On Tango-Life Cycles (I): The Tangueros

Following a period of strenuous research in the darkest, most hidden areas of the Tango Jungle, this Tanguera has completed a series of highly scientific studies on the developmental process of those intriguing Tanguero species who continue be born, grow up, reproduce, and die...

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1. The Baby-Tanguero

Oh, the little Baby-Tanguero! As a new-born, he opens his eyes with great innocence to Tango. Suddenly, he finds himself, for the first time, in the middle of a nearly empty room with a wide open floor. He stands in there, feeling between scared and excited, about to start his first lesson, totally uncertain of what's going to happen to him. Maybe a daring Baby-Tanguera he has a crush on dragged him into the "Tango Lesson" and since she's cute and he wants to please her, he couldn't say no. He may even had said that he's been waiting for the opportunity to learn Tango for years. He actually comes in expecting to see women in fishnets, red tight dresses and red roses in the mouth... 

But he freaks out a bit when he sees the dance-floor extending beyond his feet, one of many other Baby-Tangueros standing on a circle around The Teachers. These are going over the basics of something they call "The Walk". The Baby-Tanguero hears these words and calms down. He won't embarrass himself, after all. He can walk, can't he??? I mean, he was panicking before, as he thought it was going to be one of those difficult latin dance classes that require people to find the rhythm right away, but if it is really only a Walk, as the Teachers claim, then he's going to be *just fine*. The Teachers set up a practice embrace and start moving back and forth, to one side and the other. "See?" they say "It's just a Walk". And then ask the couples to put themselves on that same practice embrace and walk around the room, in a circle, just behind the couple they have in front of them.

This is the moment of illumination, where the Baby-Tanguero discovers that he actually doesn't have the faintest clue of what it means to Walk. The music starts playing. Years later, a grown-up Tanguero, he will be able to recognize that he was listening to DiSarli's Bahia Blanca (which for some reason is a big favorite of Tango-teachers during beginners' lessons) but this actually doesn't matter. The Baby-Tanguero will soon walk and stumble with humbleness, trying to lead his little Baby-Tanguera through the room following the pace of a type of music he doesn't yet understand. He struggles to find the rhythm (maybe Salsa would have been easier, on a second thought), and the Teachers help by clapping to the time in the music. 

Some Baby-Tangueros will actually have fun despite it all and will soon become daring toddlers who run less and less timidly around the dance floor. But there are, of course, very sad cases of Tango-new-borns whose lives are quickly lost, and wont' survive the first lesson and coming to Life. It happens on every species, and while Doctors are trying hard to reduce this statistic to a minimum, it is a reality that will unfortunately continue to take place in this harsh Jungle, especially when birth conditions are most precarious, such as: the Baby-Tanguero's date with the Baby-Tanguera who dragged him to class didn't end up as expected; the Teachers tried to move a bit too fast with fancy sequences that scared poor Baby-Tanguero to death, and so on.   

2. The Tango Childhood

During childhood, Tango-Boys go through a stage of exploration and discovery. Once the male individual on this species has gotten a rough grip on what it means to walk without looking silly, stiff or just plain uncomfortable, he just goes around all over the place attempting to do exactly that. While some Tango-Kids are inevitably more daring than others, they generally share two important characteristics: first, the curiosity for the unknown; second, the desire to explore the playground. So, they become the regulars of every Milonga in town, which they attend enthusiastically, as well as Tango lessons with local and visiting teachers. The shy ones stick to playing with the Tango-Girls, but some precocious Tango-Boys will want to go as far as they can, sometimes being a bit naughty. They may also develop crushes on their Teachers and other more knowledgeable and developed Tangueras, which they will chase at the Milongas, usually unsuccessfully. 

