A rose between the teeth, arms at right angles with elbows
locked and feet strutting in unison... is not Argentinian tango as those who love
this dance are well aware. Many devotees of Argentinian tango will deny that
there is such a thing as different styles, they will say " there is only one
tango. It accommodates itself to every place and every era" to quote Eduardo
Arquimbau, one of
the great Milongueros (dancers) of Buenos
Aires.
However there is
enough differentiation between ways of dancing tango for many to acknowledge
that there are different styles, including the cultural leaders in Buenos Aires who award
prizes each year in the Salon and Stage tango Championship.
From 29 September to 4October, 2010, Sydney will host Australia's first Tango Salon
Festival.
The bandoneon is the essence of Tango. Tango music can be played without it, but when there is a bandoneon - or better still a number of them - the music takes on the quality that makes lovers of tango swoon. This Latin American Focus report from September 4, 2010, on Youtube finds Lucia Newman reporting on what Argentinians are doing to
protect the older bandoneon from extinction.
Sebastian Ariel
Jimenez and Maria Ines Bogado, both 18, have been crowned winners of the Salon
Tango Championship. They won ahead of 2 other couples from Argentina, one from Japan
(the home of the 2009 winners) and one from Venezuela. And while you can read a
newspaper reports online probably the best report I have read so far comes from
blogger Mark, who got his tickets when he entered the heats of the competition
and arrived early enough to get a good seat.
Below is the
performance Sebastian Jiminez and Maria Bogado gave after their win was
announced.
Facundo Posadas has been described as "Master of Tango Liso*, [ and]
Milonga in all its diversified styles -
Milonga Lisa*, Traspie and Candombe..." He is also recognized as a master of vals
crusado.
Facundo celebrated his 70th birthday in August in New York where he now
teaches. For a number of years he taught
with his then-wife Kely in Buenos
Aires and those who attended Tango Festivals in BA
five or more years ago would probably have met them in the workshops.
Milonga Manners: How do I get a dance without actually asking ?
Thursday, 15 February 2007
I have been learning tango for about four months and recently went to my first milonga. (I danced salsa for four years so I was used to going to dances). I sat and waited for someone to dance with me most of the night until luckily one guy, who I go to class with, asked me to dance. Otherwise I would have sat all night. It seems that the people who have been going for a long time all have regular partners and I don't seem to be able to be using the right signals. What can I do?
Etiquette is a prescribed way of social behaviour to paraphrase the Macquarie Dictionary, and tango, like many other social activities, has developed its own etiquette. It may be an old-fashioned word but those who understand why etiquette is important help to make a milonga a more pleasant experience for everyone - and it shows that they know more than how to do a basic salida.
A rose between the teeth, arms at right angles with elbows
locked and feet strutting in unison... is not Argentinian tango as those who love
this dance are well aware. Many devotees of Argentinian tango will deny that
there is such a thing as different styles, they will say " there is only one
tango. It accommodates itself to every place and every era" to quote Eduardo
Arquimbau, one of
the great Milongueros (dancers) of Buenos
Aires.
Sebastian Ariel
Jimenez and Maria Ines Bogado, both 18, have been crowned winners of the Salon
Tango Championship. They won ahead of 2 other couples from Argentina, one from Japan
(the home of the 2009 winners) and one from Venezuela. And while you can read a
newspaper reports online probably the best report I have read so far comes from
blogger Mark, who got his tickets when he entered the heats of the competition
and arrived early enough to get a good seat.
Facundo Posadas has been described as "Master of Tango Liso*, [ and]
Milonga in all its diversified styles -
Milonga Lisa*, Traspie and Candombe..." He is also recognized as a master of vals
crusado.
I have been learning tango for about four months and recently went to my first milonga. (I danced salsa for four years so I was used to going to dances). I sat and waited for someone to dance with me most of the night until luckily one guy, who I go to class with, asked me to dance. Otherwise I would have sat all night. It seems that the people who have been going for a long time all have regular partners and I don't seem to be able to be using the right signals. What can I do?
Etiquette is a prescribed way of social behaviour to paraphrase the Macquarie Dictionary, and tango, like many other social activities, has developed its own etiquette. It may be an old-fashioned word but those who understand why etiquette is important help to make a milonga a more pleasant experience for everyone - and it shows that they know more than how to do a basic salida.