8/5/98
In a mythical journey the hero (prince, knight, cobbler’s son, tango dancer, whatever) goes off on a quest for love, money or fame. He must cross rivers, scale mountains, overcome demons (monsters, ogres, trolls, dragons, witches, cold northern winds). After he has reached his goal, he never has to return home. The outward journey is a metaphor for his inward journey. When his inward journey is complete, he will instantly be home. I think learning tango is a mythical journey. Each person must make the journey into unknown territories of their own mind and body. There will probably be hardships and fearful obstacles. Sometimes the obstacles will be great, and the Traveler will need a warrior’s spirit to overcome them. Each traveler will need the assistance of one or more Teachers.
If learning tango seems like such a journey, maybe we can talk about learning tango from the aspect of the mythological journey. It makes sense to me.
The Traveler sets out from home on a path through the woods. He is advised to seek help wherever he can find it, but he must make the trip on his own. His Teachers can’t make the trip for him. After a while he comes to a clearing in the woods, where a Woodsman lives. The Traveler may decide to greet the Woodsman and ask for directions and advice. The Woodsman may be beneficial. He may know much about the woods, and offer to teach the Traveler all he knows. The Traveler may choose to stay in the clearing and study with the Woodsman for awhile. At some time, after he has learned enough from the Woodsman, the Traveler may decide to continue with his journey, or forsake his journey and stay with the Woodsman, or return to his home, or not to make a decision yet. If he decides to continue on his quest, he must take whatever he has learned, and leave the Woodsman behind.
It is possible that the Woodsman may not be beneficial. The Traveler must figure this out. The Woodsman may actually be a demon in disguise. Or maybe he is only half-beneficial. Maybe the Woodsman is actually just pretending to be a Woodsman for his own reasons.
The Traveler must always decide if the things he is learning are useful or not. Sometimes the Woodsman may try to persuade the Traveler to take a different path. The Traveler must decide where he wants to go, and which path will take him there.
Susana Miller was an important teacher for me. She showed me a way to dance that I immediately found compelling. I studied with her and learned much. Then she began to insist that I take a different path than the one I had in mind. She believed that her path was the one I should take. I realized that I must chose between her path and mine and, of course, I chose mine. If you change your path only because of the Teacher's influence, maybe you should think about your motivation.
You may learn things from a Woodsman that he does not intend to teach. Some of my best teachers taught more by example than by intention. Pablo Veron was also an important teacher for me, although I had only one and a half classes with him. In the first class he slowly, gently and expertly eased us into a very appealing and challenging step sequence. It was a very well taught class. In the second class he showed blatant disrespect for us, his students. I didn’t want to have a teacher like that, so I never went back to him. However, I learned from him that I could dance loosely with my partner, and still have complete communication with her. I learned it by watching him dance, and I doubt if he intended to teach me that.
Learning and teaching are not the same thing. One can exist without the other. The length of time that you study, or the number of teachers that you have, is not important. A Traveler may study with one or more woodsmen for years, and still not learn anything. If I travel with someone, I don’t care who his teachers were. I only care what skills he has in the woods.
Some people do not take any paths. They chose to stay where they are. They may be able to provide something for travelers, or maybe they are simply content.
In any case, everyone chooses a path or no path, then lives with the result of their choice. You can change your mind anytime you want to, but the results of your prior choices may continue to effect your life.
New stuff begins here.
8/19/98
Learning Versus Teaching
The Woodsman may say "If you want to go to the north, there is the path to take". If the Traveler wants to go to the north, and trusts the Woodsman, then the Traveler should take the path. If the Traveler is not ready to take the path, the Woodsman may train him in the necessary knowledge and physical skills, and may give him the necessary emotional support, but there comes a time when the Traveler must go. If the Woodsman gives the Traveler all the necessary preparation, but the Traveler still does not go, then the Woodsman may ask himself, or the Traveler, if he has done a good enough job of preparing the Traveler. If the answer is "Yes", then there is nothing more the Woodsman can do. The Woodsman cannot go for the Traveler.
Of course, if the Woodsman is not interested in sending the Traveler on his way, then he may continue to teach the Traveler forever. If the Traveler prefers to be a student instead, then he may decide to keep studying, and forsake traveling.
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