Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. During this latest series of Tips, we’ve been talking about the various ways in which people in this country learn to dance social Tango. To remind you of what I’ve been referring to over the past two weeks, the list of possible ways to learn consists of the following:

Practicas

Milongas

Classes

Focused workshops

Private lessons

The social club/my friend’s sister

Natural ability

Consciousness

Last week, we discussed practicas and milongas, particularly from the standpoint of the beginning dancer. This week, we’ll focus on what I think of as the typical beginner class.

Once people get a taste of Tango and decide they’d like to learn more, their next step is almost always to sign up for a beginner class. (Over the years, I’ve taught many such classes myself.) In general, these classes take one of two possible approaches to learning Tango. The first approach, the one used more or less exclusively in American dance schools for our own ballroom, swing and Latin classes — and now for Tango — is to offer our students a highly structured pedagogy in which both leaders and followers focus more or less exclusively on memorizing a series of prescribed figures.

The advantage of this figure-oriented process is that students feel that they’re quickly accumulating real information, which they can take immediately to the dance floor. (“Look, mom, we’re dancing!”) At the same time, teachers can easily monitor their students’ progress: If students are able to effectively memorize the material and can execute the figures according to a set schedule, they have thereby achieved measurable success, and are now ready to move on to more complex figures.

When I first began to study Tango during the 1980s, this teaching method was the one used by virtually all the performing professionals who visited us from Argentina. From our ballroom lessons, this way of teaching/learning was exactly what we were used to and comfortable with. However, after many, many lessons — after memorizing figure after figure, sequence after sequence, many of us still retained the nagging feeling that we still really couldn’t actually dance Tango.

I remember vividly a conversation I had with one of my teachers:

Me:

“I really enjoy learning all these steps, but I still feel that I don’t really know how to dance.”

Teacher (Famous performing professional from Argentina):

 “What are you talking about? Right now, with everything I’ve taught you, you could get out there and do a show.”

Me:

“Yeah, but I don’t want to do a show; I want to dance.”

Teacher:

“Don’t worry, you’ll get it eventually. Now, today, we’re going to work on this new figure ….”

It turns out (in my opinion, at least) that becoming a “step machine” — memorizing and then regurgitating one figure after another — really isn’t the answer to learning how to dance. But in beginning classes all over the U.S.A. — maybe all over the world — this has become the most prevalent approach to the teaching process.

Oh well, what do we do now, folks?

Next week, we’re going to talk about the alternative approach some teachers take in conducting a beginner class. In this approach, the emphasis is on the challenge of learning how to lead and follow — rather than on memorizing figures. We’ll discuss whether this is a more appropriate way to teach beginning students. And if so, does it actually produce positive results.

See you next week.

If you like the idea of keeping American social dance alive -- not competitive or performance dancing, but real social dance the way it was traditionally done -- we invite you to join us this us every Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. for a fun-filled social dance fix.

This week, Monday, February 5, we’ll all be having a blast with our Swinging Salsa Session!

Class One

Concentrating on authentic American Foxtrot, Triple Swing and Salsa

Mondays, 8:00 p.m.

Studios 353

New York City

The longest-running and friendliest practica in NYC! Come join our happy group of social tango dancers, whose sole purpose is to enjoy dancing and to practice what they’re learning. Everyone dances! Essential Tango Therapy! Pat and I will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, and help you with material you’re working on. Plus you get a new “must-have” move each week! No partner required, all levels. Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46^th Street, 11^th floor, (bet. 6^th & 7^th Aves) www.franchesleigh.com

If you’d like a private lesson, you can visit our website at www.franchesleigh.com, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692, or email him at franchesleigh@mac.com Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc

The following folks helped set up, break down and clean up before and after the milonga. Without them, there would be no Firehou se Tango.

• The Knights Hall's wonderful neighbor, Angelito, will now be doing most of  the heavy lifting (liiterally and figuratively) both before and after our milonga.  Three cheers for Angelito!