Teachers for community growth
Lonewolf had some good insights on how he chooses Tango teachers while he is in Buenos Aires. I agree with most of the points raised.
However, for me personally and from the community’s perspective, a teacher’s compassion and care for his/her students and generosity are the top priorities at the moment. While a teacher’s dancing prowess is important, given the overall level of dancing in our community, there is no doubt in my mind that most travelling Tango teachers (Argentine or otherwise) have something to offer technically. It’s really their willingness and patience to impart their skills which is even more critical. For such teachers (and we have been fortunate to have 2-3 such couples visiting Singapore in the past 6 years), I am quite certain that, just like me, they get a lot of satisfaction when they see their students improve.
Milonga, milonguita?
It’s perhaps rather confusing to new-comers to our small Tango community in Singapore that the words “Milonga” and “Milonguita” are used almost interchangeably to mean pretty much the same thing – a Tango dance party in this context. In fact, I sometimes wonder, when we use such terms, if we really have a full understanding of the original intended meanings ourselves? According to the Guide to Tango terminology on Stephen Brown’s website,
Milonguita – Questionably, an affectionate diminutive for the milonga.
Secret(?) to community growth
It seems to me that three essential ingredients are needed for sustained growth in a Tango community. By the way, what I list below are only what I consider as the direct means of introducing the mystery of Tango and maintaining these people’s interest – there is still a need for various ways to generate community awareness in the first place. Not in any particular order:
- Quality instructions from both visiting maestros and local teachers;
- Regularly held and guided practice sessions for polishing of techniques;
- Regular and well-run Milongas (with good music and appreciation of social etiquettes on the dance floor).
How much learning?
Recently there has been a debate on the Tango-L Discussion List on the appropriate amount of “class learning” necessary for followers. The expressed opinions range from zero, i.e. followers should learn everything on the dance floor, or to needing just as much class time as men, and every shade in-between, e.g. learn a lot in a short amount of time in a group class and then take strictly private classes after that.