[Tango-L] A full closet but not much to wear

[Janis Kenyon]

Milongas have moved down on my list of priorities--way down.  They have
changed so drastically in the past three years that I have little desire to
take the time to get dressed and then sit all night long, hoping that at
least one milonguero will show up.  I'm very particular and won't dance with
just anyone for the sake of dancing.  When I first arrived in Buenos Aires
in 1999, I went to dance six nights a week.  Now I may go three times a
month.

Saturday evening I went to Enrique Rosich's milonga in Centro Region
Leonesa.  I timed my arrival perfectly at 8:00 and was seated at a front row
table that had recently been vacated by two women who arrived for the early
shift.  The corner table on the women's side of the room is strategically
located in front of the milongueros' table.  That is, if any of them show
up.  I quickly scanned the men's side of the room.  Among the mass of men, I
found only three with whom I wanted to dance.  That was enough for me.

I had a brief conversation with the two women seated at the table.  They
were both having tandas, but one of them commented that you take your
chances and hope for the best.  The milonga was 99% to capacity with only a
few empty tables in the back.  I remarked that I was happy to find three
good dancers there.

Enrique should have stopped Mr. Muscles and his partner from entering the
floor.  They walked to the center instead of merging into traffic.  He was
wearing red sneakers which gives you a big clue that he doesn't know how to
dance.  He was trying all the moves he learned in classes, even a gancho to
her leg.  He never followed the line of dance and was a hazard on the floor.
If he had been doing this in Cachirulo, Hector would have asked him to
leave.  There the codes are announced and strictly enforced.

I danced Tanturi valses and Di Sarli tangos with Tony of Avellaneda.  His
embrace makes me melt.  I had the distinct pleasure of dancing the Fresedo
tanda with Beto Ayala.  And as I was putting on my coat to leave, a tanda of
milongas began and Pedro Sanchez looked my way.  I couldn't leave.  He is my
favorite dancer of milonga con traspie.  I was happy to hear that someone in
the US is arranging to bring him next year.  I had four wonderful tandas in
two hours.  I went home satisfied.

Sunday evening is another story.  It has been ages since I've gone to dance
at Plaza Bohemia.  For the past six months  Lucia and Oscar have had their
second milonga Lujos there.  I went to the ladies' room to change my shoes.
When I returned to be seated, Lucia was dancing a tanda.  Oscar sat there
rather than escort me to a table.  After organizing a milonga for years,
they still don't know how to take care of dancers.  Finally, when the tanda
finished, Lucia walked me over to one of the back tables in front of the
windows.  The regulars are lined up on the wall in front of the DJ booth;
the men are seated in front of the mirrors on the opposite side.  It's a
small place where location is crucial.  The women outnumbered the men last
night by 3 to 1.  I was there from 8-10pm.  During that time I saw six women
walk out within an hour because they weren't getting to dance.  It was the
same for others.  Patience along with timing and luck were required.  Even
the three teachers in attendance, Ana Maria Schapira, Maria Eugenia Cuyas
and Muma had to wait their turns.

It's nice to see that Ricardo Suarez always has a front-row center table in
the milongas.  He has been dancing longer than anyone and deserves the
respect.  At 83, he is dancing almost constantly and with women in their
50s.

There was a couple seated behind me.  When the man got up to dance, I took
the opportunity to speak to the woman.  She is Swiss, her husband is Italian
and they are on their second visit to BsAs.  They were dancing mostly with
each other.  I pointed out to her that if you arrive together, you are
seated in the back section for couples.  She indicated they wanted to dance
with others.  I suggested that they sit separately in other milongas where
there is a likelihood that she will not be invited to dance because she is
seated with her partner.  That is the rule of the milonga although many
locals are ignoring it in order to dance with foreigners.  Times are
changing, and the codes of the milongas are rarely followed.

The oldest woman in the milonga was dancing constantly.  That's because she
was there with the young taxi dancer she hired for the night.  I've seen him
before with a group of foreigners.  A woman at my table commented on them
because she couldn't understand why an older woman was dancing all night
with a younger man.  She had never heard about taxi dancers in the milongas.
I explained that the woman is paying him to dance with her all night.  I
opened a copy of the magazine Diotango and pointed out an ad for taxi
dancers.  I remarked that the woman probably isn't aware of the milongueros
for hire these days who are her age.  The advantage is they dress in suits;
the taxi dancer was wearing a t-shirt.  The milongueros have more years in
the milongas than the taxi dancer has in age.  And most importantly, the
milongueros know how to dance well; the taxi dancer couldn't find the beat
of the music.

I sat two hours in Lujos enjoying the music.  I've never seen their DJ
before.  He saw how pleased I was during the tanda of Di Sarli.  He was up
in the booth moving to the music and watching over the dancers.  Every tanda
was excellent, and he was adjusting the sound level.  I had to thank him
before leaving and asked his name.  Anibal (70+) said he occasionally works
in this milonga, but would rather be on the dance floor.  It was worth being
there to enjoy the music.  I didn't dance one tanda.  There wasn't anyone
with whom I really wanted to dance.  A milonguero friend told me he would be
going there today, but he never showed up.  He probably went to El Beso.
Sunday night at El Beso is the toughest milonga in BsAs.  I got as far as
the door and took the bus home.