SLO Tango -- Laura's memo, Tom's response, the kitchen sink...

[Glenna Thompson]

Dear Norm, Laura, Tom, Rich, Bobbi, Charles, and everyone else,

I'm with Norm in that I missed any hint of elitism in Laura's message, 
and with his position on advanced dancers paying to help out in 
beginning workshops.  One of the tango 'rules' that I learned early on 
is that no matter how advanced you consider yourself to be, you dance 
with anyone who is polite and seriously interested in the dance.  If for 
no other selfish reason but that they might be really good someday, and 
you'll wish you hadn't ruined that opportunity.  I don't think there is 
anything wrong with acknowledging that there are people of various 
levels within our group.  And, while we're at it, why not admit that we 
all love to (dare I say, prefer to?) dance with people who are more 
advanced.  Wouldn't it be amazing if we all worked to become the best 
dancers we possibly could?  Life, timing, money, lack of a partner or 
physical ability, distance -- there are so many things that can get in 
the way of that.  But, one obstacle that we don't have here is the 
social environment.  We don't have the catty competitive snobbery that 
exists in so many other dance communities, and we do have a supportive, 
welcoming, honestly friendly group.  This, and a sense of responsibility 
to the group is what motivates me to show up when I don't feel like it.  
I am well aware that finding and securing a space, organizing, being 
there every week, cleaning up, recruiting new people -- all of these 
things are a lot of work and they keep a group like ours going, not 
going home early.  Special milongas to honor guest teachers?  Yes, yes, 
yes.  Except in cases of broken legs, car trouble, out of guests., etc., 

So, back to the subject of Laura's message.  I, for one, would love to 
participate in classes to which I could lend balance, but I would not be 
willing to pay to attend basic classes.  For several years, I poured 
precious time and money into workshops and classes where rotation was 
not mandatory, the gender ratio skewed, and if I got a partner, it was 
the person who wasn't picking up the step.  Maybe they were nervous, 
talking or otherwise not paying attention, didn't really want to be 
there, or maybe it was just too hard!  But, I rarely felt challenged and 
almost never had the opportunity to practice or even experience what was 
being taught.  Unfortunately, this is one of the pitfalls of mixed level 
classes.  This discrepancy is exaggerated in tango, as many women have 
had other dance experience, while the men often don't, but they still 
have to pick up the steps, AND learn to lead them.  The truth is that 
the woman never gets a chance to practice her part -- following -- if 
the man doesn't know the step or the lead or if he gives up.   Working 
with another person and getting somewhere is a thrill, even if its the 
other person who is learning.  Having said that, I think we all need the 
opportunity to learn and to improve in order to continue enjoying the 
technical aspects of dancing.  I'm not sure that happens unless you are 
dancing with someone who is near your own level, with whom you can work 
seriously and candidly.  And, having said /that/, I should say that what 
I mean by "level" may not be beginner vs advanced, but level of 
attention to detail, level of commitment to the activity, of engagement, 
physicality, comfort, communication --- lots of other things.  Levels 
exist whether we like it or not, but I think there are ways to prevent 
them from becoming barriers. 

I guess what I'm saying is that I love our group, and the fact that I 
can call it "our" group, and that it felt that way from the beginning.  
And, that while a nice group is nice, a nice group made up of really 
good dancers would be even better.  Semi-private lessons are an 
excellent way to do that.  I'd jump at the chance to attend couples 
small group lessons as a single if I could count on a) being paired (I 
won't push my way in and someone else out), and b) with someone who 
wants to help a partner improve too.

Next?












Norman Tiber wrote:

> Dear Tom,
>
> I completely agree with you that the "important thing is the Tango 
> community."  I did not, however, perceive the proposals in  Laura's 
> memo as fostering "stratification" or  reducing "inclusively." I think 
> her goal was to explore alternative formats for our community's 
> workshops that would benefit dancers at all levels of expertise.
>
>  
>
> In my previous life, as an avid international folk dancer, I always 
> liked the expression, "That's how they dance it in my village." This 
> applied to a myriad of situations where people had different views 
> regarding some aspect of dancing and the dance community. It is in 
> this vein that I share with you a different perspective on the issues 
> that you raised. I will deal with them in reverse order.
>
> 1. In your response "why not more Milongas," you seem to take a very 
> casual approach and ignore the fact that setting these up takes 
> effort, time, and money. As one of the people who helps arrange 
> Milongas, I would not be willing, on too many occasions, to "take a 
> risk, roll the dice." Knowing that people in our Tango community are 
> interested and willing to support these, for me, justifies the effort 
> and costs involved.
>
> 2. I agree that in a dance community people should try to "dance with 
> everyone." I think our community does this reasonably well at our 
> Monday and Wednesday classes and Milongas. Laura's proposal was aimed 
> at facilitating this at beginning workshops. Having more advanced 
> dancers attend these is very helpful. I do not agree, however, with 
> your suggestion that they should have to "pay" to attend these 
> workshops. For example, I consider myself to be at the "intermediate" 
> level of ability. Yes, I can always get some benefit from attending a 
> beginning workshop. But lets be realistic, I am not going to spend $25 
> to do this. I would, however, be willing to support our dance 
> community by attending a beginning workshop to help equalize the # of 
> men and women and to provide followers an opportunity to dance with a 
> more experienced leader. 
>
> 3. I do not think Laura's proposals foster "stratification,"  but are, 
> instead, attempts to deal with the reality of stratification using a 
> "we are family" approach. Every dance community I have been a member 
> of has had to deal with stratification. As a dance community develops 
> stratification occurs; you do have people at different levels of 
> mastery. This is not bad. In fact, I believe  a healthy dance 
> community foster this. You want a constant flow of people at all 
> levels of mastery.  The real issue is  how does the community deal 
> with stratification. Some communities approach this in a way that 
> fosters elitism. For example, setting up "by invitation" only classes 
> for more advanced dancers. Needless to say, I do not support this 
> approach. Other communities use the kind of approach that Laura has 
> proposed to maximize inclusiveness. Having more advanced dancers 
> attend beginner workshops fosters inclusiveness. Having advanced 
> workshops which are partner based, with voluntary rotation, fosters 
> inclusiveness. Less advanced
> dancers can "spread their wings"  by attending these workshops and do 
> so in a way that does not interfere with more advanced participants. 
> This is how good family members support each other. 
>
> Finally, Laura has given a great deal of herself to our tango 
> community and I think her memo was sent in this spirit. It never hurts 
> to discuss new approaches. She deserves a big "Thank you!" 
>
> Written by Norm, with Anne's stamp of approval!
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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>
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