1000  ...silly old milonguero style thing...

Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 14:26:58 -0700
From: Paul Akmajian & Karen Reck <paulnkaren@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: ...silly old milonguero style thing...

This posting is from Karen:

When we brought Cacho Dante here again last November, I promoted the weekend
as "tango in close embrace," (perhaps out of laziness, so I wouldn't need to
explain the term "milonguero" in our press releases, etc.)

We added a new event to our weekend, a group conversation with Cacho over
lunch following the last class. He very clearly distinguished between his
(Milonguero) style and "close embrace." The gist was that most Argentines
dance socially in a close embrace, but Milonguero Style is distinguished by
an apilado embrace that is usually (not always) more frontal than v-shaped,
and that a shared axis created, not by a "lean," but by mutually exchanged
pressure or presence. Robert Hauk's description of this was perfect,
including the explanation of flexibility.

>Cacho is very specific about this point, there is pressure between the
>partners, they push gently toward each other, they don't really lean,
>they both have their own balance, but with the forward pressure they
>move usually sharing one axis. This is a general statement though, the
>frame is more flexible than this might imply...

As taught by Cacho, Milonguero also uses moments when the dancer's weight is
centered over both legs, very different from the supporting leg/"hanging
leg" technique many of us have learned (and which we generally teach in our
own "social salon-style" classes). If you've had Cacho's classes, recall how
many times you heard "...el centro!" Also the style is not confined to "more
rhythmic" music. Our last class was "dancing the silences and pauses,"
primarily to Pugliese. Cacho and Susana Miller have different preferences in
music, as well as differences in aspects of technique, but both recognize
each other as teaching and dancing Milonguero Style. Also, Cacho's technique
is evolving, not fixed; on this visit he explained how he has changed his
teaching of the woman's pivot in ochos to being with the weight on both feet
(difficult, especially for those of us who learned and love Susana's ochos.)

When Cacho and Susana Miller are here again, we will advertise their classes
as "Milonguero Style," not "Apilado Style," simply because that is what they
call it. Likewise, we use "la marca"/"the mark" rather than "lead" in in our
classes when Cacho is here. (Actually, I confess that we use it all the
time.) For another interesting discussion of vocabulary, bring up "lead" and
"follow" with an Argentine teacher who is not fluent in English and/or has
not adopted this terminology in their teaching. Better yet, ask a social
dancer on your next trip to Argentina what they call the man's part in the
dance, and the woman's part. My tango-business partner did this, generally
receiving confused looks, and this response, "...the man's/woman's part? It
is what the man/woman does!"

I don't think we on this list, will find a single, completely mutually
agreeable vocabulary for the dance. As discussed, neither have the
Argentines. That's not really a bad thing to my mind. I think we can benefit
from some balance between precision and nuance in vocabulary, as in our
dancing. I agree that we all deserve the benefit of the doubt as being
capable of reconciling both real and apparent contradictions.

Karen
Albuquerque, New Mexico