Two teachers talk trends and tangos.

Vickie Sheer, executive director and past president of Dance Educators of America, misses quality in today's jazz classes. Sheer, who taught for thirty-seven years in New York City, feels that: "Trendy dances are too primitive. Teachers don't pass on the legacy of jazz and theater dance when they don't teach solid jazz technique as well as the trendy styles.

"Teachers gave up their experience, authority, and knowledge in the 1960s when students and school administrators, instead of teachers, decided upon the courses of study. Short-term study, whatever the dance form, does not benefit the dancer in the long run."

Sheer continues: "Examples are missing. The younger generation does not have the opportunity to see, except occasionally in old Hollywood musical films, a wide variety of theater dance in all its elegance, joy, and sophistication." How can dancers earn a living, parents and students want to know, if they don't know the latest trendy styles? "I know that's been said before," Sheer continues, "but it is still true: With a solid and extensive background in jazz technique, a dancer is better able to adapt to new styles, to work in revivals, and to have a longer, more fulfilling career. Short-term training is of no value. It only leads to a short-term job, if you're lucky."

Sheer doesn't omit praise for the small schools throughout the country that still perpetuate the jazz tradition. And, according to Dance Magazine College Guide, eighteen colleges and universities now teach major courses in musical theater dance.

Hector Zaraspe, faculty member at the Juilliard School, and formerly a ballet master of Joffrey Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera, has had an equally active professional career in Latin America. Born in Argentina, Zaraspe performed with Ballet Nacional de Caracas, then became artistic director of Ballet Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro and choreographed for several South American opera companies.

Tango Pasion, with Zaraspe's choreography, opened last year on Broadway, toured the U.S., closed for revisions in Argentina, then reopened in Europe. His task as choreographer was to devise group choreography for dancers who had worked only as couples.

"Tangos are the national social dance of Argentina," Zaraspe says, "based upon the Spanish habanera. with gaucho, African, and European flavoring. It is individual, performed by couples of mixed or same sex, complicated, syncopated, and sophisticated." It has been described as a sad feeling that can be danced and, like ballroom dance, provides work for professionals in nightclubs, cabarets, and festivals. Tango couples teach and travel throughout Latin America."

After skipping a generation numbed by disco and rock, the tango has returned as a craze for young dancers in Argentina and the United States. Yearly tango competitions take place in Columbus, Ohio; Milongas--tango parties--are popular in San Francisco and Queens, New York; and the dance has become the rage in Finland, where emotions are traditionally frozen except when thawed by the steamy, permissive intimacy of a tango.

FOOTNOTES

* For those with a good background in jazz dance, the Paris Jazz Dance International Competition is the place to be seen. The concours take place May 21, 22, and 23. Deadline for registration is April 30. Write: Janette Pidoux, Groupe International des 8, 17 rue Nelaton, Paris 75015, France. * The Walt Disney Company has established the Sharon Disney Lund Scholarship in Dance to provide tuition for six to ten students at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). This private school offers a four-year BFA and MFA degree. Write: Cristyne Lawson, Dean, School of Dance, CalArts, 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355. * The American Ballet Competition, a nonprofit organization, assists dancers who wish to enter international competitions by providing administrative and financial stipends, artistic advice, and other forms of support. Applications are now being taken for assistance to enter the Varna Competition (July 15-30), held yearly in Bulgaria. For information: write F. Randolph Swartz, Dance Affiliates, American Ballet Competition, P.O. Box 328, Philadelphia, PA 19105; [phone] or [phone]. * Still paying a license fee for classroom use of records, tapes, or CDs under ASCAP or BMI copyright? Still being harassed by their representatives? Be sure to use Roper, Hoctor, or Stanford recordings. Their composers do not relinquish the right for a fee for public performance, but do permit classroom use without a license for their works. Be sure to check the legal usage indicated on the label of all music you buy.