Re: [TANGO-L] True tango and nuevo tango

["Ecsedy Áron" <aron @MILONGA.HU>]

Dear Tangueros,

 > that it is not developed further. There is no true or
 > nontrue Tango, but there is a true or nontrue Tango Argentino.
 >
 > If you want to develop Tango, feel free, but please call it
 > differently, not just Tango without attribute, as most
 > people here think that you mean Tango Argentino. This

 > But whatever you do, before going on dancing, please learn
 > to respect other people and their way of being (and
 > dancing). Whatever style you dance, I really can't imagine
 > that you could be successful in a ballroom with such an attitude.

I simply can't imagine how could any of you consider themselves able to
see 150 years of tango dancing as a static thing.

In the history of dancing (even something as strict as ballet !!!)
evolution (change) was always there. In a strictly popular style like
tango, which has never been canonized, the idea of no-change is simply
stupid.

This also brings about the idea, that THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS
AUTHENTIC TANGO. There is something which people call authentic, but
that is not a strict (clearly defined) style. Actually, it is not even
ONE style. And the criteria to include a certain style or not is not
strict either. (no one person or group may claim the right to be an
authority of defining this - this dance did not emanate from one clearly
definable source.)

The differences between styles are also imaginary: every tango dancer
has a different style. (even one copies another) You may distinguish
_trends_ in style. But you cannot enforce trends. You cannot say, that
one trend (even if it is the most popular) the one and only acceptable
way doing it. Especially, because not one style exists in pure form.
Actually, if we could come up with a strict and exact definition of
styles (such as apilado, salon, escenario OR mid-BsAs, Denver, Nijmegen
etc.), there would not be a single person who would actually dance in
these 'pure' styles.

Of course, you can ask "then what makes tango to be tango?". Actually,
only one thing: people attribute certain concepts to what they believe
tango is. More simply: everything is tango, what people call tango.
There are people who have more knowledge on the available forms of
tango, it's history: they probably will consider a narrower set of
things tango then the average urban folk, who couldn't distinguish btw
tango argentino and international ballroom tango. However, the concept
itself changes based on the what a person experienced to be considered
tango by others! Clearly, this cannot be a base for an "objective" tango
definition. This is the problem with social sciences and more specificly
with art. There are no strict definitions, as you will always find
exceptions to a strict rule and some things cannot be defined at all.

Of course you can say that the tango that is danced in BsAs is the REAL
one, and everything else is bogus, but in reality, it is only a trend.
Only a common consensus on the subject may declare that "from now on
we'll only call tango what is danced in El Viruta by the elderly". With
this you state that most people on this list considering themselves fans
of this tango, can't dance it... What are the chances then to get them
approve your definition???

Cheers,
Aron

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