Wednesday, October 13, 2010

tango "rules"

There has been a considerable discussion recently on Tango-L e-mail list about the line of dance (LOD) rules. Of course, that discussion is nothing new, it comes and goes periodically. At some point, I made the following comment (in part):

When people know how to dance, strictly following line of dance rule is meaningless, because you end up dancing with other pairs on the floor co-creating a symbiotic dance of the whole group - that's when the whole new horizon of dancing opens up.
And then someone replied with (notice the sarcasm):
Yep, just like the hoons and smart-arses that grace our motorways. They all know how to drive. They think they know how to drive better than everybody else on the motorway. They're much too skilled to have to obey road rules. They're just exceptional people. Weaving in and out demonstrates their free spirit and their command of space and time. Oh, the sheer joy of sharing a motorway with them. The peace it brings to body and mind. It's a privilege to be in their company. Seems they can't understand that driving a vehicle and driving a vehicle on a motorway are entirely different. Being skilled at one doesn't mean skilled at the other. I suggest cautious driving allows one to enjoy the beauty of the scenery.
I was seriously tempted to reply to the reply, but then thought better and decided to leave it alone.

Here is an interesting twist, though. I noticed that in all Latin-american countries I visited (Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brasil, Argentina) rules of driving, especially in the cities, are not strictly adhered to. For example, it is very common in Buenos Aires to see 5 or even 6 lanes of traffic on the street marked for just four. And those lanes dynamically change. People shift in and out all the time and all is well - I have not seen a single accident.

The issue is, I observed, that drivers are fully aware of all other participants and drive defensively but decisively. I have not seen anger displayed as it is often the case on our streets and highways where everyone follows the rules.

I wonder if there is a lesson hidden in there somewhere.