Re: Finnish tango - the original?

[Preston Palon <ppalon @QUALCOMM.COM>]

>Is it possible that Finland has preserved the original tango in its
pristine purity?

I doubt it, as Finnish tango has evolved in so many ways to become quite
different from the original. Here is my explanation for the lack of figures:

In the Finnish tango it is mainly the singers who are ambitious and
competitive. The musicians are happy to stay in the background, earning
their (below average) income by touring around the country, playing tango
and other dance music, often supporting the same vocalist night after night.
As for dancers, for virtually all of them it is a purely social activity;
Most of them have never taken any tango lessons. It is more like your friend
showing you some steps, and five minutes later you are ready to go. As an
activity it is not dissimilar to what teenagers do in mainstream dance clubs
all around the world: Virtuosity is not an objective.

It is a country where most men are so tongue-tied that expressing their
feelings or romantic interest verbally is a mission impossible, and so tango
came to play a very important role. In Argentina the problem was lack of
women, and so men developed sophisticated and elaborate figures to get their
attention. In Finland there was no shortage of women, the problem was
connecting with them, and thus it was important that tango was easy to
learn.

Still, the Finnish tango has a lot going for it. It has a rich history, and
as a nation they are crazy about tango, possibly more so than the
Argentinians, although I'm not qualified to compare the two. The countryside
is the real tango stronghold, and the venues are often located in places of
outstanding natural beauty. So, it's well worth investigating if you ever
happen to travel there.