[Tango-L] Nuevo Theory vs Practice: Creating a Social Nuevo

[Alexis Cousein]

RonTango wrote:

> The objection is to disruption, not to style.

Then we're in violent agreement. A couple that stubbornly refuses tot dance in a way that is adapted
to the circumstances is simply not being courteous, period, and there's no excuse for that.

> A nuevo dancer may believe he is not disruptive as long as he does not create any collisions.

And traditionalistas may believe they're not disruptive as long as they don't step back...sometimes
they, too, can have little feeling for what constitutes a ronda.

> Some tango milonguero dancers would argue that rapid movements and frequent changes of 
> direction characteristic of many nuevo dancers puts tango milonguero dancers into a 
> 'defensive driving' mode.

And here's where there's a fine line between objecting to style and objecting to rudeness.
I know a few couples who're determined to feel "disrupted", and it's then simply a
self-fulfilling prophecy fuelled by an overwhelming sense of entitlement.


> The 'enemy' creates a picture of itself by its self-identification and behavior.

I respectfully disagree. I could quote people making the same argument in another context,
but I'm not about to invoke Godwin's law (certainly not given we're having a productive debate).

> There have been numerous protests here and elsewhere that nuevo can be danced in compressed space and not 
> invade the space of other dancers. Assuming that is possible, I do not believe tango milonguero dancers 
> would protest.

Sensible ones wouldn't. But there aren't *only* sensible people around (certainly if you go
by the members of this list).

> In fact, at some point that particular nuevo loses its distinguishing characteristic of exploration 
 > of space and ceases to be nuevo

That's a matter of some debate. Why should someone who merely adapts his style to the conditions
(you can't "explore space" when there is none) be deemed to have changed his spots?

> My impression is that sightings of the Loch Ness Monster are more frequent than sightings 
> of dancers identified as dancing nuevo doing so within a compressed space and not 
> impinging upon the space of others.

That's a matter of context - if you are in a context where "nuevo" is only brandished as an insult,
you'll only tag the egregious examples with the tag...

> Can you explain or, better yet, provide a video link to nuevo danced in compressed space on a crowded floor?

Ah, videos. How representative ;). Sadly, there are more videos of stage demos than of crowded dance
floors on Youtube (and yes, that's something I find rather sad).

> I would like to be able to recognize it when it occurs. (:->) 

So would I. I think *you* personally would actually recognise it; I'm just not sure
everybody on this list would.

> Or maybe just label it 'bad dancing'. Then we could divide tango venues into 'tango de salon' and 
 > 'bad dancing'

Just as a case in point, I went to two milongas. One was attended by a zoo of people, many
of whom profess to be "traditional", and there was no discernable ronda and lots of self-absorbed couples
causing caravanning (usually not by pauses, but by sweeping the entire half-width of the floor side by side
without making much forward progress, disregarding the huge chasm in front of them).

A second milonga was attended by people probably identifying as "nuevos" (given an
Argentine teacher was giving a workshop about boleos, colgadas and volcadas) and was easy to
navigate, but simply because the navigational skills were better and because couples were more alert
and less self-absorbed.

The first venue would have identified itself as "tango de salon" (and many of the most people most disruptive
to the ronda would have been completely convinced they were being "good" and guardians of orthodoxy).

The second venue had arguably better dancing...

But of course, the cultural context we're swimming in is different - I'm in Europe and there's an ocean
dividing us. Perhaps nuevo sequences unleashes the worst in couples on your side of the pond more
often.

> The real problem is what nuevo may be in theory and what is is in practice.

My real problem is with the label as such. Labels invite people to pigeon hole things, and to reduce
reality to a caricature.

> [...] to realize that what is being taught is a smorgasbord of steps, not principles of partner connection, 
 > musicality, and navigation.

I beg to differ. It *is* possible to teach colgadas, volcadas, boleos etc. with only the most basic
essentials, and with an emphasis on partner connection and musicality (and of exact timing of lead, movement
etc.). In fact, Javier Antar just did so a couple of days ago in Brussels. He started with basic exercises
and then spent an hour and a half per "step", which was each time a basic pattern lasting usually
five steps (just to make sure that we would only focus on the essentials and not the pattern).

I've been dancing for long enough to know that the obsession with steps is of all ages and predates "nuevo"
by a lot. And a lot of it is actually caused by demand rather than offer, because a couple of decades
ago I watched a crowd make Antonio Todaro go nuts by demanding steps, steps, steps and steps even though
none of us mastered even the basics of the connection and the walk (but none of us knew better at that
time, and that includes me. Fortunately, we've collectively learned a lot since).

Some teachers simply teach too many steps and nothing else because going back to basics is met with
a lot of resistance by the audience, which is unwilling to work on basics.

And yes, I think we both lament that just as much as the other.

> 
> If nuevo is to be believable as a stylistic variation within tango de salon, it needs to be taught 
> and exhibited and socially danced in a manner that is in accordance with the codes and customs of 
> navigation for the milonga dance floor.

Actually, just the same holds for "tango de salon" as such.