4716  A change in my milonga routine

Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:12:08 -0300
From: "Janis Kenyon" <Jantango@feedback.net.ar>
Subject: [Tango-L] A change in my milonga routine
To: "Tango-L" <Tango-L@MIT.EDU>

I decided I was ready for a change in my milonga routine. My friend Juanita
said she was going to dance in Flores on Thursday and Sunday afternoons and
invited me to join her at a large neighborhood club with the largest dance
floors in BsAs.

Rather than a 15-minute walk to my usual place, I had a 30-minute bus ride
to Flores. This afternoon milonga draws a large crowd of senior dancers.
The four peso entrada has to be the lowest in BsAs, where the majority of
milongas charge from eight to fifteen pesos. I was the only foreigner among
the some 300 dancers. Juanita said the Sunday milonga draws an even larger
crowd.

I was greeted by the organizer Susana who asked who sent me. I told her
I was there to join a friend. I saw Juanita dancing, so I waited for her to
indicate where she was seated and joined her. The normal arrangement in
downtown milongas is to seat men and women at small tables on opposite sides
of the room. At this club, men and women sit together at tables of ten.
It's more social than milongas downtown. Singles are seated at one section
with couples in another. Location is important in a large venue such as
this one.

I observed the dancing for more than an hour because I won't dance with a
man until I've seen him dance. This was a new milonga for me, although I
have danced at the club many times with partners. It takes time to see who
dances well. I wasn't surprised to see three men I know from the downtown
milongas there with partners, but I wouldn't be dancing with any of them.
Couples dance only with each other. That's the way it is. When I thought I
had found someone who seemed to dance well, I watched him walk off the floor
to see where he was seated and if he sat with his partner. This process of
elimination took time until I found the one man with whom I wanted to dance.

I watched him for several tandas. I wanted to see that he observed the line
of dance, took care of his partner, and danced with the music. His salida
and embrace confirmed for me that he was someone with whom I wanted to
dance. The next step was letting him know that I wanted to dance with him.
I saw that he was adept with the cabeceo, hardly moving his head at all. It
was like radar zeroing in on a target.

I've learned patience. This was my test. I kept looking in his direction.
He was seated near the entrance at the first table, so the organizer got him
for the D'Arienzo valses. Just another opportunity to watch him on the
floor. When they returned to the table, I got up to go to the ladies' room,
passing by his table.

I returned and gave a clear signal that I was looking at him. When the Di
Sarli tanda began, I knew that this was a moment of truth. He gave me a
quick signal, and I accepted. Another woman in front of me got up at the
same time, so I waited to be sure that he was coming over to dance with me.

I immediately realized that we are the same height, although my 3-1/2 inch
heels made me taller than he. He placed a handkerchief in his left hand to
receive my right hand. He gave me a firm embrace. We danced as if we had
danced together for years. We didn't speak after the first dance. After
the second, he said, "now I'm going to begin to dance." At first, I didn't
understand what he was talking about. At the end of the tanda I knew what
he meant. Our first two dances were an introduction--to see how I danced
and responded to his lead. He danced simply and made me feel comfortable.
All he said to me after the tanda--sin palabras. (I'm speechless.)

I returned to my table to report to Juanita that I had found a gem. I
didn't want to dance with anyone else. I had found an excellent partner
among the dozens of men in the club.

A few tandas later came one of Miguel Calo. Of course I wanted to dance
with him again. A turn of my head in his direction and he tilted his head,
as if to say, let's go. I accepted. Another wonderful tanda.

He wanted to dance the cumbia tanda with me, but I wanted to save my energy
for valses with him. When the Tanturi vals tanda began, it was as if we had
made a previous arrangement to dance. His embrace made it easy for me to
feel his every movement and to enjoy in the music.

Three terrific tandas. I didn't need anymore. It was only 9:30, but I
wanted to visit a friend at home. He saw me leaving and got up from his
table to speak to me. He said he was hoping to see me there on Sunday. I
thanked him for the tandas and left. I will definitely go back on Sunday.
I need a change in my milonga routine.


Janis Kenyon
Buenos Aires

Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:34:38 -0500
From: Robin Tara <rtara@maine.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] A change in my milonga routine
To: janice kenyon <Jantango@feedback.net.ar>, Tango-L

