[Tango-L] The history of the 21st century tango? - PLAIN TEXT

[jan bares]

An oversimplified explanation of the current doldrums - with an exalted niche of the few still left - would be that the wave of popular interest started with Copes' production brought to New York City before 1990 built up and then started abating to where we are now. Where are we now? My last trip to BsAs started in mid December 2012 when I found out that the popular Practica X just closed and also found Torquato Tasso closed on their scheduled night. Staying always in Palermo, within a walking distance of my preferred venues such as Villa Malcolm, Salon Caning and La Viruta, I had little interest in Nino Bien - my last time there was in 2006. For a personal business, I got to Nino Bien at 3AM in January 2012. To my dismay, the place was almost empty! The attendees looked like "tango turistas". In the year 2000, by comparison, I remember that at 3AM there, it was still "standing room only" and the old milonguero skill and propriety was
 required to enter the packed dance floor! When back at home, about end of February 2013, I saw the news that Nino Bien closed its doors and, more surprisingly, also the milonga quite popular with the younger crowd, Tango Cool at Villa Malcom stopped as well.

The situation in the US does not appear much better. At the same time (I dance salsa) salsa has been booming! What happened? Here is how I understand it:

(1) From running my weekly event for about 15 years, most people come to the dance class to find a date and only few continue even if successful. Since tango requires more effort to learn to be acceptable it is not a good deal from the cost/benefit point of view when just looking for a date.

(2) From mid eighties, our tango was propelled by enthusiasts median age of whom, I would hazard was at least around 50. Tango was a significant refinement to our informal dance culture (never mind ballroom ) such as lindy hop, swing, disco, and so on. It had its sophistication, let alone captivating music, and presented something new to learn and enjoy.Tango quickly got middle age following - how the old milongueros treated the ladies..., their embrace,  ".., ooh, he always held a folded white handkerchief in his left hand when dancing with me....", the cabeceo worship and more. Soo new, while less sanitized than the ballroom dancing yet so gentlemanly! 
Another element from the history - the dress code: While the upper classes in BsAs had the formal ballroom, the tango community strove for the comparable respect - so suit and tie. After all, even less than 100 years ago you were nobody unless well dressed. (And, the more dignified the dance, the more moneyed clients showed up for lessons.) Many on the list surely remember milonga invitations in the US where jacket and tie was a mandatory attire. I recall announcements on tango-A of milongas, sometimes being a participant(!), carefully designed to imitate the crowded "estilo del centro": "...we have the dance floor adjusted to the attendance size so that the couples will be going around floor in three rings focusing on the important rule that once in a given ring the couple will stay there proceeding around the floor and not switching to the ring on the right or on the left or pass a couple in front of them...at the end of the tanda
 the couple in front of you should be the same couple that was there at the start of the tanda and same would apply to the couple behind you...".  Do I need to continue? While this devoted imitation of history has been loved by the enthusiasts, the 20 somethings have had enough rules and history from the school they finished not long ago. How many of them were recruited into (this historical) tango in the last 10 years? 
BTW, to those soo impressed with cabeceo: it has existed everywhere as part of natural human communication, independent of tango. A person in the room that would like to approach me or be approached generally starts with the eye contact. In a noisy and crowded salsa bar I see it practiced by people who never heard of tango. (What makes it still more "tango-like" is a salsera who gets busy with her handbag just to avoid eye contact and having to refuse the invitation). Salsa, in my opinion, has been winning not only because of its informality (NO dress code) but also because of the energy natural to young crowd as well as use of advanced moves requiring physical skills. 
In my opinion - had the (by now elderly) argentine tango community embraced also "tango de escena" or what conservatives have derisively called "athletic tango", I mean "Nuevo", as developed by Naveira, Salas, Chicho, Sebastian Arce and few more (Homer Ladas in US, e.g.) the chances are it would have attracted more of young people. Most important for the young generation, the dance should be fun rather than pedantic insistence on the rules. ("Oh, old milongueros would never...") Of course, dancing proper argentine tango makes one special. Unfortunately, not special enough to justify the learning effort - unless it's the athletic tango, maybe. But I just repeat myself.
Jan