Building a community
Since commencing a series of Beginners classes and guided practicas a few months ago, it’s gratifying for me personally to see the steady improvements in some of the “regulars” (including not only my own students but also people who have been dancing for some time) who attend our weekly practicas. What can we learn from this particular observation?
Fun and laughter
There inevitably comes a time in any budding Tango dancer’s education that perfecting of the techniques, i.e. embrace, walk, etc., is constantly on his/her mind while dancing.
However – and this is, I suppose, more a reflection as a result of regular Beginners classes these days – I feel that we should not lose sight of the fact that Tango is, after all, just a dance. As a dance, we should aim to enjoy ourselves. From time to time, it’s good not to take ourselves too seriously. That is, despite the training and requirement for good posture, the connection, the navigational skills, the musicality, etc. etc., which are all good to have, we need to somehow inject fun back into Tango occasionally – if not all the time!
Creativity requests
I often get frustrated with the followers in our community who habitually comment/complaint: “Why can’t the guys be more creative?”
To me, this is very much the same as saying, “Hey, why can’t you be taller?” My response is the same for both cases: “Like how?”
Good students
There was a relatively calm discussion – for once 😉 – on the Tango-L not too long ago on what are the defining qualities of a “good” Tango student.
Speaking from my limited experience of teaching beginners and intermediate-beginners, I consider good students to be the ones who come to the classes with an open mind and ready to be challenged with new concepts. In other words, they are prepared to accept unfamiliar things at face value and always have a never-say-die attitude (see also my previous thoughts on visiting instructors to Singapore). Lastly, enthusiasm is also something that can that enhance the learning as well as the teaching experience!