I agree with J about speaking openly about one's experiences with teachers,
organizers and the like. It doesn't have to be mean-spirited, or foul mouthed
or insult their mother, but the truth is informative, even if it is negative.
I disagree with the monitoring of this list but I accept the rules, but that
doesn't mean one should sugar-coat everything. It is just as
counter-productive to falsely praise dancers and teachers who don't deserve it.
Being nice just for the sake of not alienating anyone just creates a lot of
bad dancers and big egos. Tango is a meritocracy and good dancers have paid
their dues and worked for their reputations. I have seen plenty of charlatans
and hustlers passing themselves off as experienced tango dancers, and sadly
most of them were from Buenos Aires. Many have padded their resumes and
claimed to have been dancing for years when in reality they started only
recently when they realized they could make money. One dancer, instead of
equating complex or difficult steps with skill level, gave them monetary value:
that step is a $50 step; that one is a $75 step. In other words if you would
pay him, he'd teach it to you even if he knew you couldn't really execute it.
Ten or twelve years ago many dancers and organizers themselves were beginners
and often couldn't tell good dancing from a quickly put together piece of
choreography, and some still can't. The level has changed a lot since those
days but not the chicanery. Just because you had a good experience doesn't
mean someone else did not, or even that your perception was correct.
Charles
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