Good teacher?

[neveragain]

Just to clarify...
Are you learning AT in a ballroom context or a 'social' AT context?

Is your aim a 'milonga' (a social gathering where AT is danced), or the ballroom dance social?

Are you aware of the 3 common dances in the AT realm - milonga (the dance), vals and tango? Does your teacher teach those in class (possibly later)?

What music do you have? Traditional tango, or nuevo, or alternative, or ballroom?

Leader, follower, both?

I'm interested in social AT.

I want to go to a milonga and just dance with anyone.

I want to be the follower. I'm also active in ballroom and in my community, there's always more ladies than men. So sometimes, I have to lead. I just want for once just in dancing, I want to be the "traditional" lady different from my reality.

Not aware of that there's more other than milonga. I'll search it up. Thanks!

TBH it's not much of the music that draws me to AT, it's the connection I see on people on YouTube. I get this dance connection as well in ballroom but with pro teachers bc it's so hard to find amateur partner.

 

[Reuven Thetanguero]

A good teacher will teach you the important fundamentals of Argentine Tango: The Tango walk, the Close Embrace and listening and moving to the music with your partner. If they start with steps (basic 8 or basic 6), find another teacher.

In addition to walk, embrace etc.,I forgot to add also weight shifting, whether it's forward step, back step or sideways.

 

[Cabbit]

Im inclined to say that if they do all the dances, they arent a great tango teacher as they dont live it, feel it or specialize in it. However, those classes can still be very useful to start with.

As mentioned, a good teacher will focus on your muscles, posture, walk... not just on teaching the steps. If for example your ankles are weak or pelvis slightly misaligned, they should point it out and suggest exercises to fix problems like that.

A good teacher will encourage you to think for yourself and take classes with other people also if needed.

 

[Cabbit]

Oh, and if they give you russian ballet or romanian gymnastics trainer vibes, they are bad, dont do it.

 

[neveragain]

Oh, and if they give you russian ballet or romanian gymnastics trainer vibes, they are bad, dont do it.

AT is not popular in Eastern Europe?

Maybe it's for different topic....
I once tried a group AT class also recommended by a dance friend few years ago. The teacher is all about AT. He organizes milonga regularly. Not trying to be mean at all, the reason I didn't come back after the intro lesson was the teacher's excessive sweating during the lesson. Just too many sweat droplets that I couldn't focus. I've touched soaking wet shirts of teachers who were dancing for hours and wouldn't know they were that sweaty from their face.

 

[Brummbaer]

Im inclined to say that if they do all the dances, they arent a great tango teacher as they dont live it, feel it or specialize in it. However, those classes can still be very useful to start with.

In general I'd agree, except a general 'ballroom' dance teacher saved social AT for us.

Let's just say that our AT beginner's course was neither encouraging nor moving forward quickly enough for us. We arranged a private AT course at a ballroom studio. The teacher had great dance qualifications and, fortunately but unusually, understood what we needed for social AT. That course got us sufficiently equipped to chance a milonga, with some trepidation. Fortunately for us it was an exceptionally friendly and informal milonga. Dread to think if we'd ended up in a strictly 'traditional', codigo-bound, stuck-up, unfriendly milonga

But I would say that learning experience was exceptional.

We've used several other good AT teachers since then - and avoided some poor teachers.

 

[Brummbaer]

I want to be the follower.

Then the key point is whether, and how, they teach the followers. And are 'they' a couple?

Whilst it can be argued (and is) that males can follow (and females can lead), I'd suggest that, at some point, you do need the perspective from the same sex on some aspects - and sometimes need to discuss some aspects with a couple. (Simplistically male followers aren't usually in high heels!).

Feedback from other dance partners is vital! I'm grateful for dance partners who've pointed out difficulties for them with my abrazo, or how I need to move their leg round differently in some step.

You often find that dance steps are explained to male leaders first. I'd put this down that sometimes males are slow on the uptake of dance steps (I am), whilst females are more familiar with dance movement. However, at the worst extreme, females are put aside whilst the males are instructed and then just expected to lead followers, or followers are just given rudimentary explanation of what they need to do. As an example, the 8CB: this is where you cross! OK, it helps initially, but the leader has to learn to actually steer the follower to a cross (and the follower respond to that signal), not because it's in the 8CB. There are other occasions for a 'cross', or multiple crosses, without the preceding steps, and at different speeds.

But such 'routines' have their place and can be useful initially.

