-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: The New Tango Trades Cheek to Cheek For Hot, Fast Moves
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005 15:28:37 -0500
From: Christopher L. Everett <ceverett @ceverett.com>
To: kim-mai.cutler @wsj.com, wsj.ltrs @wsj.com
Dear Ms. Cutler:
I suppose you're going to get a fair number of flames about this article.
On reading it, the only part I have a real problem with is the sentence:
"But the tango was withering away. A lot of American milongas, or dance
parties, were kitschy affairs patronized by an aging and dwindling cast
of die-hards who danced to scratchy records of accordion music", which
presents an interesting brew of editorializing presented as fact ("A lot
of American milongas, or dance parties, were kitschy affairs"), outright
falsehood ("aging and dwindling", "accordion music") and incomplete data
("scratchy records").
I understand journalists commonly use the device of build mountains out
of molehills, but your writing here is blatantly innaccurate, and plays
the "young turks" vs. "old farts" card for more than what its worth.
New tango could never have come into being without the old tango, and
historically every generation has taken tango, stripped it down and
built it back up as their own tango. In fact, the so-called "new tango" was created from a rigorous, almost mathematical analysis of traditional
tango.
The jury is till out on whether "new tango" is a mere fad or if it has legs for the long term. Meanwhile, much of the "new tango" vocabulary
has already become standard in more traditional circles and the athletic
demands of "new tango" put an upper age limit on who can participate.
I suspect many of today's "new tango" dancers will come to appreciate
the rewards of traditional tango in time, or find something else to do.
*This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire
address below into your web browser.
http://online.wsj.com/wsjgate?subURI=%2Farticle%2F0%2C%2CSB11252795888112525
0%2Demail%2C00%2Ehtml&nonsubURI=%2Farticle%5Femail%2F0%2C%2CSB11252795888112
5250%2DH9jf4NilaV4nJ2nbXqIcK6Im5%2C00%2Ehtml
Christopher L. Everett writes:
Who was the author? Was it someone by the name of Kim-Mai Cutler?
Michael at Tango Bellingham wrote:
Don't bother - it's like one of TANGO-L's periodic urination contests
about style put in newsprint. According to the article, before the
advent of nuevo, "American milongas...were kitschy affairs
patronized by
an aging and dwindling cast of die-hards who danced to scratchy records
of accordion music."
Accordion music...riiiight.
The whole tone is nuevo = young, hip, "with-it", while any other
style =
old, out-of-date, quaint.
Nothing to see here, move along....
Michael the Aging and Dwindling Die-hard
Tango Bellingham
www.tangobellingham.com
Joanne Pogros wrote:
This article is too long for me to type in, also I do not know how to
scan it in for emailing. The article quotes Homer Ladas of San
Francisco, Carlos Libedinsky (Narcotango), Stephen Brown and Tom
Stermitz of Denver. Maybe one of them can facilitate the printing
of the article on the List for all to read, if possible.
--
Christopher L. Everett
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Jennifer Bratt
Maleva & Co.
www.close-embrace.com
jennifer @close-embrace.com
718.753.0521
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