The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 5 May 2000
to 6 May 2000
Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
To: Recipients of TANGO-L digests <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 03:00:55 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 5 May 2000 to 6 May 2000 (#2000-123)
There are 6 messages totalling 252 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. no subject message - should be deleted? (2)
2. Rebellion of codes in BA milongas (2)
3. Tandas in the milongas of Buenos Aires
4. women dancing together
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Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 08:48:44 -0600
From: Madhav Apte <mapte @POBOX.COM>
Subject: Re: no subject message - should be deleted?
Thanks for the note Timothy. I was considering
deleting the messages anyway, given the "no subject"
and questionable sender line, and given the "love virus"
going around. Now I can do it with certainty.
cheers,
Madhav Apte
mapte @pobox.com
Timothy Pogros wrote:
>
> I am getting repeated mail from
> sentto-1208426-5
> Either the message is in Spanish or there is no message.
> the sender is noted "unknown sender"
> does any one have any information about this
> Tim Pogros
Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 19:55:46 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango @FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: Rebellion of codes in BA milongas
Naomi Bennett wrote:
>I was talking with a portena at an
>afternoon milonga. We were both complaining about this code. She and many
>other women are in the mood to change the rules. It's too limiting to them
>and they are frustrated waiting and looking for the next dance.
All I can say to the women who don't like the code is--good luck. It's been
around for a long time and will be until there are no more men in the
milongas using eye contact. A 24-year old man I know in the milongas has
learned all he can from the milongueros, and this is how he invites women,
including me. I estimate 98% percent of the men in the milongas I attend
use this
manner to invite a woman to dance. Those who don't, can't dance.
The women who dance well have absolutely no problem with eye contact in the
milongas. Those who can't dance well are the ones who are complaining.
They are probably spending most of their time at the table or waiting for a
friend to invite them for a tanda. Unfortunately, there are some people who
will never dance well.
My advice is to make arrangements with the milonguero of your choice in
Buenos Aires to dance with you at a milonga. This is a business arrangement
for which you should expect to pay him $50-$100 per day--a reasonable price
to pay for an evening of quality dancing. This will greatly reduce the time
you'll spend at your table, because any time you look to him, he will be
ready to dance with you. Forget about taking all those classes and private
lessons during your visit to BsAs; they are a waste of time and money and
won't help
you one bit with your dancing for the milongas. A private practice session
with a milonguero would be time and money well spent before you head out to
the milongas.
Janis (Pichi) Kenyon
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 15:26:41 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango @FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: Tandas in the milongas of Buenos Aires
Bernard Kohlhaas wrote:
>How does one find out, what kind of tanda comes next? Is this pre-announced
somewhere?
During the first hour at a milonga, you will be able to determine the
regular program of music by the disc jockey. Just listen and take note.
Some milongas play more tango than any other music. It is not announced.
Hope this answers your question.
Janis
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 14:28:07 EDT
From: Dario Mendiguren <C21DARI @AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: no subject message - should be deleted?
Dear Madhav and Timoti and List
The person who is sending this message is Acho Manzi son of Homero Manzi a
famous Argentine Tango poet (He wrote the words for "Sur" in a Coffee Bar on
the corner of San Juan y Boedo, this "Bar" was named after him as "the Corner
of Homero Manzi " it was a 120 or more years old Bar and even been a
Historical Landmark the actual owners decide to remodel de place (and
succeeded), despite the complaints of the people who try to protect this
Historical place and the Argentinien Culture
Seems to be that Acho does not know how to translate his comments to English,
so let me do it for him Dario
He tells us that: while he was reading a book translated to German were 50 of
his father poems were written telling a lot of histories, he found out with
sadness that the Theater of Termas de Rio Hondo in Santiago del Estero (one
of the provinces in Argentina) was destroyed by a fire, almost entirely.
Acho is also telling us, that couple of years ago he with Raul Lavie and
Nelly Vasquez (two excellent tango singers) and with the music of Roberto
Pancera's orchestra (bandoneon mayor on Tango Argentino) and several Tango
dancers performed a show in the same Theater
honoring his father's memory. (The Theater was also named after the poet
Homero Manzi)
he is also telling us about other several things about people related to the
music world in Argentina and how they helped to built that magnificent
Theater, today destroyed by the flames.
