Cabeceo ….. the subtle game of pursuit

Having been immersed in the tradition of Buenos Aires milongas, I still feel compelled to use the ‘cabeceo’. Cruising around the milongas with hand outstretched is not for me, nor creeping up on unsuspecting women with a tap on the shoulder. Such a public display of authority will quickly change to one of abject humiliation if the object of my desire replies with a sharp, “No thanks”!

What now? Slink back to my chair and become as small a target of sniggers as possible, or repeat the clumsy request with another woman … who now knows full well that she’s ‘second best’?

After all, she had every right to slam the door in my face – she mightn’t know how well ……. or badly, I dance. Or perhaps she does, and is looking after HER reputation in the milonga. Who’s going to give her a second look if she’s subjected to 10 or 12 minutes of stumbling around, avoiding mis-directed back sacadas and stepping to a beat that barely resembles what the orchestra is pumping out?

But wait a minute - I know I’m better than that. I also know that women have music they love to dance to and other pieces that they hate – just like I do. All the more reason for them not to look my way when some music is playing, but if it’s Canaro, Di Sarli, Donato, Malerba, D’Arienzo, Rodriguez, etc., then I’d expect any woman who wants to dance with me to at least give me a glance.

Often, if I’m sitting with a lady I’ll invite her to dance, but how would I know when other potential partners are available and want to dance with me? The glance – that’s it; then a nod - no more. Of course, I know better than to interrupt a woman when she’s deep in conversation! But if the music lights her fire, then she’ll chat AND scan ….. She wants to dance!

So, when does my cabeceo start? In a sense, it starts as soon as I see dancers on the floor at a milonga. I watch and work out which women I’d like to dance with – their technique, embrace, musicality, poise: some or all of those. Then I wait … for the right music. I take a long hard look at a woman I’d like to dance with. If our eyes connect, then it’s onto the dance-floor to connect with each other and the music.

Bob

Some recent BsAs milonga photos

Just loaded up some snaps taken at Buenos Aires milongas a few weeks ago.

Our very talented and renowned teacher, Aurora Lúbiz, introduced us to Sin Rumbo, a historic milonga in Villa Urquiza. Driving home in the wee hours, Aurora explained the significance of the place. This unassuming neighbourhood milonga, full of classy dancers - young and old, is where some of the great names of tango learned about the dance. At that time, there were no tango teachers as we know them. As very young dancers of other disciplines (ballet, folkloric, etc.) they would take the bus for over one hour across the BsAs metropolis to learn from locals like Julio Duplaa - an elegant dancer who has been running the Friday night milonga for around 40 years. At these informal practicas, young dancers like Aurora, Jorge Firpo, Pablo Verón, Lorena Ermocida, etc. first learned to dance tango. After the practicas they would journey home again by bus, where they would practise till the early hours and make sense of the dance which would later take over their lives & careers, and become a worldwide obsession.

It was also great to catch up our friends, Gustavo Benzecry Sabá, author of Embracing tango and María Olivera at their haunt, Salon Canning. Despite having returned that day from teaching in the USA for a couple of months, there they were at the milonga, exhausted but still dancing! They are great believers in totally improvised tango, including for their performances. This video shot at the Portland Tangofest is a perfect example. The unfortunate DJ experienced major technical problems: their selected music would not load up properly , and when it started playing, the speed was variable, so in the end, he just threw on something else. Their milonga performance brought the house down.

Dru and Roger from Adelaide experienced Club Sunderland for the first time. Yes, it is held in a brightly lit basketball stadium, but the organisers always arrange a high quality couple to perform for the crowd. But to be honest, I reckon the regulars are more interested in just dancing. Still if you are lucky, you might see the likes of Javier Rodriguez and Andrea Missé.

We were treated to a less traditional performance at La Baldosa, with Miguel and Augusto, organisers of La Marshall, the gay milonga at Maipu 444. The crowd at La Baldosa, which I would have thought was quite conservative, loved them.

Finally, a couple of shots of the gorgeous Teatro Maipó, taken after the brilliant show with the orchestra Sexteto Mayor celebrating their 35 years!

It's good to be home, but a few more weeks there would have been better.
Pat.

More on Buenos Aires milongas

Attending milongas as a single opens one to new experiences with unfamiliar partners: adjustment to the new body, style, musicality - not unlike getting to know someone in conversation, actually.

As a follower, I find that allowing myself to be at one with my partner and the music for a tanda, means I feel like a different dancer each time, expressing myself differently with every new leader. Such is the experience of the entrega. Bob's experience is not dissimilar. His partner's embrace will tell him whether certain movements are likely to be feasible, eg. an unchanging embrace will limit possibilities for turns - without diminishing the dance. After all, the enjoyment of the tanda comes primarily through the connection with one's partner and the music.

As a single, your seating at a milonga makes a difference to how easy eye contact is for the cabeceo - singles who are regulars at a milonga get prime positions, of course. At the start of a tanda if your desired partner is across the dance-floor in a busy milonga, you have to establish eye contact as early as possible, otherwise it will be near to impossible to use the cabeceo due to the crowd of dancing bodies which rapidly gathers. The exception seems to be tandas of milonga music, in which somewhat fewer dancers seem confident in the dance, or might be uncertain whether a prospective partner would handle the challenge - yes, this happens in BsAs, too!

