Re: [TANGO-L] Outdoor Milongas Hosting/Dancing

[Clifton Chow <TangoPassionMoon @AOL.COM>]

Ramu,

You've danced along the Seine?  Fantastic!  I hope to do that someday.  I 
coordinate Tango by Moonlight here in Boston, one of the most popular and 
successful outdoor milongas in the city.  In our 6th season, we continue to 
draw huge crowds even on a week night.  We took our inspiration from the 
movie, "Tangos: The Exile of Gardel," where Argentine emigres in Paris were 
dancing over the Seine River.  Here in Boston we dance over the Charles River 
on a concrete footbridge located near Harvard Square between Boston and 
Cambridge.  We have grappled with the floor problem for years.  I have looked 
into trying linoleum and even renting a wooden dance floor for the evening 
(which is very expensive, by the way).  Linoleum does not work very well 
under heat, which is often the case when you dance outdoors in the summer.  
Therefore, we now tell our dancers to wear comfortable shoes, but not their 
best shoes, and be very careful when leading not to lead too many ochos or 
molenetes.  Some dancers, as you can imagine, will ignore the floor condition 
and do what they will.  Others will simply dance in close embrace and enjoy 
the romantic atmosphere the occasion brings by slowing down their pace and 
let the music flow through their bodies.  I would suggest concentrating on 
the mood of the evening and let Tango transform those who come to your 
outdoor event.  I have heard that many people here in Boston begin their 
addiction to Tango by experiencing Tango by Moonlight, and undoubtedly I am 
sure romances are formed there too.  I still get calls from people asking if 
I know so and so who was at the bridge, that he or she had one dance with 
that person and was so speechless that they forgot to take down contact 
information before the moon waned.  I know the floor may be a distraction, 
but in the end, if the mood is right and the stars and the moon shine, 
dancing on concrete will feel almost like gliding on water.  

Good Luck!

Clifton de Boston

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