Testimonials about Tom's Teaching
January 15, 2006
T om is a fantastic teacher who breaks Argentine Tango down into manageable bites of information, and builds the students' knowledge from the ground up. During his last visit I saw people with zero Argentine Tango knowledge dancing beautifully after only one week of instruction. His workshops are a must for students of all levels, and we are very lucky to have him here again on Maui. I would urge all aspiring Tango dancers to take the opportunity of going to every one of Tom's classes. [AM, Maui, HI]
T om Stermitz's workshops were extremely well received. The large attendance made for excellent social energy which Tom gracefully and expertly utilized. His approach focused on rhythm and connection, all the while maintaining an atmosphere which made learning easy and fun. By the milonga on Saturday night the results of the workshops were already apparent--many women were seen on the floor, their eyes closed, dancing with a little smile on their face. Tom's beginners lesson on Saturday was also inspiring to many first-time dancers. It was exciting to see their enthusiasm as many of them stayed after the lesson to dance during the milonga. [Ann Arbor, MI]
M y partner and I would like to thank you once again for the first rate instruction in workshops and private lessons we experienced with you in St Louis this past weekend. We attended the workshops because we wanted to learn about close embrace tango and have had very little instruction in this style of tango. We expected it to be interesting and educational, but we never expected that we would come away from the trip with a new and refreshing view of tango. All of our previous exposures to milonguero/club-style tango have been built around the salida - cruzada - resolucion structure, and very little musicality was emphasized. You changed out view of tango structure, partner connection, and musicality. Thus, our expectations were greatly exceeded, something that is rare indeed. We had almost given up interest in attending workshops because most we have attended have been step catalogues (little of which we have retained). Yours were so different. We also saw that the only way you can teach navigation in small spaces is with a large crowd. [St Louis, MO]
I had a great time Thursday nite. Your tango instruction makes tango very approachable and non-threatening. Your karma swept in a whole slew of new people. The small dance space made everyone feel intimate and cozy and precluded the swooping of dying tango swans who gobble up all the floor space. I see why this works, it will be difficult to maintain here, since many of our male dancers have been fed the steady diet of figures and stage tango dramatics. Can they give up this fix? I am not sure. One thing people in general do not understand in Cleveland and maybe other places too, tango is not a dance of looks but of feelings. I think there is an inverse relationship between how good the dance looks to people and how good it feels to the dancers. When dancers are showing off their skills to onlookers, there usually is not a lot of sentiment in the dance itself. [Cleveland, OH]
I am still "thrilling" from last Monday's lesson! Dancing to Pugliese was a huge thrill. I was dancing, in real life, the dances that I have been doing in my imagination: dances with musicality and drama and sensitivity. I think that Monday afternoon marks another mile-stone in my tango. This event speaks to your teaching method and perspective which we both appreciate. [AF. Denver, CO]
W hat you did for our community was the kindest instruction you could have given us. As the Buddhists say beat me with kindness. You would not have been your best if you had of pampered us. [Mendocino, CA]
Y ou have had a significant and lasting effect on me, Tom, and I wonder why and how that is. The improvement in my dancing was immediate after that one lesson in Denver, and I feel that it's taken another leap after this weekend. (I think of my dancing as "BT" and "AT"! LOL) This has not happened with any other teachers or dance partners. Not that I haven't been helped by other people, but my connection with you has been transforming. Being the analytic type that I am, I naturally have been trying to figure out your "techniques", and what you are doing in your teaching. But maybe a good connection defies analysis. [Cleveland, OH]
J ust wanted to tell you that it is lovely to watch you teach those kids in such a gentle, pleasant, and refreshingly unassuming way. There is obviously an enormous amount of thought, and work, and experience behind the seemingly easy & playful methods you apply. I am amazed how subtly you expose them to far more advanced concepts than they might ever know! [Boulder, CO]
T om was great! Tom's class really helped me work through my inability to syncopate as well as other navigation and close embrace problems. I really feel that I have advanced on a fundamental level. [Ann Arbor, MI]
