[Tango-L] R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the milonga floor

[cella]

words are for ears that hear, eyes that see ...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Janis Kenyon" <Jantango at feedback.net.ar>
To: "Tango-L" <Tango-L at MIT.EDU>
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 12:45 AM
Subject: [Tango-L] R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the milonga floor


> My mother used to tell me as a child that when one learned and practiced
> good manners at home, one didn't have to think about them in public.  Good
> manners then became normal behavior.
>
> I learned ballroom etiquette from my parents who danced, so I was prepared
> for attending dances from an early age.  Dance floor rules were an 
> integral
> part of my classes when I taught ballroom dancing in adult education
> courses.  However, no one prepared me for what I had to learn about 
> respect
> for the milonga floor in Buenos Aires.
>
> My first visit to the milongas in Buenos Aires was in 1996, when our group
> went to Club Almagro on a Tuesday night.  I didn't know that the milonga
> floor was a sacred space.  When the floor was clear, no one crossed it. 
> You
> just don't cross the floor as a shortcut to go to a friend's table on the
> other side.  That's why there are aisles between the rows of tables. 
> Well,
> no one had told me.  That night in Club Almagro, Miguel Angel Zotto 
> arrived.
> I was so eager to greet him, that I almost ran across the empty floor!  No
> one said a word about it to me about it at the time, but years later I
> realized my error.  I had to learn the rules.  I should have waited to 
> greet
> him later at his table.  He wasn't going anywhere.  I know exactly how
> first-time visitors feel when they go to a milonga and see tango 
> performers
> whom they have admired on stage from a seat
> in the audience.  You lose all sense of good manners and run across the
> floor to greet them without thinking.  What do those in the milonga think
> about it?  Oh, just another tourist who hasn't learned the rules.
>
> I was dancing with a milonguero at Glorias Argentinas.  We arrived at one
> corner of the floor and had to dance around two men who were busy having a
> conversation on the dance floor.  No, they weren't tourists; they were
> Argentines who were there to perform.  Even when I motioned to one of them
> during the tanda, they continued their conversation on the floor rather 
> than
> at a table a step away.
>
> A week ago in Club Gricel, four tourists remained on the floor during the
> cortina in order to chat with a dance teacher.  She could have simply led
> them off the floor to her table, but they continued their conversation 
> until
> people entered the floor for the next tanda.
>
> The milonga rules aren't published in a tourist handbook.  It takes time 
> to
> learn them by paying attention.  Dancers would feel more comfortable 
> during
> their first milonga experience if they knew the rules.  The rules should 
> be
> taught in every beginning class and put into practice before going to a
> milonga anywhere.  Unfortunately, teachers are more concerned with 
> teaching
> steps and often don't know the rules themselves.
>
> Take note on how people enter a milonga, how they are seated, how they 
> enter
> the floor to dance, how they observe the line of dance, how they apologize
> when bumping other dancers, how they leave the floor, and what happens
> during the cortina.  These are basic points to know before you take your
> first step with respect for the milonga floor.
>
> You need to know more than the basic step to walk onto the milonga floor.
> Read an article on the subject in the February issue of El Tangauta.
> http://www.eltangauta.com/nota.asp?id=609&idedicion=0
>
>
> Janis Kenyon
> Buenos Aires
>
>
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