1020  Milongueros / teachers

Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 22:27:00 -0300
From: Tango Pichincha <tangopichincha@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Milongueros / teachers

1. There have been a lot of milongueros teaching in the USA (including
Susana Miller and many others)

2. There are a lot of young milongueros in Bs. As. (aged 20 to 35)that are
very confortable both in close and open embraces. A lot of them teach around
the world. You can see them dancing in Bs. As. if you go to La Viruta. If
you only go to El Beso or Nino Bien or Sunderland you will probably not see
them. Examples of very well known young milongueros: Roberto Herrera,
Horacio Pebete Godoy, Ezequiel Farfaro.

3. Milonguero is anyone who attends and dance in a milonga. Dont be narrow
minded to think that to dance in close embrace, use 8 cortados and never do
a gancho is to be a milonguero. Have you ever seem Chicho dancing in a
milonga? He would certenly be consider the other extreme of a milonguero
(maybe anti-milonguero style), yet he has the subtle musicality of the older
milongueros, has the creativity of a genius and dances whatever he likes to.
OK, his estetic is not the one you would expect from a milonguero, but he
dominates the space, music and playfulnes with a partner like a few do. You
can see him in Agust at La Viruta, very late.

4. I learn from Cacho Dante, Susana Miller, Horacio Godoy, Chicho, Gustavo
Naveira. All of them are milongueros and all travel the world. You can pick
wath you like more, or just choose only one aproach to the Tango, whatever
it fits better to you. But we cannot say there are few milongueros teaching
around the world.

Piccolo in Portugal

>Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 00:45:51 -0300
>From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
>Subject: the tango of the milongueros
>
>Tom Stermitz wrote:
>One very interesting thing is how rare it is to find traveling tango
>teachers whose credentials are primarily as SOCIAL style dancers. Of these
>you have an even smaller minority of teachers representing the Milonguero
>style.
>
>The reason this is so interesting is that at least 3/4 of the dancers in
>Argentina are social dancers, and a high percentage of these social dancers
>would be classfied as Milonguero Style (by the above categories). So we
>have a situation where most traveling teachers of Argentine Tango are NOT
>credentialed in the style(s) most common in Argentina.
>________
>
>It is even more rare for a milonguero to travel to the United States. This
>happened for the first time ever in 2002 when Miguel Angel Balbi, a
>milonguero with 50 years of social dancing in the milongas of Buenos Aires,
>travelled to your 3rd Annual Milonguero Weekend in Denver. He gave a free
>class at the Tuesday night practica to a group of at least 50. Then he
>attended all of the milongas organized for the weekend. A handful of
>people
>learned that he was at the weekend event (at his own expense) to dance,
>sing, teach and talk about his life in tango. Several people have told me
>that were unaware that he attended the weekend event, and they were sorry
>they didn't have the opportunity to study with him.
>
>Tito Palumbo, editor of B.A. Tango--Buenos Aires Tango, once told me that
>he
>estimated the milongas of Buenos Aires have fewer than 5,000 social
>dancers.
>Tango is and always has been danced mainly in the capital of Buenos Aires,
>not in all of Argentina. Many more people in Argentina dance folklore than
>tango.
>
>If you consider the dancers over 50 years of age in the milongas of BsAs,
>the majority dance a simple social style rather than elaborate figures. I
>don't want to use percentages because it is impossible to do so without a
>survey of every milonga and dancer.
>
>If you consider the dancers who are under 30 years of age in the classes
>and
>milongas of BsAs, you will find that the majority are learning patterns,
>boleos, ganchos, etc.
>
>The thread initiated by Robin about "this silly old milonguero style" has
>generated an interesting discussion. I compiled the messages which
>totalled
>26 pages of comments from 13 men (all living in the US) and 6 women (2
>outside the US).
>
>I have a close perspective of tango in the milongas because I have been
>living in BsAs for the past four years. I call the tango I dance "tango
>milonguero." Why? Because I dance with the milongueros. How do I know
>the milongueros? My partner of three years is a milonguero who has
>introduced me to the milongueros whom he has known for 40-50 years.
>
>I am spoiled, and I dance only with milongueros. Tango isn't an exercise
>for me; it's a feeling. It's not the quantity of the tandas I dance, it's
>the quality.
>
>If the milongueros could read these 26 pages of discussion about the styles
>of tango, I believe they would have a good laugh or shake their heads.
>They
>wouldn't think of dancing tango without embracing a woman. That's what it's
>about. They don't talk about how or why they dance tango, they just do it.
>
>
>Pichi de Buenos Aires

Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 18:35:03 -0800
From: Elemer Dubrovay <dubrovay@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Milongueros / teachers

Here in Seattle we are lucky to have very good milonguero style dancing
teachers coming from Argentina,
Alicia Pons, is the latest. An excellent teacher and dancer she adds
beauty and spark to the milonguero style.
She will be teaching at the Portland festival (ValenTango) this weekend.

I did notice that most of the teachers coming to teach around this area,
include in their teaching of the regular steps a version of how to dance
the same steps in close embrace, that can be used when the dance floor is
crowded.


Elemer in Redmond

******

On Tue, 11 Feb 2003 22:27:00 -0300 Tango Pichincha
<tangopichincha@HOTMAIL.COM> writes:

> 1. There have been a lot of milongueros teaching in the USA
> (including
> Susana Miller and many others)
>
> 2. There are a lot of young milongueros in Bs. As. (aged 20 to
> 35)that are
> very confortable both in close and open embraces. A lot of them
> teach around
> the world. You can see them dancing in Bs. As. if you go to La
> Viruta. If
> you only go to El Beso or Nino Bien or Sunderland you will probably
> not see
> them. Examples of very well known young milongueros: Roberto
> Herrera,
> Horacio Pebete Godoy, Ezequiel Farfaro.