[Tango-L] Old vs Young Milongas in Baires... Was: Getting tango lessons to the needy

[Brick Robbins]

On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 2:45 PM, Cherie <macfroggy at aol.com> wrote:
> Brick, I think you said it:  "the young Argentinians."
> There is definitely an age demarcation here--the young want to dance more
> athletically, and on occasion the women want to kick over their heads.

First off, let me be clear that I am not making value judgments on
anything I see. I'm just observing, and reporting.

My sample size is still small, but I have not seen any dangerous kicks
on the social floor in the young milongas. Quite to the contrary, I've
seen the young couples respecting the space and the couples around
them. I've had fewer collisions in the young milongas than in the old
ones.

A few times now in traditional milongas, I've had old portenos
bulldoze into me, some quite aggressively. The other night in a tiny
milonga, there was only one couple in the center - the leader was a 50
something porteno teacher, and he has pinballing around inside the
ronda.

> Perhaps in the backs of their minds they are hoping to be stage dancing
> stars and get visas to tour in other countries.

Or perhaps they are exploring the possibilities of one body with 4
legs, with youthful creativity, skill and enthusiasm. Often the best
artists are young, and are not afraid to be creative. Old folks like
us tend to be more conservative....

> The emotion, the embrace, the connection are less important than showing
> what their young bodies can do.

Generally I've seen (and felt) fabulous emotion, connection and a
embrace in the young dancers. And a better relaxed posture than many
of the older ones.

> Some of the milongueros (older men) go to the "younger" milongas in order to
> embrace the young women, who are more than willing to dance with the old
> guys who really know their stuff.

Such is the way of life, not just tango.

> But in their hearts, the milongueros can not stand to dance to "modern"
> music. Can not stand to dance with women who adorn, adorn, embellish, dance
> sola.

I have not heard any "modern" music in any of the young milongas. I
have heard some "modern" recordings in some of the older milongas. And
I think you mean the "old milongueros." I would bet that the young
portenos who live for tango and in the milongas, probably consider
themselves (and each other) milongueros too.

> Of course everyone wants to dance where they are most comfortable; why
> should they want to be uncomfortable?

Of course they do. That is human nature. I'm only saying that there is
more to tango porteno than what one can see from within one's own
comfort bubble.

> And I predict when all of the juventud of those practicas X, 10, cool, etc.
> are 60, they will be dancing where they are most comfortable: in traditional
> milongas with cabeceo, Golden Age music, lots of connection and emotion, and
> where the embrace is all .

I have yet to hear any "non Golden Age" music in any of the milongas
jovenes. Vamos a ver....

I have found many very nice embraces in the young milongas and lots of
really stiff off-balance embraces in the old milongas. The dancer
seems to be more important for the quality of the embrace than the
venue. The connection and the emotion with the young dancers may be of
a different style than the older dancers... to me is feels more
dynamic, flexible and supple. It is not lower quality, just different.

And as far as codigos go, El Yiete Tango Club, says, for example, on
their website  "Tratamos de ofrecer un espacio adonde respetan los
codigos de la milonga.." ( http://www.elyeite.com.ar/sobre.html ) so
the younger dancers try to respect the codes too.

The point of all this is that Tango Porteno is a huge thing, and it is
impossible to codify in a few sentences. Everyone catches a glimpse
through their own personal window, but the view they get is often
limited, maybe because they only see what they want to see.

I merely suggest that anyone preaching  the "One True Tango of Buenos
Aires" probably has it wrong.

Abrazos.

Brick