> --- On Tue, 1/12/10, Vince Bagusauskas <[email protected]> > wrote: > > From: Vince Bagusauskas <[email protected]> > > timmy said: > > >Lets create a syllabus of tango steps, elements of > tango, moves, > >of what a good teacher should teach and in the correct > order in which > >things should be taught in. > > > Something like each country having a national association > of Tango Teachers that accredits teachers. The national > associations would then become members of a governing World > Tango Council/Federation which sets a syllabus? > > Pretty soon tango dancers will demand to compete in the > Olympics. Like > ballroom dancers still hope for. > > ******* > *******
my comments... > > email can be a very flat communications medium... it is > very difficult to convey context and tone of voice... > > having said that, i really, really hope Vince's comment was > meant as humor, with a touch of sarcasm for good measure. > > if not... no disrespect intended Vince, but i can't think > of a worse evolutionary path for tango. i never want > to see a true codification of 'correct' tango... or a 'best > practices' for teaching tango that must be mastered by a > prospective teacher who demonstrates their proficiency to > some official organizing body. > > wow... throw in line of dance... and tango could become a > line dance... or maybe a team event... (yes... attempted > humor... and sarcasm intended... with a smile...) > > yes... there are people teaching who don't have a clue what > they're doing. > > yes, there are people teaching who have barely completed > what most communities would consider an advanced > intermediate class. > > and, personally, i have taken more than one class with a > truly advanced dancer who had no idea how to teach. > > there are also problems with individuals in the community > who are overly aggressive in their marketing tactics. > not only the 'show off' technique described in other > posts. what i find more offensive are the teachers > dancing with new dancers, demeaning them, then handing them > their business card so that they can 'help' them. i > have seen this practice taken to the point of the > 'instructor' intentionally mis-leading a follower... just to > create problems... > > hmmm... as with freedom of speech... as much as i find some > of these characteristics annoying, i prefer to deal with > them rather than having an arbitrary set of 'official' tango > steps... with defined 'best practices' for teaching > methodology... the thought of an official organizing body of > tango literally makes me cringe... > > there is also no qualification process as to who is > qualified to write a book. i would make an argument, > based on some recent releases, that their may be at least > one case of a best selling author having never read a > book... but that would be a distraction... > > even in timmy's model... i've taught at the university > level... and, yes... i had a syllabus... but i selected the > material that was being covered... i selected the text > used... and i created the syllabus... and, it evolved over > time. > > what keeps this in line... two things... > > peer pressure, from senior faculty and practitioners who > are recognized in their fields... and take corrective > measures appropriate to the issue at hand... ranging from > private intervention... to more public intervention. > > and, the market... the tango community is far too small... > most people are attracted to it with almost no idea what it > is... but, it somehow captures a piece of their > imagination. maybe a portion of the efforts of the > 'better' dancers and acknowledged masters should be spent > showing more of the world what tango really is... setting a > standard by example... so people are better informed... > > unfortunately, we live also in a world where we also must > recognize that 'quality' is not always what is valued... > regardless of the product or service... a large group of > consumers, new and old, prefer... quicker... easier... > cheaper... flashier... over quality. > > pick any city... including Buenos Aires... and almost any > milonga... you will find social dancing... and you will find > the 'business' of tango... as annoying as some may be at > times, i hope freedom expression is maintained over > regulation... in the dance... and in the teaching... > > a big part of what attracts me to tango... is the > improvisation... and the freedom to express who i am... my > mood... and how i interact with a follower... as well as the > larger community... > > i'm willing to tolerate those who annoy me... who do things > differently... to maintain that... > > _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
