The point of learning by exploration is that you will make more meaningful connections between previous experience and new ideas if you can come upon them yourself.  My Tango teacher would call this an ‘organic’ method (which I never appreciated at the time).  I find it easier to relate to this kind of knowledge thru a story so here’s my parable that has nothing to do with Tango.

*fade out, and back in with a soft lens*

I was building a roost for my hens.  By this point I had been gifted some power tools, but no one had ever shown me how to use them.  My first few attempts at chicken-centric building were fairly disastrous (one day I came home to find the flock on my roof) but I was going to try again.  As I was measuring and cutting, I noticed I had an odd end piece of wood left over.  I figured I shouldn’t waste it, and looking at my roost I saw it could almost fit diagonally between an upright and a lintel.   So I shaved off a corner and voila!  No one told me that bracing at 45 degree angles was a solid structural idea, but my roost survived the week and I started doing it on other projects.  Had I gotten that information as received knowledge the odds are that I would have forgotten.  Stumbling onto something on your own lasts a lifetime.

*the lens clears as you return to something dance related*

This is something that you can look for in a good lesson.  Often the “point” isn’t apparent at the beginning, just a warm-up dance or two that slowly morph into an unfamiliar movement.  But it is intriguing, and while novel the movement doesn’t feel bad.  You check yourself in the mirror and it even looks pretty cool as well.  Now that you’ve had a chance to explore there is greater meaning in your new-found skill, and the Explanation is something you almost ask for (instead of almost sleeping thru).

It is with mixed feelings that I make this announcement.  Our Wednesday night Milonga will be leaving Casa Vicente after October 16^th.  It has been a wonderful run, of over eight years, but after working the numbers time and again it has become apparent that there isn’t room for enough dancers to make a Milonga bring in the revenue needed.

The Wednesday night Milonga will go on, and for those of us old enough to remember we have survived worse.  I am scouting new locations over the next two weeks, and hope to have no break in our continuity.  I would like to invite you to come and share a bittersweet moment tonight, or next week, on the dance floor.  The ambiance at Casa Vicente will be hard to match.

I think Chaucer said it best in The Knight’s Tale:

Daniela has been dancing almost her whole life.  After receiving her MFA in dance and choreography from ASU in 2000 she started teaching Argentine Tango.  Daniela has taught classes and workshops as far away as New York and Massachusetts, as well as in every state along the Mexican border.  In 2012 she and her partner Rommel won 2nd place in the USA Argentine Tango Salon Championships!  Daniela is also certified in Restorative Exercise, and brings her knowledge of bio-mechanics to every class she teaches.

To make the weekend special, we are straying from some of the traditional workshop formats.  All the classes on Saturday will be size capped at three couples.  This allows Daniela to work with you in a more focused setting, and will ensure that you get the most out of the classes that you take.  There will be technique and style work along with the more familiar step-pattern knowledge.  Saturday evening Daniela will be joined by Rommel to teach the pre-Milonga class at the Sheraton, and they will do an improvised demo as well.  On Sunday there will be a follower’s technique class with a playful figure and some RES work to round out the Tango weekend.

To register for Saturday’s semi-private classes, contact Erik (you can use the form to the side of the page) with time slot desired and partner/group information.  For Sunday’s class or advance Milonga tickets, you can use the paypal button below.