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

[Tony Rathburn]

spending my time...
the past few months...
in Buenos Aires...
living in the Abasto neighborhood...
where Gardel was raised...

this weekend...
carlos gardel's birthday...
recognition of the past...
celebrated in the now...

amazed by attitudes...
of people wanting to recreate...
"the feel of a BA milonga"...

which one?

which night?

which year?

which decade?

i have no standing in the tango community...
other than as a participant...

nothing i can say...
is based on my reputation...
it can only be considered on it's merits...

i prefer it that way...

my thoughts...
are simply my thoughts...
an opinion...

based on my choices...
my logic...
what i like...

not...
on what i consider 'right'...
for anyone else...

others...
attempting to enforce...
their version of style preference...
as 'right'...
making everyone...
who doesn't comply...
'wrong'

and as with most enforcers...
purveyors of intolerance...
unfettered by facts...
bold statements...
imposition of opinion...
by volume...
and passive aggressive intimidation...

i'm amused by the religious fervor...
attempting to protect the sanctity...
of tango milonguero...
from the influences of change...

tango milonguero...
a term coined by susana miller...
an american...
in the mid-1990's...
while assisting Pedro 'Tete' Rusconi...

interesting that milonguero style...
does not actually reflect...
the dancing of the 'golden age' music...
that these same adherents claim...
as 'traditional' tango music...

milonguero tango...
as i understand it...
very close embrace...
limited independent movement...
small steps...
syncopated rhythmic steps...

actually based on...
petitero...
canquero style...
common in the downtown clubs...
of the 1950's...
not the late 30's...
and 40's...
of the golden age music...

interesting...
that the tango de barrio..
of the 50's...
emphasized longer steps...
a more elegant flow...
more complex figures...
a flexible embrace...
more complicated footwork...

wondering...
celebrating the birthday of Carlos Gardel...
who died in a plane crash...
24 June 1935...

wondering...
what he would have thought...
of the evolution of the tango he knew...
as it morphed into the 'golden age'...

i have no idea...
what this neighborhood was like...
100 years ago...
when Gardel was coming of age...

i doubt the shops...
that bear his name and image...
accurately portray the story either...

interesting...
that the mid-90's...
was the timing for the term...
tango milonguero...
to enter the lexicon...

a time when Tete's generation...
was watching...
the rebirth of tango...
with leads like...
Gustavo Naveira...
Chicho Frumbloi...
Fabian Salas...
Sebastian Arce...
Pablo Veron...
Norberto "El Pulpo" Esbrez...

are these the dangerous leads...
who should be banned from dancing socially...
who are inappropriate...
unrepresentative of tango...
'as it's done in Buenos Aires'?

is the style of current gymnasts...
not really gymnastics...
because of the influence of...
bela karolyi...
olga korbut...
nadia comaneci?

i have no opinion...
on Susana Miller's classes...
or style...
i hope to have the privilege...
of working with her...
at some future point in time...
simply...
to share the ideas...
to expand my options...

i respect her reputation...
but...
i simply have no experience with her...

hmmm...
i like evolution...
continuing to grow...
understanding the past...
appreciating it...
as the foundation for today...
with an eye on inventing tomorrow...

my point...
to all of those who want to push...
what tango 'is supposed to be'...
instead of 'this is how i prefer to dance'...
is that tango is improvisation...
and evolution...

and...
much... much... more...

to deny evolution...
is to deny improvisation...

dance the dance...
that you enjoy...

but don't expect me...
to dance your dance...

i like 'new'...
even when it makes me uncomfortable...

i like revisiting the past...
places i've been...
that i enjoy...
but...
i don't want to always repeat...
those same sets of experiences...

i'm spoiled...

in a choice between...

the security of replaying the past...
of known outcomes...
however pleasant...

and inventing the future...
laughing on the journey...
intrigued by what lies ahead...

no contest...
let's dance...
and enjoy the adventure of creating...

to deny evolution...
is to deny improvisation...

i take lessons...
primarily from women...
and have consistently asked them...
to make me someone...
they would truly enjoy dancing with...
not just someone...
they would tolerate dancing with...
not to have them show me a particular step...
or trick...

i want to adapt my lead...
to the music...
to the mood...
and to my follower...

i like to listen...
as well as lead...

yes...
i have a connection with...
the followers i dance with...
it may not be the same...
as the one you want to create...

the connection i want to create...
varies...
follower to follower...
tanda to tanda...
song to song...

i have no desire...
to dance like any other lead...

i have no desire to use big words...
fancy vocabulary...
to show what i know...

i do want to be able to tell my follower...
a story...
in the music...
that is coherent...
comfortable...
and entertaining...

sometimes slower...
sometimes faster...
sometimes simple...
sometimes complex...
sometimes open...
sometimes very close...
sometimes very small...
sometimes... she thinks it's bigger than it really is...

none of this...
has anything to do...
with the style i choose to dance...
in any given tanda...
or how i'm dressed that night...

i refuse to restrict my dance...
to only a few letters of the alphabet...

it makes no sense to me...
to limit my language...
to a vocabulary of only a few words...

i dance for my follower...
and if i lead appropriately..
she will understand...
the story i'm telling...

i have no interest in memorizing a story...
and re-telling it over...
and over again...

i'm enjoying BA...

there is no...
'as it's done in Buenos Aires'...

there is good tango here...
there is bad tango here...
there is weird tango here...

take your pick...
but... in taking it seriously...
enjoy the exploration...
or...
enjoy the repetition...
of what is comfortable for you...
but enjoy...

i judge my dance...
by whether my follower...
enjoyed the tanda...
and will dance with me again...

i will not apologize to the lead...
who expects the line of dance...
to conform to his expectations...

anymore than i'd apologize...
for the traffic of Manhattan...
for not conforming...
to the driver from Fostoria, Ohio...

[ a very small town... by the way...]

yes...
line of dance...
is an appropriate social standard...

i have been bumped by far more...
traditional leads...
impatient...
looking for space...
to complete their memorized pattern...
than i have by the dreaded 'nuevo' dancer...
who dances one step at a time...
and improvises...
with the music...
and with the crowd...

respect my space...
i'll respect yours...
i know where you are...
i'll use the corners of my space...
i'll reverse my view...
not my direction...
to protect my follower from you...

i will not diminish my dance...
or the experience...
i want to share with my follower...
to make you more comfortable...
use only the alphabet you know...
the vocabulary you are comfortable with...
or the story you want to tell...

yes...
i feel a right to take a small backstep...
a controlled boleo...
a volcada...
or colgata...
just as i feel a right to have enough room...
to lead my follower in a giro...

get off my bumper...

but...
if you're there...
it may annoy me...
but i'll see you...
and adjust my next step to avoid you...
without interrupting my dance...
or my follower's experience...

we share the road...
dance your dance...
i'll respect that...

there are 30 to 40 milongas a night...
in Buenos Aires...
they vary night to night...
they evolve over time...
and that doesn't consider...
the smaller ones...
or the ones outside the central city...

if you're hosting a milonga...
create the space you enjoy...
you are the host...
others are the guests...
your party...
your rules...

if you are the guest...
respect the host...
and the house rules...

but...
you don't get to change the house rules...
you only get to choose...
which milonga to attend...

the choices in Buenos Aires...
spoil you...
you have the choice...
to find the milongas...
that you like...

when you get home...
wherever that is...
your choices are probably...
more limited...

that doesn't mean...
you get to impose your preferences on others...
unless you are willing to host your own milonga...

if you are...
cool...
it's yours...
build a community of like minded people...

enjoy...