Mmmmmm Janis,

Sounds like the old days - by the way, I'll be there on or about Feb 8

> From: Janis Kenyon <Jantango@feedback.net.ar>
> Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:12:08 -0300
> Subject: [Tango-L] A change in my milonga routine
>
> I decided I was ready for a change in my milonga routine. My friend Juanita
> said she was going to dance in Flores on Thursday and Sunday afternoons and
> invited me to join her at a large neighborhood club with the largest dance
> floors in BsAs.
>
> Rather than a 15-minute walk to my usual place, I had a 30-minute bus ride
> to Flores. This afternoon milonga draws a large crowd of senior dancers.
> The four peso entrada has to be the lowest in BsAs, where the majority of
> milongas charge from eight to fifteen pesos. I was the only foreigner among
> the some 300 dancers. Juanita said the Sunday milonga draws an even larger
> crowd.
>
> I was greeted by the organizer Susana who asked who sent me. I told her
> I was there to join a friend. I saw Juanita dancing, so I waited for her to
> indicate where she was seated and joined her. The normal arrangement in
> downtown milongas is to seat men and women at small tables on opposite sides
> of the room. At this club, men and women sit together at tables of ten.
> It's more social than milongas downtown. Singles are seated at one section
> with couples in another. Location is important in a large venue such as
> this one.
>
> I observed the dancing for more than an hour because I won't dance with a
> man until I've seen him dance. This was a new milonga for me, although I
> have danced at the club many times with partners. It takes time to see who
> dances well. I wasn't surprised to see three men I know from the downtown
> milongas there with partners, but I wouldn't be dancing with any of them.
> Couples dance only with each other. That's the way it is. When I thought I
> had found someone who seemed to dance well, I watched him walk off the floor
> to see where he was seated and if he sat with his partner. This process of
> elimination took time until I found the one man with whom I wanted to dance.
>
> I watched him for several tandas. I wanted to see that he observed the line
> of dance, took care of his partner, and danced with the music. His salida
> and embrace confirmed for me that he was someone with whom I wanted to
> dance. The next step was letting him know that I wanted to dance with him.
> I saw that he was adept with the cabeceo, hardly moving his head at all. It
> was like radar zeroing in on a target.
>
> I've learned patience. This was my test. I kept looking in his direction.
> He was seated near the entrance at the first table, so the organizer got him
> for the D'Arienzo valses. Just another opportunity to watch him on the
> floor. When they returned to the table, I got up to go to the ladies' room,
> passing by his table.
>
> I returned and gave a clear signal that I was looking at him. When the Di
> Sarli tanda began, I knew that this was a moment of truth. He gave me a
> quick signal, and I accepted. Another woman in front of me got up at the
> same time, so I waited to be sure that he was coming over to dance with me.
>
> I immediately realized that we are the same height, although my 3-1/2 inch
> heels made me taller than he. He placed a handkerchief in his left hand to
> receive my right hand. He gave me a firm embrace. We danced as if we had
> danced together for years. We didn't speak after the first dance. After
> the second, he said, "now I'm going to begin to dance." At first, I didn't
> understand what he was talking about. At the end of the tanda I knew what
> he meant. Our first two dances were an introduction--to see how I danced
> and responded to his lead. He danced simply and made me feel comfortable.
> All he said to me after the tanda--sin palabras. (I'm speechless.)
>
> I returned to my table to report to Juanita that I had found a gem. I
> didn't want to dance with anyone else. I had found an excellent partner
> among the dozens of men in the club.
>
> A few tandas later came one of Miguel Calo. Of course I wanted to dance
> with him again. A turn of my head in his direction and he tilted his head,
> as if to say, let's go. I accepted. Another wonderful tanda.
>
> He wanted to dance the cumbia tanda with me, but I wanted to save my energy
> for valses with him. When the Tanturi vals tanda began, it was as if we had
> made a previous arrangement to dance. His embrace made it easy for me to
> feel his every movement and to enjoy in the music.
>
> Three terrific tandas. I didn't need anymore. It was only 9:30, but I
> wanted to visit a friend at home. He saw me leaving and got up from his
> table to speak to me. He said he was hoping to see me there on Sunday. I
> thanked him for the tandas and left. I will definitely go back on Sunday.
> I need a change in my milonga routine.
>
>
> Janis Kenyon
> Buenos Aires
>
>

Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:19:27 EST
From: JOANNEPROCHASKA@aol.com
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] A change in my milonga routine
To: Jantango@feedback.net.ar, tango-L@mit.edu

Dear Janis,
This is one of the most beautiful accounts of dancing in BsAs that I have
ever heard. It was not all sloppy with emotional words that one cannot
understand. It is straighforward, honest and describes just how the codes of BsAs
milongas really do work to benefit both the women and the men.
I had a similar experience on one of my visits to BsAs.
I agree that this method really teaches a woman PATIENCE. In our world
today, that is a very hard quality to practice and to achieve, especially with peer
pressure to NOT achieve it (if you know what I mean).
Happy dancing, one tanda at a time!
Joanne Pogros
Cleveland, Ohio

Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 22:53:33 +0300 (MSK)
From: "vistgof" <vistgof@yandex.ru>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] A change in my milonga routine -- Part 2

Hi Janis

Your help for Elena was really great! I am very thankful for this! Elena is working as administrator in our tango club in Moscow, it was her first trip to Buenos Aires and she can hardly go more just because it's too expensive for Russian grandmother to afford such a trip. By the way, the help of Janis for for free.

Thanks again
Sasha

>Last Thursday I took a woman from Moscow. She arrived a week earlier for
>her first visit to Buenos Aires. I had her traveling companions explain
>what she needed to know about the milonga codes. It was an interesting
>experience since she knows only a few words in Spanish, and I know nothing
>in Russian. I picked her up at her hotel downtown, and we took the bus
>together. I knew that she would have a better chance there than in the
>downtown milongas. She joined me at my table and waited patiently for TWO
>hours until she had her first invitation to dance. He didn't dance very
>well, but at least she was able to get up the courage to make eye
>contact and smile. The second invitation came from a good dancer. I told
>him that it was her first visit, and she was very pleased to dance with him.
>He asked her for two more tandas of vals and milonga. Elena was in heaven.
>She was getting invitations on her own. Her last partner danced with
>separation, but she accepted two tandas with him. We were among the first
>to arrive and the last to leave the milonga. She enjoyed the experience so
>much that she returned on her own last Sunday and enjoyed watching the
>dancing for hours.
>
>I have to change my milonga routine again and skip Thursday. I know Jose
>Maria will be expecting me, but he can dance with other women. He must be
>bored dancing only with me.
>
>
>Janis Kenyon
>Buenos Aires
>
>

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