Tango Practice Partner

[sylvie]

Since there seem to be a lot of tangueros on this forum... perhaps one of you is looking for a practice partner? I am hoping to find someone who is passionate about tango and about learning. Serious, but also easy-going. If this sounds interesting, maybe we could meet at a practica and try out the connection.

I probably don't need to say this, but por las dudas, I'm only looking for dance practice.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

Wrong approach. You need to practize with a lot of different people to learn, otherwise you are going to learn to understand all his mistakes instead of what a proper marca means,

 

[sylvie]

I get what you're saying, but I'm not worried about picking up bad habits. I've been dancing for 7 years and have taken private lessons during most of that time with great teachers. I dance at milongas at least twice a week, with lots of different partners. I'm very aware of what a good lead feels like. I want to work on specific things and would be happy to practice with someone who has his own things to sort out.

One of my favorite teachers once told me that you learn more from a bad partner than a good one. With a good partner, you can mistakenly believe that you are dancing beautifully, because he is adjusting for your mistakes. With a less skilled partner, you have to work hard to keep your technique, even if he is pulling you off your axis.

 

[Cialu]

Wrong approach. You need to practize with a lot of different people to learn, otherwise you are going to learn to understand all his mistakes instead of what a proper marca means,

Sylvie, that is actually true - i try to go to practicas where i know good leaders to congregate, and work on things for a little with different people. Absolutely. Also a practica at club malcolm, and one at Sutherland are supposed to be good.

 

[Cialu]

I get what you're saying, but I'm not worried about picking up bad habits. I've been dancing for 7 years and have taken private lessons during most of that time with great teachers. I dance at milongas at least twice a week, with lots of different partners. I'm very aware of what a good lead feels like. I want to work on specific things and would be happy to practice with someone who has his own things to sort out.

One of my favorite teachers once told me that you learn more from a bad partner than a good one. With a good partner, you can mistakenly believe that you are dancing beautifully, because he is adjusting for your mistakes. With a less skilled partner, you have to work hard to keep your technique, even if he is pulling you off your axis.

i think this it true, but much more so for a leader. as a woman, i do not learn with bad leads except to be very nasty and avoid injury

 

[Bajo_cero2]

One of my favorite teachers once told me that you learn more from a bad partner than a good one. With a good partner, you can mistakenly believe that you are dancing beautifully, because he is adjusting for your mistakes. With a less skilled partner, you have to work hard to keep your technique, even if he is pulling you off your axis.

He is wrong. Usually profesors says stupid things like that because they are afraid that you abandon his class because there aren t good dancers for you.
I have been twice at hospital because of bad dancers who left my neck rigid. Cialu is right,

 

[Yogur griego]

Just dancing with a lot of people is not enough for women. I often meet followers that have been out there for eight-ten years but are completely not on a level of technique and posture you would expect. I believe that apart from classes they need to practice more with partners at practicas or at home, which is an environment where they have more possibilities to influence what the leader is trying to do and excercise. What I like about practicas or dancing at home with friends is that I can exchange tips and criticism and receive them as well, a kind of process that more people, especially women, should experience to become better dancers.

 

[Tango Pete]

At this point, I have some questions, not answers.
What is it you want to learn?
When dancing tango, are you concerned more about how you feel, or about how you look to others?
How important is dancing to the music to you? What does that mean to you? Can it be taught?
The point I want to make is that people dance tango for different reasons, and in my opinion,all are valid.
When I dance tango, I try to feel the music, and dance to it as It moves me. I am in the moment,
I try to feel where my partner is and to connect with her and to move with her.
I can not think and dance at the same time. My repertoire of steps is limited.
When I take private lessons, my teacher is there primarily for corrections, to my walk,to my posture, to my embrace.
So if we were to practice together what would you want to learn?

 

[sylvie]

Exactly. I can dance with hundreds of men at milongas and not find a way to change a nuance i've been trying to change. I can work on pivot exercises and turns every single day, and it is not as effective as practicing them for an hour with a partner at home, where I get the opportunity to experiment and get feedback. I like practicas, too, but it works better for me if I can choose a partner with whom I share a good connection and level.

 

[Yogur griego]

It's hard to find good people for such practice, especially for a woman as far as Argentines are concerned (I mean: no other intentions than just practicing tango). It's a pity, because from a certain level onwards the best way to learn more is to share information with other dancers outside of the milonga environment. I will possibly return to Buenos Aires this year for a while so I will keep your message in mind. I used to share an appartment with a couple of women who are good dancers and we shared a lot of information by just practicing at home, luckily there was a spacious, seperate room to do so.

I hope someone is going to reply, but why don't you ask your teachers whether they know other people who are looking for practice. I guess among more advanced dancers doing so is not too uncommon in Buenos Aires.