[Tango-L] Urban Myth: The 'Line' of Dance (in Buenos Aires)

[RonTango]

Although it serves as a linguistic convenience, technically there is rarely a 'line of dance' in Buenos Aires milongas, in the sense that couples are progressing in a linear manner, moving forward counterclockwise in concentric rings around the floor. First of all, despite some verbiage allocated to it, there are rarely concentric lanes of movement; there is essentially one outer lane and there is the nebulous center which has varying degrees of progression and non-progressive movement in a somewhat unpredictable manner.   

With regard to the outer lane that does progress, the movement of the ronda is rarely rapid enough to maintain constant linear forward progression. Instead, typically what one observes in a couple is a forward progressing spiral, a movement that involves, with respect to body movement, forward, side, and back steps by the man, accompanied by the woman moving around the axis set by the man (e.g. molinete), although it is also possible that the man may circle around the axis of the woman (e.g., 'calesita'-like movements, for which the late Tete provided many examples). The rotation of the spiral may be either clockwise or counterclockwise around the set axis. One rarely sees a man progress directly forward in the ronda more than about 3 or 4 steps. The floor density is usually too high to allow that. Thus, in order to navigate well in the milongas of Buenos Aires, one needs to have skills in using turning movements.

What one also rarely sees in Buenos Aires is someone blocking the flow of the ronda with a stationary position. Even allowing for momentary pauses that reflect the cadence of the music, there is always some momentum in dancers in Buenos Aires milongas (clueless tango tourists excluded). Dramatic poses have their place on the stage, but not in the milongas. Also rarely seen is passing in the ronda, in the sense of leaving the outer lane and returning, although one may occasionally see a couple leave the outermost progressing spiral and circulate in the more spacious but nebulous middle. 

Ron