[Tango-L] tango and prostitution

[romerob@telusplanet.net]

>I imagine the gory details of gender stereotypes in "original tango" - of, 
for example, violent tough-guy pimps cruelly exploiting seductively submissive 
social-climbing prostitutes - is "useful" for some of us - that's not 
the "what works" that floats my boat in tango.  As Luciana Valle once told 
me, "Tango is a social dance, built on social relationships, and it will 
change, it must change as those social arrangements change around it in a 
changing society."  Take what you need, and leave the rest in the dustbin of 
history ASAP! <
 

My take on this discussion:
 

Tango is one of a few pelvic dances in the world and its dance movements are 
typified by the close contact of the bodies. Historically, one of the forms of 
tango, the more popular one, was danced by prostitutes who were very skilled 
dancers.  To ignore the close proximity of bodies and the sexual choreography 
in the tango dance is to play a game for the benefit of not causing 
controversy in people from cultures with different mores who have a different 
concept of the dance  

 

      If I am dancing tango and suddenly my partner’s leg ends up in close 
contact with my pelvis my partner will then:

 

a)       quickly withdraw her leg away from my pelvis

b)       brush my pelvis

c)       apologize, blush, and ask me to forget about this figure

 

      

some facts about tango and its association with prostitution:

 

There is information that says that the tango music changed when prostitution 
was legalized in Buenos Aires in 1910. 
Contrary to the image of hardened pimps “cafishios” living off women 
associated with tango dancing and music the story is a bit more convoluted 
than what it appears. Prostitution in small scale, was a practice brought by 
Italian men from southern Italy to Buenos Aires in about 1865. Then, it was 
common for Italian men to have about 3 women including the spouse working in 
the prostitution trade. Later on, as the profitability of the trade increased 
then it became an organized trade ran by ruffians and some European Jewish 
known as the “migdal society”. 
It was fashionable for locals in Buenos Aires to look up and imitate the 
intangible speech of Italian immigrants because unlike working class people 
who had to toil for low paying job, the Italian immigrants commanded the 
respect and admiration of the locals by earning their money from their women 
working in the prostitution trade. 
the popularity of tango in the 1950’s had men queue outside cafes and dancing 
places waiting for a table to empty out to listen and dance to the music of 
musicians such as Anibal Troilo. Men queuing outside cafes and dancing places 
drew prostitutes to tango places because with ease they could approach men and 
offer them their services. 
 

      Regards,

 

      Bruno