1090 competition and legalities of milongas
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 08:57:08 -0600
From: Lois Donnay <donnay@DONNAY.NET>
Subject: Re: competition and legalities of milongas
I remember something similar happening to us when we had just started the
Tango Society of Minnesota. I had found a very nice ballroom in a convenient
area of town, and the price was excellent (the owner was willing to charge
us per person!)
Anyway, during one of the dances, the person at the gate rushed up to me and
said "The police are here!" I looked toward the door, and yes, there were
about 8 uniformed police standing there looking at us.
Turns out that they had gotten a tip that people had broken into the
ballroom and were staging a "rave". After seeing us in our "tango attire"
and hearing the music, they decided we probably weren't much of a threat to
the neighborhood. We even got a couple of them to consider taking lessons!
Later we found that the other tenant in the building (a coffeeshop, now
closed) was rumored to not like the dances because they filled the parking
lot. They tried other tactics, too, like calling the fire inspector on the
ballroom. He closed the ballroom until the (relatively minor) problems were
solved, and I had to go to the City Council to get special permission to
hold the already scheduled weekend dance.
In Minneapolis, you can't serve alcohol at an event that has a cover charge,
unless you have a liquor license. Or something like that. Zoning laws
prohibit holding dances (lascivious activity, you know) except where
specifically allowed.
Lois from Minneapolis
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango
> [mailto:TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of sarah La Rocca
> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 11:56 PM
> To: TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: [TANGO-L] competition and legallities of milongas
>
>
> In New York City, where I live and run 2 milongas, we have have
> to operate within what are called "cabaret laws". Cabaret laws
> restrict dancing and drinking in clubs and other spaces,
> including dance studios. Various milongas here have been visited
> by police looking for violations, sited for violations and in
> some cases shut down. My turn just came tonight. Who calls the
> police to report an "illegal" milonga? Well, no one knows and no
> one is telling.
>
> Two things I just can't understand: why in city full of sin like
> NYC, with every possible deviant activity readily available, do
> the police waste time on looking for milongas? What could be more
> boring and tame than us? And second: Someone in the tango
> community is most likely behind it. In competition for the most
> successful milonga on any given night, someone in the community
> sets out to destroy the community and some of our best events.
> Let's hope Ithat maybe I am wrong about that.
>
> We have so much to worry about today. The war, the terrorists,
> the ecomomy, the challenges of daily life. Is it too much to ask
> that for some sweet enchanted hours of the night we can all just
> dance in peace, here there and anywhere we choose? There is space
> for everyone. Why do we have to be so ugly to each other?
>
> My milongas, the All Night Milonga and Tango Nocturne, will
> continue as before without distruption. But my heart is hurt by
> this situation.
>
> Sarah La Rocca, NYC, USA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 01:06:21 +0900
From: astrid <astrid@RUBY.PLALA.OR.JP>
Subject: Re: competition and legalities of milongas
Sarah,
forgive me for coming up with slapstick type memories in relation to police
and milongas and the law. I don't mean to offend you.
There is a place in Berlin that has a milonga on one night of the week, and
salsa and other Latin dances on the other nights. The whole venue is run
inside the facilities of a former Turkish bath. With a separe'e in a corner
towards the back and all that.
The basin of the former Turkish bath, where people used to soak, drink and
hold orgies and whatnot in the center of the room, was turned into the dance
floor for tango.
One day the police came. We have laws for such establishments too, and they
usually concern hygiene and safety, and they checked the place for just
that. What they came up with was this: The dance floor is too dangerous,
because it is inside a pool, more than a meter deep, without a handrail, and
people standing on the "side" of the dance floor, might just fall into it
and break their neck. They would withdraw their license, unless this was
changed.
So the owners hauled in half a ton of soil and filled up the pool, thus
raising the dance floor to ground level.
And this is the reason, why the dance floor nowadays feels a little uneven,
and is surrounded by an edge of sand. And inside the separee towards the
back, there are no longer any beds, but they left the cuddly couches, and
you can have coffee and a quiet chat with your best friend there, far away
from the action.
P.S.
Someone's computer is still sending me 5-10 big@boss-virus mails a day,
please check, if is not yours. Moreover, the colour of my writing screen has
suddenly changed from white to a dirty lemon yellow, and tonight, it is
turning green. If you don't hear from me anymore, it means, it has turned
red or black, and _I can no longer see what I'm writing. Any advice is
appreciated.
Astrid
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 18:10:08 -0800
From: Rick FromPdx <bugs1959bunny@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: competition and legalities of milongas
I went to a pdx Swing Club dance last night & the fire dept. had a few safety changes made. I imagine this is in the wake of the disastrous nightclub fire in NJ. An annoucement was made about the location of the fire extinguishers & the entrance/exit & fire escape lanes were kept clear; very clear.
Rick