It is often the case that Tango-Children become entirely fascinated with the tricks they start discovering in Tango: as a result, they will not see the need to polish their Walk (which they think is already fantastic) nor their musicality (because at this point they still haven't quite gotten what that is about). On the contrary, they will frequently want to replicate those flashy tricks as soon as possible--and will beg their teachers to show them how to do Ganchos , Boleos, Sacadas, Volcadas, Colgadas and whatever other move catches their attention. All these new tricks soon start showing in the playground, and will be attempted over and over and over again, with more or less success, depending on the child's abilities. Tango-Boys also tend to admire the "older Kids" and try to emulate them (even if they may not admit to this being the case). Sometimes, especially around their "terrible two's" they'll become quite stubborn and opinionated, and will try to bite more than they can chew, becoming quite upset when they don't manage to swallow it.

3. The Tango-Adolescent

For the Male Tanguero, the Adolescence is a time of exploration and reaffirmation. On the one hand, the Adolescent Tanguero wants to explore whatever is new in the realm of Tango; on the other, this is a time to start making an appearance in the Community and leaving his mark. 

With his technique on somewhat firmer ground, the adolescent starts to understand what musicality is all about. He also ventures with more bravery into the things he thought he couldn't do before--he dares it and goes in for the valses and milongas he earlier feared, while coming across to the illuminating thought that it is not the same thing to dance to Pugliese than to Calo, and gets better at understanding the differences between the existing Tango styles.

As he gains strength, the Tango-Adolescent --like all other adolescents-- starts believing that he knows it all, and that he will never die. Those with stronger type-A personalities will confront everything and everyone regarding the technical, musical, and even historical aspects of Tango. If they get good enough, they will run toward the "more experienced Tangueras" who will usually find them enjoyable to dance with because the Adolescent Tangueros tend to be really enthusiastic and passionate, even if perhaps excessively focused on the athletic/physical aspect of the dance rather than on the connection (which they may not fully understand yet), and even if they may still need to clean up their technique.

This period in the Tango life of the male Tanguero is also sometimes marked by the appearance of some arrogant, aggressive and/or pushy tendencies. The "know it all" attitude becomes the reflection of the Tanguero's need to start setting a place for himself in the Tango-Community. He is not a Tango-Boy anymore, and the importance of having a status suddenly becomes clear to him. As everywhere else in Nature, this is the stage in which the strongest A-types will start pushing and fighting between them and against other young adults to demonstrate strength and ability and to become leaders of the crowd. It is also in this context that it becomes important for some to belong to the "right group": hence, they will form or insert themselves into cliques--and this serves as a means of identification that will help them define themselves within the larger community. In addition, belonging to a specific clique allows the Adolescent Tanguero to make a statement regarding his own skills and abilities through the association with older individuals who already have a well-established role and status in the community.

It has also been observed that the "I know it all" attitude of some of the Tango-Adolescents often drives them to teach and/or to DJ at this excessively early stage. While the Adolescent Tanguero will unquestionably learn much from the experience, it will not be so without any collateral damage. This is the case because the pushiest of the Adolescent Tangueros will not necessarily be those who can really dance (or teach, or DJ), but those who are needy for the most attention as soon as possible. In fact, those quieter Adolescent Tangueros who understand better the implications of the dance will usually tend to wait a bit before launching themselves into such ventures, even when they have the ambition in their minds. The realize that they need to graduate from Tango High School and go to College first. 

4. The Young-Tango-Adult

Young Tango-Adults may still preserve some of the extreme energy of the strongest Tango-Adolescents, but have understood more fully some of the most important --yet subtle--aspects of Tango. Thus, the athletic side of the dance starts losing importance, and finding a real connection with the partner and the music becomes the key ultimate goal.  The former endless search and trials across dancing styles will stop (finally), and the Tanguero will move into a more personal, stable choice of style, on which he will work to refine further. The very skilled Young-Tango-Adult is the Hot-Shot by excellence, since he preserves the energy and the curiosity for the new possibilities in the dance that were characteristic of the youngest stages. The passion and the energy also continue, but now the pauses and the nuances in the dance are not something he remembers to do to be "advanced"; but something that the music simply calls for. 

