I did wonder whether I should title this post "Corruption".
I needed some technical help from the guide who, when I was new to dance helped me clarify many of the ideas that run through this blog [edited]:
Full disclosure: a group I did some historical guiding for asked me to teach them. It was right after:
R: Tango? Ooh, how lovely . Do you teach?
F: No, dance class is against my religion. I help new dancers learn to dance at socials & practicas by dancing with them.
R: Oh, but will you do a class for us?
I can't see people from this group walking in cold to a milonga or práctica.. They are so nice & she is so enthusiastic & persuasive I found myself reluctantly saying OK.
Extraordinarily, I participated in a workshop with Cacu Lucero recently.
He was the most unteacher like teacher I've ever met, more a facilitator. I thought I might try some of his approaches which were around exploration, listening, respect for the partner, dynamic roles, improvisation & play.
But with this sound system & the hall booking having been problematic I have taken the view that if it's not fated so be it.
But that's not all. I've had many requests for teaching from people I've danced with recently in a town where in terms of dancing tango there have only been the free events I run. You tell them just come back to the social but they want more.
Besides, someone asked me to co-host an event last week, and again for this coming weekend. I agreed. It had been a success. Many loved the dance or were less sceptical an they had been initially. Then he said he wanted to run a class beforehand. The money for the events is being donated but, since so many people were interested in tango last time he believes class is necessary. I have persuaded him not to do ochos in week 1 and to focus on music and partner. Even so, obviously I have many misgivings.
But if I don't do it he is going to ask someone who ruins every new dancer. Plus there's a salsa teacher champing at the bit to learn tango & you can see where that will go.
So I said yes telling him it was on the basis of damage limitation and that I saw myself as the break on teaching steps like the cross and the ocho which he calls the basics.
People I have danced with over the eight months when I ran the free practica who can now dance introduce me to others as their teacher. They laugh when I protest.
A friend said to fight fire with fire, meaning if you don't want people ruined by class you need to get them before they go off to someone else's class.
My former guide would likely say that types looking for class are lost anyway.
Within days a teacher in Glasgow, eighty miles away was touting for business in the local Whatsapp salsa group, having heard about that market opportunity somehow.
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