[Tango-L] Milonga 101 -- conversation between dances

[Janis Kenyon]

Decades ago the young men stood in the center of the dance floor, and the
girls sat at tables around the perimeter in neighborhood clubs with an older
relative or friend who escorted them to the dance.  The men invited the
girls with the cabeceo.  The only opportunity they had to talk was between
dances, but the conversation was brief and private.  And it was limited to
the topic of the music.

I learned that the topic of conversation during a tanda is only about the
music from dancing with milongueros.  The woman is the one who initiates.
If she says nothing, the man doesn't speak.  Talking isn't mandatory between
dances.  One leaves their personal life at the door of a milonga.  The music
is the main event in a milonga.  At least it used to be.

Today there is so much conversation that it is difficult to hear the music.
It's no surprise that the sound level has to be increased to hear the music
over all the talking.  A milonguero told me that he went to dance last night
and left after a half hour because there was so much noise.

A brief exchange between partners on the dance floor should be low enough
that others do not hear what is being said, like whispering into the other
person's ear.  These days it is possible to hear conversation in the middle
of the dance floor while one is seated at a table.

Tangos are three minutes long, and yet conversation between dances continues
for most of the tango.  There are some who continue talking requiring others
to dance around them.  There are some who continue talking while dancing.
It keeps getting worse and worse in Buenos Aires.

There is an interview with Gustavo Naveira in which he says it used to be
about the music; now it's about the dance.  I disagree with him.  He doesn't
understand what is special about tango because he has been concentrating on
technically identifying everything in dance.  He is missing the essence of
tango.  It still is all about the music.
http://www.10tango.com/interior/detalle_nota.php?idx=90&seccion=4


Janis
www.ToTango.net/milongueros.html