[Tango-L] "Alternative" Music, Nuevo & the Tango Cultural Divide

[Tango Society of Central Illinois]

On 2/23/07, Nina Pesochinsky <nina at earthnet.net> wrote:

> No problem!  Dance to whatever you want, however you want.  Just do
> not call it Argentine Tango, because if you do, you insult the music,
> the culture, the Argentine dancers who have created and evolved the
> dance and everyone who actually understands, respects, honors and
> dances the Argentine Tango.

It appears that those who follow the 'nuevo' school are more likely
than not to call what they dance 'nuevo' rather than 'nuevo tango'.
That's a good thing, because it distinguishes 'nuevo' from 'tango'.
"Nuevo' and 'tango' are not really compatible on the same dance floor.
They need separate environments.

'Milongas' where 'alternative' music is played are typically called
'alternative milongas'. That's truth in advertising, at least,
although perhaps it would be better to call these events 'alternative
dance parties' or maybe 'nuevo dance parties'. They are not milongas
in the traditional sense, i.e., as exist in Buenos Aires. Don't borrow
terminology where it does not apply.

Yes, 'nuevo; and 'alternative' music represent evolutionary trends,
cultural adaptations to foreign tastes to a large degree, but in
trying to make some part of tango relevant for foreigners by adapting
it to their cultural perspective -  thus electronic music and
exhibitionistic displays - distances this evolved form from its
cultural roots - social tango dancing in Buenos Aires. This evolved
dance is legitimate in its own right, just as American and
international ballroom dances called 'tango' are legimitate art forms,
but all these derived forms have acquired their own cultural life and
they lose the character of social tango - a dance danced between a man
and a woman, where communication is inward towards the partner, not
outward towards the audience.

Ron