[Tango-L] Popularity of Milonga (the dance)

[Carol Shepherd]

YAMP (yet another milonga post)

Just as there are several flavors of tango there are several flavors of 
milonga (my experience is US).

I originally learned milonga as a quickly moving and sassy dance that 
travels over the floor.  In close embrace the traspie and other rhythmic 
'stops' and small shuffles are interesting, but feel deliberately 
constrained for such a sweeping musical phrase.  I don't know any other 
type of modern-day social dance similar to this more open and traveling 
type of milonga, which is one of the reasons I really love it. 
(Quickstep and viennese come to mind but are smooth style).  American 
samba travels similarly to a bouncy beat, but of course is extremely 
different in moves, mood, music, etc and not as compelling.

The moods of tango and milonga music are of course very different. I 
like the tango for the tango and I like the milonga for the milonga. 
But the type of milonga I originally learned is probably my favorite of 
all dance styles, bar none -- so I also wish there were more milonga at 
a milonga.  I get tired of tango-tango-tango-tango.

I can dance salsa or lindy hop for hours so to me there seems to be 
comparatively very little exertion at a typical milonga; I frequently 
get cold between dances and have to dress much more warmly.

meaning of life wrote:
> my 1 cent contribution to the tango vs. milonga question.
> 
> both my wife and i are atheletic. my wife is also a profesional dance instructor (not tango). tango allows us to express ourselves with big, strong moves, and to combine our other dance and movement forms (martial arts) with tango. we can move from open to closed embraces, and express ourselves using the various tango "basics", and some moves "borrowed" from other dances including milonga. for us tango is "more fun" because we can see each other and "play", of course, we can "feel" each other in both tango and milonga, but only tango lets us see each other move. and i gotta say, i love to see a beautiful dancer move.
> 

-- 
Carol Ruth Shepherd
Arborlaw PLC
Ann Arbor MI USA
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