[Tango-L] Tourists & Janis - another perspective

[Nina Pesochinsky]

Hello, everybody,

It seems that everyone took so very personally what Janis had 
written.  I have a different take on it.  I assume that most of the 
dancers who had replied and were personally offended have at least 
one place in the world where they are not considered to be 
foreigners.  I do not have such a place, and so here is my view:

Sometimes, it is a great disadvantage to be immediately spotted as 
being a tourist/foreigner.  This usually is a clear disadvantage in 
any new situation where you have not had the time to assess the 
place, the action of the people and their manners or attitudes.  You 
are spotted before you realize where you are in regard to other people present.

If you are in a part of town of any city in the world that is known 
for unpredictable or dangerous situations, there is a clear 
disadvantage in standing out from the crowd.

In Buenos Aires, if you are spotted in the milongas as being a 
foreigner/tourist before you assess the situation, the codes, the 
people (whether or not you know any of them), the music - the general 
feeling of the milonga - it can greatly alter your experience of 
it.  It changes how people see you, talk to you, ask you to dance, 
accept your invitations, what they talk to you about - everything!

What Janis has described can build some awareness of certain 
signs.  If dancers can become aware of some of these behaviors that 
give them away without their consent, they can control it.  I think 
that it is much more advantageous to choose to be spotted as a 
foreigner/tourist or not instead of it happening by default.

There may be some days when one says "Who cares!  I am a foreigner 
and I don't care who knows it or why."  There may be other days when 
one might decide to have a different kind of experiences that are not 
marked by clear labels of who they are or where they are from.  I 
think that it is best if dancers have a choice in that and what Janis 
has written can help them make that choice from a place of awareness.

The trick is not to be personally attached to any of the behaviors 
that Janis has described and not take the description as a mortal offense.

My very best regards,

Nina









At 12:53 PM 3/17/2007, Janis Kenyon wrote:

>They arrive wearing a backpack.
>They change their shoes at the table.
>They wear black t-shirts and cargo pants.
>They arrive after a class wearing the same clothes and no deodorant.
>They are shy about making direct eye contact in order to dance.
>They walk across the floor to meet their partner.
>They accept verbal invitations at their table.
>They ask men to dance.
>They don't observe dancers before they dance.
>They begin dancing as soon as the music starts.
>They expect or try to dance every tanda.
>They dance consecutive tandas with the same man.
>They add embellishments to excess.
>They prefer quantity over quality of partners.
>They will suffer through a tanda just to be dancing.
>They dance with their eyes closed.
>They don't carry a handkerchief to use between dances.
>They share the table with their partner and wonder why locals won't look at
>them.
>They attract the worst dancers.
>They hire a taxi dancer without knowing if he can dance.
>They know they are beginners and believe the milonga is for practicing.
>They are hustled for classes by men who can't dance.
>They arrive early and leave within a short time if they haven't danced.
>They are the only ones doing the 8-step basic.
>They don't feel the music or know the orchestras.
>They believe they have the right to videotape and photograph dancers in the
>milongas.
>They think that every man in the milongas is a milonguero.
>They don't learn or follow the rules of the milonga.
>They attend CITA and go to the milongas to show off their new moves.
>
>
>
>Janis Kenyon
>Buenos Aires
>
>
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