than an
hour' of instruction then either something is terribly wrong with the
instruction or Argentinian Tango is not their thing.  On the other hand, to
expect people to be able to do the footwork, maintain a tranquil and intimate
frame, choose direction, keep in time, etc. within an hour is simply absurd.
This is equally true for accomplished classical dancers, ballroom dancers, or
absolute beginners.  So, don't expect too much because what's really
necessary to do the basico 'right' is all the stuff Michael refers to and
that only comes with time, and, if I may quote Daniel Trenner in a context he
may or may not agree with, "walking your miles" (or kilometers).  It may help
to tell this to beginners so that they don't expect too much from their first
hour of lessons.  Tango ain't a can of instant soup you can warm up in the
microwave.

The eight-step basico is an obstacle but it's also a rich learning
opportunity.  While I started tango this way myself, in beginners lessons I
now try to delay its introduction and frame it as a "salida," i.e. a way to
_start_ a dance in a predictable and comfortable way, but not necessarily a
pattern you come back to compulsively. I start beginners off by letting them
do what Michael describes: walking back and forth concentrating on leading
and following.  Walking in simple inside position (with only the follower's
hands on the leaders chest and slight pressure toward each other) is
sufficient to build up exercises (e.g. stopping, steering, changing
direction) that embody more of what tango is about - at least for absolute
beginners - than learning the salida right off.  My experience is that
beginning learners like what they experience and want to learn more. It's
also easy as pie to change roles, because there's basically no pattern to be
learned. With a bit of imagination, these exercises can be elaborated to
include walking inside and outside, turning, and so building up a complete
'walking' repertoire into which a salida can be integrated as a way to start.

When I get around to the 'salida,' It helps to start with a short L-shaped
fragment which can be repeated.  Skip the forward step for follower and start
right in with follower's side step: R - r.  (Thanks to Trenner for first
suggesting this).  Proceed to the close & cross and from there repeat the
pattern (follower shifts weight to left foot in usual cross and so the right
foot is free again).  Almost anyone can learn this quickly enough to be able
to dance all night the same night. The main problem is of course keeping
frame and contact in the second step. I suggest that this step is not the
start of a way for the leader to get around the follower, but the
establishment of a position from which to start the actual walking which is
the heart of the matter. When this is clear then later other pieces or ways
past the cross can be added.  This may be a safe dosage.

Anyhow, the main message to beginners is: let's get physical, not technical.
It's what everybody really wants and can in fact do surprisingly well with
the right encouragement.


Nil Disco
Twente University
Tango School Amsterdam (almost venerable corazon del tango)
C.Disco@wmw.utwente.nl

Date:    Tue, 7 Nov 1995 11:38:46 -0500
From:    Robinne Gray 
Subject: Re: "Basic" Pattern is Not

>I've seen many teachers spend more than an hour teaching this one pattern.
>The students ended up frustrated, still not able to do it, and most of
>them decided tango was too hard for them.

  This pattern (S, S, Q Q cross, Q Q close) was my introduction to tango,
too.  The class I was in was fairly small (5 or 6 couples) and we went on
to learn a few more patterns in the next six weeks.  Most of the students
became enthusiastic about tango and continued into the intermediate class.

  My second encounter with tango was a workshop taught by Daniel and
Rebecca.  There must have been 100 students there.  I enjoyed their
approach of teaching *elements* of the dance (walking parallel and crossed,
grapevines etc.) rather than patterns of steps.  After the class, however,
several attendees said they were frustrated by that approach, because they
didn't feel they knew enough steps to go dancing!  In fact they knew
plenty, but some were uncomfortable having to combine the elements on their
own!  That might be because many people in the workshop were already
familiar with ballroom or swing dance, and were used to learning patterns.

  For myself, I feel fortunate to have been exposed to both approaches
early on, and I think they are compatible.  Perhaps the patterns worked in
our class because there weren't too many students.