Each milonga has its own personality, even if the venue remains the same. The venue of Maipu 444 is an excellent example, where milongas are held most nights of the week. On Tuesday evening, the milonga Sentimental y Coqueta is a traditonal, largely singles milonga, with great music and very open to visitors who can dance well. Wednesday night sees the venue hosting a gay-friendly milonga: La Marshall. Whereas Saturday night, Cachirulo, seems to be a somewhat more exclusive milonga. For more details on milongas and other tango topics, you can subscribe to the free online version of BA Tango by emailing abatango@yahoo.com with the subject line Subscribe. El Tangauta, another free monthly tango publication can be read online at www.eltangauta.com

Music may be purely Golden Age tango, or some milongas include tandas of swing, rock & roll, chacarera and even cumbia. At a couple of milongas, some tandas of tango/electronica will appear. A few milongas seem to be largely an opportunity to catch up and dance with friends who are regulars, whereas at other milongas, getting a dance as a visitor is much easier. Of course, the more frequently you dance there, the more people get to know you. We're finding that with each visit to BsAs, dancing with familiar faces means knowing which style you can slip into when you take up the embrace. On the other hand, dancing with a new partner can be quite exciting, especially when after a few moments it becomes apparent that it is going to be a memorable tanda together.

Pat & Bob (looking forward to our last week in BsAs.)

Updates on Buenos Aires

The economy - the word on everyone´s lips at the moment. Not only is our cost of living being affected by the vagaries of the world´s financial situation, but prices in Buenos Aires have also shot up since January. It´s getting expensive for us, and we marvel at how the locals might be coping.

Last night at a stunning show to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Sexteto Mayor, a tango group of international renown, the 50 peso tickets were within our reach, but most of the audience would have been locals! On a more positive note, the group did their original director and lead bandeonista - the late Jose Avellaneda - proud with brilliant renditions of many tangos, but most scintillating were the Piazzolla compositions. The two remaining original members, now elderly but sprightly violinists, brought the house down with their virtuosity. It was clear that the crowd in the intimate Teatro Maipo - a absolute jewel of an old-world theatre - did not want to let them go. Last year we were fortunate enough to catch the historic Mariano Mores show - one of the greats of the Golden Age - despite approaching 90 still playing piano and conducting like a young man!

After a week here, we´re getting the sense that the message about milonga etiquette is being understood amongst our fellow "tango tourists", or maybe it´s got something to do with the milongas we´re attending. Certainly, part of the fun of milongas is meeting up with friends and chatting, as well as watching and learning. Recently at an early milonga in Salon Canning, an older couple were an absolute treat to watch. At first glance, they didn't appear to be doing anything of great note, but then the timing, playfulness and skill quickly became obvious. They were utterly mesmerising.

And now for a word on the music played at milongas: the great DJs here never fail to surprise; not by pulling out obscure versions of tangos or lesser-known and perhaps inferior orchestras, but by their ability to mix & match great pieces into coherent tandas, played at the right time to suit the mood of the crowd and keep them dancing.

Tonight we're off to Sin Rumbo, one of the very traditional milongas in the suburbs with our teacher Aurora, and next week to Glorias Argentinas for a taste of tango of the Golden Age. Well as close as you can get to it in 2008. More to come later, but in the meantime, here's a video of the famous Dispari couple at Sin Rumbo.




Pat

Decisions, decisions ...

Heading off soon for the annual pilgrimage to Tango-Mecca and already I know that we'll be spoiled for choice with milongas. Some hard decisions will have to be made, especially around weekends. We love milongas where the traditional codes (codigos) are respected.

Should we head over to tried-and-true favourites like Club Sunderland each Saturday night? Mario Orlando, the DJ never disappoints, and the largely porteño crowd means that the floorcraft is good, despite the large number of dancers. It's primarily a milonga for couples and groups, although singles are usually seated in an area where the cabeceo is possible. Inevitably the evening will be punctuated with a couple performing - sometimes well-known hotshots, otherwise lesser-known emerging dancers.

Just a couple of streets from our "home" is Salon Canning which also hosts a nice milonga on Saturday night. The excellent parquet dance-floor is a treat and the couple who host it are delightful.

Niño Bien's lovely setting and great music are certainly attractive, but it has become so popular, it's hard to move on the dance-floor for most of the evening. El Beso on a Thursday evening is intimate - in sharp contrast to Niño Bien. Not only is it small, but it's very popular with good dancers. Ladies are seated separately to the men, unless you arrive as a couple, in which case you get seated at the back and are not considered part of the available pool of dance partners. Music and floorcraft are very good. The nice thing is that this milonga starts in the evening around 7pm. So after we've had our fill of dances for the night, we can head off to a nice restaurant for dinner before the witching hour and still have a good night's sleep!

Then there's Lo de Celia, where Dany Borelli's music is superb. It's an older crowd and the etiquette very traditional.


And the list goes on ....