Tango-Adults are at the point in which they have solidified their positions in their communities. Those who are the strongest establish themselves as Teachers, DJs or recognized dancers; while other Tango Adults with fewer social-status aspirations keep to themselves in a more modest role, usually enjoying the friendships and the dances from a somewhat different vantage point.

6. The Mid-Tango-Life Crisis

This Tanguera has been surprised by how many Tangueros go through Tango-Mid-Life Crises. Observation and careful research suggests that such crises are of two types:

First, crises that are a spillover of a real Mid-Life Crisis being experienced by the Tanguero in question (usually around his 50s). As the insecurities from becoming old and unattractive spike, he suddenly needs to regain the conviction that he's still young, interesting, daring and attractive. This can lead the Tanguero to try an reinvent himself into new styles (i.e., Nuevo) that he had not explored before (at least not successfully), in his attempt to imprint his dance with youth. This can work for the good or the bad (that is, he will end up looking silly or not, depending on his initial skill level). Other common consequences include chasing Baby Tangueras around (particularly those who are young in age).

Second (and perhaps more interestingly) great Adult Tangueros, regardless of their physical age, can also experience a Mid-Tango-Life Crises. I've personally seen this first hand on really excellent, mature Tangueros (from a dance standpoint) who cannot conform themselves with reaching a plateau in their dance. After having spent some reasonable amount of time pursuing, polishing (and even teaching) one style, one day they experience the need to reinvent themselves and search for the new. As a consequence, they grow and mature further: they travel, they study and they influence their dance with new strength and vitality, which can be refreshingly surprising.

7. The Golden Years

At some point, good Tangueros who manage to grow up along their Tango Lives reach their "Golden Years". Curiosity and reinvention may remain part of the game, but in a subtle, self-accepting manner, without the restlessness that characterizes the Mid-Tango-Life-Crisis. By now the mature Tanguero has reached a state of contentment and satisfaction. He's self-confident about this dance, which is a true expression of who he is--fully in tune with his much more sophisticated understanding of what a connection means. Perhaps the most iconic figure of this really developed stage in the Tango Life is that of the Old Milongueros of Buenos Aires--good and old like good old wines.

8. The Death of the Tanguero

A Tanguero can die in many forms. Some do at very early stages of their Tango-Lives, when they walk away from a dance that does not hold a meaning to them any longer. Some others are actually still circulating in Milongas--but holding no life, no passion in their dance. They are like ghosts who are present in the Tango Social Circle of the Milongas because they feel comfortable in it, but they barely dance, and when they do, it is clear that the music does not move them anymore (or maybe never did). And finally, there is the Tango-death which goes hand-in-hand with the physical one: the type of death that only happens to the Tangueros at heart, who grow old until the end of their lives on the dance floor.

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Next: On Tango-Life Cycles (II): The Tangueras

Tango Push-Ups?

Mmmm. I think only push ups. 

I'm following Johanna and all those other Tangueras who've joined the challenge to get fitter and do 100 push ups a day. I may need to start with humble girly-push ups, but I guess that's OK.

And, you know what? Since I"m getting ambitious here, I'm going to add at least as many sit-ups / crunches...

And the Tango blogosphere keeps on growing...

Newly discovered blogs, check them out!

First, "La Bruja" honors my very very FAVORITE D'Arienzo-Echague duo with a really nice blog, including some impressions on BAs and some great pages on some of my favorite Tangos, Valses and Milongas (some of them featuring some of Ney and Jennifer's nicest performances of these beautiful songs, incidentally). Mmmmm.

