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August 02, 2008

Levels (again)

This festival in Stockholm has an interestingly thorough and verbose way to define dancers' level of dance competence. They hope that dancers will enroll in workshops that have an appropriate level of difficulty. But, looking at the teachers (e.g., Arce / Montes), I think a lot would depend on the teachers you have studied with, and the style of dancing you do. According to this standard, I doubt that there are very many tango dancers of level 5 in the U.S. Even many people who teach tango are not at this level. Tango 59° Stockholm City

Levels

We urge you to be sensible when assessing your own level. Please read the following very carefully.

The level suitable for most participants who honestly can say to themselves that they are good at tango is Level 3.

Please do not assume that having attended Advanced level classes with other arrangers means that you should automatically choose classes on Level 4 or even 5. Level 4 is already higher than Advanced with many other arrangers.

Given the precision of the descriptions below, we are confident that it will be easy to find your appropriate level. However, if your first day at Tango 59 Degrees reveals otherwise, we will be happy to assist you in finding another level which better corresponds to your standard of dancing.

Level 1

You have no prior experience of tango, or have perhaps attended a few introductions before practicas.
Level 2
You have danced for at least six months to a year or more, 2-3 times a week. You are working on the fundamental techniques, and think you are getting quite good at them.
Level 3

You are an experienced social dancer. You feel entirely comfortable with the basics and are working on intermediate tango elements and some more advanced stuff, in both open and close embrace. It is quite natural for you to adapt your style of dancing to different orchestras. You have been dancing tango regularly, by which we mean at least 2-3 times a week, for at least 2 to 3 years or longer.
Level 4
You are a very experienced dancer who feels equally confident in tango, vals and milonga. You have excellent balance and technique and dance with equal comfort in both close and open position. You really enjoy dancing on very crowded floors and never collide with, unsettle or disturb other couples. You have visited several tango festivals outside your country of residence, and have been dancing tango regularly, at least 2-3 times a week, for 4-5 years or longer.

For the few:

Level 5
You are very advanced, even when considered on an international level. You master all elements mentioned for Level 4 and have gone beyond them. You are able to analyse complicated movements and combinations of movements at a single glance. You have certainly been dancing tango frequently over a very long period of time.

Posted by joegrohens at August 2, 2008 08:54 AM

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