It WAS given to us by the gods to bless our souls with joy and happiness. But, it seems to me, the essence of milonga is not immediately devined by the new lover of tango. Milonga is like tango itself; also like what an interesting woman may do to an ardent gentleman admirer: kind of retreat behind a veil while the pilgrim makes his journey to a sufficient level of understanding that the veil may be safely let down for admittance.
My personal intuition is that there is kind of a path a good many people follow in getting all the way to "getting" tango. We fall in love with the tango dance; we eventually discover the joys of vals; after that, the milonga is more accessible. But, few there seem to be in the lands outside of Argentina who have a feel for milonga. The reason for this could be that, being in 2/4, it has the feeling of being "fast." Dancers who start to enjoy it and sense the fun tend to "run." Many orchestras have recorded milonga at a tempo pushing the limit because that's what one does for shows. So, many will use milonga to kind-of show-off. Even before they have the skills to do so. In North America, one sees many men just running and pushing and flailing around - not providing much enjoyment for the followers who have to run to keep up. Those men are having fun, which is good. But, the milonga veil is still up for them - or they would not be that way. I can only speak of personal experience and that may not be worth much. But for whatever it's worth, I offer that milonga reveals its true nature when danced slowly. Those who attend my milongas or dance milonga with me know that I favour the slow and moderate-tempo milongas first of all. Canaro (the Master); Donato (a Genius); and of course moving up the tempo scale to Di Sarli, D'Arienzo and Troilo (Genius Masters as well). The veil has been lifted when one enjoys the SLOW milongas (if I may say). Milonga danced well is very subtle. No wild movements. No running. I always teach that - though it is very exciting music - the dancer should be very calm and peaceful inside to dance it well. Purposefully put the excitement meter on low. Slow the beating heart. Then everything opens up. When I met with and interviewed maestro Roberto Alvarez of Color Tango, I told him that to use his milongas when I dj, I slowed them down (without changing the pitch) 3 B.P.M. so that they are danceable. (He did not take offense). You have to breathe when dancing milonga. You can't breathe properly if your are running. I recognize that fast milongas bring a lot of joy to many, many dancers. I play them. But, I work my way up to them. Starting off a milonga tanda with a really fast milonga doesn't make sense to me, musically. Start with a slow one; go up in tempo; finish with a fast one. This is my way, at least. If the reader is not a milonga fan at this time, please know that your tango will be much more satisfying to you when you have become a milonga dancer whom others enjoy dancing it with. To be a really good tango dancer, it seems one must have a beautiful vals and a beautiful milonga in them as well. Then, you can dance tango. All good tango dancers know it. With kind regards, Keith ToTANGO.net _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l