Tango is a process, it takes time. What is it about our western culture that enables people to think they can master any thing in 30 days, in 12 easy steps or even a year?
Yes, we as a tango community have talked about this many times, over and over, enough to get your fishnet stockings in a twist. And it certainly isn´t a new subject in any community. I have the same problem with people who think they are master yoga teachers after a 3 month course, as well.
I think of the Tango Process like the differences between a young wine and a fine aged wine. In the beginning your dancing will be serviceable and fun, sometimes even get you where you need to go, But then you have tasted the Class A that brings you to Tango Nirvana and often until you´ve tried both, you truly wonder if there is a difference at all. But once you do, you certainly never really want to go back to those cheapy bottles! To produce that wonderful aged wine, took a lot of loving care, from the soil, to the vine, to the time of day the grape was picked, and in the end, the rituals that occur to actually pour the heavenly liquid into the glass and all the sensuous movements of the senses, before the wine reaches your tongue.
Sure okay there are some really good wines that are created in less than a year. But they are good, not extraordinary.
So I leave you with this, from The History Of Tango site, which inspired my metaphoric rant.
"I have asked many elderly men, from many different parts of the city, how long this process took (baring in mind that the men I speak to for my research are generally the outstanding ones, who would not have been the slowest members of their group), and I have never been told that it took less than nine months to learn to dance the woman's part well enough to be allowed to start learning to lead.
They would then continue to learn, dancing both parts, gradually leading more, until one night one of the more experienced men would tell them to put on a suit on Saturday because they were going to a dance, or milonga. I have asked many elderly men how long that whole process took, and not one has told me that it took less than three years."
* The History Of Tango
Posts
New Fee Hits Cash Withdrawals At Link ATMs
13 hours ago
9 comments:
the "years" are sort of relative. One can dance/practice one evening a week for a couple of hours, or 5 evenings a week for 5 hours. One can practice with the right partners or with the wrong ones. At the end of a calendar year, the results two people have could be wildly different. I would doubt anyone expects greatness after one year, no matter how many hours of that year they practiced
Yes, most non-delusional people will not expect greatness in one year...but there are some out there, that one reads about...
I think the bottom line that Miss Tango is expressing is that we need to be patient and enjoy the learning process. Ok so some people get it in a year and some people get it in 50 years - but rushing through and overdoing it isn't going to get anyone anywhere. If anything it breeds arrogance which leads desperation which leads to publishing of mediocre videos on ones blog. It can bring out the worst in people, I tell ya.
Greetings. Do you know Ariel Ardit? Let me share this link:
http://www.arielardit.com/doblea.htm
Thanks!
Thanks Miss Tango....that is uplifting and a great thing to know. I am an impatient person in general but when it comes to Tango I have found you must be patient. Great Post!!
I too am a very impatient person by nature. Perhaps all the yoga training helped prepare my mind for my Tango journey :)
Dear Miss Tango,
Wise, as always. Absolutely!!! (Tina, you could also not have said it better).
Tanguera
I put it up there with 'speed reading'. Ok, you can, but why would you?
Thank you for this post! I loved reading about the old gentlemen and their journey to tango. I can tell you that some of my sweetest memories of BA was dancing with them. It's the sublety of their years that makes them different and special.
Doesn't the fact that some have spent 9 months (the time it takes to grow a baby!) just to learn the follower's part? That amazes me! And then that fateful day when they are told they can put on their suit and go to a milonga. Magical.
Post a Comment