[Tango-L] Keep it simple

[Tango Society of Central Illinois]

On 1/14/08, Brick Robbins <brick at fastpack.com> wrote:
> "Janis Kenyon" wrote:
> >I want to cry and scream because the tango I know
> >in Buenos Aires isn't being shared in my country.  It's a crime that people
> >get a counterfeit rather than the genuine.
>
> While I recognize the "holy trinity of tango"
> * Tango the dance * Tango the music * Tango the culture
>
> The culture and music aside for the moment, the dance of tango is
> still that, a dance.
>
> Why is it so important to some people that the dance of tango,
> worldwide, only be danced as it is (or was) danced in the traditional
> milongas of BsA? Is that the only "genuine true tango?" All else
> "counterfeit tango?"
>
> What exactly is the problem with the people of Europe, Asia, North
> America, or even those who frequent "Practica X" in BsA, taking tango
> in their own directions? The dance is a living thing expressed through
> the bodies and hearts of those dancing it, it is not a dead "thing"
> sitting in a jar of formaldehyde to be preserved.
>
> Of course, this is not a rejection of the great music, culture and
> dance of the golden era of tango, but a questioning of those who seem
> to want to limit tango to only "what was."
>

Why would you want to ignore the culture and music of contemporary
Argentine tango as danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires TODAY?

Why would you want to adopt a form of tango that is not designed for
the milonga dance floor and use it on the milonga dance floor,
anywhere in the world?

Why would you want to ignore the music that has satisfied generations
of porten~os in the milongas of Buenos Aires, including those dancing
TODAY, and replace it with music that has been designed for another
purpose?

What do you know that thousands of porten~os who dance tango TODAY
(and tens of thousands from the past) do not know about tango?

Of course, if you live in a democratic society you have the freedom
the dance however you want to whatever music you want. The confusion
comes when you call your dance 'tango' and the gathering where you
dance a 'milonga'. Call it something else so you won't mislead people
into thinking they are going to encounter an genuinely Argentine dance
in an environment that resembles the Argentine gathering.

Argentine social tango is neither dead nor preserved in formaldehyde.
It is danced NOW at numerous places every night of the week in Buenos
Aires (over 100 milongas per week). It is very much ALIVE!!

Ron