[Tango-L] Better? Worse? Just different

[Sharon Pedersen]

It's interesting to me to compare the tango situation to the situation
for contradance, which is danced entirely to live music and has a
thriving population of dance bands who play very well for dancers.

I wonder what makes the difference?

Contradance to me is a dance which is inextricably linked to its
music.  However, I did recently see a flyer for an "alternative music
contradance," which leaves me thinking very much "ugh!".

I am learning, after twenty years of dancing tango on and off, to
really hear the music.  I used to like dancing to non-traditional
music because I could hear the beat better, but I find that the more I
listen to tango music, the less I like dancing tango steps to
non-traditional music because it lacks all the things that makes tango
music beautiful (including surge and suspension).

--Sharon

On Wednesday, April 20, 2011, Tango22 <tango22 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Keeping Tango bands alive is very difficult, because there is insufficient money in it for struggling musicians.  When one member leaves a band, the growth in repertoire stops until the new member is up to speed, so it's vey hard to develop a good dance repertoire.  Getting sufficient gigs to maintain interest is hard.  So it's a chicken & egg situation.
>
> We all like to give aspiring bands a go, but it can be risky.  Even then, I'm not inclined to lecture people who have put in many hours of rehearsal about how and what they should play.  I prefer not to overuse a local band, with plenty of recorded classics in the dance mix, until I'm happy that they can hold a crowd.
>
> Unfortunately , many bands drift off into too much Piazzolla.  Perhaps it suits their classical instruments and classical inclinations, or maybe the arrangements are easier to acquire.  One Sydney band of very good musicians recently got a severe caning for doing this at a milonga.  Many bands valiantly attempt to arrange their own music.  It's often a disaster.  Arrangements from an experienced arranger work better, but they must be paid for.  On the other hand, bands also want to be innovative and interesting, but it's hard to innovate without a background steeped in tradition.
>
> I do not subscribe to musicians being required to dance.  Playing and dancing Tango are very different things.  In fact, musicians of all kinds rarely dance, because they are too busy playing, or practicing.
>
> Joaquin Amenabar's Australian Quartet is outstanding and a great example of live traditional dance music.  They are playing again at Milonga Para Los Niños in Brisbane, early August  They train for at least 6 months, under his remote-control guidance.  Last year I was delighted to watch the pre-ball rehearsal where he spent 2 hours converting the band from concert mode to dance-band mode.  A really impressive display from Amenabar and some very accomplished musicians.  See last years band at www.paralosninos.net.  Listening to this band should be compulsory for aspiring Tango musicians.  It's worth the trip.
>
> Joaquin also does some collaborative work with the Qld. Conservatorium during his visit.
>
> Ignacio Varauschky (El Arranque, Tango Via & Escuela De Tango Orquesta) also did a very creditable job with SYO students at a special Sydney milonga after his student workshops in Canberra and Sydney.  What happened to the Canberra students, I wonder?  Are they encouraged to play at milongas.
>
> Maggie Ferguson, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Ferguson, is also a driving force for new Tango musicians in Australia.  Do Sydney and Canberra Tango communities support her huge effort?  I hope so.
>
> John,
> Brisbane, Australia
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>>>
>> I have to wonder, if these bands are so awful, who is hiring them to
>> play at milongas? Who is telling them about the lack in their music? Are
>> they willing to accept advice about dance music from dancers? If not,
>> they shouldn't be playing dance music.
>>>  However, experienced improvising musicians can certainly deliver the goods,&  I've seen it done. Tango is a FEEL. You don't learn it at the conservatory, or by rehearsing until you're blue in the face.
>> True. My first piece of advice to aspiring tango musicians is to learn
>> to dance tango, to appreciate the music as a dancer, so they know what
>> makes good dance music.
>>
>> Myk,
>> in Canberra
>
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