[Tango-L] Walking off the floor

[Robin Tara]

Deby,

Your e-mail sparked a few memories of my very first trip to a milonga in
Buenos Aires. I finally managed to get someone's attention and he took me to
dance. When the song ended I thanked him profusely and turned to return to
my table. Later in the evening I noticed that women were staying on the
floor for four or five songs with the same guy!! I thought they were being
greedy! It was only later that I learned about the tanda and the chit-chat
during the introduction to the tango, and the magic moment when the man
raises his arms to take you in an embrace. And, most of all that one never
says "Thank You!" until the end of the tanda.

In the early nineties when I was introduced to tango, there was no internet
discussion group. Tango wasn't being force fed in classes and festivals.
People who wanted tango had to search for it. A typical milonga in Centro
might have a European or two, now and then - maybe even an Asian or North
American. It was an odd enough experience that when a host discovered
someone from out of town, introductions would be made during the
announcements.

It was hard to learn about how things are done in the world of the milonga.
The lucky ones had Daniel Trenner and Rebecca Schulman for guides. They were
fascinated with not only the tango, but also in how people learned it. When
they spoke about tango, it was with great reverence for the dance, the
people, the music and the poetry of the Tango. We got to meet dancers from
the milongas and hear their stories. And so we learned.

I felt like I had been accepted into a private club, a dark, smoky,
underground place where everyone spoke a different language and had one
grand passion. And then I discovered other tango people in other parts of
the world. And it was as if I had become a member of a big wide world of
tango. And it got bigger and bigger and bigger.

Now it seems people are obsessed with "doing it right". I think it's
wonderful that people can choose as much or as little information about
tango as they want. It's terrific that there is so much being written and
people don't have to make ignorant gaffes in another culture.

That's great, but what happened to that mysterious, elusive and seductive
dance I started learning about so long ago - and where are all those
pioneers who came here and carried back stories that their friends and
families just couldn't understand? I miss them.

Warm thoughts to all of you,

Robin