  Also, not everyone wants the same thing from dance lessons.  I think
D&R's approach encourages the partnering, improvisation and play that are
closest to the spirit of the dance, but it also asks more of the students.
And I think most dance students aren't really interested in pushing the
envelope or reaching the soul of the dance; they just want to reach a basic
level of competency and jump-start their social lives--which is fine.   One
of the things I like best about this forum is that I feel I have found some
kindred spirits who also have more than a passing social interest in the
dance.

  One final thought: anyone who teaches dance (or teaches anything) has a
responsibility to try and reach as many students as possible by gearing
their lesson toward a variety of learning styles.  But in the end, there is
only so much that a teacher can do.  Some students will find it hard no
matter what.  Just as computer programming (for example) will never come
easy for me, social dancing will never be easy for some people.  We all
have different gifts.


Robinne Gray
rlg2@cornell.edu
Ithaca, NY

Date:    Wed, 8 Nov 1995 05:46:56 -0500
From:    L Daniel Trenner 
Subject: Daniel T. on the basics


In Argentina a person learns to tango in a threefold way.
1. Deluged with images, stories, poems, lyrics, relatives, famous characters,
even an argentine who hates tango knows an awful lot about it.
2. Through osmosis the fledgling iniate sits for hours at a dancefloor table,
watching the older and younger folks at play and passion.
3. Goes to a teacher for that teachers particular vocabulary of steps which
the student has chosen for stylistic preference, because the student has a
plethory(sp?) of teachers to choose from.

Therefore teachers, generations of them, need teach no more than the step, so
much of the character of the tango being previously instilled.

Basic steps didn't exist for the milongueros. It would be inaccurate to
translate Salida as Basic step.

While salida means exit in spanish, it really translates as the way out, and
salida seems to have been used by the milongueros more to signify the way out
onto the dance floor.

In nine years of observation and conversation with older dancers in BA I can
make two very strong statements about the Salida among milongueros.

1- No two dancers have ever described their Salida in exactly the same way.
The amount of variation on such a "basic" theme is remarkable. Asking
milongueros to count their salidas has been one of the most amusing surveys I
have ever undertaken. I still do it every chance I get.
2- I have never seen a milonguero start a dance by stepping into the space
behind himself, where he cannot see, except in rare instances when all other
paths are blocked and it was the only option(and this I have literally only
seen a handful of times. Without fail the first step an older argentine
social dancer takes is to the side with his left and her right.
(I say social dancer, because there are some older dancers who are not social
dancers but who do teach.)

The eight step tango basic in parallel feet, as danced almost universally in
the world outside of BA was never taught as a salida among milongueros and is
recently derided by them as "el basico acedemico" (the acedemic basic).  This
basic step seems to have been created by the "tango for export" community of
stage dancers because it was easy to teach to the gringos. Additionally, it
began to be counted, also
for the sake of ease of teaching to foriegners, who, by the way, kept asking
them to count.

So why the step backwards to get the salida going in all these basic steps
for export, you ask?

The closest answer I can come up with is the Antonio Todaro/ Raul Bravo
school of stage dancing, which has had by far the biggest influence on modern
stage dancing.  Todaro and Bravo had a tango school in Flores for sixteen
years in the 60's and 70's.
Todaro later went on to have great success as the teacher of many, if not
most of the young stage stars of today. Who knows what influences passed out
of that laboratory of theirs. Bravo was the lead dancer for Mariano Mores,
Todaro the practice partner for Virulazo who later starred in Tango
Argentino.

Anyway these guys used to teach private lessons in houses that had small
rooms, all the steps being turned in on themselves for the small space, later
to be stretched out on the stage.  They used the same first five parallel
steps that we now call the "basic" (the leader opposite the front side back
back cross of the follower) to get themselves from the side of the room,
where I guess one always starts becauce it is afterall the side of the dance
floor, to the center where they would begin the turning figure that was the
focus of the lesson.

