Several weeks ago I had asked the Tango-A list for some advice on selecting milongas in Berlin. The 2 recommendations I received from the list were 'Walzer Linksgestrickt' and 'Ballhaus Rixdorf'. I also found the Tango in Berlin website (http://home.snafu.de/rasch/TangoInB.html), which was very useful in providing addresses and links to a mapping program. Several people on Tango-A asked me to report my experiences.
This post reports the impressions of one tanguero traveling alone on one weekend in Berlin. (Note: I was very fortunate to return safely to the US Monday night, before the terrorist attack.) Individual experiences may vary. My attendance at these milongas was approximately during the 9:30-1:30 time period, so as not to deal with some subways retiring about 2 AM in Berlin. Previous reports from others have said the milongas start to break up about 2 AM. On Thursday night I went to 'Der Grüner Salon' in the 'Mitte' section of Berlin. It is directly across the street from one of the subway exits for Rosa-Luxemburg Platz. It looks like it is (was) part of a performing arts center. (There is also 'Der Roter Salon' on the other side of the building, next to the subway station, where they have milongas on Wednesday nights.) Admission is 7 DM (about $3.50). It is a bar, with a small dance floor, which was crowded. However, movement of dancers on the floor was very smooth, not hindered by the density. The level of dancing was quite high; there were very few beginners…. The music here was excellent, among the best I've heard in my tango pilgrimages. There were terrific tango tandas by DiSarli, late Pugliese, D'arienzo, and Calo that were recognizable. The tandas of milongas and valses were mixed, but were good choices and well-distributed throughout the program. Tandas were separated by a repeated salsa cortina. On Friday night I went to the 'Walzer Linksgestrickt' in Kreutzberg. This place is difficult to find, but well worth the effort. The nearest subway station is 'Platz der Luftbrücke', about 3 blocks away. The dance hall is on a small street and in the back of a yard, mixed in with apartment buildings and a parking lot. They have a milonga there every Friday night. The cost of admission is 10 DM. This is a large newly renovated dance salon with a high ceiling. There is a large parquet wood floor, with 2 thin posts that cause a minimum of navigational challenges. The bar area is in a separate room, and it appears that smokers go to the bar to smoke, because cigarette smoke was not apparent in the dance area. … There were also many very good dancers here, but there was also a fairly even distribution of abilities, including beginners. Due to the larger dance floor, it was less crowded and navigational skills were less demanding than at 'Der Grüner Salon'…. The music here was also excellent. There were great tango tandas of DiSarli, D'arienzo, De Angelis, Calo, and 2 by Pugliese that I recognized. There was good representation of milongas and valses, with these tandas apparently all mixed. However, there were no cortinas to separate tandas. On Saturday night I went to the 'Ballhaus Rixdorf', also in Kreutzberg. It was easy to find, because it is on a major street (Kotbusser Damm), about 3 blocks from the Schönleinstrasse subway station. There is a milonga there every Saturday night. The admission is 10 DM. This is a large old dance hall with a balcony (not used for milongas) and a parquet wood floor, at least as large as 'Walzer Linkgestrickt', possibly larger. There were some very good dancers here, but there were more beginners here than at the other milongas I visited. The level of crowding on the floor was also the least here. … The music here was very good. There were some good tango tandas by DiSarli, D'arienzo, Canaro, Biagi, early Pugliese, and (I think) Tanturi, some excellent milonga tandas by Biagi and Canaro, and some beautiful mixed tandas of valses. There were no cortinas to separate tandas. One difficulty as a stranger at a large milonga in a foreign country was finding someone to dance with - too many choices and not enough information (a lot of women were just sitting on the sidelines and watching). Nevertheless, most of the women I asked to dance were friendly and most danced well. The only place I received refusals to dance (only 2) was at 'Ballhaus Rixdorf'. I also encountered a few (very few) beginners here that were not easy to dance with. I would rate the 'Walzer Linksgestrickt' milonga as the most satisfying I attended. The place is beautiful, the dancers are very good, and it wasn't excessively crowded. Also, this was the only place where cigarette smoke was not apparent in the dance hall. However, if you don't mind the crowding and the smoke, the best dancers and music were at 'Der Grüner Salon'. My own experience at 'Der Grüner Salon' was hampered by my not being accustomed to the level of crowding there. "Ballhaus Rixdorf' is also very good, but there are a lot of beginners, which causes some unpredictability on the dance floor and some unpredictability in asking someone to dance. Lack of cortinas at 'Walzer Linksgestrickt' and 'Ballhaus Rixdorf' made partner selection challenging for a tanguero traveling alone. Movement of couples onto and off of the floor was more continuous, in contrast to 'Der Grüner Salon', where most of this movement occurred during cortinas. In light of recent tragic events, it is heartwarming to know that tango provides a connection between people of many nations. Even where there are language barriers, one can go to a foreign country and connect with the people there. In my experience, in terms of styles of music and dancing, there are more similarities than differences between nations at milongas. This shared experience brings us all closer together. There's one more tango-related event worth reporting. I went to a World Music store called 'Canzone' on the Savigynplatz in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg. They have the best collection of tango CDs I've ever seen. If you go to Berlin, don't miss this store. However, note that on weekends the store is only open from 10:30 AM - 3 PM on Saturdays, so plan your day carefully. Leonardo
