Learning curve: with dedicated partner or not ?

Hi,

There are larglely two different types of people in classes/practica/milonga.

Type A people come to the class/practica/milonga alone and change partners frequently.

Type B people come to the class/milonga with their partners and they rarely change partners and danced together most of the time.

Who will have more possibilities to become good dancers in a shorter period of time.

Based on my observation, the greater number of non-professional dancers with dedicated partners DO NOT improve their skills quickly. But I believe most tango teachers have their own dedicated partners.

I've found that, almost invariably, people who practice exclusively with one another, in ANY form of social dance, have difficulty leading/following other dancers.

My tango improved significantly when I was able to travel to attend milongas. You just cannot replace this dancing experience.

My (and my wife's) AT became substansially better when we started dancing with other partners.

When you dance with one exclusive partener during the learning process, you tend to learn each other's mistakes, and build on them, thus propagating errors. Also, you memorize each other's moves, so you react intuitively to them. Good if you will never ever change partners. But, it does not teach you how to lead and follow. You rob yourself the opportunity to dance with other partners.

In the beginner level, it is better to dance with many people who are either beginners or intermediate dancers. However, for the intermediate or advanced dancers, dancing with people who have lower level of skills can build bad habits to compensate wrong movement/posture. I think that's why teachers or professional dancers need to have dedicated partners.

Green said:

In the beginner level, it is better to dance with many people who are either beginners or intermediate dancers. However, for the intermediate or advanced dancers, dancing with people who have lower level of skills can build bad habits to compensate wrong movement/posture. I think that's why teachers or professional dancers need to have dedicated partners.

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I agree with you.

Thanks Green. How to find out dedicated partner or not?

sexydance1 said:

Thanks Green. How to find out dedicated partner or not?

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Green said:

In the beginner level, it is better to dance with many people who are either beginners or intermediate dancers. However, for the intermediate or advanced dancers, dancing with people who have lower level of skills can build bad habits to compensate wrong movement/posture. I think that's why teachers or professional dancers need to have dedicated partners.

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It is my observation that beginners need to dance with partners who have a variety of skill levels. Otherwise, they can develop bad habits and sometimes end up bickering like those who start learning with dedicated partners. Also good for morale. And while dancing with beginners too much can contribute to the deterioration of intermediate or advanced dancers, those who are truly advanced can dance with anyone. If there are enough advanced dancers in a given community, I don't see the need for intructors or even professional dancers to each have a single dedicated partner. The only way to be able to adapt to a partner is to have someone to adapt to.

Part of MY learning curve is that when I first stated out, I had a permananet partner. This came in handy when you are basically learning "just the steps." We bickered, we fought (we fought a lot), but we got the steps down. Doing this, we suceeded in learning "the steps" and ONLY the steps. For this purpose it helps a lot.

When it came time to learn how to lead and follow, having a permanent partner became a crutch. You knew each other's nuances only, and were totally lost dancing with other partners. Dancing with other partners, you just assumed that they would know. They don't because my leading (and following) just sucked... we ended blaming each other and made for a bad AT experience.

We got over it and learned how to lead and follow. We did this by facing out apprehensions and just started dancing with A LOT of other partners. We were able to read their nuances, what each strange partner could or could not do, what they could or could not be led to do. This was more important and more difficult than the steps.

Fast forwrd to today.... IT IS NOT ABOUT THE STEPS! It is about the deep connection between two human beings moving as one on the dance floor. It is about leading and following, and the steps just happen as a consequence of the connection.

My wife and I can dance with anyone now (myself as a lead and she as a follow). Regardless of our partner's experience, we can make it memorable. It took a long while, and it did not happen because we had a dedicated partner. It happened because it was a combination of dedicated partnership, and switching partners when the learning process called for it. It happened because we got over the fear of dancing with other people and learning to be in tune with others.

Novice said:

Green said:

In the beginner level, it is better to dance with many people who are either beginners or intermediate dancers. However, for the intermediate or advanced dancers, dancing with people who have lower level of skills can build bad habits to compensate wrong movement/posture. I think that's why teachers or professional dancers need to have dedicated partners.

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It is my observation that beginners need to dance with partners who have a variety of skill levels. Otherwise, they can develop bad habits and sometimes end up bickering like those who start learning with dedicated partners. Also good for morale. And while dancing with beginners too much can contribute to the deterioration of intermediate or advanced dancers, those who are truly advanced can dance with anyone. If there are enough advanced dancers in a given community, I don't see the need for intructors or even professional dancers to each have a single dedicated partner. The only way to be able to adapt to a partner is to have someone to adapt to.

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I think pros having dedicated partners is mainly a matter of practicality.
If you either compete or perform, then you need to be commited and dedicate a lot of time and work to it (choreographing, practising, costume preparation, travelling) -- and you really can't do it with someone who cannot put as much into it as you do. A teacher who doesn't compete or perform could do so without a dedicated partner, but having a dedicated partner (another teacher) to teach with is definitely an advantage.

As for the "need for a dedicated partner in order to protect yourself from bad habits", I've heard this before but I don't buy it... I think you are far more likely to develop bad habits if you only dance with one person all the time. Unless you are interested *only* in competing/performing (i.e., no social dancing), then being able to adjust to different partners is part of the dance skills you need to acquire in order to be a good dancer.

Regarding the original poster's question, I don't think either is a given. As Ampster said, you get very different things from dancing with a single partner versus a multitude. There's a benefit to learning just steps (I realized I could get crucified for that statement--but you've got build a repertoire at some point), and a benefit to learning how to adjust your lead/follow to different people, and a danger of developing bad habits from anyone. I'd wager that it's easy to develop bad habits even if you only ever dance with much more advanced dancers--too much of a risk of them compensating for you.

I think the issues of pros having steady partners goes back to what MacMoto said--it takes committment and dedication, and the goals are often different. Although, one of my teachers insists that he likes to social dance with people of all levels, because it keeps him on his toes when it comes to really leading, instead of always dealing with a partner who knows the routines/idosyncracies (sp?).

My dedicated partner and I practice every Sat afternoon. We switch off practicing with other partners at the Monday practicia.

Our style is to be totally open and brutally honest with each other. And Boy-Oh-Boy if I don't lead that cross right. She won't go in it. I lucked out because she is a wonderful partner. The partnership really works.

Green said:

In the beginner level, it is better to dance with many people who are either beginners or intermediate dancers. However, for the intermediate or advanced dancers, dancing with people who have lower level of skills can build bad habits to compensate wrong movement/posture. I think that's why teachers or professional dancers need to have dedicated partners.

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I'm not sure if this is always correct. I'm a beginner in tango, but I've had a few years' experience in salsa / jive, and generally, the better leaders can lead anyone - and dancing with beginners can help you hone your leading skills.

As for "partner vs. mix", I think that it's generally better to have a partner, despite the "foibles" problem, because you both can encourage each other and criticize each others' performances. And, of course, you always have someone to practice with