I don’t care how many shows teachers have appeared in, who they have danced with, or how long their legs are. I judge Tango teachers according to what they should be doing; teaching tango that we can use enjoyably & safely with the music at a crowded milonga.
These are my top symptoms of lazy, incompetent Tango teaching at group lessons. Next time you are in a lesson, score 1 point for each of these:
- Teaching a sequence.
- Teaching a sequence that starts with a back step.
- Teaching a sequence containing 8 or more steps (triple score for teaching the entire sequence in 1 go, without any breakdown)
- Teachers demonstrating & talking for more than 5 minutes at a time, whilst students get slowly more bored.
- Students left to attempt it for themselves for more than 5 minutes at a time whilst the teachers ignore most of the group and focus on one struggling couple.
- No mention of the music.
- No mention of floorcraft.
- Teachers wearing trainers / combat trousers / hats / t-shirts.
- Mumbling teachers.
- Teachers staring at the floor whilst they dance.
- Starting & finishing the lesson at least 10 minutes late.
Scores:
- 0 – 2 Points: Formula 1. The best.
- 3 – 6 points: Formula 3. Nearly there, could do better.
- 7 – 15 points: Banger racers. Amateurs playing.
- 15 – 29 points: Lawn mower racers. Amusing but irrelevant.
- 30 points or more: Wacky racers. A joke, only I ain’t laughing.
I once observed a group lesson by visiting teachers from Argentina that featured all of these, making a 36 points maximum score. Kerrrching!