This prep step, kind of signature breath step to get you going into the
figure, seems to have been adopted as a basic step by the stage dance
community, who turned out to be the first ones to teach outside of Argentina.
 So it had become almost universal by the time this innocent arrived back in
the first world from his recuperation in BA.

So having set the stage I would now like to get to the basic steps of the
argentine social dance.

To learn tango outside of Argentine one must be aware that the conditions set
out for aspiring tango dancers in Argentina are drasticly changed.

1. Not only do the students have no cultural context for knowing the dance,
but there conciousness is filled with hollywood and advertising images which
are the bastard children of the original tango madness of the parisian crazes
of the teens and twenties.
2. Dance floors where they observe tango tend to be filled with beginners
offering poor and misleading examples of what tango is suppose to be.
3. Therefore the student becomes dependent on the teacher in a way
unfathomable to the Argentines who invented this dance among the hoards of
competing milongueros, playing constant one-ups-manship wwith their
everevolving creations.

So let us observe something fundamental about Argentine social dance
improvisation.

The dance is built by leader and follower in three intertwined and overlapped
parts.

1. The skeleton of the dance is a walk of the follower that is designed by
the leader.
2. The leader builds the next layer by building a step of his (traditionally
his that is) or hers (I like that) in the spaces betwen the followers
confidently laid out pattern.
3. The follower, and the leader, now decorate these two interwoven steps with
a layer of adornments.

Therefore, by this reading of the dance, the basics are as follows.

The follower:
1. Must learn argentine frame, ie. concepts of keeping space open for
footwork, and of honoring the embrace
2. Must learn how to keep a steady walk going while learning the limited
vocabulary that is always used by the leader for the follower, that is:
      Walks, forward and back
       Ochos, forward and back
       Giros, right and left
       When to cross in response to the leader's choice of position
3. Must be able to walk all of these steps while interpeting the beat of the
music.

The leader:
1. Must be able to lead the followers steps so as to create the comfortable
smooth walk which he or she will then use as the skeleton of his step.
2. Must have the basics of navigation down, meaning do these without stopping
her walk, ie.
         how to move forward and stay in place
         how to turn right and left
         how to look where he or she is going while leading the
                       steps
3. Must understand how to change the orientation of his or her feet from
parallel to crossed and back again, with out disturbing the followers walk,
in various ways, with confidence
4. Must learn to shift position from side to side  without disturbing her
walk, etc.
5. Must be able to give the follower a sense of the beat desired while also
keeping his or her own steps in the music.
6. Must be striving for a minimum of force in the lead and an elegant
attention to the follower's pleasure throughout.
7. Oh yes, one must know how to walk to the cross.

So much for the basics. I hope you have enjoyed the read.
I love the internet but it's losing me sleep already.
Looking forward to feedback
Daniel

Date:    Wed, 8 Nov 1995 12:20:43 GMT-0100
From:    Eckart Haerter 
Subject: Re: Daniel T. on the basics

Hi Daniel,

 there is certainly more than one possibility to do the first step
 (and we are actually teaching different ones). But the 8 steps
 basico  (beginning right backwards for the leader) has a special
 advantage for the absolute beginner. It can  more easily and under-
 standably be adapted to the basic beat: - - . . | . . |
 Of course the music has to be chosen accordingly.

 Chau,

  Eckart

Date:    Wed, 8 Nov 1995 16:19:48 MET
From:    Disco%FWT%WMW@CIVP.UTWENTE.NL
Subject: Trenner's Basics

Bravo Daniel!  Your sleepless nights are well spent.
For those of you who haven't yet had the chance to experience Trenner's
classes, this deep analysis of tango culture and dance basics gives only the
merest inkling of what you're missing.

