Definitely yes. I talk about it all the time in my classes, and I always encourage my students to work on it. The center is indeed the center of any budo.
It may be confusing to beginners, but it still needs to be introduced early on. It is the way to an aikido that is so much more than self-defense or a series of complicated techniques.
I could go on and on about the subject...
Instead, here is what I wrote about it on my website:
http://www.stenudd.com/aikido/tanden.htm