Tango Did Not Die

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6 responses to “Tango Did Not Die”

1. 

   Marti Sladek

   May 11, 2014

   As an American tango dancer who is pushing 70 and has spent time in BsAs with my dancer husband who got me into tango, I was very happy to see this. Sadly–and oh, so ironically–at most milongas both here and there, a Woman of a Certain Age often has a problem, as tango seems to have reverted to a youth culture. Even when we sit apart from our regular partners and know the codigo, it is difficult. Old eyes sometimes do not catch the cabaceo. Younger men seem only to want the even younger women who still can wear 4 inch heels and execute the most complex nuevo moves or do hybrid dances, not salon. Few milongas start at a time suitable for retirees, especially here. We find ourselves dancing less and less. And wondering what those people will regret missing.

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   1. 

      KCF

      May 11, 2014

      Marti, many thanks for your thoughts. I think it is the modern world that is youth obsessed and that inevitably affects the tango scene. However, tango is old (not only in years but in spirit) and its deepest secrets, I suspect, will only be revealed to us sometime after 70 — when we are at last ready to receive them.

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      1. 

         Marti Sladek

         May 11, 2014

         Yes, indeed. I enjoy watching the couples even older than we are dancing. There is something deeply moving about that. And I hope younger people see it in us as well.
2. 

   Matu Storyteller

   May 11, 2014

   Tango – unlimitless passion, one way trip, addictive pleasure! Thanks Kevin for writing about it. It´s so satisfactory to see so many young people embracing it!
   From what I´ve seen and still witness in the milongas, young people would pick up ´salon´ or ´nuevo´ and so they look technically nice and professional.
   Yet, I´d rather stick to ´milonguero´ style and enjoy the nearness of the dancing partner, the silent ´marca´ of the man and decode it so the whole tanda becomes a 6´ romance. 🙂

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3. 

   KCF

   May 12, 2014

   Exactly, Matu. That’s the essence of tango — that connection between two people in a close embrace — from which everything else derives.

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   1. 

      Marti Sladek

      May 12, 2014

      I was sharing some of my frustration about lack of dance floor time with two North American women friends, one a tango dancer, the other not. (Thanks for letting me vent, by the way!) As we described the quirks of the tango subculture, the non-dancer asked, “So why do you put up with it?” We tried in vain to explain the utter joy of the expression when it works, the sense of sensuality without sex, the equality of the respective gender roles in the actual dance. Words, of course, failed.

      Reply

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