Although I am as always amazed at (and instructed by) Trenner's indeed
fundamental observations on dancing tango, this is a list of virtues that
still begs the question how you get people to pursue them and want to pursue
them (given the fact that their heads are filled with perverse tango images,
as Daniel suggests, or they may only be there for a good time (or cheap
thrills) as I take Eckhart Haerter to be suggesting.  Are there better or
worse ways to 'seduce' non-Argentinians into ultimately wanting to be
competent leaders or followers despite their cultural images and aptitudes or
is this really only a question of how inspiring, charming, or seductive the
teacher is?  If anyone has suggestions, I'd be interested in hearing them.

Nil Disco
Tango School Amsterdam
C.Disco@wmw.utwente.nl

Date:    Wed, 8 Nov 1995 11:03:58 -0500
From:    Michael Cysouw 
Subject: Re: Trenner's Basics

Nil Disco wrote:

>Are there better or
>worse ways to 'seduce' non-Argentinians into ultimately wanting to be
>competent leaders or followers despite their cultural images and aptitudes or
>is this really only a question of how inspiring, charming, or seductive the
>teacher is?

I wrote some time ago about two different attitudes towards
tango-performance: either you do what *you* like, or you do what *the
audience* likes (and mixes are quite problematic, although possible if not
too long IMHO).

The same problem occurs when teaching tango: either you tell people what
*you* (as already seduced) think is to tango, or you tell them what looks
like the thing *they* think tango is. But I think these two are better
'mixable' then with performances.
My experiences with european people learning tango (including my own
history) tell that you have to (mostly) start at the point where people are
if they first come to a lesson, that is: at the point what *they* think
tango is (that means mostly steps, figures, complicated movements, all the
things you see in shows normally). And then slowly take them to the more
'real' tango idea's (in my view tango consists basically of three things:
moving-together-to music).

So my way to seduce people would be to start (first lesson) with the
greater part of the time steps and a little bit of working on the 'real
tango', but increasing the last part in following lessons.
I would like to start immediately with much more of the things that I like
in tango, but I am not sure how this will be taken by first-lesson pupils.
Did anyone try this really, I mean, start with just moving together,
listening to music, doing exercises to train the feeling for the other etc.
and later adding steps, footwork etc?

bye
Michael Cysouw
Nijmegen, Holland

Date:    Thu, 9 Nov 1995 00:13:40 -0800
From:    ALBERT GARVEY  (?)
Subject: tango basics

God, what fun! (or can't one blaspheme on the WWW? If not, apologies)!
Much to think about (and act on).
     Daniel is right on about the first backward step in what is called
the basic step or salida. It's a big mystery to me why Northamerican
milongueros always begin by stepping back. By the way, can someone tell
me what is the difference between a salida and an entrada, in tango
terms, not the Spanish translation? I don't relish being thought a
"gil" (actually I've never heard of a female gil--is that a male thing
like b____ is a female thing?)--but don't mind if someone knowledgeable
will make this distinction for me (Ray?? yes, by the the way, I do know
the difference between the Northamerican and Argentine definitions of
gringo/a but in the U.S. I use it in our sense). And Robinne is
absolutely right in  acknowledging that different brains learn by
different methods. Love John Drendel's description of Pepito's method.
    To get to the point . . .the origin of tango and contemporary
practice share, in my opinion, one overwhelming aspect. Tango is not
"steps" and certainly not patterns, but a STYLE, a way of dancing. So I
think this is the most important thing to convey to beginners (and more
advanced dancers, many of whom don't understand it). Thus one can be
quite adept and not be doing tango.  Certain stylistic characteristics
are essential regardless whether one is of the traditional or modern
(whatever those terms mean!) persuasion or regardless of the sex of the
leader. For example, tango is danced in an embrace, not necessarily
plastered up against one another, but definitely close and intimate--it
is necessary, as Daniel mentions, to keep "space open for footwork".
Tango is danced on the floor, grounded, with feet caressing the floor;
with the upper bodies and arms still; all the action happening from the
hips down. Also the dancers' heads must not bounce up and down but are
absolutely steady on one plane. These seem to be major factors in
judging the quality of dancing among the leading milongueros of
Argentina.  The couple is intensely concentrated on each other and on
the music; not on spectators, if any, or within him/herself. This is
what distinguishes tango from other dances--the intense intimacy that
separates the dancing couple from the rest of the world. The best stage
performers illustrate this--the electric connection between the man and
woman is so powerful that it radiates outward to the audience.
    Technically speaking, the "milonguera hips", mentioned in admiring
accounts of famous female dancers over the last century, and perfect
balance seem to be the most difficult aspects for many. Tango is not an
easy dance, especially for those of us with no formal dance training,
but its unique psychological mysteries keep us going.
    Any comments??       Barbara

