Milongas in BsAs

Often I am asked what the milongas in Buenos Aires are really like. Apart from having lots of experienced dancers there, are the milongas so different to those here in Adelaide?
Well, where to start?

Undoubtedly the first thing that springs to mind is the harmony on la pista (the dance-floor), despite the crowds. At the good, traditional milongas you will usually sense a coherence between most of the dancers and music. You are not just dancing with your partner and the music, but also with all the other dancers on the floor. As long as dancers respect the conventions of the milonga, they are all able to dance, albeit within the confines of a square metre at times. At some milongas, popular with tourists who are unaware of these conventions, that harmony is often not so evident, so the much sought-after tango-trance is harder to achieve.

In Adelaide, perhaps we have not felt the need to develop some of these codigos (conventions), but they certainly serve a purpose, even if la pista is not crowded. For example:

• Being able to dance in la ronda (line-of-dance) and not overtaking those in front or holding up those behind, ensures a smooth and predictable flow. So dancers know how much space they have to play with.
• El cabeceo is an effective face-saving way to arrange your next dance in the next tanda. If the person doesn't maintain eye-contact or nod in return, then no harm done. Nobody is offended or put under any pressure to dance.
• Boleos and other extravagant moves which intrude on others are avoided, to avert injuries and disruption of the mood.

Take a look at some well-known examples of Buenos Aires milongas - actually not all of them were so typically crowded when the recordings were made.

By the way, Tango Salón Adelaide's first milonga will be on Friday 5 October at an elegant new venue. More details to follow.
Pat.

Close Embrace

Close embrace is central to a lot of our dancing at Tango Salón, but we also recognise the need for flexibility, especially for some figures. There's been quite a bit of debate about close v. open embrace lately on the tango discussion board, tango-l , and these three excerpts from 22nd July are worth reading in full:

• Ron has an interesting take on the intimacy of close embrace.
• Nina says that "if you know how to hold a woman in your arms, then you might be able to learn this dance"
• Polly says, "to please the woman, concentrate on the embrace, then the steps"

The close embrace is beautifully illustrated by Detlef & Melina in video clips recently recommended by:

• Sue Butler, who suggested a clip featuring the couple dancing to two different versions of Corazón and, of course, dancing it differently. She added, "both are beautiful, but I really enjoyed the second one; it's just so slow and danced with such feeling for the music"
• John Hayward's recommended clip is an illustration of "excellent walking techniques"

Bob

Secret Men's (Tango) Business

………… aka “The gaining of insight!”

The dozen men who took part came up with some pretty interesting observations and have promised to be ultra-sensitive guys with their tango partners from now on. Here’s a selection:

In trust exercises:

“I didn’t know where I was going to be taken next, so I simply had to wait”
“When I relaxed my arm, I could feel the lead better”
“I needed to communicate the transition from one direction to another gradually and in advance”

In advances:

"I could feel the energy in his body when he wanted me to take a second step"
"I had to plan the lead for the stop as early and as carefully as I planned the lead for the advance"
"Whenever the leader hesitated even slightly, I felt it immediately."

Generally:

"In leading the ochos, timing is critical"
“Anticipation is the killer of improvisation”
“The follower doesn’t need to know the figure, just how to follow”

Bob