5459  Lo de Laura

Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:24:50 EST
From: Crrtango@aol.com
Subject: [Tango-L] Lo de Laura
To: TANGO-L@mit.edu

Jan's post about "Lo de Laura" is recommended reading for historical trivia
and helps explain one of several reasons why men danced together. These
clubs were not the places where respectable women were seen, nor was the dance
considered respectable, so men had to practice with each other before going to
these places, which were in many cases just thinly disguised bordellos. You can
also hear about it in a milonga by Angel D'Agostino and Angel Vargas, "En Lo
de Laura" on vol. 3 of "Tango de los Angeles" (Tango Argentino label)

Last night I saw Miguel Angel Zotto's new stage show "Buenos Aires Tango"
here and in the Playbill there is a brief single-page synopsis of the history of
tango which is surprisingly informative and concise. Several things were
mentioned, which have often come up as questions on this list. One was about the
shortage of women in Buenos Aires (another reason for men dancing together).
Another was about the rise and separate growth of "tango americano" or ballroom
tango, an attempt to allow people in the U.S. and Europe to dance tango
together without body contact, still very taboo in those days outside Argentina. It
continued to evolve into the ballroom dance we now know. Another was about the
revival of "stage" tango due to the sensation caused by the original Broadway
production of "Tango Argentino" which helped to create the split between the
close-hold style of the social milongas (the traditional norm) and the new
stage style which soon started appearing, unfortunately for some, in the social
milongas. It even mentions the disruptive effects of rock and roll on tango.

I don't know if the Playbill can be accessed but you could try at:
nycitycenter.org

Cheers,
Charles


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Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:47:44 +0000
From: Jay Rabe <jayrabe@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Lo de Laura
To: <tango-l@mit.edu>

There was a note awhile ago on the list (apologies, don't remember from whom) that suggested that tango and brothels came to be associated in early 1900's because the city license fee for brothels was higher than that for dance halls, so brothels took the front of being a dance hall and hid the brothel activities. This implies that brothels were not strictly illegal. Can anyone confirm/deny that?

J
TangoMoments.com







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Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:55:24 -0500 (EST)
From: "Keith Elshaw" <keith@totango.net>
Subject: [Tango-L] Lo De Laura
To: tango-l@mit.edu

Thanks, Pichi!

I've always had a fondness for D'Agostino/Vargas' milonga En Lo De Laura.
Neat to know what it inspired it and get a bit of flavour from the
article.

Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:02:58 EST
From: Crrtango@aol.com
Subject: [Tango-L] En lo de Laura
To: TANGO-L@mit.edu

I just want to clarify a point that I was reminded about. My post may been
misleading. Some people have the misconception that men used to danced together.
No, men never danced together, especially not in public...but they did
practice together for the reasons already stated. It was more of a didactic exercise
and sort of a macho way of comparing and trading steps. They had no choice
but to practice with each other if they wanted to impress the women at the
milongas, but dancing with the women was the real goal. If they could lead each
other, they could lead the women.

When you see men dancing together today and trading leads, etc, that is
mostly a gimmick for attracting students.
Cheers,
Charles


**************
Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

https://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489