Keith (HK) - I don't doubt that you believe that this can destroy your feeling and enjoyment of the milonga, and I truly believe that when you dance in a milonga, you dance with everyone on the floor, not just your partner. What happens around you can upset your dance, and therefore your partner.
But please don't say that a dance with a same-sex partner is "showing off-pure and simple" or has "absolutely no feeling involved" I have had wonderful dances when I am led by other women. Women and men ask me, a woman, to lead them because they like to dance with me. Partly because women aren't inclined to show off, but just give their partner a good dance. Of course, this may not be good news for some men, especially those who don't dance well, or like showing off more than giving the woman a good dance. I am reminded of an incident several years ago when a guy asked me why women liked to dance with me. I said "I'll show you-let's dance." He hesitated, I encouraged, - he said ok. After the dance he paused for a few moments, then said "Let's do it again!" It will be a wonderful day when we can make choices without regard to society's restraints and judgements. Where would tango be without that? Sharing a tango with a good friend have absolutely no feeling? What kind of feelings are you looking for??? Loisa > Encouraging students to switch roles during classes and practice is a good > thing because it aids the process of learning Tango. It can > also be entertaining in a Tango Show - especially if the couple are > skilful. > > Having said that, switching roles in a milonga is a totally different > thing and should not be encouraged. I'll come out flat and say it - > In a milonga, unless the couple are gay, I hate to see men dancing with > men and women dancing with women. Why? Because it destroys the > whole feeling of the dance and can destroy the feeling and enjoyment of > the milonga. We all say that Tango is about 'feeling' as well as > technique and I certainly agree with that. But same-sex dancing is 100% > about technique, with absolutely no feeling involved - unless the > couple are gay and, as I've said, in that case I have no objection. La > Marshall was very enjoyable. > > Another thing - we all rail against showing off in milongas. Don't we all > hate that? Or at least we say we do. But let's be clear - most > people who switch roles during a molonga are showing off - pure and > simple. The man is showing off that he can follow, the woman is > showing off that she can lead. What they're saying is ... "look at us, > look how clever we are". And they do it selfishly, with a complete > disregard for all the other dancers present. > > Many people, including Igor in a recent post, have a misconception that > there's a tradition in Argentina of men dancing with men. This > just isn't true. Men practice with men, they don't dance together. When I > see same-sex dancing in BsAs, I always think the same thing - > "look at the stupid tourists". > > Keith, HK > > > > > On Thu Sep 13 1:47 , jackie ling wong sent: > >>daniel trenner lives in northampton ma and his students are >>definitely encouraged to switch roles from day one. i also encourage >>students locally to switch and experiment. it's easier for both >>danny and i because the two of us teach in colleges... amherst, mt >>holyoke, bard, williams college... personally, i find that younger >>students are more open to switching roles. >> >>i always lead at milongas and have been known to lead at milongas in >>buenos aires. porteno y bailerin, la viruta, la marshall and >>milongas that la vikinga hosts are generally open to "alternative" >>pairing. i heard recently that the milonga that uses the same space >>as la marshall on another night, asks a woman who was leading and >>another that was wearing sneakers to leave. please note that i'm >>passing on information which i didn't witness. >> >>jackie >>www.tangopulse.net >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>Tango-L mailing list >>[email protected] >>http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tango-L mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l > _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
