[Tango-L] chacarera skirts

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Hi Tiffo,

At the weekly milonga that we host, the chacarera is played after the second milonga tanda of the evening, and we just prefer to play one chacarera.  So the flow is

milonga tanda
cortina
chacarera
cortina

It works out well, and people have learned to expect it.   Sometimes the DJ will announce it during the cortina, but people also have fun rushing up onto the floor and joining in when they hear the music.  It's all very light-hearted.  It fits in with the relaxed atmosphere of our milonga, which is free and takes place at a bar.  The other weekly milonga, which is a little more formal, does their chararera at the very end, after La Cumparsita.  It's a fun way to end the evening and start the clean-up process.

Argentine teachers like it when a tango community is interested enough in their culture that they learn the chacarera.  There's interest in learning more folkloric dances, as well.  

Part of the appeal of the chacarera is the flirtiness of it, which was emphasized to us when the community learned it.  The constant eye contact with your partner, the lady showing off her skirt and then taking it away, the man showing off for the lady with the zapateo, the getting close and then moving away.  That is very similar to tango.

Trini de Pittsburgh

 


--- On Mon, 5/14/12, Tiffo D <nntp-posting-host at hotmail.com> wrote:

From: Tiffo D <nntp-posting-host at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] chacarera skirts
To: tango-l at mit.edu
Date: Monday, May 14, 2012, 4:14 PM


A general comment: How is chacarera related to tango?  
I dislike how it is played at tango events.  It seems just because it is Argentinian, it MUST be embraced, but to me it is out of place.
I would rather salsa than do the "steps" of chacarera.