Hi Eric, thanks for your comments. I’ll do my best to distill & clarify what the definition of Organic Tango is to me…as well as a couple of other concepts. Here I go:
Organic Tango: It is a philosophy that embodies Cristina and my tango experiences to date (which has evolved many times throughout the years). It is not a style but a way of approaching one’s dance and perhaps finding your own style. If it helps prospective students understand Cristina and I as teachers better then it can also be said to be a marketing tool for that purpose. In my experience there are those who get it and those who don’t. So, this philosophy, in a way, is a natural filter for those who wish to study with us and those who don’t. I don’t think I can be more clear, however, I would be willing to sit down and discuss (Skype, etc) the subject in detail…maybe even a web seminar?
On the subject of Nuevo: I’ve remained purposefully quiet since I have strong feelings about its use as a categorical style (same goes for Villa Urquiza, etc). You may remember that Tete was initially against calling his style “Milonguero” because it had a negative connotation? Gustavo Naveira in the same light initially did not want to call his structural analysis of the dance ‘Nuevo’ style.
As a general rule, I don’t subscribe to categorical styles but personal ones instead. Having said that, I try to respect the human need to divide things into categorical boxes for better understanding. Also, in final analysis, there are those who dance well in a connected, musical, socially aware manner, and those who don’t. It doesn’t matter what style they represent.
On the subject of buzzwords: In our personal style of teaching, Cristina and I have assimilated many analogies and colorful expressions. The ones that appear to be most helpful in the memory retention/learning process are the ones that we’ve kept using and building on. We are always very clear that this is our way of describing ideas and that each teacher has their own.
I hope this gives you a little more insight into (Cristina and) my thought process? Perhaps what we need is an all-weekend event designed to discuss this and many more tango ideas (perhaps following certain rules of civility/reserve)? I believe such a function is long overdue.
Hugs to all, Homer
