[Tango-L] obsession with nuevo

Tue Dec 2 12:27:52 EST 2008

i tend to agree with Clif, but (and I don' think he is saying this) it 
doesn't mean anything goes.  I danced with a young man last night who 
prides himself on "never having a lesson in my life.  I just do what I 
feel."  Not only does that mean a truly awful dance, it is also 
insulting.  I put work into dancing well (or as well as I can), because 
I want my partner to enjoy the dance as much as I expect to.  There is 
a grammar to tango - conventions, principles, etc. - if you don't 
bother to learn it, you are saying that it's not worth it to you to 
learn the "language" I am using, because it's about you "doing what you 
feel" and not about sharing the experience with me.   On the other 
hand, grammar alone does not make a language...., I have had partners 
who string together all kinds of tricks and kicks - while it can be fun 
and sometimes that's what I want to do -  it can be tough to make that 
"tango connection" when you're launching ganchos galore, wrapping your 
leg around my waist (or vice versa), etc....... Without at least the 
attempt to create that sought-after connection, it just isn't tango.  I 
am not saying that these things should never be done, just that they 
work best added judiciously to a warm embrace, a confident walk, and 
musicality - which are the three things I associate with tango of any 
variety, and the only three things I actually do expect from 
a partner 
(lead or follow).

barbra

Have you joined the Buffalo Argentine Tango Society Yahoo! group yet? 
It's easy, and the best way to make sure you know what we're doing and 
what's going on with the Argentine tango in and around Buffalo......go 
to www.yahoo.com > select Groups > search for Buffalo Argentine Tango 
Society > follow the directions to join BATS_tango.  Thanks!

-----Original Message-----
From: Clif Davis <clif at clifdavis.com>
To: 'Tango-L' <Tango-L at mit.edu>
Sent: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 2:53 am
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] obsession with nuevo

Perhaps if one is in a bar, drinking an adult beverage, (or not), 
talking with
others, maybe they are also drinking an adult beverage, maybe not, and 
music
that appears to be tango oriented, and one finds someone who feels the 
same way,
then perhaps, just perhaps, that is cultural validity enough. It's a 
bar dance,
meant to be danced by people in bars who want to share a moment in the 
lost
world of music and dance. No rules, no judgments, just music and 
dancing. What
steps are done, who knows, who cares. I have often been asked, "what 
was that
step you did back there..".. all I can say is I have no idea. I just do 
what I
feel and let my heart guide my feet to do what my ears hear. It's a bar
dance.... meant to be danced in bars, or the street or where ever the 
feeling
hits to consent
ing people.

Clif, the simpleton.

-----Original Message-----
 From: tango-l-bounces at mit.edu [mailto:tango-l-bounces at mit.edu] On 
Behalf Of
Trini y Sean (PATangoS)
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 3:29 PM
To: Tango-L
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] obsession with nuevo

--- On Mon, 12/1/08, Tango Society of Central Illinois 
<tango.society at gmail.com>
wrote:

Cultural validity of the product is irrelevant in a marketplace where 
consumers
are largely ignorant and indifferent regarding accurate representation 
of the
cultural art form they are acquiring.

Ron
_______________________________________________

Sean here,

I suspect I could be labled an avid tango consumer. Yet I have to admit 
that
I've never gone shopping for a "cultural art form". Maybe the largely 
ignorant
consumers are smarter than you think. They buy what they like, not what 
you want
them to like. (Or need tham to like to improve your market share?)

Very few American tango dancers are likely to become Porten~os. Tango 
in the US
is not and never will be the same as tango in Bs. As. But at least one 
thing is
probably similar. I suspect thare are as few Porten~os as there are N. 
Americans
trying to buy a "cultural art form".

I dance a rhythmic close embrace style of tango to golden age music 
because I
like it; not because I need some form of 3rd party "authenticity" 
validation. I
have friends (I think?) who dance nuevo to all s
orts of wierd 
alternative music,
because they like it. I don't tell them what clothes to wear, what food 
to eat,
or what car to drive. Why would I tell them what style to dance? If 
someone is
rude or interferes with other dancers, whether through poor navigation 
(or by
preaching authenticity ;) I might intervene and ask them to be more 
considerate
of their fellows. But I'm not going to try and impose my preferences on 
them.

Sean

PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society  Our Mission: To make 
Argentine
Tango Pittsburgh’s most popular social dance!  
http://patangos.home.comcast.net/

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