A short monologue about Argentine Tango

Writing about Argentine Tango can be a cathartic exercise, particularly as the subject throws up all sorts of questions that one might want to avoid talking about in person.

Of course, my thoughts on Tango are purely my own, I do not speak for others and can only imagine what the experience might be like for different dancers from different walks of life. I can only hope that some fellow dancers might find things I say, strike a chord with them, or assure them that they are not alone in their thoughts about this subject.

Finding myself regularly amazed and sometimes dumbfounded at the ill-informed statements and didactic pronouncements that some teachers and dancers make, I felt that I needed to put down in writing some of my impressions.

Stick with me, if you like, but I quite understand if you want to wander off somewhere else.

The self-proclaimed teacher

Ok, I am one.

It’s quite difficult to be anything but a self-proclaimed teacher in Tango, as there is no formal training required. I don’t know what the answer is to this.

Every time I see some social media post about creating a formal set of requirements a Tango teacher ought to have, there’ll be a disagreement about what is actually needed.

One person will state a teacher should have a teacher training qualification, another will say not necessarily, another will say - they have to be able to teach ‘so & so’ range of movements, another will say - one only needs to teach the embrace, and others not, as the embrace is natural and should come innately – and on and on we go.

There can’t be an agreement on what training is needed for a tango teacher.

I guess my take on this, might be construed as being a little nebulous… I send it into the ether.

What I like in a teacher, and try in my own method to imbue is

1.     Clarity and consistency in instruction

2.     Approachable but with clear boundaries

3.     Awareness of others mood/reaction

4.     Self-awareness and self-criticism

5.     Versatility in communication style

6.     Generosity with information and respect for students

7.     Respect for the subject matter

8.     Love for the dance which inspires

There will be many other things I like in teachers, particular teaching methods, ethos, personality but these are more isolated to the specific teacher.

I think many of us have seen that amazing performers sometimes make terrible teachers, and average social dancers sometimes make excellent teachers.

It’s understanding that there are 3 skillsets here (in no particular order)

Performance

Social Dancing

Teaching

It’s a rare teacher who will have all 3 skills, but they do exist – I believe Miguel Zotto is a good example of this – a seasoned professional performer, an excellent social dancer who respects the codigos, and a clear, generous and patient teacher.

There has been an influx of teachers into the UK and Europe over the past few years, who are primarily performers, some of them spectacular dancers, but many of them have no method of teaching, and are essentially winging it. Sharing some of the key movements that they may include in a performance, but no real ability to teach the fundamental technique and respect for the social codigos which one needs to dance these movements well. Some invent new novel ways of teaching which sets them apart from the rest and they market as such, but invariably these are just gimmicks.

Is this an advanced class? 

I watched a Youtube clip recently of a couple who teach and title themselves International teachers. They also invite visiting teachers to their events.

One comment made that I quote here

“We would never ask a visiting teacher to teach a movement as simple as the giro, as the giro is easy, we would ask the visiting teacher to share something much more difficult. As many of our students have already been dancing 2 years and are advanced".

My initial reaction was to wonder exactly ‘What are these much more difficult movements and who are these advanced students of 2 years experience?’

I’m guessing they’re talking about the triple ganchos, colgadas, lifts and drops that exist primarily in show dancing, and I'm also guessing that once a student has covered the mechanics of all the 'basic' movements we have in tango, they are then considered advanced.

If this is, as I suspect, the case, then I believe that they inherently do not understand social tango.

For me, any movement, whether it is weight changes, walking and walking with pivots or with variations in timing, giros, ocho cortados, box step – any movement – any movement at all, it has to be practiced again and again. And different visiting teachers can explain the same concept differently, with different subtle variations, and explanations which might suddenly ignite that lightbulb moment in someone.

It doesn’t matter how many ‘different sequences' you add to your repertoire, if you are doing them all badly, then you are not (in my opinion) advanced nor even dancing Argentine tango.

Because Tango isn’t the travel from A to B, while music is playing.

Tango is the feeling you create within the embrace and within the music.

To achieve this, we have to pay attention to 3 things, technique, connection and musicality.

We hear this over and over again, but what does it mean?

Technique: The regular and careful application of practicing any movement (incl posture) & improving ones sensitivity to initiating and receiving as well as you can, with an attitude that it can and should be improved upon – always.. and with the humility to understand that having your dance deconstructed by a trusted teacher, on a fairly regular basis is a good thing.

Connection: Attention to the fact that you are dancing closely with another person, who is different to any other person, who you will adjust to in the embrace and the movements you make, to endeavour to make the experience for them as good as you possibly can. Taking care of your partner and those dancing around you. You dance for you together, not for you alone.

Musicality: Listening to and getting to know the music, so that your movements respond to the music playing in that moment, not what you know is coming 2 phrases down the line.

Have I come to a conclusion? A final line I can leave you with? - hah!

The closest I can get to is that dancing Argentine Tango is physical poetry - as are the tango lyrics actual poetry.

I compare it to when we learn to speak from when we are small children...

We learn basic words first, then we make simple sentences, later we can make ourselves understood quite clearly, then with creative description. When older, those who read regularly or listen regularly to eloquent speakers and try out new words, become more expressive and confident, and when we use our imagination, we start to write poetry… and when we recite our poetry, do we use inflection, intonation and do we pause? All this is about listening and practise - as we know.

Dancing Tango is like this, and about being brave, to step out of your comfort zone, to learn to relax and be comfortable in your own skin, to not be scared of how you personally express yourself. Dancing can be a celebration of who you are creatively - as an individual... but like the above, to be able to do this we have to practice.

Whether you are the dancing version of a Milton or a Milligan, a Basho or a Bilston, we all have an individual way to express ourselves, the trick is to understand how we free ourselves.