[Tango-L] Tango Styles

[burak ozkosem]

Sergio, thanks for the summary of this chronic disease spread among
Tango dancers who live outside of Argentina, every couple months we
started reading about How Tango Nuevo is bad, how it's killing Tango
soul, how it lacks elegance, how it's fashion sucks (i.e.baggy pants,
pijama pants, ugly shoes)  etc. etc.

My message is to the ones who keep complaining about tango nuevo since
it's born!  (you have been complaining about something that you
haven't experienced even)

You are making Tango Nuevo more popular and well accepted not only
outside Argentina but also in BsAs, old milongueros started dancing to
music of Otros Aires, people started wearing jeans to milongas,
because you guys have been talking about Tango Nuevo over and over.

This is how Astor Piazzolla's music became popular, by putting it as
background music to any bad and tragic news on tv.

If you believe that you are trying to preserve the essence of Tango,
and promote it, you should know that attacking on a methodology of
learning and teaching will cause more severe issues.

We shouldn't forget that anything considered "NEW" right now, wouldn't
stay as "NEW" 20 years from now. So, What's next? Neo-Milonguero or
Pan-Asian style or Post-Modern Tango?

Here is my analysis about the development of Tango Nuevo:

# Branched Development of Tango Nuevo: 1990-2000  (Post Todaro period)
We know that Tango NUEVO started as an analytical method for Tango
Pedagogy in early '90s. Naveira-Salas-Frumboli triple drove the
majority of this movement towards popularity among BsAs Tango
Community.
Meanwhile Pulpo had his own vision, which was also NEW for a lot of
dancers, and also Mauricio Castro started a research group late 90s,
then he started focusing on Tango Discovery method.

# Transitional period of Tango Nuevo: 2000-2008 ( from Tango Fantasia
into Tango Nuevo)
This is the period of time when Stage dancers started showing interest
into Tango Nuevo. Most of the talented couples were among these
dancers such as Sebastian Arce & Mariana Montes, Pablo Inza, Damian
Rosenthal & Celine Ruiz, Esteban Moreno & Claudia Codega, Damian
Essell & Nancy Louzan, Adrian Veredice & Alejandra Horbert and more...

these couples and several other dancers became the face of Tango Nuevo
along with Naveira-Salas-Frumboli triplet.

Right now, Tango Nuevo is not only a method of learning, understanding
and teaching Tango but also a way of dancing Tango.
Is it good or bad?
Some don't care because it developed a lucrative market (make up a
move and people will buy it since it's NUEVO)

Tango Nuevo is a by-product of  evolving Tango Culture, for the ones
who understand this Pedagogical tool, it's more than just a style.

I would like to share something which made more sense to me than
learning "ocho cortado" or "colgada"  in Tango:

Chicho was in Baltimore last August for Julia's Tango Element festival
and i had a chance to take a class from him after 4 years of break.
The class was about "Boleos Technique" and at one point Chicho had a
brief speech about the the evolution of technique in Tango.
He said he used to lead boleos like this 5 years ago and now he
prefers to lead like this... and he kept explaining why..

If, even Chicho is still in search of better quality and improvement
on connecting with the partner, accepting tango nuevo as a style and
dance to everything you hear the same,  degenerates your tango.



Bests
Burak
Chicago
www.chicagotangoweek.com