Teacher Symposiums are a mixture of lessons, lecture, anecdotes, stories, and q & a. Each symposiym can be tailored to meet group needs, and individual sessions run 1.5 to 2 hrs. Trainings usually include classes by Daniel open to the public, with trainees participating as assistants; closed groups sessions for teachers in training, and labs with volunteer students from the local tango community, where trainees can teach for the group, and get direct feedback on their teaching skills from Daniel and their peers.
Elements of the training:
1- Experiential Anatomy for Tango
Part 1- Safe alignment for solo movement, and how to utilize it for duets.
Part 2- Connection and Embrace
Part 3- The Anatomy of Lead and Follow- shared proprioception
Part 4- Adapting safe alignment to the high heeled shoe.
2- Gender Roles and Tango Training
What is traditional tango training? How does it relate to the situation faced in the tango’s modern revival? What is radical or new about pedagogy in this modern revival? Why is this area so crucial to good tango pedagogy?
3- Beginning tango for Leads and Follows- A session on Tango’s default vocabularies for teachers of beginners.
Sub section: Beginning Tango for different age groups… middle school, high school, college, seniors…
4- Advanced elements. (endless material to choose from- how much time do we have? what is our focus?)
Part 1- adornment and musicality for followers.
Part 2- architecture and creativity for leaders
Part 3- deepening the conversation between lead and follow
Part 4- moving towards an Exchange of Lead and Follow
5- Teacher’s symposium. A facilitated conversation about our experiences in the field, with feedback from Daniel.
6- Teacher’s Practicum. Participants lead short sections of class material which they have prepared in advance. Discussion follows. (Here we need to decide how much we would like to ask of them before the training… and here we may want to ask for a group of volunteer students from your regular students…)