AT is more than just dance steps. It's that whole social connection throughout the dance tanda.

Do let us have some details from your perspective!

 

[ArbeeNYC]

I see milonga events on that location, never been yet but planning to attend at some point. I will need to ask him if he does go to any. I don't think he's the organizer of that milonga.

Would be worth checking out the milonga, if only to see how it is organized and how many people attend. And, of course, how they dance. A good teacher will focus on simple fundamentals and listening to the music. Whatever "steps" you learn should be very simple and used to build more complicated movements (maybe not now but over time). If you're following, at some point it would help to study with a woman to learn more about technique. But in the beginning, learning how the embrace works, posture, balance, weight distribution, pivoting, and leg extension are all important. You won't master them for a while but it's important to be aware of them. Even if you learn how to walk correctly with a partner in time to the music, you will have learned something valuable.

 

[Brummbaer]

TBH it's not much of the music that draws me to AT

I'd also get some traditional 'Golden Era' AT recordings, or modern covers, and listen to them. YT has lots (and playlists). They were composed to be 'danceable'. Some later compositions were aimed at listening, not dancing (nuevo). Alternative contemporary music can be danceable in AT style.

Canaro's orchestra was, I think, always recommended as 'simple' to get the basic AT rhythm and as a starter for musicality. Other options and preferences are readily available!

What music is used in your class?

 

[neveragain]

What music is used in your class?

I didn't have a class yet with the new teacher. I'll will have one in few days

 

[fiesta0618]

You often find that dance steps are explained to male leaders first. I'd put this down that sometimes males are slow on the uptake of dance steps (I am), whilst females are more familiar with dance movement.

I don't know if other teachers do it intentionally, but there is actually a good reason for teaching leads the steps first: they get additional time to practice while the followers are learning. And at low-intermediate levels, the leader needs be much more comfortable with the pattern than the follower.

At my level, this has now inverted. My partners are expected to execute quite sophisticated flourishes, which I mostly anchor and counterbalance. So they are taught steps first, in order to get extra practice time during my turn.

 

[Be Present]

Honestly, you cab also tell by the regard that good tango dancers have for him. But you need to go to some milongas and ask who their favorite instructors are. Ask if they have heard of your instructor.

There is American smooth ballroom tango, so hopefully he is definitely teaching you AT. There are generally some habits from ballroom that you have to break ask you learn AT. The biggest are likely the posture and embrace.

I agree that, at the beginning stages, you can learn the basics from many different people. I don’t think an 6 count basic is the end of the world either if you are a beginner.

You will change instructors several times. There are many different ways to teach and to do tango correctly. But there are also a handful of ways to do it wrong. Best thing is to talk to experienced dancers.

 

[pianistamediano]

I think you all might be overwhelming neveragain just a little with all the (admittedly useful) information and advice and cautionary tales born from hard-won experience.

Best to wait for them to report on how their first lesson/s went and then give more immediately useful advice then.

 

[neveragain]

Here's the first AT lesson with the new teacher...

I told him I do dance ballroom so he just started leading me to know where I am. I would say I was able to follow 75% of the "walk"he was leading. Then he started introducing some fancy steps. I mostly didn't know what to do on the fancy steps so he'll tell me what I'm supposed to do then practice it until I get more familiar how to react on those type of leads.

He told me to use the whole foot instead of using the ball of my feet. He also corrected my posture. Never mentioned about basic 8 or 6 steps. Did he pass?

Now the interesting part. In ballroom, there's what they call practice hold if you're new or not too comfy yet with the partner. I know AT is dance in close position even looks like cheek to cheek on some videos. Since I've been doing ballroom for a little bit now, I'm used to being close or hip to hip or even touching my lead's chest for some showy routine, I just take it all as part of the dance. New teacher went right in with close position. Nothing offensive or weird but I kinda find it a bit too comfortable too soon? Is this how teachers teach AT for beginners? I'm also not sure really how to do the follower hooking the leg part on the lead's on practice hold.

First lesson to me, doesn't say much of him as a teacher but I did learn things that I should be doing whatever dance I'm dancing. For fun, I do salsa or WCS socials once in a while and I tend to relax more because I don't want people to say why am I dancing like ballroom I guess not in AT.

 

[Cabbit]

I'm also not sure really how to do the follower hooking the leg part on the lead's on practice hold.

However i read this sentence, it makes no sense to me in the context of a first ever tango lesson.