I agree with others about etiquette at milongas entailing not correcting people
while dancing. However, it's important to understand why. Tango is an
artistic expression, and one cannot express oneself fully if one is also
worrying about whether what she is doing is wrong or not. If the habit of
teaching or being corrected becomes ingrained at a milonga, then one isn't
really dancing. Instead, one is moving in fear and with inhibitions, quite
often without even realizing it.
Mistakes are normal. It's okay to make a mistake. If someone keeps correcting
a beginner every time he or she makes a mistake, then the offender sends the
wrong message. At my milongas, I don't care if the person being corrected
wants the correction or not. If I can easily see it happening on the dance
floor, I will inform both parties about the rules of etiquette. It's that
important for the long-term health of the community.
There was a time when this etiquette was not enforced in my community. Then
one day a visiting instructor, Robert Hauk, came here and spent the weekend
teaching and dancing with everyone. At the end of the weekend, he told me that
every single woman he danced with expected to be corrected after dancing with
him, even at the milongas. Unless Theresia want to dance in fear, she should
not accept herself to be corrected at a milonga.
Trini de Pittsburgh
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