I've taken classes from dozens of tango teachers since 1995. Many of them are good teachers, and I've learned a lot from them. However, Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas are my current study focus--and they are coming to Oregon next week!!!!!
I started to study with Oscar in 2000. I was in Buenos Aires, working on my M.A. thesis fieldwork. My boyfriend at the time insisted that I go to his teacher's dance class. "He's amazing!" Yeah, yeah, everyone thinks their favorite teacher is amazing. I went along to class, only to discover that Oscar WAS amazing. Here was an international tango star, teaching tango in somebody's apartment living room for 8 pesos a class, to a bunch of earnest young Argentines. He approached every class with 150% enthusiasm, encouragement and good energy.
Oscar completely changed the way that I taught tango. I had never thought about tango being about energy. Oscar taught me to move my body and my legs with a lot of energy, drawing it up out of the earth to stay grounded. He taught me drills to improve my walk, my ochos, my turns, my boleos, my adornos, my milonga--he had an exercise for everything. His technique was well-thought-out, clear, and offered with encouragement and smiles: "Very good, Ely! Very good! Now, I want you to do it THIS way!"
I came away from his classes with a new commitment to tango and a new confidence in my ability to reach my goals. I returned to teaching with new tools to help my students learn more easily. I learned to put 150% into a class in order to get 100% back from my students, and to feel grateful that I was allowed to do what I love as work.
I tried to get Oscar to come to Eugene, but he needed a minimum earning guarantee that I, as a graduate student, could not promise. Then, in 2007, I heard he would be in Portland. I was SO excited! I put it on my calendar, make arrangements for a babysitter, and counted down the days. Four days before the workshop, my father died, and I flew home.
In 2008, I received an email: would I be willing to host Oscar and his new partner, Georgina Vargas. Would I???!!!! I set up workshops in Eugene and Portland, and hosted them for a week. It was wonderful. When do you meet international stars who do their own dishes, help shop for dinner, and grill steaks on the parilla for you while you make salad? They brought energy and joy into my house, along with a whirlwind week of tango.
"What I want," I said, "Is a more elegant tango. I know a lot about tango, I feel that I am a good teacher, but my dance just doesn't look as elegant as I'd like."
"We can fix that!" said Oscar. They videotaped me dancing, made me watch it (eek), and took my dance apart to the ground floor. During that week, I practiced and got feedback; took lessons and went out dancing; and talked about tango styles. At the end of the week, they gave me exercises to do daily, and promised to pick up from there in October.
Oscar and Georgina returned for Tangofest in the fall. I hosted them for a week again, soaking up information and working hard on my tango. They praised the progress I had made, gave me additional exercises, and again refined my new styling to make it look and feel better.
The main differences I've noticed in my dancing are my lack of pain and the smoothness of my dance. After a night of dancing, I feel great. My feet don't hurt anymore. My back and arms can survive even a difficult leader. My adornos feel strong. My walk feels sensual. I feel that they gave me information that no one else ever had.
They rock my world, and they'll be here two weeks this summer so that we can take classes, practice, get a checkup, and make goals for our tango year.
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