Date:    Thu, 9 Nov 1995 09:34:23 -0800
From:    Clay Nelson 
Subject: Back to the "Basic"

Actually I was enjoying the discussion more when we were talking about the
so-called "basic" step (i.e., salida) and in particular how and what to
teach beginners.  I agreed with most of what was said and so I don't want to
rehash all of that.

However, there seemed to be no discussion about timing of the step.  All of
my teachers strongly recommended staying with ALL slows until one becomes
proficient enough to lead different timing(s).  I have found this to be VERY
difficult for some beginning students--especially when they already know
american tango.

It appears to me in the discussion that many or some of you are teaching a
beginning salida with slows and quicks--i.e., s s q q s q q s (which is
quite similar to american timing). Is that correct?  Perhaps I
missunderstood, but if not I'm wondering what are the pros and cons of
starting beginners with all slow vs slows & quicks.  Any comments or
opinions?

*** ARGENTINE TANGO *** BALLROOM *** COUNTRY/WESTERN *** LATIN *** SWING ***
Clay's Dance Studio ----------------- WWW: http://www.teleport.com/~claybird
6959 SW Multnomah Blvd ------------------------ Email: claybird@teleport.com
Portland, OR 97223 ----------------------------------- Phone: (503) 292-0371
------------ (Ballroom dancing--the ultimate contact sport!) -------------

Date:    Thu, 9 Nov 1995 15:01:51 -0600
From:    Matej Oresic 
Subject: Re: Back to the "Basic"

Hello!  ... this is my first posting on tango-l

It seems logical to me to start with "all slow" steps to
basic. For example, if you would walk alone to a steady
beat Argentine tango like D'Arienzo's, "all slow" would
be most natural. It's a good exercise for beginners to
start with solo-walking to music as warm up before actually
teaching basic (like Eduardo did in Stanford).

There are at least two problems with teaching  "quick-slow":
1) there is no a priory musical reason for doing so;
2) students used to this basic tend to take Q's too seriously and
   actually "run" to the cross (or closing) position - with strong
   acceleration and then deceleration before stop and  with body
   raised at stop, of course. This step definitely doesn't lead to
   better walking and musicality in tango.


Best wishes,
Matej

--------------------------------------
Matej Oresic
matej@lancelot.bio.cornell.edu
http://lancelot.bio.cornell.edu/matej/

Date:    Fri, 10 Nov 1995 10:39:16 -0400
From:    Diana L Moreno 
Subject: basic steps

Diana and Diego have sent me an edited version of their original
posting, and here it is:

Basic step takes time...(by Diego and Diana)

