Re: [Tango-L] Misc:Missing Magic
About a week ago, Robin Tara wrote: You know, I danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires, New York, Montreal, San Francisco, Boston and London beginning 1993. ... There was a magic then that has been missing for me in today's milongas. ... Things began to change drastically in the milongas of Buenos Aires around the time of the crash. (2001/2002) I was actually expecting more responses to this email, well more than zero anyway. But I did want to respond myself since I identified a lot with what Robin says. So in about 2 years time, the balance of tourists to locals in the dance halls reversed completely. This has no doubt change the dynamics significantly--the observers, by their presence and especially their vast numbers, have changed what it is that they have come to observe. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is besides the point (well, a different discussion, anyway), but it certainly has changed things. The milongas feel so different to me these days. ... a group of men who really have been in the milongs for years, but rarely get up to dance. The there are the group from some European capital, a bunch of older folks from the midwest, a table of local guys who don't dance very well, a group of local women who don't dance very well. Lurking around the edges, men who can't catch anybody's eye and have decided to prey on the unsuspecting and longing to dance, middle aged women from the US. It just lacks some sort of mystery. And depending on which milonga you go to, some of what you describe may not apply, or may apply with different demographics, but you're right that there was some sort of *something* that is now missing. Is it all because I see it more clearly now? Was it always this way and I was too enraptured to notice? No, I'm sure it was more full of the promise of adventure back then. Ah, this is the question isn't it? Did the world really change around me, or did my perception of the world change? I drafted a similar article for Tango-L some months ago, let it sit on my desktop for several days while I tinkered with it, trying to convey satisfactorily what I wanted to say, but was never entirely satisfied with it, and so deleted it. But my conclusion was essentially the same: No, the change is real. Oh, I'm just rambling I'm glad you posted this article even though you seemed to have had a similar problem managing to express the feeling to your satisfaction. I'm guessing that, at this point, the majority of list members were not dancing in Buenos Aires at regular milongas (i.e., not counting just visiting for festivals) on a semi-regular basis pre-2001. But there is probably a significant minority who were. What's your feeling about this change? Do you dance less often in Buenos Aires for reasons you attribute to this change? Shahrukh ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Misc:Missing Magic
Did the world really change around me, or did my perception of the world change? That's the crux of the question, isn't it? Please tell me what in this world has not changed since 1993? Whether it's the same as it was then or not isn't relevant, especially to people who came to tango much later. What is important still is that Buenos Aires offers a depth, an understanding, an immersion in tango that doesn't exist anywhere else. Like Nancy said, where a taxi driver will sing you his favorite tango at 2 a.m. Take me, for example: last week on an excursion with tango tour clients to La Boca, where I've been a million times, the truth of living in a conventillo finally hit me--I could really see clearly what it meant to sing about the hard and crowded life there, a popular tango theme. There is always something to discover new here about tango. Sure, it's not as it was in 1997 on my first trip here, when foreign dancers were a novelty. Maybe middle-aged foreign women are a dime-a-dozen today, and we are less special than we once were and are treated more like we are back home. After dancing tango for a decade or more, we are also different. This nostalgia for what used to be, that life, people, things, milongas aren't what they once were, is very tango! But Buenos Aires will always be the Mecca of Tango. And every serious dancer will make the pilgrimage one day. It's worth it. http://tangocherie.blogspot.com ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
[Tango-L] Misc:Missing Magic
You know, I danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires, New York, Montreal, San Francisco, Boston and London beginning 1993. I missed Berlin, the other hotbed of tango at the time - big mistake, I'm afraid. There was a magic then that has been missing for me in today's milongas. Things began to change drastically in the milongas of Buenos Aires around the time of the crash. (2001/2002) All of a sudden the regulars began staying away from the salons. They just couldn't justify spending 5 pesos on something as frivolous as the milonga. They needed to eat. The milongas began to suffer from lower attendance and raised prices. The Cro Magnon disaster closed dance venues all over the inner city. On the other hand, it became much cheaper for tourists to visit Buenos Aires. So in about 2 years time, the balance of tourists to locals in the dance halls reversed completely. The milongas feel so different to me these days. Sitting in a Buenos Aires milonga on a Friday night, I see the group from Japan at one of the primo back tables - they don't dance tango yet, but they're ordering dinner! From there to the right sit a table of local (mostly) women, a group of men who really have been in the milongs for years, but rarely get up to dance. The there are the group from some European capital, a bunch of older folks from the midwest, a table of local guys who don't dance very well, a group of local women who don't dance very well. Lurking around the edges, men who can't catch anybody's eye and have decided to prey on the unsuspecting and longing to dance, middle aged women from the US. It just lacks some sort of mystery. Is it all because I see it more clearly now? Was it always this way and I was too enraptured to notice? No, I'm sure it was more full of the promise of adventure back then. Oh, I'm just rambling Interested in what others think -- Robin Tara http://www.taratangoshoes.com http://www.tangotique.com ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
