The Tango-L mailing list archive

Digest from 9 Oct 1999 to 10 Oct 1999

Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango          <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Date:     Sun, 10 Oct 1999 03:00:05 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango          <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Subject:  TANGO-L Digest - 9 Oct 1999 to 10 Oct 1999 (#1999-30)
There are 3 messages totalling 199 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. "New Tango" Again (2)
  2. San Francisco New Tango Venue-Mondays





Date:    Sat, 9 Oct 1999 00:24:40 -0700
From:    Larry E Carroll <larrydla @JUNO.COM>
Subject: "New Tango" Again

Fabian Salas is touring again, coming to (among other places)
Santa Fe & Los Angeles. I've taken several classes from him &
Chicho, both of whom teach different aspects of the "New Tango."
They're good teachers, with important things to say. Don't miss
them.

There are several myths going around about what they teach. Here
are several such myths & my opinion about them.

THEY TEACH A DISTANT OR OPEN EMBRACE.
What they teach are fundamental ideas & skills that apply just as
well to a very close embrace or to a very distant one or any
point in between. Some of the specific patterns they teach can
only be done in an open embrace -- but others can only be done in
a close embrace. Watching "New Tangueros" dance I noticed that
they seem to able to go back & forth along the entire continuum
of distance according to what they were trying to do & who they
were dancing with & how crowded the floor was.

THEY TEACH A VERY FLUID OR IMPROVISATIONAL STYLE.
This is wrong for two reasons. One, it implies that no one else
does, which is untrue. Especially in the last two or three years
more teachers are focusing on fundamentals: how to walk, how to
embrace, the many different ways to respond to music, etc. This
includes traveling show dancers, who used to mostly teach complex
choreographed patterns. Now they often warn students that the
patterns they teach are only examples, then spend most of the
class using the examples to work on fundamentals.

This myth is also wrong for a very simple reason. If students
don't have any creative ability, any talent for improvisation,
all the ideas & techniques in the world won't make them "fluid."

"NEW TANGO" IS INTELLECTUAL.
All analytical techniques are intellectual, & the Fab Four (or is
it Five now?!) are far from the only teachers with an analytic
system. For many years Mingo Pugliese has been teaching an
analytic system, & he's hardly the only one. Analytic systems are
used to TEACH & LEARN tango. But they are only training wheels
for the mind. To actually DANCE everyone must shift gears to
sythetic, holistic thinking (& feeling). It's rather like
learning a new language: grammar & verb charts & phonic tables &
so on help to speed up learning, but to have a conversation all
analytic tools are totally useless (even harmful) unless they've
become such a part of your subconscious that you are not even
aware they exist.

THEY ARE TEACHING SOMETHING REALLY NEW.
The phrase "New Tango" is a marketing label (like "Milonguero"!).
It's very effective, especially on young people, who always want
a way to distinguish themselves from & be better than those who
came before. But the styles of the four lead "New Tangueros" is
not revolutionary; if anything it reminds me of several of the
better-known old milonguero. And the fundamentals they teach are
essentially the same ones that many others teach, both those who
came from a mostly social dance background & those who learned
dance in an academy. For how could it be that much different? We
only have two feet, we're dancing in an embrace, we're dancing as
couples, & the laws of physics & physiology are the same for us
all.

So there are four myths. There are others, but no doubt many of
you have perceived them & could better respond to them than I
can.
                        Larry de Los Angeles
                        http://home.att.net/~larrydla

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Date:    Sat, 9 Oct 1999 15:53:13 -0700
From:    "Richard T. Simoni, Sr." <rtssr @BATNET.COM>
Subject: San Francisco New Tango Venue-Mondays

The GLAS KAT Club
cordially invites you to the GRAND OPENING of
Monday Night Argentine Tango Dancing
with
Dale Meyers and his Live Tango Band

STRICTLY TANGO

Monday night, October 25
Hours 8:30 to 12:00 PM

with a beginner level Argentine Tango lesson at 7:45 - 8:30PM
San Francisco's newest and most exciting dance club, Monday nights
dedicated to dancing Argentine Tango to the live music of Dale Meyers
and his STRICTLY TANGO band


Beautiful brand new club built from the ground up as a dance club with
fabulous sound and lighting system. Two level (high) dance space with
tables and banquets, grand wood dance floor, 2nd level restaurant, two
bars, smoking room, and much more. A very elegant night spot to say the
least.

Located at 520 4th Street at 4th and Bryant in San Francisco
Entrance $10.00 per person at the door
Plenty of street parking in the neighborhood
For information call (650) 328-2718





Date:    Sun, 10 Oct 1999 00:03:26 -0700
From:    Manuel Patino <white95r @HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: "New Tango" Again

Hi Larry, list members:

I read your intersting post Larry, about "New Tango". Among
other things you said:
> There are several myths going around about what they
teach.
This is very interesting and quite true. This is a good
topic because it discusses tango myths (a very intersting
subject per se) and specifically myths about the "New Tango"
masters. You say:
> THEY TEACH A DISTANT OR OPEN EMBRACE.
> What they teach are fundamental ideas & skills that apply
just as
> well to a very close embrace or to a very distant one or
any
> point in between.
 I agree with you on this 100%. I was rather astounded about
the various people who wrote about Gustavo, Fabian and
Chichos lack of floorcraft and inability to dance a close
embrace. I've seen them dance everything from "apilado" to
complately open.

> THEY TEACH A VERY FLUID OR IMPROVISATIONAL STYLE.
> This is wrong for two reasons. One, it implies that no one
else
> does, which is untrue
 I dissagree with you on this. They do teach a "VERY FLUID
OR IMPROVISATIONAL STYLE"
while it is true that they are not the only ones who do
this, they do teach this and strive to impart their
knowledge of tango to all their students.

> "NEW TANGO" IS INTELLECTUAL.
> All analytical techniques are intellectual, & the Fab Four
(or is
> it Five now?!) are far from the only teachers with an
analytic
> system

Agreed totally.


> THEY ARE TEACHING SOMETHING REALLY NEW.
> The phrase "New Tango" is a marketing label (like
"Milonguero"!).
> It's very effective,

Again I completely agree. Terms like "milonguero style" and
"new tango" are nothing but labels and marketing devices. It
is unfortunate that so many people become confused by the
use of these terms and end up taking them as some sort of
dogmatic, almost religious tennets.


> So there are four myths. There are others, but no doubt
many of
> you have perceived them & could better respond to them
than I
> can.

Good for you Larry, excellent work of reasoning and good
presentation. I would love to hear and read about more
"tango myths". There must be hundreds of them and some need
debunking in as big way. Also, I'm sure that there are many
charming and amusing myths that could be brought to light
and discussed in forums like this. Thanks for the
provocative post.


Manuel
www.tango-rio.com





End of TANGO-L Digest - 9 Oct 1999 to 10 Oct 1999 (#1999-30)
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