Hi out there, there is a very nice topic on the tango-L list about basic steps
right now. The salida is the first step that every tango dancer learn. It seems
to be very easy at first, but as we may know, it is always the most difficult
one, because there are plenty of basic concepts involved. The students have to
deal at the same time not only with the mechanics of the step, but also with
important notions like good posture, elegancy, the maintenance of the proper
structure of the arm and the chest, the level of the head and the body at one
plane without bouncing, etc.
Our teachers in Buenos Aires spent at least a couple of months until
we were able to move on to the next step. Graciela and Pupi freezed us doing
basic and walks for a long time, before they agreed to give us the first and
simplest figures. Graciela in particular has the tendency (and we love her
tendency) of giving a lot of walking exercises, footwork, pivot, etc. Rodolfo
and Maria from the very beginning want you to start walking and doing the basic
step in order to acquire the idea of dancing along with the music at the proper
beat. When you are ready for the next exercise (or step) Rodo taps your back and
shouts: "Eso, eso, ahi va!!!" as a way of encourage you. These two different
styles of teaching the basic steps have something very important in common: they
don't give you permission to move on until you know how to walk and step
properly. These are the schools that we like. We must confess that initialy we
were sort of bored about executing all the time the same thing, but nowadays we
are very grateful of them, because the tango that they teach goes straight to
the quality instead of going to the quantity. Here in New York we find that some
tango lovers prefer to accumulate hundreds of intrincated patterns instead of
knowing simple but fundamental concepts like that in the milonga the dancers
have to circulate counterclockwise while dancing. But we are optimistic and we
are convinced that they will change their preference, it is just a matter of
time.

Date:    Sat, 11 Nov 1995 00:14:19 -0500
From:    Arthur Greenberg 
Subject: 8 Count Basic Starting Bk RF/Tango Argentino,etc. etc.

Hi Tango enthusiasts:

I would just like to take this opportunity to articulate  a few ideas and
make some  brief personal  observations, not at all to be taken as
comprehensive, authoritative  or superbly accurate but  as comments to those
who might have similar thoughts but are notstating  them, and that might be
hellpful to place at conscious level in this forum.

There are many ways to teach Tango Argentino.  The first thing you must
eliminate is confusing and ambiguous terminology. (I had a dream.  I am not
at all sure that this is achievable in the real world of Tango teaching!)
Although there are some significant common denominators amongst the various
teachers who presented Argentine Tango to me; there were also  some
significant differences between what they SAID they wanted me to  do and
 what they actually wanted me to do while I  actually danced the Tango.

An interesting technique to teach the basic is to actually label the 8 count
step pattern with numbers from 1 to 8. (starts RF back. all slows) If you
omit the first step backward and you start outside your partner with the left
foot it is counted step #2.    The "5th" step is the place the lady draws the
left foot to cross infront of her right foot.  It is quite effective in the
teaching process in a class.

What I found to be  a particularly difficult task for both the leader and the
follower was that frequently we  were dancing on the same foot rather than on
the opposite foot which is a rule of "convention" in other types of
 "ballroom dancing not strictly adhered to in Argentine TAngo!

I was quite perplexed to learn that some things the girl (follower) did was
at her own perogative.  Rather than a lead that the man would provide ,  it
was more of what could be described as  a "let".  One allowed one's partner
to do what she wanted  to do and I (the leader) was to suspend my activity
while she accomplished this perogative. (and sometimes the reciprocal took
place.)  Althouogh they were in fact quite coordinated they did not happen
simultaneously.

Ochos, forward and back, are quite fascinating, particularly when the
performer of such movement embellishes the movements with certain swift and
intricate "firuletes". Contra Ochos are intriguing.

Sacadas and Ganchos I originally thought were ideas that came from outer
space.  Today I am just beginning to realize how to perform these various
movements and to use them where they most naturally fit..  Communication in
the Tango can be gentle and the responses similarly gentle.  There are times
however when there are  movements are performed with vigor and with
"lightning- like speed and precision.  They are still gentle but forcefully
performed.  The leads are tender but quite compelling!

 I recommend that something a teacher  should  strive for is to give your
brand new beginner a better perspective of how long it will take to learn
certain patterns and ideas/concepts without making the mission seem virtually
impossible.  It is not necessary to advise someone just beginning to  learn
that it will take two to three years of learning mixed with thousands of
hours of practice on the dance floor to really fulfill the requirements of
"looking like you mean it" while dancing Tango with your partner.  That
realization will come to them as they begin to progress and they  become
cognizant that what they do (step patterns) is less important than how they
do it (styling).  The characteristic attitude and the styling make the
Argentine Tango what it is.  The step patterns alone have little to to do
with it. Capturing the flavor usually does not happen until you capture the
pupils' imagination and present the concepts of certain attitudes that must
be adopted in order to achieve the flavor of the Argentine Tango.

