Re: [TANGO-L] Teaching Ballroom and Argentine Tangos

[Juan Fabbri <JFabbri @TANGOCITY.COM>]

Frank 
 
I stop myself of getting into this discussions for obvious reasons ....
but .. must say .. 
I LOVE  your last phrase .. "don't  confuse an empty shell with a lobster dinner" ...  
just a perfect  definition of what's all this about ... 
 
with my kindest regards
 
Juan Fabbri
President & CEO
Solo Tango - Buenos Aires 
 
 
 
 

	-----Mensaje original----- 
	De: Frank G. Williams [mailto:frankw @MAIL.AHC.UMN.EDU] 
	Enviado el: Vie 20/6/03 20:25 
	Para: TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU 
	CC: 
	Asunto: Re: [TANGO-L] Teaching Ballroom and Argentine Tangos
	
	

	Tango Guy and friends,
	
	The typical fraud, whether owing to 'business sense', to deceit or to
	ignorance, is to teach that Argentine tango is a dance that can be
	legitimately mimicked.  It is insufficient to teach that the external forms
	of Argentine tango are somewhat different from other dances. It is true but
	a fraud of omission.  That early phase of the learning process is merely
	preparatory.  It omits the detail that, oh by the way, this is a dance that
	exists because it is an emotional response to a particular body of folk
	music.  It omits the detail that the dance, in combination with particular
	poetry and music evokes a way of thinking that is a unique cultural
	expression of a people.  Minor details, those!  At the risk of sounding
	pedantic - which, you know, has never bothered me in the past! ;-) -
	Ballroom &/or Int. Tango is the shell that remains after you take the
	'Argentine' OUT of tango.  Enjoy the pretty shell, but don't confuse an
	empty shell with a lobster dinner.
	
	Frank - Mpls.
	
	> -----Original Message-----
	> From: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango [mailto:TANGO-
	> L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of Tango Guy
	> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2003 3:53 PM
	> To: TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU
	> Subject: Re: [TANGO-L] Teaching Ballroom and Argentine Tangos
	>
	> Michael; It would be a nice idea to solicit other Tango-L subscribers'
	> experience and thoughts about Argentine Tango (AT) as taught by Ballroom
	> teachers. These experiences could then be included in your USABDA article.
	>
	> One thing everyone needs to keep in mind is that there are many legitimate
	> Ballroom teachers and dance studios who teach AT well and teach it
	> correctly. One of my own AT teachers is also a Ballroom teacher and dancer
	> as well as being a fine advanced AT dancer. There IS fraudulent teaching
	> of AT that unfairly casts a bad light on legitimate Ballroom teachers and
	> studios. But one needs to be careful of accusing anyone of fraud. There is
	> a style of legitimate BT that gets called "Argentine Tango". It is the
	> standard BT with AT-like steps and figures added. (Perhaps this needs to
	> be called Argentine Style Ballroom Tango or something else less confusing.
	> Any suggestions?) In addition, for a long time, before our own Argentine
	> Tango became popular in the US, regular BT was often called "Argentine
	> Tango" to emphasize the Argentine origin of Tango and not to deceive
	> anyone. There is much confusion between these "Argentine Tangos" and
	> fraudulent-hearted teachers are capitalizing on the
	>  current popularity of AT and on the confusion of  the general public to
	> make money. Both BT and AT teachers need to make sure their students
	> understand the dangers and the differences so they are protected and not
	> mislead.
	>
	> Warm Regards
	> Tango Guy
	>
	>
	>
	> "Sa, Na-W, Na-C, Na-E, Misc" <tangomaniac @JUNO.COM> wrote:
	> Barbara Garvey wrote about ballroom teachers who teach Argentine Tango
	> and wonders about their teaching skills.
	> I agree with you Barbara. I've seen some ballroom teachers teach AT as if
	> it was a ballroom dance, NEVER mentioning close embrace or even lining up
	> buttons to buttons. I laugh at their attempts to teach parada when the
	> two partners are so far apart. Well, I'm getting my revenge on these
	> imposters who teach AT.
	>
	> I've started writing a column for the United States Amateur Ballroom
	> Dance Association's (USABDA) bi-monthly magazine. My next article is
	> called "It's Argentine Tango, Stupid" which describes several differences
	> between American and Argentine Tangos. (The title is a take off of the
	> Jim Carville's slogan in Bill Clinton's presidential campaign "It's the
	> economy, stupid.") It will be interesting to see if the editor prints
	> it.
	>
	> Michael Ditkoff
	> Washington, DC
	> Counting the days to the NY Tango Festival July 24-27.
	>
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