tangomaniac
Well-Known Member
I don't see this topic on the first three pages so it's time to raise the issue and let the elephant out of the room- - or out of the milonga.
I went to a milonga last night where the navigation was just about the WORST I ever experienced. Even with my short and long range radar, it was a challenge. My partners said, "It's very crowded." They also complained about being stepped on and kicked from boleos. I said, "No. Just filled with lousy navigators." At the end of each dance, I showed each partner big pockets of empty space that could be occupied. The men wouldn't move into these pockets for a few reasons.
1. They want to do figures for which there isn't enough room and do them anyway. They treat the woman like a mannequin or worse, inflatable doll to lead figures beyond their skill level or the woman's skill level. There's one guy who loves to do backward lunges (without looking). The women don't look amused based on their facial expression.
2. They have no technique. An example is leading a molinete. The molinete is supposed to be circular, NOT elliptical. Because of lousy frame (that's another issue), the woman is sent out like a satellite orbiting the earth. The man looks like a truck driver and the woman looks like a trailer swinging out wide to avoid jumping the sidewalk and hitting pedestrians.
3. They think they bought the ENTIRE dance floor. There is space in front of them to move but they would rather hold up the line to do a time and space consuming figure, e.g. parada. This reminds me of the New York City subway. The subway is usually 10 cars though some lines, e.g. shuttle trains, G line, are shorter. Instead of spreading out along the platform, passengers will cram into the first two cars, which are already crowded so they won't fit. The conductor is yelling "This train has 10 cars. That's 30 doors. Please use ALL of them." They don't, the train runs late, and eventually the train dispatcher calls "Why aren't you MOVING?" The train falls behind schedule and will fall even further behind schedule. A train running late has more passengers to pick up at stations down the line than if it was on time.
4. No musicality. They dance milonga as if the music was tango. This is the equivalent of putting a local train on the express track but runs like it's a local.
5. Unlike the subway, they ignore all the signals of a crowded floor. They lead high boleos or lead molinetes with high elbows. At least subway operators follow the signals, especially the YELLOW one which means APPROACH: Approach next signal not exceeding medium speed PREPARED TO STOP. If the operator overruns the STOP signal, the tripper will automatically stop the train. The operator is then escorted by police for a drug test. HMM. Should tango dancers be tested for DUI, Dancing Under the Influence of drugs and alcohol?
Is navigation taught? Is it an afterthought?
I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and have to find out if I can add a tango addendum to my policy.
I went to a milonga last night where the navigation was just about the WORST I ever experienced. Even with my short and long range radar, it was a challenge. My partners said, "It's very crowded." They also complained about being stepped on and kicked from boleos. I said, "No. Just filled with lousy navigators." At the end of each dance, I showed each partner big pockets of empty space that could be occupied. The men wouldn't move into these pockets for a few reasons.
1. They want to do figures for which there isn't enough room and do them anyway. They treat the woman like a mannequin or worse, inflatable doll to lead figures beyond their skill level or the woman's skill level. There's one guy who loves to do backward lunges (without looking). The women don't look amused based on their facial expression.
2. They have no technique. An example is leading a molinete. The molinete is supposed to be circular, NOT elliptical. Because of lousy frame (that's another issue), the woman is sent out like a satellite orbiting the earth. The man looks like a truck driver and the woman looks like a trailer swinging out wide to avoid jumping the sidewalk and hitting pedestrians.
3. They think they bought the ENTIRE dance floor. There is space in front of them to move but they would rather hold up the line to do a time and space consuming figure, e.g. parada. This reminds me of the New York City subway. The subway is usually 10 cars though some lines, e.g. shuttle trains, G line, are shorter. Instead of spreading out along the platform, passengers will cram into the first two cars, which are already crowded so they won't fit. The conductor is yelling "This train has 10 cars. That's 30 doors. Please use ALL of them." They don't, the train runs late, and eventually the train dispatcher calls "Why aren't you MOVING?" The train falls behind schedule and will fall even further behind schedule. A train running late has more passengers to pick up at stations down the line than if it was on time.
4. No musicality. They dance milonga as if the music was tango. This is the equivalent of putting a local train on the express track but runs like it's a local.
5. Unlike the subway, they ignore all the signals of a crowded floor. They lead high boleos or lead molinetes with high elbows. At least subway operators follow the signals, especially the YELLOW one which means APPROACH: Approach next signal not exceeding medium speed PREPARED TO STOP. If the operator overruns the STOP signal, the tripper will automatically stop the train. The operator is then escorted by police for a drug test. HMM. Should tango dancers be tested for DUI, Dancing Under the Influence of drugs and alcohol?
Is navigation taught? Is it an afterthought?
I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and have to find out if I can add a tango addendum to my policy.