When my first teacher first said to me that I should forget everything that I
have previously learned in ballroom dancing and I would have fewer bad habits
to work against as I began to learn this new form of dance it was difficult
for me to accept. I didn't know what they meant.  (I could not know what they
meant!)  I did however listen carefully to what was being taught and what the
result of the teaching was in terms of my getting out on the dance floor with
my partner to actually do the Argentine Tango. Dancing cheek to cheek and
looking in the same direction was quite another idea that went contrary to
all the learning of other smooth ballroom dances I had learned to do (well)

During the first hour of instruction in my Tango learning I was informed just
what the hold in the Tango should look and feel like.  Although it didn't go
completely over my head I could not perform the newly presented pattern(s)
properly and at the same time incorporate the Styling as presented.

When I was told that my female partner was supposed to take a hold resembling
a "hug" with her left  arm "up and around my neck" (with her hand sometimes
touching my skin and hair on the back of my neck) I must confess that the
hold was, to say the least, distracting to  my efforts to concentrate on the
dance. Next,  I was directed  to place the right side of my chest between my
partners breasts and commence to dance.  I must report to you all that what
ensued was  a reciprocal  emotional disturbance that you can well imagine
even from the  more mature adult pupils in our class.  It became somewhat of
a break-through when the teacher commanded us to change partners and  resume
applying the same principles of hold and body  contact with a new partner and
to start to perform the same process all over again. The members of the class
did become very friendly.  We got to know each other very well.
When I took my  young and beautiful female  Tango teacher in my arms her
chief complaint was that I was not holding her close enough. So I held her
closer.  The complaint was repeated.  So I held her closer.  When the
complaint was repeated, what came to mind immediately was the line in the old
Groucho Marx picture ,  "Girly! If I were holding you any closer I'd be
behind you!"

Dancing the basic to a single meter (all slows) was not clearly explained to
me but I later found out that it is truly  better to learn control and
dancing to the single slow beats of the Tango music than to start at the
beginning to learn "quicks" mixed into the patterns.  First comes control!
Later comes speed and alacrity.  But I am sure that "control" might be a more
important factor in moving (at first) than the aspect of "speed".

It seemed only like a  meaningless drill to learn to do the Tango walk(s).
 When I went home one evening and my partner who danced particularly well
that evening finally said that she was bruising her inside ankle bones when
dancing the Tango, did I understand what all those word pictures of ankles
and knees being "magnets" that attract each other while one leg is passing
 by the other in the proper performance of Argentine Tango. It enhances
balance, control and it looks better.

One great point that was hammered home to me (and my partner) was  that we
were dancing for each other.....not the on lookers.  The audience was allowed
to enjoy what we did. That is what people watching dancers are supposed to
do.  The two participants of the Tango dance, however,  were supposed to
concentrate their focus on one another with no other outside distractions.

The last point that I have farely well  confirmed  (I wrote an article on
this about 18 months ago on this complicated topic.) is that you cannot think
of countless details of what you are dancing.  When you are performing them
well there is a minimum of conscious thought processes occurring.  Having
practiced the patterns and fragments of patterns and having connected them in
a myriad of combinations  thousands and thousands of times the dancing
becomes just thoroughly reflex  and the joy of dancing prevails.

You can now enjoy the scent of your partner; the closeness of your partner,
the breathing of your partner.....the body and  soul of your partner.
  ......Boy! It's getting hot in here.  Turn on the air conditioning.  Get me
a cold drink.  Phew!

Thanks for reading this.......I enjoyed writing it!

Sincerely,
Arturo
AHGberg@aol.com
West Palm Beach, Florida, USA