Hbboogie sets up a phoney boogeyman in Gustavo by using a truncated clip excerpted from a performance, not a socail dance setting. That whole kung fu tanda link is either a satire or an outright lie and is pure bee es. If you notice, the couples there are dancing on a raised stage. I have danced on the same social dance floor as Gustavo in boulder and never saw or felt any kung fu at any time, he was a much more skillful and respectful dancer than anyone else. Furthermore, those occasions would have been ones in which he would have had a motive to "stretch out" because he was loosening up for a later performance, yet his dance was always quiet and in the line of dance, no one was physically intimidated, mayeb emotionally so by the honor of dancing socailly on the same floor of such a craftsman. What's more, Gustavo never claimed to invent any new style, what they were seeking was a pedagogical method of analysis of tango structure, because the older milongueros were not so adept at explaining what it was they were doing. The strucutre of the dance created new possiblities in terms of expansion of concepts that were long used by tangueros of the past. There is nothing new under the sun, and there is no such thing as tango nuevo. Look at old clips of Edwardoa nd gloria arquimbo performing huge movements. People in their youth do wild and crazy experimentation, and it's a normal and healthy process. I heard that even Gavito was fast and wild when young, and only in maturity settled on a more nuanced style. I never saw or read any alleged "apology" by Gustavo of anything he taught or did, nor do I think any apology is warranted. I did read in chicho's recent article an assumption of partial responibility for some people missing the essence of tango, but I also have taken many classes with him and all the other people to whom the so-called nuevo movement is attributed, and I take from them an emphasis on how to connect with a partner, how to be musical, how to lead with maximum efficiency. The problem isnt the style, there has been stage tango around for a long time, but in the past people knew the difference between stage and socail dancing and were more respectful of the rhonda, now so many want to do stage tango on the dance floor it disrupts the flow. But I don't believe you can blame the teachers for teaching what the public demands. They have to eat. You can blame the milonga hosts who allow "anything goes", to be all things to all people. in the wish to attract as many attendees as possible. If anyone in any style is interfering with the enjoyment of others, really interfering, the hosts should have a conversation with that person.
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