[Tango-L] There is NO milonguero style -- each man dances HIS tango

[Janis Kenyon]

Caroline Pollack wrote:
<I know Janis likes to say that the only real tango is the milonguero style>

I've never made that statement. There is no one milonguero style, even
though those teaching it would have you think otherwise.  Every man dances
his own tango.  Everyone has the right to dance as they feel the music.  I
have been privileged to dance tango with men who learned tango as teenagers.
They dance simply and with feeling for the music.  They don't need to
impress me with steps or anyone else for that matter.  They have nothing to
prove.  They aren't thinking steps when they dance; they are feeling the
music.

<What's very important to remember is that milonguero style evolved from two
things: lack of space of milongas and age.>

Where did you hear this?  The milongueros I know who are 65-82 years old
will tell
you that they have always danced holding a woman in an embrace because
that's what tango is for them.  They dance the same way if the floor is
crowded or empty.  They are masters at dancing creatively in one spot.  They
learned to do this as teenagers and are the only ones who can dance in the
milongas without touching others.

<Instead, what we could hope for is that milongueros will pass down to the
younger generations the beautiful feeling of a good embrace and expressive
musicality and hope that the tango of times past will continue to be the
tango of times to come.>

A handful of milongueros are ready to teach those who want to learn from
them.  Young Argentine girls are learning from milongueros by dancing with
them.  Few foreigners have such an opportunity unless they stay for months
in BsAs.  Anyone can study with a milonguero, but classes with name teachers
are where most tourists go to learn things that aren't useful in the
milongas.

Janis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIKXqiyQNY8