With it being Darwin Day, I thought I would tie that in with Tango, since the name of the tango group that I am a part of is Tango Evolution. 

Of course, Tango is always evolving, but I was thinking more on a day to day basis and the concept in evolution of: performance, feedback, revision. This is essentially how evolution through natural selection works. In Tango, we do something very similar: we try something (performance), we see how it works out (feedback) and then we make any necessary changes (revision)... and repeat.

We also have to constantly adapt to the music, to the other dancers on the dance floor and especially to our dance partners. Those that can best adapt are often the most successful dancers. 

How many times have you heard someone say, "I don't teach figures or steps?" I just don't like that simplistic, blanket statement. It is a pet peeve of mine, as there are so many variables at play. I have learned much from figures/steps and I regularly use them in my teaching.

Let me be clear though, I have been in classes where the focus was just on memorizing some 32 count figure with no concern about the quality. I do agree that simply teaching people to memorize a figure/sequence is probably bad teaching. I say probably, because I am rarely an absolutist and it could be a choreography class preparing students for a performance. Even with this though, I can tell the difference between a performance where the students know how to lead and follow the steps they are performing or if they are just regurgitating a set of steps.

So, what follows is my opinion and I am in no way suggesting that everyone “should” teach in this way. We find that this teaching style works for us. We are often told by our students that we focus more on technique than most other teachers, so it might seem funny that I am writing in support of figures. I consider a figure to be a box for learning technique, in other words, figures are teaching tools. We encourage our students after they have learned and mastered a figure to break it and use the individual pieces and combine them with other steps that they know. Improvisational dancing should not mean just going from figure to figure. Each step has a new life.

We usually teach short figures for the social dance floor, which start in the line of dance and then resolve in the line of dance. We then spend the class dissecting each step and technique used in that figure. Often there is a one technique that is the real focus of the class, which is contained within the figure. We also discuss different musicality options and ideas for entering, exiting and embellishing the figure. We discuss any adjustments that are needed to the embrace during the figure. Also, most of our students use both open and close embraces so we might discuss any problems, so we discuss issues peculiar to each.

Another benefit that I feel arise from this teaching style is that it allows us to focus on each student individually. If we were just teaching a class on boleos and several of the women did wonderful boleos then they might not get much out of that class. But if we teach a figure that includes a boleo, well we might see something else that we could help those women with, who already do wonderful boleos.

I feel strongly that teachers “should” think about floor craft and “should” teach figures which are easily accomplished on the social dance floor and explain this to students. This means that the figure should begin in the line of dance and resolve in the line of dance. Also, the figure should not take the dancers against the line of dance. I recently saw a class by a teacher that started with a rebound step which turned the couple against the line of dance and then proceeded two large steps directly against the line of dance. I just shook my head.

We also discuss music in our classes and will often discuss whether or not a particular figure works well with elegant tangos, rhythmic tangos, vals and/or milonga. Sometimes a figure is more elegant and flowing (legato) in nature and other figures are more rhythmic (staccato). Of course, this is not always true, but I feel that often musicality is easier to teach within a figure than in a purely technique class. Of course, we can talk about it, but students need to be intelligent enough to recognize that musicality can be extended to other areas of their dance.

Also, different students learn in different ways. I know that some students may get a technique, but unless they are given examples of how to use it, they are lost.

So, I hope that I have debunked this myth. I would encourage teachers to use all the tools available to them. Teach figures, teach pure technique classes, teach pure musicality classes, teach embellishments, etc.. etc… Don’t ignore a powerful teaching tool, simply because you once heard someone say, “I don’t teach figures or steps.”

If I had only three words to express my Philosophy of Argentine Tango they would be: Passion, Connection and Technique. Of these three, I can only teach connection and technique, while making every attempt to convey my passion for this dance and its music.

In Tango, we have three primary connections: Embrace, Musicality and Floorcraft. Our embrace is our connection with our partner. Musicality is our connection with the music. Floorcraft is our connection with the other dancers on the dance floor. 

In order to express our passion and to have wonderful connections, we must start with learning proper Tango technique. This is where my teaching philosophy differs from many. I believe that dancing with lots of passion, but little technique or connection is meaningless at best and torturous at worst.  The opposite is also true, dancing with only technique but no connection and no passion is also meaningless.

From technique we develop clarity. From clarity, we build strong connections. From strong connections, we can fully express our passion.

Social Form of Argentine Tango
While I do perform on a regular basis at different events, my primary passion is the social form of Argentine Tango. Argentine Tango is danced in most every major city in the world. My goal as a Tango teacher is for you to be able to visit any of these cities and to be able to go to a local Milonga (Tango dance party) and to be able to have wonderful dances.

Open Embrace versus Close Embrace versus Apilado versus Salon versus Blah
I dance and teach Argentine Tango. Open Embrace and Close Embrace are not styles of Tango, but embraces used in Tango. Salon, Milonguero and Nuevo are all styles or forms of Tango. My students are exposed to ALL styles and embraces and I leave it to them to choose which ones they employ in their dance. My primary goal as a Tango teacher is to give my students all the tools necessary to dance exceedingly well and to be able to be the most sought after dancers at the Milongas.

Experience
I have spent many years learning from the greatest tango teachers in the world and have travelled to Buenos Aires twice to work with master teachers. Some of the teachers who have had the largest influence on me are Sebastian Arce y Mariana Montes, Gustavo Naveira y Giselle Anne, Murat and Michelle Erdemesel, Homer and Cristina Ladas, Chicho Frumboli y Juana Sepulveda, El Pulpo, Osvaldo y Coca and Facundo y Kely Posadas.

I have also had the good fortune to have amazing dance partners, friends and students to work and learn with. In almost every class that I teach, someone asks a question which challenges me to think more deeply about a particular technique or concept. While I teach I am also learning and I hope that that will be the case forever. One of my favorite tango quotes is from an old Milonguero, who must have been in his 80's and had been dancing since he was a teenager, who was asked if there was anything that he was still working on and his response was a quick "Yes, I am still working on walking."

Un Abrazo,

Clint Rauscher