1642  Lessons - Practicas - Milonga

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 15:46:22 -0300
From: Alberto Gesualdi <clambat2001@YAHOO.COM.AR>
Subject: Lessons - Practicas - Milonga

This subject of practicas is something useful to discuss within the list. My personal experience since late 1998 in Buenos Aires and suburbs , is that practicas are held as way station , from the "lesson train" to the "milonga train" .

Locally, when information of tango lessons is given , sometimes there are remarks such as " enseqanza", "enseqanza + practica" , that means some teachers gives their lesson, and when the lesson is ended , there is not more to do.
Other teachers ,make a practica after the enseqanza/teaching , encouraging pupils to dance freely , calling for the lesson to end. Is a kind of curtain .

Other local teachers prefers to do a "practica" on their own , without a previous tango lesson , and with no milonga following afterwards.

I see several weak points.

1) lack of DJ . Being the teachers usually the ones that play the music for the practica , this delicate and sensitive matter of DJ is not taken very seriously . CD4s are played randomly , and a fatal error is performer frequently : they acept suggestion of the pupils, to change tanda music as per the request of an individual. If you have 20 pupils, you have 21 amateur DJ4s that are convinced that the theme they are asking is unique and will make a memorable night.
But to DJing a practica, means ( in my opinion ) to try to show the students, how a milonga runs "in real dancing life" .
So, it would be better to say " yes, good idea, Quinteto Pirincho, I will set a tanda for next practica " instead of taking away a tanda of Tanturi - Castillo in the middle to change to the required . Moreover , people tend to believe that your provision of CD4s is endless , and keep asking for more themes until it is not possible to meet their demands.

2) As far as I see , one of the differences of the practica and the milonga, is that at a milonga you can go (man/woman) , sit , have your drink , talk. But you are not compulsory required to dance.
At a practica, it is supposed you came to practice, so it would not be rude if the host comes to your table and says you with charm , jokingly , or a bit seriuos " already tired ?? but yo come to a practica, you must dance !! look all that women/men sitting , there, go to that man/woman and dance, hush hush "

3) The practica is a twilight zone where the host has to make clear , what will it do if a milonga is held inmediately afterwards . I have seen many exchange of words, usually politely , between milongueros that come to the milonga and want to dance with the people of the practica . Sometimes the practica is charged separately from the milonga , so milongueros are reluctant to pay twice . This is almost a personal matter, some teachers invite milongueros friends to the practica, to keep the people dancing .

4) When the practica ends and the milonga begins, there is a change of audience and atmosphere . The salon at the practica was almost empty , people was dancing and talking with the host/teacher , but there were no people seated . The milongueros/as became to arrive to the dancing floor , so a courtesy requires that the floor has to be left empty ,with a last dance , and even the retirement from the dancing floor of the assistants of the practica . Sometimes the assistants of the practica does not understand that they are guests, and that the milonga is organized by a host different from their teacher ,so the music and atmosphere, needs to be built up within some time . It is not a rule, but usually the milonga starts when one or some of the older milongueros/as of the place , take their partners to dance . It is also a courtesy to leave them alone for the first tanda, and then .... God knows, it is really a mystery what make people spring out of their chairs . But there is a moment
when the floor is empty and a moment later is crowded , maybe they are the tango goblins that start their duties :):)

Please take this comments as limited and not the ultimate truth , there is not a written "Practicas Manual" , it is a subject very very open to revision and discussion.

I think that in the end , practicas are good for beginners "to break the ice" and have a look at the salon ,loosing their shyness to cross that door from outsider versus milonguero/a that really does not exist The door is inside oneself , so the boldly you moves , the swifter the doors is opened .

The quality/improvement of the tango as a social dance evolves by the assistance of the people to the milongas . The practica is a good push towards that end

warm regards
alberto gesualdi




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