[Tango-L] Milonga

[Tango Society of Central Illinois]

On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 3:00 PM, Keith Elshaw <keith at totango.net> wrote:

    But, few there seem to be in the lands outside of Argentina who have a
    feel for milonga.

    The reason for this could be that, being in 2/4, it has the feeling of
    being "fast." Dancers who start to enjoy it and sense the fun tend to
    "run." Many orchestras have recorded milonga at a tempo pushing the limit
    because that's what one does for shows.

I'm not sure what milongas you're referring to that were recorded for
shows. I doubt this was case with the milongas recorded during the 30s
and 40s. Canaro has numerous fast milongas (e.g., 'Milonga brava',
'Parque patricios', 'No hay tierra como la mia') as does Troilo (e.g.,
'Mano brava', 'De pura cepa', 'Ficha de oro') that are standards used
by DJs in Buenos Aires milongas.

    So, many will use milonga to kind-of show-off. Even before they have the
    skills to do so. In North America, one sees many men just running and
    pushing and flailing around - not providing much enjoyment for the
    followers who have to run to keep up.

    I can only speak of personal experience and that may not be worth much.
    But for whatever it's worth, I offer that milonga reveals its true nature
    when danced slowly.

Yes. The key is to take smaller steps and to collect before moving on.
Or using movements that bring the feet together frequently (e.g.,
vai-ven, which incidentally also connects with the '1&2' rhyhtm often
prominent in the bass line of the milonga).

    Those who attend my milongas or dance milonga with me know that I favour
    the slow and moderate-tempo milongas first of all. Canaro (the Master);
    Donato (a Genius); and of course moving up the tempo scale to Di Sarli,
    D'Arienzo and Troilo (Genius Masters as well).

The slow milongas of Canaro are a treasure. Thank you Keith for making
available on your restoration CD collection such gems as 'Negrito; and
'Milonga del 900' which are not readily available in the CD series to
which we normally have access.

    Milonga danced well is very subtle. No wild movements. No running. I
    always teach that - though it is very exciting music - the dancer should
    be very calm and peaceful inside to dance it well. Purposefully put the
    excitement meter on low. Slow the beating heart. Then everything opens up.

I was blessed to see milongueros Pocho and Nelly do a demo to Canaro's
'Milonga del 900' at the recent Chicago Tango Festival. It is exactly
as you say. I see their compact and deliberate yet fully rhythmic
style as a wonderful role model for dancers.

    I recognize that fast milongas bring a lot of joy to many, many dancers. I
    play them. But, I work my way up to them. Starting off a milonga tanda
    with a really fast milonga doesn't make sense to me, musically. Start with
    a slow one; go up in tempo; finish with a fast one. This is my way, at
    least.

When I DJ I try to keep the tempo as constant as possible throughout a
tanda, whether it is tango, milonga or vals. This is because as a
dancer I choose different partners based on the tempo of the music and
 changing the tempo a lot during a tanda can can change the quality of
the dance.

Ron