[Tango-L] Franelear -- have you tried it?

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Hi Anna,

Franelas, as I've been taught and teach, are light
brushings that can occur between partners.  This may be
different (perhaps a lot more sanitized) than what Janis
had in mind.  But I think their acceptance (or not) is in
how they are being used.

I would also guess, as you mentioned, that most women would
not appreciate being "felt up" by a dancer, particularly if
it's not invited.  After I've taught someone about franelas
(my version), I can't say whether the student has continued
using it.  They don't use it when dancing with me with any
consistency, but they may choose to use it with someone
else.  Thus, I'm not aware of any complaints because it
either isn't being used or it is used by willing
participants.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's used more
often in larger communities with a lot more young singles. 
For couples, it can be a nice romantic thing that they can
share.

Americans tend have more of an issue with personal space
than Europeans and Latin Americans.  Perhaps this is why
they might not be taught in Europe.  Teaching these
brushings as simply part of the dance (like an ornament,
for example) helps break down this issue.  For things like
turns with sacadas, in which couples open up, I find
franelas during pasadas useful for getting couples to get
back in close-embrace.


Trini de Pittsburgh


--- desdelasnubes at web.de wrote:

> Janis and Trini,
> 
> I'm not sure what is meant by "franelear" and "franela".
> This might be partially due to the fact that neither
> Spanish 
> nor English are my native languages.
> As I understood there are milongueros in BA ready
> to provide explanations or even hands-on experience on
> this matter.
> But as I live oceans away from Buenos Aires in the very
> heart of Europe, 
> where there are no milongueros at hand to 
> consult as primary sources, I have to relie on secondary
> sources.
> Doing some googling provided the following results:
> 
> "Franela: Manoseo sexual.
> Franelear: Roce amoroso.
> Franelero: El que pasa el tiempo en una casa de
> tolerancia sin hacer uso de ninguna mujer. "
> See: http://www.elportaldeltango.com/lunfardo/f.htm
> 
> In my poor English translation this would be:
> 
> "Franela: Sexual fingering/touching
> 
> Franelear: to make out / to hook up [AE], to snog [BE]
> (see: 
>
http://forum.wordreference.com/archive/index.php/t-74667.html)
> 
> Franelero: One who passes the time in a house of
> tolerance without making use of any woman."
> 
> Having considered the translations my first guess was
> that franelear does not necessarily have to do
> with dancing tango, it might even interfere with the
> dancing.
> My observation in  milongas [hereabouts] is that
> followers do not appreciate the 
> "franelear/franela/franelero"-thing too much. But there
> are no reliable statistics on this ;)
> The practice of franelear may occasionally even lead to
> tango interruptus or shortened tandas.
> One reason could be that there are no workshops taught on
> franeleo hereabouts
> (at least not to my knowledge), so it might not be done
> skilfully enough. ;) 
> As I understand this is different in the United States,
> where franela-skills are promoted
> by teaching in classes or practicas:
> 
> Trini de Pittsburgh wrote: 
> 
> > Teaching these franelas (sp?) can also be useful for
> > getting the woman rotated enough to stay close to the
> man
> > during pasadas.  
> 
> We have all sorts of tango teaching on
>
tango-pilates-tango-yoga-tango-music-tango-nuevo-tango-tantra
> etc.
> But nobody has ever thought of including the franeleo in
> the teaching. 
> At least not to my knowledge. 
> Still franeleo seems to occur from time to time, not in
> practicas maybe, rather in late-night milongas.
> And though I have observed there are quite tolerant
> people in the milongas 
> I assume the level of tolerance in milongas is probably
> significantly lower than in the 
> houses specially designed for tolerance. But again, this
> is mere hypothesis, sorry for not being able
> to shed light on this subject.
> 
> Anna
> 


PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
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