[Tango-L] Show tango is not REAL tango?!

[larrynla@juno.com]

It has become politically correct to say that show tango is not REAL 
tango.  This would have surprised the first milongueros.  They did 
informal tango shows at milongas and also performed on stage and 
screen.  Most of the cast of "Tango Argentino" were milongueros and 
milongueras.  For some insight into milonguero's attitudes toward show 
tango you might like reading the autobiographical interview on 
TodoTango.com of Pepito Avellaneda and others.

http://www.todotango.com/english/creadores/pavellaneda.asp

Even the youngest couple in "Argentino" who later became full-time 
dance pros started out as fanatical milonga dancers.  That tradition is 
still alive today, when most professional Argentine show dancers have 
had much formal training and think of themselves as dancers first.  
When they've practiced many hours each week and taught multiple classes 
it's not unusual for them to eat and rest in the evening and then go 
out to milongas to relax.

These pros might or might not dance, and when they dance usually they 
are indistinguishable from anyone else: simple moves, close embrace, 
stay in the flow, etc.  Unless you know them from shows you'd be hard 
put to identify them as pros, except for their absolute mastery of 
movement.  But then you'll also see this mastery in others who don't 
fit today's rather recent image of pros: young, fit, good-looking.

Though those Argentine pros may not dance at all at milongas.  
Argentines view milongas differently to those outside the country, who 
are often deadly serious about the dance and to whom the social element 
is important but subordinate to the dancing.  In Argentina, and to the 
Argentines I know where I dance, a milonga is first a social event.  
It's where you meet friends and family and gossip and snack and smoke 
and listen to the music and watch the antics of foreigners with usually 
indulgent amusement.  Many Argentines go to local milongas and have for 
years that are just a short walk away, or drive or hitch rides with 
friends for slightly longer distances.

Every milonga is different, some catering to a very specific crowd such 
as the very young.  But in many it's more usual than not to see three 
generations of an extended family, including subteens or even infants 
who watch the dancing with fascination.  Sometimes an aunt or an uncle 
will be a show dancer, maybe full-time but also part-time, especially 
skilled or attractive women and men who earn extra money each weekend 
by dance en escenario, maybe in tango dinner shows put on for tourists.  
Many a full-time professional tango (and other) dancer began dancing at 
ten or so at a milonga with a proud grandparent as a partner or 
teacher.

Politically conscious tango fans often try to make a clear-cut binary 
distinction between REAL tango and show tango, but the universe rarely 
cooperates with such rigid views.  Sharing with others mastery of 
something difficult and wonderful is part of human nature.  Outside 
Argentina this often shows up as "tango crimes" such as racing around a 
crowded floor or doing whirlwind molinetes.  Inside Argentina these 
"criminals" are usually quickly set straight.  So very late at milongas 
in Argentina, when the crowd thins out and the floor opens up, is when 
you usually see more showy behavior.  And not just by energetic 
acrobatic younger dancers.  Those of advanced years who danced so close 
and simply in the thick of the evening get a bit of room from their 
partners and get a bit fancy, showing those who've only had, say, a 
mere decade of tango dance experience what someone can do who's been 
dancing for several decades.

Larry de Los Angeles
http://www.ShapechangerTales.com - 2nd short story added


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