1106  Universidad del Tango de Buenos Aires

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 14:05:03 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: Universidad del Tango de Buenos Aires

The University of Tango of Buenos Aires has been operating for more than ten
years in a primary school at Agrelo and 24 de Noviembre. Classes are held
weekday evenings from 7:00-10:00. However, obtaining information is as easy
as trying to locate Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. I called
the school several times, but I was told to call in the evening in another
week. I called in the evening but no one answered the phone. So I decided
to go the first night of classes.

People began arriving at the school shortly before 7:00pm. Many seemed to
know where they needed to go for their classes. The majority seemed to be
trying to make notes from the one copy of the schedule which had been posted
on a small bulletin board. There were no copies available. The entire
schedule of classes was contained on no more than ten sheets of paper
printed from a computer. The room numbers for classes had been added by
hand, but didn't correspond to the room where the teacher could be found.
For example, Jose Gobello's class on Lunfardo was announced in room 03, but
he was teaching in room 02. It's the Argentine way, I'm afraid to say.
There was no one to ask about anything.

I finally decided to try to make good use of my time so I entered the
classroom of Oscar del Priore where there were only seven people. He was
taking attendance and asked who I was. I asked if I could participate in
the class, and he welcomed me. Somehow people had registered for his class,
but it is still a mystery to me how this is done. His lecture was on the
history of tango in movies. There were seven in the class--five men and
two women ranging in age from 55-80.

The University of Tango has two career courses which require three years of
study. They are: (1) Instructor in Tango Danza and (2) Instructor in the
History of Tango. Students range in age from 20-80 years. There is no
tuition. The classes begin in March and end in November. There are two
semesters. In the History of the Tango course, the first year has 4 courses
in the 1st semester, 4 courses in the 2nd; the second year has 4 courses in
the first semester, 5 courses in the second semester; the third year has 3
courses in the first semester, 4 courses in the second semester--for a total
of 24 different courses to complete the program. There is nothing about
this program in the tango magazines. The only announcement I have heard has
been on the radio--Dos por Quatro 94.7--which says to call for information.

The faculty appears to be several members of La Academia Nacional del Tango.
The Dinzels and others have charge of the dance classes. In addition to the
main study programs, there are workshops. Again, there was a schedule of
days and times for these but no mention of dates. I asked Oscar del Priore
when he would be giving his workshop on the The Tangos Danced in the
Milongas, but he told me he didn't know yet. The other workshops of
interest to me are The Great Milongueros by Roberto Selles and The Musical
Language of the Tango by Claudio Chirio. Other workshop topics are:
Lunfardo for the Third Millennium; The Couple in the Lyrics of Tango;
History of the Vals; Musical composition and Pianists; Singing styles by
Oscar Ferrari; and Vocalization with Alba Solis.

I saw only three familiar faces among the crowd of students--three men I
have seen in the milongas. One man told me he's in his second year in the
dance instructor program. He's been going to the milongas for years and is
now pursuing the course to be an instructor of tango danza.

The most interesting part of the evening was my conversation with a woman
outside the school before the chaos began inside. She told me that she had
been taking classes in the province of Buenos Aires for two years and still
hadn't learned tango as it is danced in the milongas. She was being taught
tango danza for stage by her teachers rather than tango of the milonga. She
knew that all the technique presented in classes was useless in the
milongas. She has been searching for a school where she could learn to
dance for the milongas. She showed me another school's schedule of classes
and asked for my opinion. I told her not to waste her time with this
school. I recommended an afternoon milonga for adults her age, where she
could take a class before the milonga. I guaranteed her that the class is
for those who want to dance in the milonga, and that the teacher is one of
the best dancers in the milongas.

Universidad del Tango
Agrelo 3231
Tel: 4957-1382 (7-10pm only)

Pichi de Buenos Aires