As soon as one categorizes tango instructors and dancers based on national ancestry, one falls into a logical fallacy that any construct exists as 'all-or-none'. A probabilistic approach provides a more realistic explanation. There are Argentine tango instructors and dancers of varying ability and their are non-Argentine instructors of varying ability. Milongueros who have spent many years in the milongas of Buenos Aires not only understand tango better than anyone, they define it. However, given that, they may not be able to communicate their knowledge, perhaps because they are not motivated to do so or, if motivated, they do not have good teaching skills, perhaps because their knowledge of tango is so deeply ingrained they do not remember how they learned it. There are also language and cultural differences that make it difficult for anyone other than porten~os to understand them.
There are non-Argentine instructors who have learned from milongueros, either by taking instruction from them or observing them closely or even studying with Argentine instructors who have done this and kept touch with reality by frequenting the milongas. These non-Argentine instructors are very important for the growth of tango worldwide. They may not have the knowledge and experience of milongueros, but in gaining a significant amount of knowledge from the source of tango, they represent tango accurately, or at least they should if they are to be credible. Contrast these non-Argentine instructors with Argentines who tour and teach throughout the world and teach a version of tango that is disconnected from the milongas. They know they are teaching tango for exhibition but because they are Argentine, they are believed to be accurate communicators of the tango of their country of origin. The Argentine instructors of exhibition tango are more likely to have the effect of creating a non-Argentine version of social Argentine tango outside Argentina than are non-Argentines. There are some Argentine instructors who do teach the tango danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires. Some of them are very good instructors. They are to be treasured for the knowledge they have, obtained close to the source of tango. So, if you want to learn Argentine tango as a social dance as it is danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires (isn't that what we all strive for in embracing this dance of Argentine origin?), the best alternative for someone who cannot spend a significant amount of time in Buenos Aires is to find an instructor who has spent a significant amount of time in BA milongas and understands and communicates the essence of the dance (e.g., partner connection, musicality, navigation, improvisation). If that instructor is Argentine, all other things being equal, there is an increased probability of understanding the character of tango as a social dance. However, all other things are not always equal, so a non-Argentine may provide a better pathway to understanding tango. As a final comment, if you are at all serious about tango, you need to go to the source yourself to assess the validity of what you have learned. Go to Buenos Aires, spend a significant amount of time at the milongas and be sure to observe how the best dancers dance. Make the effort to talk to porten~os, to the best dancers themselves if you have the opportunity. This is the source of tango. To really understand tango, you need to connect to that source. Ron _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
