Monday, November 14, 2011

teaching during a milonga

Most of us are aware of the no-no habit of some of us to teach as the dance goes on during a milonga. I absolutely distaste it and would not do it even if my dance partner asks for it. I am there to dance, not to teach. On top of that, I am aware of the disturbance such behavior may create for other dancers.

Well, this past Saturday, at the milonga I and "team Pavadita" host in Gainesville, i observed a flagrant violation of this code. A man, known to like to be "helpful" to his partner by offering an advice while dancing, stopped right in front of me (I was DJ-ing) for a lengthy period of time (it seemed like forever, but was probably something like 20 seconds) explaining something about a giro. The two stood apart and he was explaining, she was listening, others were either waiting or trying to squeeze by. I was about to intervene as they moved on and I felt relieved since I really did not want to create a scene.

During the same song, I saw them stop at the other end of the floor, apparently involved in the same sort of activity. I decided I, as a host, had to intervene. So, I waited for the end of tanda and for the couple to separate and go back to their seats before I approached our man and told him to please not teach during the dance since it disturbs the flow of traffic. He did not take this well.

An hour or so later, I approached him again while he was at his table, suggesting to him that my intervention was not a personal matter but a matter of a host making sure that the dancers have a comfortable environment to dance in. He continued arguing how I was wrong, etc.....

The whole incident was quite unfortunate, but I feel I have to intervene in the interest of the whole group.