426  Tango and Fanaticism

Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 02:41:29 -0800
From: "Larry E. Carroll" <larrydla@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Tango and Fanaticism

The "Argentine" tango is a folk dance, with no organization defining
and policing what is right and wrong tango.

It's also unique among social dances in that its music is rhapsodic -
less strictly structured - rather than rhythmic - defined by a single
rhythm. This means that the orchestra playing tango decides the
rhythmic structure of a piece of music. Sometimes "La Cumparsita" (for
instance) is played with a strong, clear rhythm almost no one can fail
to hear. At the other extreme, "La Cumparsita" is sometimes played
with so few clear signals of the rhythm that the dancers must infer the
rhythm - sometimes with wildly diverging results.

To make matters even more interesting, tango music often is much more
complex than other social dance music, usually having at least three
layers - a bass layer, a melodic layer, and a lyric (song) layer that
may or may not be "played" by a human voice. The tempo may change
speed several times in one single playing. The rhythm signals may be
given by different instruments in a single playing. And so on.

Thus tango dance is polymorphic, like those shapechangers in fairy
tales who can not only be ANY animal but even appear to be any human.
Tango dance is a projection test, like the Rorschach test. Or as some
milongueros say, "You dance who you are."

This suits some tango dancers fine. We may start with a single teacher
and work on a single style, but after getting a good grounding in one
way of dancing we will explore others. After sampling several ways, we
may create our own unique style, or if flexible enough dance any one of
several depending on mood, music, partner, surroundings, and other
factors. Some of us continue exploring the rich field of tango for
the rest of our lives.

The tango population being pretty much the same as the general
population, it also includes a fair smattering of fanatic
personalities. These people are brittle of mind, dogmatically sure
their views are right and everyone else's views wrong, and unable to
see more than one viewpoint. Since tango dancers can choose or create a
style that closely matches their particular tastes and personality,
tango fanatics fiercely champion and defend their way of doing tango,
because rival views of the One Right Way to do tango feels like an
attack on their most fundamental self.

I'm sure most of us have been amused or annoyed at these tango
fanatics, or even angered. In my 13 years doing tango I've seen some
vicious (verbal) attacks by tango fanatics on rivals. If any one of
these fanatics became tango god it would be hell for most of us to
dance tango. I suspect tango would go into decline, for a number of
reasons, such as the stifling of the extraordinary continuing creative
growth of tango.

But tango fanatics are also very useful to the tango community. At the
very least they balance each other so that no one fanatic and his or
her sycophants gain control. They also often run milongas, act as DJs,
teach, and import teachers. Often they do this at a financial loss,
and spend years of their lives so that the rest of us have a dependable
place to dance every week. Some of them are highly intelligent despite
their inflexibility and dissect and explore their dance style so well
that the rest of us can more easily learn and use it.

I should say that other people also do these things, fans rather than
fanatics, people with flexible minds able to see more than one
viewpoint, and work with all kinds of people - including the dogmatic
and arrogant among us who also have their place in making tango strong
now and stronger in the future.

Larry de Los Angeles
https://home.att.net/~larrydla

Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 13:14:32 -0600
From: "Frank G. Williams" <frankw@MAIL.AHC.UMN.EDU>
Subject: Re: Tango and Fanaticism

Larry and friends from the list,

"Larry E. Carroll" wrote:
...big snip...

> If any one of
> these fanatics became tango god it would be hell for most of us to
> dance tango. I suspect tango would go into decline, for a number of
> reasons, such as the stifling of the extraordinary continuing creative
> growth of tango.

Larry brings up a very interesting issue and one that, for better or
mostly for worse, affects most tango communities I've seen. I smile at
the description of "tango god", but I surmise that every community has
at
least a few god or goddess wannabees. And I would suggest that the
difference between a) the denigrating moniker of "self-appointed god or
goddess" and b) somebody who is positively dedicated to tango in a
creative and perhaps financial way is a very simple distinction. It's
how
honest they seem about themselves. It's whether they think it's
adequate
to 'talk the talk' or are willing to put in the work to 'walk the walk'.
Ultimately, it's how well you like them as people.

Human nature such as it is, personalities can clash. In this forum we
can only talk. But in each of our communities with our friends and
occasional rivals, there's no need for it. If we shut up and walk
we make perhaps the ultimate statement of tango individuality. It
may be that we would rather quit than dance worse than XXX or YYY.
What would you change if the day ever came that, for their talent or
their hard work, you are eclipsed by XXX or YYY in terms of 'stature'
or 'aura'? It's good to know why and for whom you're dancing.

Further, it can be a very difficult thing to do - to just shut up and
dance. ... Especially when, like me, you sometimes react negatively
to even the perception of dogmatic thinking...

Shutting up... something to work on at the practicas...
...not here on tango-l! ;-)


Cheers to all,

Frank - Minneapolis

Frank G. Williams, Ph.D. University of Minnesota
frankw@mail.ahc.umn.edu Dept. of Neuroscience
(612) 625-6441 (office) 321 Church Street SE
(612) 624-4436 (lab) Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 281-3860 (cellular/home)