Don't think in terms of breaking rules or adhering to tradition. Focus on what you want to accomplish. Whether you embrace convention or rebel against it doesn't matter as long as the course that you choose fulfills your vision.
And above all, permit others to follow the course that appeals to them.
Occasionally we hear or read dogmatic pronouncements about how Argentine tango should be danced, how it should be taught, what music counts as real tango, etc. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but rigid adherence to an idea isn't always helpful to our development or the development of the community.
I'm not a youngster. I remember rotary phones and black-and-white TV. I remember when basketball was played below the rim and high jumpers jumped face down. I remember shopping on Main Street when there weren't any shopping malls. I remember when 3-D movies were considered a historic novelty.
Times change. Progress happens. Change has as much impacts in the arts as it does in life. The tango of 2033 won't look like the tango of 2013 or 1993 or 1973 or 1933.
Trends shift. Ideas emerge and practices evolve. We can choose any blend of traditionalism or modernism that appeals to us - that's one of the great freedoms afforded to us by the arts - but there are no grounds for disparaging those who choose to follow a different path. Criticizing others for dancing or teaching in a different style comes across as sophomoric. Even desperate.
One night we much choose to dance in a modern style. The next night we can dance in the style of the golden age of tango. At our next practice we can explore brand new ideas. This is called freedom, and we all possess that freedom.
Don't disparage others for dancing a different tango than the one that you prefer. Follow your vision and enjoy the fact that you are free to do so. And never let anyone tell you that your style is inferior or out of favor. Such comments reflect the character of the critic rather than that of the dancer.
Freedom.
Think about that word.
Freedom.
Tango is freedom.
Times will change. WE will change. The dance will change. And we are free to embrace the Argentine tango in all of its history, in all of its beauty, in all of its forms, traditional and emerging.
¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!
Daniel
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