[Tango-L] No dancing before the music

[Anton Stanley]

Dour wrote:



"Defining the dance strictly by the music creates a very slippery slope.
Tell me - what is tango?  Is it only OT Victor and the Old Guard?  Does
it move forward in time to D'Arienzo (who still played a lot of 2/4 time
just as did the old guard)?  What about the Golden Age orchestras that
played primarily in 4/4 rather than 2/4?  Perhaps tango only means Old
Guard and Golden Age?  What about D'Arienzo of the '50s?  Or later years
DiSarli. On what day did they quit playing tango and start playing
non-tango?  Piazzolla was a bandoneon player in Troilo's orchestra.  Did
he play tango when he played with Triolo?  And on what day did Piazzolla
quit playing tango?  Etc. I don't get black and white."

That's the conundrum Doug. I posted earlier (a few weeks ago), that
something that can't be described faces a real threat of extinction or
at least change that makes it unrecognizable from the original.
Especially true when taken away from its natural/cultural environment.
In principle I have no problem with natural selection, but as a besotted
Tango dude, I feel a line must be drawn in the sand for the thing I
probably love most in life. To preserve it the way I long for it every
day. I'll call myself a "traditionalist" and use the term to describe
others in the Tango world that feel the same as I do about Tango
conservation, and while we are still in the ascendancy (maybe not any
longer) in the world Tango community, we should take steps to preserve
it, before we lose the power to do it. My motto: you want to change
Tango. Also change the name. I know that's too simplistic Doug. But I'm
sure you get my sentiment. I can't help it. It's simple the way I feel.

Anton


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