[Tango-L] Dance Flaming: not an isolated phenomenon

[Nina Pesochinsky]

Neil,

I disagree. :)

The musicians that you describe do what you 
describe.  But the motivations that you ascribe to them are incorrect.

There is no way, and I mean NO WAY that one can 
reasonably put in the same comparison Joaquín 
Cortés and the street musicians.  Joaquín Cortés 
is a dancer of incredible talent, beauty and 
understanding of the dance.  This is someone 
incredibly accomplished.  Joaquín Cortés does not 
need to do anything to have more money.  This 
dancer has been celebrated all over the world for years.

The closest comparison would be to say that when 
Michail Baryshnikov danced his heartbeat (which I 
was lucky to see in Teatro Colon), he was trying 
to do it for profit.  There is no logic to this.

Perhaps the definition of art is what is not 
clear.  Art means different things to different 
people.  To me, an artist, any artist, never 
cares what others think.  Joaquín Cortés is such 
an artist and so is Baryshnikov.  To be an 
artist, to me means to push ones self beyond 
one's own known abilities. That is transformative 
work.  It is demanding, and the results have no guarantees.

But, art is more than that.  The people that you 
described, such as the Peruvian musicians, are 
doing something else, no less meaningful.  Music 
belongs to humanity.  They make music the way 
they can.  I have seen Andinos play in NY.  And 
they ask for money from people who like what they 
do.  Those who do not like, do not have to pay.

Personally, I am grateful to these people because 
with their effort they are often much more 
accessible than the artists whose work is seen only by the elite.

When I was very young and unsophisticated, I was 
in NY, hanging around the subway stations for the 
pure joy of public transportation.  This was the 
place where I heard for the first time 
Andinos.  I knew that their music may not have 
been good from the purist's perspective.  But to 
me they were incredible.  It was the 
feeling.  They LOVED their music.  I still have 
the tape that I bought from them.  I later 
discovered many wonderful things from that 
genre.  For this reason, I never begrudge any money to the street musicians.

And in regard to tango, the people who dance in 
the streets of BsAs also bring something of 
value.  Anyone who is doing something is bringing 
something of value.  For example, there is a 
woman in San Telmo on Dorrego who dances 
alone.  She is dressed in trashy outfits and, if 
I were to guess, is sometimes intoxicated (gosh, 
I hope that she is not a mother of someone on 
this list!).  She has been there for years.  If 
she were gone tomorrow, and I was walking and not 
seeing her, I would miss her.  She tried to do 
something with tango.  There was something.

OK, I am exaggerating.  This is what happens when 
I am left alone for hours in front of my computer.

But my point is that art is difficult to 
define.  I once had a vicious food fight in a 
restaurant in Santa Fe, NM because one woman was 
claiming a cut and dry definition of art and I 
insisted that even a Hallmark card can be art to someone.

I can only speak from my own experience and my 
view of tango as an art form.  On a social level, 
it is not art.  If you try to dance art socially, 
either its soul or yours will die.

An artist cannot be owing anything to other 
people, such as a social dance partner.  An 
artist belongs to his or her art.  This is the 
beauty of tango.  One and the same person can 
pursue it both socially and as an art form.

I hope that I get rescued from my computer soon.

My warmest regards to everyone,

Nina






At 10:51 AM 7/19/2007, Tango Tango wrote:
>"Flamenco modernizers claim they are enriching the form rather than
>destroying it."
>
>It's all about trying to justify one's quest for profit by stealing
>legitimacy for what you do by calling it something it isn't.
>
>-Kinda like musicians seeking money from tourists are 'enriching' tango by
>adding a simple drum beat to sampled pieces of authentic tango.
>
>-Kinda like aboriginals sitting in Sydney harbor are 'enriching' their
>culture by playing their didgeridoos to a simple drum beat.
>
>-Kinda like Peruvian musicians in Europe and the US are 'enriching' their
>musical heritage by playing their reed flutes to a simple drum beat.
>
>Both musicians and dancers seek to maximise their income. The easiest way to
>do that is to cater to the general audience, -those who are not yet
>initiated in the culture. They are easy pickin's. By serving them some
>Flamenco Lite or McTango, the consumer sees something they recognise and is
>more willing to purchase the product.
>
>The 'artist' will always claim to be 'taking it further' although they know
>better than anyone else that they are lying. If someone wanted to create
>something new, then why do they see a need to use an already established
>name like Flamenco or Tango? You have a new dance or a new music, why not a
>new name?
>
>Neil
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