Good teacher?

[itwillhappen]

Although that does prompt the question: what are the typical characteristics and behaviour that a social dancing snob might have?

But what is the goal behind someone wanting to set such criteria?

 

[itwillhappen]

Honestly, im impressed by people who have friends they can talk into such a commitment.

They would have to be at least vaguely interested in the general idea of dance +

Have disposable income
Have free time
Be able bodied enough for the activity
Willing to learn something new
Maybe some other requirements too, i dont know

To be honest, I wouldn't really recommend tango to most people around me, unless they just want to take a simple tango course and are prepared to compromise on their partner. (In the medium term, everyone has the partner they deserve.)

Maybe it's time for a classic again:



But is there a relevant difference to other common leisure activities that you can't do or don't want(!) do alone? Tennis? Chess? Climbing? Golf?

 

[pianistamediano]

But what is the goal behind someone wanting to set such criteria?

We talk about it a lot, so it makes sense to be clear about what we're talking about.

 

[Cabbit]

To be honest, I wouldn't really recommend tango to most people around me, unless they just want to take a simple tango course and are prepared to compromise on their partner. (In the medium term, everyone has the partner they deserve.)

Maybe it's time for a classic again:



But is there a relevant difference to other common leisure activities that you can't do or don't want(!) do alone? Tennis? Chess? Climbing? Golf?

The added level of difficulty that comes from ingrained social norms about touching people for more than a handshake springs to mind?

 

[pianistamediano]

It's already difficult enough to explain tango to my non-dancer friends and correct all their misconceptions and the ingrained stereotypes. I have no interest in going through all that trouble just to maybe recruit someone who's probably going to quit in a few lessons. So maybe only if I had a non-tango partner in the distant future.

 

[itwillhappen]

The added level of difficulty that comes from ingrained social norms about touching people for more than a handshake springs to mind?

OK - but when you see it so clearly, can you at the same time be surprised or even outraged that some (or even all) people at a milonga don't want to dance with you?

 

[itwillhappen]

We talk about it a lot, so it makes sense to be clear about what we're talking about.

Perhaps the best person to explain this to us is someone who is snobbish himself.

 

[Cabbit]

OK - but when you see it so clearly, can you at the same time be surprised or even outraged that some (or even all) people at a milonga don't want to dance with you?

Im not sure i follow your reasoning.

However, people in general can be surprised and outraged at anything anytime, logic not included.

It is easy to see clearly in hindsight, so i think the more and longer a person dances, the more chill they are about all of it.

 

[pianistamediano]

@neveragain Okay, here's the couple I was thinking of, but just couldn't find!

 

[j_alexandra]

Although that does prompt the question: what are the typical characteristics and behaviour that a social dancing snob might have?

IME, which is all ballroom and not AT, the social dancing snob thinks there's nobody good enough to dance with at the social dance. They are picky about partners, only dance with a few they deem worthy. Sounds like AT is the same.

 

[neveragain]

@neveragain Okay, here's the couple I was thinking of, but just couldn't find!

They look good together and more proportional!

 

[neveragain]

I don't doubt that occasionally, some loner just up and decides to get into tango without anyone in their life to support or spark that move, but it strikes me as a rare exception that proves the rule.

I was some loner in ballroom. I was tired of watching TV at night and decided to do some physical activity instead. Found a dance place and happened to be a social latin dance school and it was cheap. I didn't know at that time that there are many different dance styles. I enjoyed the salsa class but didn't feel "home" after a few lessons. I went to find another studio and this time was a ballroom studio with bunch of different styles each week. I'm hooked. I'm now getting more serious on doing dance competition. Dancing is now big part of my life.

Edited: I'm probably be a loner too once I get a chance to a group AT class or practicalonga bc none of my ballroom friends do AT.

 

[JournalInTime]

How do they pay for that event?

An excellent question that others have asked, too. In one specific case, I can confirm that nobody paid for anything because the place was a cultural center and the organizer was/is part of the culture in question, and got a freebie, while the DJ was . . . him. Not entirely sure how he justified charging at the door, though.

 

[JournalInTime]

It is too much work herding people to come to a specific milongas.

Aha, okay, this is a huge experiential difference! I have friends who are regulars at most of the local spots. I also have a few people who stalk me for tandas, so I've been known to hide which milongas I'm going to, not advertise the fact.

People I know have college going kids or a few of good follower friends are single parents. Which means they can’t be regulars and other family commitments come in the way.

Another big experiential difference. My tango friends overwhelmingly fall into three groups. From largest to smallest: (1) retired or semi-retired (60+ years old), with much free time and any children long since grown up and moved out, (2) middle-aged like me (I'm 57), in a dual-income household with no children by choice, also like me, and (3) young singles (20s to early 30s) living away from family. I do have a few friends who are in that spot between groups #2 and #3 (30s and 40s), with the need to raise kids while working full-time, but they're not a well-represented group in tango here.

Most of the current lot of regulars, I only know them at milonga without any social connection outside it.

A third important difference! I invite/get invited by people in my tango peer group to do things outside of tango. Not every day, but not once in a blue moon, either.

Like everything in tango, this seems to be yet one more thing that depends on your region . . .

 

[JournalInTime]

Have disposable income

Here, the above is either/or with the next two:

Have free time
Be able bodied enough for the activity

We have older, established people (retired and/or dual-income, no kids) who throw money at the problem, including taking breaks from work – perhaps permanently – to create free time, and paying for all manner of specialists (doctors, chiropractors, massotherapists, etc.) to deal with being less than super-fit. This includes people who walk in with canes, wear orthotics on the floor, etc.

Then we have younger people who have all the time and energy in the world but no money, managing to fit tango in on a tight budget. The "private lessons, travel, festivals, and specialized dance clothing" approach to tango isn't the only one, and plenty of people get by on "cheap open lessons, local milongas, and street clothes." Dare I say, that's most people . . . the "elite" approach with airplanes and The Uniform is a minority one here.

These things tend to be traits of groups. It's rare that you have retirees and 20-year-old university students hanging out and deciding to learn tango together all of the sudden.

The rest – being interested and willing to learn – seems to be contagious. When I was at the studio, groups would more-or-less dare or challenge each other into it. We had quite a few groups turn up who'd clearly built up the courage collectively and didn't drop out because then they'd be the butt of comments from the rest of the group. Not sure that's a healthy learning environment, but it still gets people in the door.