Bailar en una baldosa

Wouldn't it be wonderful for social dancing in tango communities if more teachers taught their students the skills required for compact dancing.

Some people tend towards extravagant movements during a milonga, perhaps inspired by the latest flashy performance spotted on Youtube.  Trouble is, they seem to forget that they're not on a stage!   Whether they have the requisite skills for those flamboyant movements is another story altogether. The unfortunate result can resemble a dodgem-car.

Thanks Jantango for sharing these video clips of "dancing on a tile".


PP

The dance-floor’s full - the music must be good!

I’ve sometimes heard this comment at milongas when feeling grumpy about the music and unmotivated to dance.  Lots of dancers are on the floor, but most are not dancing to the music.  OK, I realise that we all hear music a bit differently.  But in truth, I can see little connection between their movement and the music being played. Besides, the music is not calling me to dance.

So what could have gone wrong?  Humans naturally want to move to dance music, unless that innate response has been inhibited.  (Take a look at Tangotherapist’s blogs on The psychology of musicality & don’t miss the baby dancing!).  Perhaps something else could be amiss. In any young tango community (outside of the Rio de la Plata region) most dancers will come to tango unfamiliar with the music. So their teachers have a major responsibility to consistently expose them to it.  I mean quality tango music composed and arranged for social dancing (here are some useful guides) – not tango music intended just for listening (eg. Astor Piazzolla – marvellous music, but not for social dancing).  

Newcomers to tango are like empty vessels ready to be filled.  So if they are fed a diet of high quality danceable tango music, their tastes are nurtured, their tango growth thrives.  The music and the social dance form start to make sense - they form a coherent unit.  More and more dancers will feel the music calling them to respond in certain ways.  They may experience the wonderful union of the music, their partner and the other couples on the dance-floor, and may unexpectedly encounter that fleeting state of tango bliss.  And then they’ll want more!  But if quality dance music - one of the key ingredients - is lacking, then it’s not likely to happen.  Dancers may persist and continue to seek out that elusive tango high, but will leave disappointed.  

Those of us in young tango communities who choose to DJ bear a significant responsibility.  We can make or break a milonga with our musical choices.  In the long term, DJs can influence the musical tastes of dancers in that community.  When DJing, I love sharing high quality danceable gems of the Golden Age of tango.  I get great satisfaction from seeing dancers responding to the call of the music.  Yet DJing is not a task to be undertaken lightly.  At a milonga a good DJ chooses music suitable to the dancers, reads & influences peoples’ emotions and helps shape the event.  Take a look at Ms Hedgehog’s DJ questionnaire Was that good? and think about your milonga experiences.  

Teachers and DJs – I beg of you, don’t ignore an important aspect your role in young tango communities – that of educating and nurturing the tastes of developing tango dancers.  

Note. In the interests of full disclosure, I admit that this plea contains a degree of self-interest: at milongas I’d love to enjoy the music and dance!

PP

How do you like your cabeceo?

Curiously, the cabeceo seems to provoke strong reactions in some people.  Yet, it can be an elegant way of showing an interest in dancing with a particular person, and allowing them real choice in the matter.  With increased personal confidence in tango and a little practice, it becomes quite easy.  Of course, that doesn't mean that you'll always get your own way.  After all, it's about choice - for all involved!

Perhaps people who reject the cabeceo feel a little threatened by it somehow.  Don't so many of us simply avoid the things we don't understand?

In Adelaide, it's delightful to see an increasing number of people getting the hang of the cabeceo.  Some use it with apparent ease, while others are still honing their skills and may experience awkward moments.

How do you like your cabeceo?  At the beginning of a tanda which you would like to dance to, do you ...

1. continue talking with the person next to you and then wonder why you're not dancing to that wonderful music?
2. approach the person, and indicate non-verbally that you'd like to dance with her/him?
3. focus on a person for a short while, so that they have a chance to register your interest.  If they don't appear interested, you direct your gaze at a different potential partner?
4. look around the salon; your gaze alighting briefly on potential partners of interest, until one of them responds positively?
5. stare intently at a person, regardless of whether they have clearly ignored your gaze. Continue to stare at her/him, in the hope of wearing down their defences?

Which method works for you?  What strategies permit real choice with no pressure?  Do you have other cabeceo suggestions?

PP

'Comme il faut' celebrates 5 years

Tango Salón Adelaide’s monthly milonga celebrated its 5th birthday on Sunday to a large and enthusiastic crowd. We’d like to thank all the dancers from Adelaide, elsewhere in Australia, and overseas who have supported Comme il faut over the years and embraced the vision that we had in 2007. That is, to have a milonga in Adelaide that as much as possible resembled the traditional milongas in Buenos Aires that we have come to love. That meant a focus on four elements that we believe make a good milonga.

We chose a 1920s golf club, with a salon that, on entering, immediately takes us back to the early Golden Age of tango. In Buenos Aires we observed some of the best hosts – Oscar & Lucia, Dany & Lucy – and came to appreciate their welcoming nature, the importance of finding seats for people and setting the general tone of the milonga. Pat modelled her DJing on the likes of Dany Borelli, Carlos Rey, and Mario Orlando, presenting the best of Golden Age music. Finally, our experience of regularly dancing in the traditional milongas such as El Maipú and Lujos, taught us the value of the cabeceo and good floorcraft.

It continues to be a great pleasure for us to see the response from local dancers sharing our love of the music, enjoying the venue, and dancing in the best tradition of social tango.

Happy Birthday, Alberto Podestá!

This living legend of tango turns 82 today and he's still singing to appreciative audiences in Buenos Aires.

Di Sarli recruited him at the tender age of 18 and later he also went on to sing with Pedro Laurenz - two of the great orquestas of the Golden Age.  For more about his interesting career, read this interview in Todotango where you can also listen to a number of his hits.  Bill recently forwarded this lovely Youtube video of a recent sub-titled interview with the great man.

When it comes to romantic tangos and valses, he's a master.  Don't Sebastian and Maria Ines capture the romance of Junto a tu corazon beautifully in this performance?

PP