The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 29 Jul 2000
to 1 Aug 2000
Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 03:00:31 -0400
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Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 29 Jul 2000 to 1 Aug 2000 (#2000-208)
There is one message totalling 107 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. A woman's experience in Buenos Aires
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Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 23:48:42 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango @FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: A woman's experience in Buenos Aires
Helen Carmichael, of Sydney, Australia, shares her experiences in Buenos
Aires:
A friend and fellow tango-devotee of mine, Janis Kenyon, has asked me to
write on tango in Buenos Aires. A rather daunting task. What follows is=
a
purely personal impression.
The world of tango in Buenos Aires is like life. In it you can find
everything and anything. As they say, reality depends on the observer.
What you will find will depend on who you are. And the longer you observ=
e,
the more your point of view will change.
Like life, if you attempt it on your own, it is almost guaranteed to be
confusing and at times daunting if not downright overwhelming. My advice=
to
any visitor is, like Dante entering the Inferno, find yourself a trusty
guide before setting out.
I have visited Buenos Aires twice. And both times I have been blessed wi=
th
generous and experienced guides. Without a guide it is my opinion that =
one
could spend years hovering on the periphery of the tango world before eve=
n
beginning to discover its many delights, paradoxes and contradictions, le=
t
alone getting to dance with its masters. And by masters I don=92t mean t=
he
professional teachers who can be hired =85 I mean the milongueros =85 the
artists who have devoted their entire lives first to the music and second=
to
interpreting that music with body, heart and soul. Unlike the profession=
al
show dancers and teachers, these artists are seldom known outside their o=
wn
city.
I was lucky. Through the generosity of my friend Janis, whose partner is
one of these masters, I had introductions to some of the best dancers in
town. Because one of them was kind enough to invite me to dance on arriv=
al
at my first milonga, I was able to strut my stuff and so followed other
invitations of quality. Without this introduction I would have had three
options.
1. Dance with just anyone. Which almost always means only those who can=
=92t
dance will meet your gaze. (The good dancers aren=92t interested in danc=
ing
with anyone they haven=92t seen dance and as everyone knows, you can only
dance as well as your partner) So you may dance a lot, but almost certai=
nly
never have the experience of dancing with a real milonguero, or as some s=
ay,
entering tango heaven.
2. Sit on the sidelines forever. (At least here you have the option of
watching and experiencing the best vicariously)
3. Hire a milonguero to dance with you for a night. (This is a discrete
method of getting known where only the two (or three if you use an
intermediary) people involved are aware of the arrangement.)
4. Go home.
Another option, which I haven=92t listed, is to join a tour. The tour
organizers often pay tangueros to dance with tour participants. However,
this, like most tours =85 an experience that set apart from the indigenou=
s
world and anyway, is something I have only observed and not experienced.
How to find a guide? It=92s a bit like finding a good teacher. Ask arou=
nd.
Talk to people who have been to Buenos Aires. Do your research. The
internet, as you=92ll know if you=92re reading this, is a marvelous sourc=
e.
My first introduction came from a fellow tango fanatic living in my
hometown. He gave me a whole lot of information on Buenos Aires, includi=
ng
a letter published by a woman who had stayed in a tanguera=92s house and =
it
was the description of her experience that decided me to choose this as m=
y
starting point. The rest is a long history of continuing joy and discov=
ery
which I will not write about here, partly because many have already writt=
en
more eloquently than I, but mostly because what you find will depend on w=
ho
you are.
So buon voyage and enjoy! If you=92re open, you=92re sure to find what y=
ou=92re
looking for and much more besides!
End of TANGO-L Digest - 29 Jul 2000 to 1 Aug 2000 (#2000-208)
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