One of the things he remarks is that in that Theater every year on June or
on July it was performed a Tango Festival and this year a week after an
Award Ceremony were the winners receive the "Gardel de Oro" (he complains
because many of the winners did not know Gardel real name Charles Gardes or
even his first name Carlos , and even Horacio Salgan a famous Tango composer
and conductor had to apologize to the audience about it)
He makes a pledge to all Reporters, Tango Specialists, Dancers, Milongueros,
Tango orchestras,and Tango singers asking them to gather forces in an
effort to defeat what he feels is a "Cultural Blockade" and help to rebuild
that Theater in Santiago del Estero and to be part of the "Resistance"
against that mentioned "Blockade" and to have the festival in the rebuild
Theater this year.
He complains also about the "simulacrum" of Country that this cultural and
economical blockade had left to the Argentineans, in a country were from the
members of the Goberment until the last Citizen, feel inferior in front of
foreign pressures.
He also reminds one of his father thought, about been against of the feeling
of inferiority by certain people.
He says is going to write more when he return from his next trip.
Thank you and happy Tangos Dario
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 21:45:42 +0200
From: JAM <amarinas @RAN.ES>
Subject: women dancing together
After a while working in it I have been able to put together a nice
collection of 11 images of women dancing tango. Thanks to everybody who
helped me in the task.
I am a little bit surprised discovering that most part of images (I
would say all) have a clear male point of view. I hoped to find some
examples of a lesb aproximation to the theme, but I did not. Maybe that
pictures exist but I could not find them.
After that I have a doubt: is the theme of women dancing together
another exclusively male fantasy?
If anybody has a new image to add to the exhibition on-line, I will be
very pleased doing it.
If you want to see the exhibition you can find it at:
http://www.artplus.es/tango/Chicas/Ellas.htm
Jose Alberto
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 15:46:04 -0500
From: Stephen P Brown <Stephen.P.Brown @DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Rebellion of codes in BA milongas
In response to Naomi Bennett, Janis Kenyon wrote:
>All I can say to the women who don't like the code is--good luck. It's
>been around for a long time and will be until there are no more men in the
>milongas using eye contact. A 24-year old man I know in the milongas has
>learned all he can from the milongueros, and this is how he invites women,
including me. I estimate 98% percent of the men in the milongas I attend
use this manner to invite a woman to dance. ...
>The women who dance well have absolutely no problem with eye contact in
>the milongas. ...
Unfortunately, sometimes a person (female or male) who can dance well but
is unknown at a milonga may have difficulty establishing eye contact for
the first few dances. Establishing oneself as someone who dances well is
the solution--in Buenos Aires or elsewhere. For a newcomer or visitor, the
first few dances are crucial. Ideally these dances would be with one of
the best-known and highly regarded dancers in the room.
One possibility is to do as Janis suggests:
>My advice is to make arrangements with the milonguero of your choice in
>Buenos Aires to dance with you at a milonga. This is a business
>arrangement for which you should expect to pay him $50-$100 per day--a
>reasonable price to pay for an evening of quality dancing. This will
>greatly reduce the time you'll spend at your table, because any time you
>look to him, he will be ready to dance with you.
One difficulty with this suggestion is in making a transition to dancing
without paying for the privelege. If the milonguero (or milonguera) is
known to accompany foreigners to milongas for pay, dancing with the hired
partner will do little to establish a newcomer's reputation as dancing well.
Women also need to watch out that they are not identified as the hired
dancer's regular partner and are, therefore, offlimits to other milongueros.
Another strategy is to take classes and private lessons, but explicitly look
for a professor who will help his/her students break into the milongas--
either personally or through introductions to other students.
A third strategy is to selectively break the code to get started,
recognizing that someone who is willing to break the code is unlikely to be
one of the best-known and highly regarded dancers in the room.
A fourth strategy is to pick a likely first partner and then watch his/her
eyes carefully--trying to catch his/her attention, rather than glancing
nervously around the room like someone who is out of place.
Unfortunately, none of these strategies for breaking into a milonga will
work for someone who does not dance well. In that case, paying a partner
for an evening of dancing probably remains the best choice. Those who have
danced what they consider to be several good tandas, but are not attracting
eye contact, either do not know how to make eye contact or do not dance as
well as they think they do.
--Steve de Tejas
End of TANGO-L Digest - 5 May 2000 to 6 May 2000 (#2000-123)
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