Beginning Teacher Policy
The philosophy behind The 8th Style’s policy of hiring beginning level dancers as beginning level teachers is something we’ve arrived at over long consideration and years of experience. It is not without controversy, however.
In the world of tango it is often a source of debate as to what exactly qualifies someone as a teacher, as there are no clear parameters defining this, nor are there any institutions that are unanimously accepted as having the authority to certify dancers as teachers. As it goes, the most important factor in becoming a tango teacher is simply wanting to do so. Wanting to teach tango is also a critical factor in our next topic of inquiry, which is: what makes a tango teacher a “good” tango teacher?
To answer this we must first figure out what we mean by a “good” tango teacher. Most would agree that “good” would mean effective in teaching people how to dance. But what kind of people? What kind of dance? Some teachers are great at teaching sophisticated combinations for dancers who already have their basics down. Some teachers excel with choreography and communicating the nuances of performance style tango. Some think like engineers, and bring analytical types right along. There are milonguero geniuses; there are salon geniuses. There are those who are able to teach anyone just about anything, few though they may be, and even more rare still are those who are both extraordinary dancers as well as extraordinary teachers. Some teachers are great at teaching beginners.
The key lies in “will”. A heartfelt passion for teaching a particular type of person a particular type of tango will inevitably evolve into an excellence in that arena. But would anyone teach if they didn’t really want to? Seemingly, no, yet it happens so frequently in the world of tango that one has to wonder why. Most likely, all teachers start out enthusiastic, and some remain so, but something that so easily becomes your entire community and often a major or sole source of income is bound to transform from a invigorating hobby to a dire necessity. And time roles on. Beginners continue to pour through classes, the same concepts are taught week after week, year after year, and the teacher’s enthusiasm wanes to scarcity. Perhaps they find themselves giving brilliant performances, and lackluster, formulaic classes. This is not an uncommon thing in the tango world.
So who makes an effective teacher for beginners? Sometimes veteran tango stars of the stage make excellent beginning teachers and otherwise. Rumor has it from multiple sources that Pablo Veron gives an excellent introductory class, rare though the occurrence may be. Eva and Patricio, fresh out of Forever Tango, gave remarkable beginner’s technique during their tenure in Seattle. More than anything we must remember that absolute beginners are not tango dancers. To become tango dancers they need inspiration more than anything, and it’s a fine line between inspiring and scaring students away with the complexity and sophistication of the dance. A teacher who dances well using material simple enough that it may be just within reach of the student’s comprehension will have no trouble creating inspiration given the presence of the most important and infectious qualifier: a passion for the material and the process of teaching it. And so we come back to the aforementioned enthusiasm.
From this we can determine that dancers who have been dancing for a period of time long enough to develop clean, simple vocabulary that they know inside and out, but not so long that become burned out, jaded, or detached from there own early development in tango, and who are excited to pass what they’ve learn on to others who are less experienced, are the ideal candidates to teach absolute beginners. Some people remain engaged and connected to their early roots in tango even after years and even decades, but they are so few that if we only studied with them, no one would learn tango. The 2004 estimate of Seattle’s population was 572, 600. A few hundred dance tango. Anyone who would like to see the local tango scene grow in skill level would have to concede that the talent pool needs to grow. Besides, the more people involved in tango, the more fun, with bigger venues, more people to dance with, and whole a lot of energy in the scene.
The more beginning teachers the better, as long as they meet the above criteria, and have a clear, effective system that gives the students the skills they came to learn. This is what we’re going for at The 8th Style. Good teachers, good dancers, and a thriving tango community for everyone to enjoy.
About the Author: Jaimes Friedgen is a renowned tango dancer and founder of The 8th Style School of Tango. Learn more about tango lessons and Seattle Tango by visiting www.the8thstyle.com.
In the world of tango it is often a source of debate as to what exactly qualifies someone as a teacher, as there are no clear parameters defining this, nor are there any institutions that are unanimously accepted as having the authority to certify dancers as teachers. As it goes, the most important factor in becoming a tango teacher is simply wanting to do so. Wanting to teach tango is also a critical factor in our next topic of inquiry, which is: what makes a tango teacher a “good” tango teacher?
To answer this we must first figure out what we mean by a “good” tango teacher. Most would agree that “good” would mean effective in teaching people how to dance. But what kind of people? What kind of dance? Some teachers are great at teaching sophisticated combinations for dancers who already have their basics down. Some teachers excel with choreography and communicating the nuances of performance style tango. Some think like engineers, and bring analytical types right along. There are milonguero geniuses; there are salon geniuses. There are those who are able to teach anyone just about anything, few though they may be, and even more rare still are those who are both extraordinary dancers as well as extraordinary teachers. Some teachers are great at teaching beginners.
The key lies in “will”. A heartfelt passion for teaching a particular type of person a particular type of tango will inevitably evolve into an excellence in that arena. But would anyone teach if they didn’t really want to? Seemingly, no, yet it happens so frequently in the world of tango that one has to wonder why. Most likely, all teachers start out enthusiastic, and some remain so, but something that so easily becomes your entire community and often a major or sole source of income is bound to transform from a invigorating hobby to a dire necessity. And time roles on. Beginners continue to pour through classes, the same concepts are taught week after week, year after year, and the teacher’s enthusiasm wanes to scarcity. Perhaps they find themselves giving brilliant performances, and lackluster, formulaic classes. This is not an uncommon thing in the tango world.
So who makes an effective teacher for beginners? Sometimes veteran tango stars of the stage make excellent beginning teachers and otherwise. Rumor has it from multiple sources that Pablo Veron gives an excellent introductory class, rare though the occurrence may be. Eva and Patricio, fresh out of Forever Tango, gave remarkable beginner’s technique during their tenure in Seattle. More than anything we must remember that absolute beginners are not tango dancers. To become tango dancers they need inspiration more than anything, and it’s a fine line between inspiring and scaring students away with the complexity and sophistication of the dance. A teacher who dances well using material simple enough that it may be just within reach of the student’s comprehension will have no trouble creating inspiration given the presence of the most important and infectious qualifier: a passion for the material and the process of teaching it. And so we come back to the aforementioned enthusiasm.
From this we can determine that dancers who have been dancing for a period of time long enough to develop clean, simple vocabulary that they know inside and out, but not so long that become burned out, jaded, or detached from there own early development in tango, and who are excited to pass what they’ve learn on to others who are less experienced, are the ideal candidates to teach absolute beginners. Some people remain engaged and connected to their early roots in tango even after years and even decades, but they are so few that if we only studied with them, no one would learn tango. The 2004 estimate of Seattle’s population was 572, 600. A few hundred dance tango. Anyone who would like to see the local tango scene grow in skill level would have to concede that the talent pool needs to grow. Besides, the more people involved in tango, the more fun, with bigger venues, more people to dance with, and whole a lot of energy in the scene.
The more beginning teachers the better, as long as they meet the above criteria, and have a clear, effective system that gives the students the skills they came to learn. This is what we’re going for at The 8th Style. Good teachers, good dancers, and a thriving tango community for everyone to enjoy.
About the Author: Jaimes Friedgen is a renowned tango dancer and founder of The 8th Style School of Tango. Learn more about tango lessons and Seattle Tango by visiting www.the8thstyle.com.
Labels: seattle tango, tango lessons
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