The Tango-L mailing list archive
Digest from 17 May 2000
to 18 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: Thu, 18 May 2000 03:00:31 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
From: Automatic digest processor <LISTSERV @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 17 May 2000 to 18 May 2000 (#2000-135)
There are 6 messages totalling 191 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Visit to D.C.
2. Who is it? (2)
3. Why go? (2)
4. tango styles
Send "Where can I Tango in <city>?" requests to Tango-A rather than to
Tango-L, since you can indicate the region. To subscribe to Tango-A,
send "subscribe Tango-A Firstname Lastname" to LISTSERV @MITVMA.MIT.EDU.
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 15:57:40 -0700
From: Barbara Alexius <taitango @IO.COM>
Subject: Visit to D.C.
Hi, List--
Just returned from a visit to the D.C. area where I danced in the District,
Virginia, and Maryland. I had SO much fun. The dancers are open and
friendly there. I felt totally welcomed and informed. Thanks, especially
to Karen Kugok for steering me in the "right" direction. There were so many
really good dancers at Diversite in the District and the Stone House in
Maryland and there were opportunities to dance somewhere almost every night.
I had a private lesson with Joe Patrisko and a couple of group lessons with
Leon Harris, all of which helped me improve my dancing.
Thanks, all of you in D.C., for such a fun time!
Come tango with us in Austin.
Barbara Alexius
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 17:24:00 -0500
From: Lois Donnay <donnay @FOXINTERNET.NET>
Subject: Who is it?
In this month's issue of Wired, there is an advertisement for a
company called NetValue. In the ad is a lovely picture of two tango
dancers. The caption says "Met in "Two to Tango" chat room". About
the woman it says "Runs not-for-profit.org out of home office". About
the man it says "Plays internet arcade games when bored with the
boardroom". The ad asks in bold letters: "Do you know what these
Tango lovers are really up to?"
Anybody know who these people are? Are they real? Do you suppose the
readers of "Wired" know anything about Argentine Tango?
Lois Donnay
pres @mntango.org
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 20:35:32 EDT
From: Jack Karako <JKarako @AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Who is it?
They are real. They are my students here in New York.
They are both professional ballroom dancers, currently studying tango.
Jak
www.bailatango.com/nysch.htm
<< To: TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU
In this month's issue of Wired, there is an advertisement for a
company called NetValue. In the ad is a lovely picture of two tango
dancers. The caption says "Met in "Two to Tango" chat room". About
the woman it says "Runs not-for-profit.org out of home office". About
the man it says "Plays internet arcade games when bored with the
boardroom". The ad asks in bold letters: "Do you know what these
Tango lovers are really up to?"
Anybody know who these people are? Are they real? Do you suppose the
readers of "Wired" know anything about Argentine Tango?
Lois Donnay
pres @mntango.org
>>
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 22:01:08 -0400
From: Larry Carroll <larrydla @JUNO.COM>
Subject: Why go?
My goodness! To judge from the last couple of weeks' messages,
Argentine men are too cowardly to ask women to dance, women
are too stuckup to dance with a stranger, & Argentines are
unimversally mercenary! The dance floors are terrible, there's
no air conditioning, & people are such chain smokers that you
will succumb to lung cancer after a night out on the town!
So why do tango dancers go to BA anyway? Are they all naive?
Or looking for sex in a strange land? Or some other even
worse reason?
Larry de Los Angeles
http://home.att.net/~larrydla
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 22:31:28 EDT
From: Cherie Magnus <MACFroggy @AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Why go?
Hello List,
<< So why do tango dancers go to BA anyway? >>
I think most people who have been to Buenos Aires will agree that the
reason we go is because of the dancing. That we have a greater chance
of going to Tango Heaven in a Buenos Aires milonga than anywhere else.
The level of skill and experience is without equal.
Anything else is beside the point.
Cherie
Los Angeles
Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 02:03:32 -0400
From: SERGIO <SERGIO @NCINTER.NET>
Subject: tango styles
Joe Grohens asks how to group different terms in reference to tango styles.
The following is what I understand as those terms, others might have
different opinions.
Milonguero Style, close embrace, club style, tango apilado, confiteria style
generally refer to the same style.
Tango style developed to dance in crowded places, in close embrace that is
not disturbed during the dance, with simplified choreography proper to dance
in a small area. The dance is rhythmic with syncopations, the diminished
external beauty is compensated by the intense inner feeling. Danced in many
places in downtown Buenos Aires and in Europe.
This style is favored by teachers like Susana Miller, Tete and Silvia, etc.
Canyengue, orillero refers to an early form of tango danced in the brothels
and the periphery(orilla)of the city.
Canyengue is a word of difficult etymology. It seems to be of African
origin. Jose Gobello thinks that is the combination of two African words -
Candombe and Yongo - Eduardo Stillman thinks that the word means "tired
like" in reference to the dancing style of last century. In modern times the
term is used with the meaning of ordinary, low class, it may be applied to
anything including the dance.
It is the style of the compadritos in the early times of tango development.
Cortes y quebradas, are terms that refer to dancing moves of Africans.
Blacks danced separated, as individuals, when a run was suddenly interrupted
by a turn and an exhibition move, this was called a corte (stop - cut),
quebrads referred to the undulating movement of the body, where the thorax
and the legs had a broken line. (Quebrar = to break).
Compadritos imitated the Blacks and their peculiar way of dancing, adapted
their moves to the mazurka, the milonga, the habanera, the polka and danced
in close embrace, between men first and later with women in bars and
brothels.
One could then say that at the beginning tango was a mazurka, milonga,
habanera, etc. with cortes y quebradas .
Tango Salon refers to a more elegant way of dancing, the body more erect in
contrast to the canyengue that required more flexion of knees and waist. The
dance alternates a close embrace with a certain degree of separation of the
dancing partners to allow turns and figures.
This style is favored by the great majority of instructors, Osvaldo Zoto,
Nito and Elba, Rodolfo Cieri, to name a few.
Tango liso or Sin Cortes refers to a tango that is walked, without too many
turns, embellishments or figures.
Corte became equivalent with embellishment and ornament.
Finally Tango Nuevo is a style that has been discussed extensively in this
forum, but should be referred as a form of dancing that uses moves that
although existent before, were not favored by the instructors of Tango Salon
till some younger instructors included the moves in their repertoires; a
dance style that could require an enormous amount of space, usually danced
with a certain degree of separation but in close position.
This style is favored by Gustavo Naveira, Fabian Salas, Chicho, etc.
Today in Buenos Aires one can find Salon Style also called Villa Urquiza in
reference to the city quarter where it is danced,
Club Sin Rumbo, Sunderland, etc. Milonguero in many places including
downtown, Salon Canning,etc. and also Nuevo Tango, in many clubs danced
mostly at the end of the night when there is more room.
End of TANGO-L Digest - 17 May 2000 to 18 May 2000 (#2000-135)
**************************************************************