Pensalo Bien Blog

From the heart of Ireland all the way to BA's:

Limerick Tango

Then we have Yoga and Tango by Abby:

Embodied Dancers

And even some more Tango from Buenos Aires (thanks, Tina!!!) ;) 

Royce's Tango Thoughts

Tango-Compatible Outfits: The Ironic History of Corsets and Tango

Ever admired the beautiful Jennifer Bratt dancing in her pretty corsets and wondered where you could get one for yourself? My researching into Tango Corsets, turned out some really interesting pieces about one of the favorite themes of nearly every Tanguera: the History of Tango Clothing ;) 

Not too long ago, in a post about the cool and trendy Harem Tango Pants, I mentioned how these emerged as a creative solution by one iconic and inspired designer to the many dilemmas that the Tango-Unfriendly outfits of the early 1910s posed for the eager-to-dance ladies as the Tango Craze that took over Paris circa 1912.

Indeed, many studious of the History of Tango (and of its social impact) have remarked that nearly every item of clothing of the time got to be redesigned (and merchandised) as being Tango-Compatible. For instance, let me quote Christine Denniston (author of Unlocking the Tango Mysteries and The Secrets of Tango 1914) :

"1913 was the Year of the Tango all over the world. Tango was the couple dance everyone wanted to learn. In this year the Tango Teas began at the Waldorf Hotel in London, picking up the fashion of Tes Dansants from Paris, and a grand Tango ball held in the Selfridges department store was declared the event of the season. All of Europe was dancing the Tango. There were many disapproving voices, but the mania had bitten. 

Fashions in clothing, already changing away from the restrictions of the Victorian corset and hooped skirts, changed more quickly under the influence of the Tango. It is said that women in Paris abandoned the corset in order to dance it. The feathers in women's hats moved from horizontal, sweeping across in front of the face, to vertical, going up from the forehead, letting a couple dance without the feather getting in the Tango partner's way. Tulip skirts, which opened at the front, made dancing easier. Women were sold not just Tango shoes, but Tango stockings, Tango hats, Tango dresses, and anything else that manufacturers could think of. And the colour of Tango was orange."

Surprise!! Of course, it turns out that the Corset was another key item on the ladies' wardrobes that could not escape the need for transformation. New versions of what was called the Tango Corset were soon born. It was short, lightweight and worn over the hips--which were still held tight--freeing the waist from the more restrictive laced Corset with inner bones from the 1910s. Believe it or not, it became the predecessor not of the cute soft and colorful Corsets worn today at the Milongas, but of the infamous girdle... [To the left, Tango Corset in Peach Silk and Lace, circa 1913].

Isn't it a bit ironic? On the one side, the Parisians ladies fought to get rid of the restrictive Corset at the bust level to be able to dance, and this need generated a whole industry and a chain of reinventions that derived in undergarments that we wouldn't even dream of wearing at a Milonga today (yeah, like the girdle... I'm still not over that one). At the same time we've now reinvented the use of the "pre-Tango", bust-level Corset as a fancy, popular, Tango-Compatible piece.  May it be that the change in fabrics allow for soft, flexible Corsets that look great on us without undermining our Tango-dancing abilities?

"I hope so" is my answer to myself, as I ponder on these questions while trying some cute (bust level!!!) Tango Corsets at a clothing store. I'm beaming. Finally, some Corsets that fit me. ;) Mmmmm.

A note about Denver...

I love this Festival...

This is such a well-know, long-standing Festival and, as such, needs not much description. Denver's Milonguero Festival is exactly that: a Festival with a very strong focus on social dancing, which minimizes time spent on performances and where good floorcraft, better music, and a general strict observance of the best Milonga Codigos is generally expected.

To some extent, this is a Festival that has a different vibe than many others. I've always thought that I would like to call this "groundness". People are there for the social experience, and are, somehow, inclined to do exactly that: to be social and kind to each other, both on and outside the dance floor. The tendency to invite strangers to dance is just stronger than elsewhere. I cannot mention how many sweet cabeceos I got, how many of my leaders walked me sweetly to my seat at the end of our dance, and how happy I was not to be kicked or pushed around by other couples as it has happened to me in so many other Festivals in the US. And yes, the dancing became just a bit messier in the middle of the dance floor, but frankly I have not seen much better elsewhere, perhaps with the obvious exception of BAs.

