Four things good dancers do, and beginners often forget

We might argue what good tango is and we often have discussions about that, but I believe that there are certain things that make good dancers different than the rest, things which are beyond any discussion. Those same things, when a teacher notices them in a beginner, are good predictor if someone has a potential.

Let me tell you upfront, what I talk about here is from my teaching experience. I never made a serious study on what makes a good dancer, but one thing I’m sure about: these observations can help beginners.

“I’m never going to become a good dancer”, she said with that look on her face that expresses disappointment. All those hours spent in classes and workshops, for nothing…

I’ve heard this before. Not once. In fact, most beginners think that tango is too hard and they’re never going to learn it properly (if such thing exists).

“Don’t worry, just enjoy the ride. Time will teach you what you have to know. And, along the way, never forget that tango is not a competition. It’s all about having good time”, I tried to encourage her with my two cents wisdom.

I don’t know how many times exactly I said those words to my students when I felt that they are stuck. They might sound like a cheap pep talk, but in my book – they are the truth.

I’ve seen this many times before: students come, get disappointed – but persist, and then in time they learn what they have to know. One just has to be persistent and not pay too much attention on what keeps them stacked.

So, here is what I noticed; what makes the difference between those who are good dancers and those who, unfortunately, are not?

What good dancers do, and beginners often forget?

1. They don’t sweat the small mistakes
2. They are aware that improvement takes time
3. They use their dancing as a mean to an end
4. They think about tango and are often passionately opinionated

Let’s go through them one by one 🙂

1. They don’t sweat the small mistakes

I hear “I’m sorry!” on the dance floor too often. I know that beginners are questioning everything they do and that they are trying to avoid mistakes. And, in a sense that’s OK, but one of the lesson they must learn is that tango is like kissing: you must learn to enjoy it, not analyze it!

Or, as Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino) in the “Scent of the woman” said:

“No mistakes in the tango, darling, not like life. Simple. That’s what makes the tango so great. You make a mistake, you get all tangled up, just tango on.”

I must say that I’m also often guilty for over-analyzing: students often expect me to give them feedback when we do classes or practicas and I guess analyzing instead of enjoying became a habit.

A bad one, I must add.

Hey, sorry to interrupt…

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2. They’re aware that improvement takes time

Well, most of what we call “good dancers” don’t necessarily visit workshops and take classes all the time. In fact, they consider that they learned the most important stuff and there isn’t a real urgency to spend time and energy on learning. But, this doesn’t mean that they don’t improve.

In my opinion they improve in three ways:

• they usually dance with the best partners, which helps them get their dancing to new levels;
• they dance a lot: they often spend on the dance floor more than 10 hours per week;
• they visualize: this isn’t hard, since many are obsessed with dancing – imagination gives them ideas about new stuff that they would love to try.

Of course, when they set on a goal to learn something new, they practice a lot, with partner or by themselves – but I believe that most of the new knowledge comes by dancing a lot. The quantity, when you learn the basic techniques well, brings quality.

3. They use tango as a mean to an end

I know, many are there FOR the dance, but trust me, even those DO go beyond the dance. There is no tango if you are not able to connect and that is what makes good dancers so amazing. Tango is just a form and it’s up to you to fill it with meaning. Without this content it becomes an empty shell. Cold. Distant. Technical.

Social tango is a human interaction, not an art form. It’s not a sport as well.

Just like you can use talking over a coffee to get to know a new interesting person, tango offers a different form to do the same. What would that coffee with a friend look like if he/she is closed, distant and absent? I bet both will want to finish it as soon as it’s polite to live.

4. They think about tango and are often passionately opinionated

Don’t make a mistake, this is not the reason why they are so good – this is just a result of their passion. They have their favorite orchestras and dislike others; they pay attention to this stuff, and don’t worry about something else; they love to dance with these types of partners, and not others…

I strongly believe that this immersion is the reason for all those debates we witness in the tango communities around the world. Some dancers are more, other less vocal, but, trust me, most of them have their strong opinions.

And if the debate is civilized and respectful, that’s not bad. In fact, it’s good to have variety of opinions and this inspires many to dig deeper bellow the surface.

So, what do you think? Can my observations help some of the dancers? Do you (like me) make some of the mistakes I am talking about?