[Tango-L] Leaving for BsAs tomorrow

[Janis Kenyon]

Lois Donnay wrote:
I am off to Buenos Aires for the next four weeks, and as always, am
interested in the changes that I will see since my last visit. I hear that
inflation has increased prices 18%, and I am sure that it has hit the tango
economy even harder. I have heard that the milongas have changed, some more
crowded, most with fewer Portenos.>>


The first thing you'll notice is the increase in Remis and taxi rates from
Ezeiza to the city.  There have been several increases in the basic taxi
fare in the past five years.  I used to be able to take a taxi home from my
favorite milonga for 3 pesos; now the fare begins at 3.10.  The subway is
still 70 centavos, and buses are 80 centavos.

Entradas at the milongas are 10 pesos.  I went to Nino Bien last night where
the entrada is 12 pesos which includes the first drink.  This makes milongas
more expensive for portenos who don't go to dance as often as they used to.

Nino Bien, organized by Luis Calvo and Gaby, has been operating for nine
years.  The large venue Centro Region Leonesa on Humberto Primo has four
milongas each week.  Thursday nights attract more foreigners than the other
nights.  I saw it for myself last night.  Deby and I were seated in the last
table in the back by the emergency exit.  We didn't have a reservation, and
the place was full by the time we arrived at 11:00.  We later moved to a
table near the dance floor when a group left.  The majority of dancers were
foreigners (95%) with only a handful of locals.  I didn't bother to bring
dance shoes because I knew there would be no one with whom I wanted to
dance.  The sound level is pumped up for the music to be heard above all the
conversation of 400 people.  The floor was impossible for dancing.  I stayed
later than I expected because I was enjoying the conversation with everyone
at our table.  The tables are full of fliers for shoes, milongas, shows,
etc. due to the high percentage of foreigners at Nino Bien.

<I am especially interested in the level of dancing. I would think that a
better understanding of the dance and focus on improvement throughout the
world, that the level has gotten higher.>

Poor teaching doesn't improve the level of dancing.  I cringe when I read
the people who are leaving Buenos Aires to travel and teach.  I believe
there is still a misunderstanding about how tango has been danced for
decades in the downtown milongas.  The focus is on making money, not
producing good dancers.  People cannot learn to dance well for the milonga
by studying with teachers who don't dance in the milongas.

What's new is salon tango with a bit of nuevo figures in traditional
milongas.  I saw this for the first time this week, and the dancers were
foreigners.  There were two couples on Wednesday evening who sat separately.
When they danced together, they danced nuevo figures that they learned
together in class.