1786 Moscow Tango Festival Travel Report
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 17:19:26 -0600
From: Tom Stermitz <Stermitz@RAGTIME.ORG>
Subject: Moscow Tango Festival Travel Report
I recently returned from a visit to Moscow where I took part in the
Milonguero Nights: 1st International Festival of Argentine Tango. It
was such an intense swirl of excitement, experiences and new friends
that I can't possibly tell you about everything.
https://milonga.ru/milongueronights/
The most important thing to report is how friendly and welcoming the
Russian tango dancers are to visitors. The Moscow scene is full of
young, artsy, fun people...and yes, they dance very nicely. The women
are incredibly warm, passionate, stylish and attractive (good thing I
had a body-guard); the men are so bold, confident and dramatic (good
thing my partner had a body-guard).
The Russians almost have a Latin personality. They love to talk, love
the close-embrace, love to flirt, drive crazy, proud of their
culture, etc. This is not an uptight, puritanical culture.
I was particularly impressed with the work-ethic of the tango
dancers, especially the men...they clearly want to dance tango
"right", and they work hard and attentively to get better. Ballroom
dance and professionalism in dance is a long-standing tradition in
Russia, and a number of the main teachers and performers have serious
training from ballroom, ballet or theater.
Dance Style
The dance style in general tended toward fantasy/salon or nuevo
inspired. Zig-zagging about the middle of the room was common. This
festival produced by Alexander Vistgoff (and friends) was about
presenting a more social style conception of tango (line of dance &
lanes, close-embrace, rhythm & trance). This is only a five year
tango community; Give Moscow one or two more years, and the level of
dance will be the equal of any of the top tango communities in the
world.
Festival
The festival itself can only be described as "full pageant". It was
an over-the-top production, with:
- Workshops on close-embrace/social tango
- Milongas by several different tango schools/organizers
- Tango performance/show where the Argentine Ambassador made a nice speech,
- Television interviews on the morning show,
- Press conference,
- Fashion show for a line of Tango (or maybe gaucho) inspired
clothes draped on Russian Super Models (I was back stage hanging with
the super-models, so I didn't see the runway).
Attendance
Probably about 250 people took part, including a group of excellent
dancers who took the night train to Moscow from St Petersburg. Many
local and visiting dancers gave performances, so the entire community
was involved.
There were a few foreigners in attendance this year, mainly from
Europe. Oddly enough, an young guy (Uruguayan from Denver) showed up
and hit all the milongas. Next year I'm sure they'll have more
visitors.
I hope with this report, a lot more people will realize that:
(1) the tango dancing in Moscow is good, and it is going to be great,
(2) the tango community is youthful, fun and welcoming, and
(3) Moscow is a great tourist destination.
Moscow as a tourist destination
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/moscow/attractions.htm
For me the other really exciting thing was the incredible tourist
opportunity of Moscow itself. I grew up with the split between East
and West; You know, the black & white propaganda showing unhappy, bag
ladies in shapeless overcoats. I never imagined I would be seeing
Moscow with tango eyes.
Among many highlights:
- 2-hour Russian Sauna at the Sandunovskiye Bathhouse
- The tsar's crown Jewels at the Kremlin, Diamond the size of an egg
- The Arbat for kitsch handicrafts, but also high-end laquer work
from St Petersburg artists
- Stalin's "wedding cake" buildings; glorious gaudi-esque flights of fancy
- Art museums!!!
- More Mercedes, BMWs and Lexus cars than you've ever seen.
- The Metro stations decorated with elaborate marble carvings or art-deco
Consumerism & fashion is in full-throttle. Clothes, food, cars,
computers, Mosow is the center of the new capitalist Russia (jungle
capitalism?), and it bears no relation to my old images from growing
up.
Tretyakov Art Museum
For me the most stunning experience was to walk into the 19th Century
room of the Tretyakov museum of Russian art. This museum alone is
worth the trip.
Here are a few links to some of the best artists:
- https://www.abcgallery.com/countrind.html#Russia
Surikov
- https://www.abcgallery.com/S/surikov/surikovbio.html#Stepan
- https://www.abcgallery.com/S/surikov/surikov5.html
Vrubel
- https://www.abcgallery.com/V/vrubel/vrubelbio.html
- https://www.abcgallery.com/V/vrubel/vrubel57.html
Kandinsky https://www.abcgallery.com/K/kandinsky/kandinsky2.html
Korovin https://www.abcgallery.com/K/korovin/korovin34.html
Kuinji https://www.abcgallery.com/K/kuinji/kuinji19.html
Vasilyev https://www.abcgallery.com/V/vasilyev/vasilyev.html
Vereshchagin https://www.abcgallery.com/V/vereshchagin/vereshchagin.html
Polenov https://www.abcgallery.com/P/polenov/polenov8.html
Shishkin https://www.abcgallery.com/S/shishkin/shishkin9.html
--
Tom Stermitz
https://www.tango.org/
stermitz@tango.org
303-388-2560
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 18:04:14 -0600
From: Tom Stermitz <Stermitz@RAGTIME.ORG>
Subject: Re: Moscow Tango Festival Travel Report
>I recently returned from a visit to Moscow where I took part in the
>Milonguero Nights: 1st International Festival of Argentine Tango. It
>was such an intense swirl of excitement, experiences and new friends
>that I can't possibly tell you about everything.
>
>https://milonga.ru/milongueronights/
>
My report was mostly about Tango in Moscow, and Tourism in Moscow.
As one of the staff at the festival, it wasn't really appropriate for
me to review the festival itself. I hope that one of the participants
will do so.
There are 8 or 10 major tango festivals in the US, including the two
that I produce in Denver. Like the Moscow festival, they are labors
of love and passion (and hopefully profit for all concerned). I wish
all the organizers well in their activities (knowing the effort it
takes to put one on).
I see these festivals as fulfilling a critical inspirational role,
for the individual participants, but most of all for the development
of the local community. A long weekend of dancing and high-energy
milongas full of 200 or 400 dancers provides a model for where our
local communities can be down the road.
This is why it is so helpful for outside communities to send groups
of dancers to a festival. In a developing tango world like Russia, it
was so great that most of the better dancers from St Petersburg came
to Moscow; I know they went back exhausted but happy on the night
train. (They had to tear themselves away from the last Sunday night
milonga!).
Festivals like Moscow and the others should be judged on several factors:
(1) Did the participants really have fun & get lots of learning
(2) Did they return home personally transformed or inspired or whatever?
(3) Was the local community transformed or inspired for the long-term?
Let's see where Moscow is a year from now!
--
Tom Stermitz
https://www.tango.org/
stermitz@tango.org
303-388-2560
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:24:55 +0200
From: <Helene.Eckert@itu.int>
Subject: [Tango-L] Moscow tango festival
<F9CC31E2327C3D4B99BCB36A17622178067AAC80@MAILBOX1.blue.itu.ch>
Hi everyone ! I am thinking of going to the Moscow festival from 22 or 23 to 27 August... could you give me some hints, in general and in particular about where to stay ???
thanks
H?l?ne (France)
