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Digest from 28 Sep 2000 to 29 Sep 2000

Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango          <TANGO-L  @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Date:     Fri, 29 Sep 2000 03:00:41 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango          <TANGO-L  @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Subject:  TANGO-L Digest - 28 Sep 2000 to 29 Sep 2000 (#2000-263)
There are 3 messages totalling 149 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. American choreography Awards
  2. More on "Flintstones" tango (2)





Date:    Thu, 28 Sep 2000 10:22:01 -0400
From:    Robert Blais <rblais12  @ODYSSEE.NET>
Subject: American choreography Awards

Hello List

        I was very interested to read Linda's post regarding the win of the 1999
American Choreography award for choreography in a feature film by Juan
Carlos Copes, Carlos Rivarola and Ana Maria Steckelman for the movie Tango.
It's interesting to note that tango dancers have been winning this same
award for two years in a row since it was won by Pablo Veron for the movie
The Tango Lesson for 1998. I hope we will continue to see the work of such
dancers as Pablo Veron, Juan Carlos Copes and other great tango dancers and
choreographers in the films of coming years. I know we will have the chance
to see Pablo Veron dance (but not tango apparently) in a cameo appearance in
the new film of Sally Potter  The Man Who Cried due to be released in
december 2000.

Robert Blais





Date:    Thu, 28 Sep 2000 21:43:57 -0400
From:    Melinda Bates <tangerauna  @EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: More on "Flintstones" tango

For those who wanted more detail about selecting music for milongas:

 Regarding Piazzolla. He started playing in very traditional orchestras,
like
 Los Ases del Ritmo, Francisco Lauro and Miguel Calo. Later he join Troilo
 orchestra until 1946, when he created his own. But he was still
"troileano". You
 should listen to records from his first orchestra and also his themes: El
 Desbande, and Villeguita. Very traditional tango.

 Someone referred to his version of Quejas de Bandoneon and other one...No,
these
versions are not for dancing. At that time he was already switching to his
idea
 of tango non-for-dancers. He confessed he did not like dancers, so he did
not
 care for them.

 So, my revenge to him is to play in the milongas his first records, very
 danceable themes...

 On the issue of flintstone dancers...those are NOT  beginners. They are
dancers
 without too much musicality.

 You know what surprises me here and in Europe?  Almost all the beginners
will
 come to you and ask for Pugliese...well to dance Pugliese (countermelodies,
 breaks, crescendos, unexpected finales) you have to be a good dancer!!! The
 effect is that these beginners dance Pugliese but not his music. Sometimes
I
 wonder where they hide the walkman...because what they are dancing is not
the
 music that I can hear....

 As probably you already realize, when I play the music in the milonga I
don't
 play Pugliese. But I keep people dancing! Lesson:  musicality is more
 important than a thousand steps.  Better start with flintstone music like
 D'Arienzo, Varela, Biagi, Los Astros del Tango, Carlos Franco (great
version
 of "Loca"), then the old ones and slow ones like Donato, A. Cupo, O.
Maderna,
 A. Gobbi, including the danceable themes from Julio De Caro (not the
 sinphonic tango), Alfredo De Angelis (very nice for dance) you later will
 arrive on the orchestra-singer paradise: Tanturi-Castillo, Tanturi-Campos;
D'
 Agostino-Vargas; M. Calo,Troilo-Fiore...haaaaaa...this is tango!!!

 Later, if you really listen to the music go for Di Sarli (marvelous!!!, the
best
 music for dance tango!!!), then Pugliese.

 The idea is to challenge the dancers. If they dance again and again
Pugliese
 (and out of the music) they also will get bored.

 Look, there were around 400 orchestras and 22.000 tangos that we know. Why
 insist on only Pugliese and Piazzolla???? Please, diversity is beautiful!

 (Probably at this point you winder why I did not mention Canaro. His
Quinteto
 Pirincho is not for dancing, too cheap...his orchestra is too
 pretentious...so undanceable. Canaro's great merit was to make money with
tango,
 his music is for forgetting. The worst was he's tango-amilongado, rhythm
like
 milonga, really for dummies (far worse than Flintstones...) This happened
in
 the fifties when in BA tango started to decline and other rhythms started
to
 become popular, Tango academies were shut down so dancers started to dance
 everything, cha cha cha, rumba, merengue, and still tango, but the style
 started to be lost. Orchestras like Canaro, in order to survive in the
market, play fast
 and with more beat (amilongado) terrible. These people (my father use to
say)
 they dance everything but everything wrong!!!

 So. I don't play too much milongas, one step one beat....only for
 dummies...(I never dance in the beat...I dance the melody. I choose an
instrument, or the dialogue between violin and bandoneon and I dance that,
 this is the way to dance tango, slow, focus in the music and not rushing
and
 doing ganchos everywhere...
(Melinda adding here, his dancing is deeply emotional and deceptively
"simple".)

 Enjoy it!!

 Your secret informer.





Date:    Fri, 29 Sep 2000 14:15:45 +0900
From:    astrid <astrid  @RUBY.PLALA.OR.JP>
Subject: Re: More on "Flintstones" tango

>
>  Later, if you really listen to the music go for Di Sarli (marvelous!!!,
the
> best
>  music for dance tango!!!), then Pugliese.

In my tango school Di Sarli was used for absolute beginners, then D'Arienzo
and Co, Pugliese for intermediates...
And Piazzolla is always played late at night in the European milongas.
But I wish they would play it earlier, not when I am tired and ready to go
home, and just still hanging around waiting for the more interesting music.
And milonga is for those who dare dance that rhythm. It is not for dummies
over here, but for those who have mastered the basics and are able to move
on to learning milonga and valse too.
I guess Europeans love Pugliese because D'Arienzo reminds us of our own old
fashioned dance orchetras. Don't take me up on this, it is a guess.





End of TANGO-L Digest - 28 Sep 2000 to 29 Sep 2000 (#2000-263)
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