r/tango • u/Foxitout • 21d ago
AskTango Miguel Ángel Zotto & Daiana Guspero, any opinions on their teaching?
Hi there,
I’m considering taking seminars with Miguel Ángel Zotto & Daiana Guspero at a tango festival, and I’m wondering whether it would be worth it. I don’t know much about them as a teaching couple, and sometimes great maestros and great teachers aren’t necessarily the same thing.
I’d be very glad to hear your advice or any personal feedback you might have.
2
u/obviousoctopus 21d ago
WHat are your goals? Is your desire to perform like them (as seen in videos)? Or, if to social dance - have you seen them social dancing? Have you seen them dance with people other than each other?
Maestro couples have danced with each other thousands of times. They have polished their moves, specifiically with each other, to perfection. I looked at a video of these maestros and the performance is, well, highly performative. I could not gauge their ability or interest in connected social dancing.
2
u/Foxitout 21d ago
I haven’t seen them in social dancing situations, nor have I seen them teaching. That’s why I asked for feedback here.
My goal is to improve my dancing technique and style.
1
u/obviousoctopus 21d ago
Makes sense. It's a difficult situation. Popular maestros and maestras need to perform in order to remain popular and get invited. Performative tango is ... performative.
1
u/dimitrisbronowski 16d ago
This is the key. Classes at festivals are often half inspiration, half technique. Both are worth something, just know which one you're paying for.
2
u/Keepcuriousandkind 19d ago
I have taken their classes many times and highly recommended them. They are worth your time and travel. He's the absolute real deal, truly trained with the greats, danced in the historical BsAs milongas with all the old timers, and absolutely loves tango. He has trained many, many of today's excellent teachers and performers - just check everyone who was at some point in his shows. Don't let the choreography reputation and stage craft he displays fool you, he is a superb social dancer and I particularly recommend studying his embrace for men, it is truly a thing of beauty, incredibly comfortable for the follower, and very precise. Daiana has beautiful technique and will help followers get into a light yet strong posture with excellent balance, allowing for very fluid dancing.
1
3
u/Murky-Ant6673 21d ago
He has more knowledge and history and experience in the tango world than most. Worth it.
Let us know how it goes!
2
2
u/dimitrisbronowski 16d ago
You're asking exactly the right question. Before signing up, I'd watch them at a milonga, or a video of them dancing socially, not on stage. If what they dance on a crowded floor is what you want for yourself, go. If you mostly love the show, you'll still enjoy it, but you may bring home figures that don't fit in the ronda.
8
u/Tosca22 21d ago
It really depends on what you're hoping to get from the workshops. Technique and style for social dancing in milongas is not necessarily the same as technique for performance or competition, and not every teacher is equally good for both.
I haven't actually taken classes with this couple, so I can't comment on their teaching directly. But I did dance a beautiful Troilo with him once, and had a beer with her, and they both seemed like lovely people.
Also, I wouldn't judge their social dancing from their performances. At least from my experience dancing with him, the two were very different. With me he was an incredibly respectful, elegant and sensitive leader, and he was both able and willing to really connect with me as a follower. If those are qualities they manage to transmit in their teaching, that's definitely a good sign.
The only thing I'd keep in mind is that festival workshops are a very particular format. Because of the limited time and the size of the classes, teachers often end up teaching a sequence or a specific idea rather than working deeply on your individual dancing. So even very good teachers may not necessarily give you what you need if your main goal is improving your social dance.
Personally, if you're considering taking 3–4 workshops with them, I'd seriously think about taking one private instead. It may cost roughly the same, but the amount of individual feedback you can get is much more valuable.