The music was, as always, fantastic. Tom Stermitz mentioned, at some point, that he was making an effort to bring the best DJs of the country to the Festival, and he delivered. This time around, of the "imported DJ's", Vijay, Robin and Ramu all played amazing sets. I particularly loved Vijay's choices at Cheesman Park, and Robin's Alternative Milonga, but all of them were really great. The local DJ, Martin Rybczynski also did a nice job on his own time.

The organization and set up... we all know it. It just works to the clock. It has worked well for years, and it keeps on functioning. I would also give kuddos for the parallel setting of the tables around the dance floor; I found it more convenient and easier to "navigate" (at least for followers) than the perpendicular arrangement that was used last September. Points for improvement, in my view: 

(1) The actual dance floor: this time around, the wood panels laid at the Hotel's Ballroom were not sufficiently "tight". I don't know if other followers had the same problem, but my shoes' heels were getting constantly stuck into the joints and cracks between the panels. Obviously there was an issue, because there were a couple of occasions in which the organizers tried to make the panel embed better even during the Milongas.

(2) The actual (second) dance floor: there was a second floor set up at the end of the Grand Ballroom to take care the "overflow" of dancers. I heard many people say that this separation undermined the energy in the room, and I agree. I really believe the energy would have even better if a larger, unique dance floor had been set up.

(3) The food: the organizers always do a wonderful job with the water provision, and with the great food choices at Cheesman Park, but I keep on missing some real "late breakfast" or small food choices at the end of the long night Milongas. I suspect that this is because of some Hotel's policy, but I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to set up some reasonable catering for the bravest...

The quality of the dance... of course this item is, by definition, a very personal one. I can say I had a fantastic Festival. I made it a point of following Tina's advice, and focused on embracing my partner with as much care as possible. And I can say is that I certainly got embraced with the same care in return. All of my experiences were nice; some of them were truly fantastic. At a point in my Tango Road in which I'm very much looking inward, into the quality of the connection and the more subtle sensibility, this was a full treat. I think I am lucky for having had such a wonderful experience this time around, since I know it doesn't come up so often, even when we look for it.

Unfortunately I cannot report on the teachers, since I did not take any classes this time around. That said, some really big names were on the list, and most of the comments I heard were really positive.

All and all, attendance was, perhaps, a bit thinner than I remember from the past. Perhaps there was much going on during the weekend: Miami, Providence and Denver. And then, there were other Festivals in past weeks and in the near future. No wonder this must spread attendance a bit thinner across all of these choices. Despite of this, Denver still had a nice critical mass to make it a really pleasant social experience, full of nice, joyful dancing. 

Cannot wait to go back... :)

Finally... !

So, part of the rough period is over. More (and perhaps tougher) roughness will come, I know. But, just for today, I'm really looking forward to:

• Dancing again this weekend, fearless and full of emotion, with my heart out, remembering always to embrace the person.

• Dancing during the week, as much as possible, letting myself flow more and more into that life full of dance that I've been missing so much in past weeks...

• Traveling to Denver's Milonguero Tango Festival--- oohhhh, I so much love that Festival :) :) and even more so since it involves traveling and dancing a lot with Mr. Bear ;) (cross fingers!!!!)

Ahhh... :)

My You-Tube-Tango-Hours: Why do I watch Tango Videos?

Still missing my chances to dance, I look for one of my old, most favorite videos: Geraldine and Javier dancing to Canaro's "Poema". As I watch, my heart beats strongly...

In the last few days, I've been thinking a bit about a post by our dear Miss Tango in Her Eyes --always so insightful -- where she confesses that she does not go too crazy for You-Tube-Tango but, rather, she often gets bored by them.

Actually, I have heard something similar before from other people as well. The usual line is "I love *dancing* Tango, I do not like *watching* Tango". In fact, I can empathize completely: for anyone who has experienced the wholesome of a good, blissful, connected Tango, watching others dance can well mean next to nothing.

But, you know? To me, it does. Not always, certainly, but there are some special times in which I catch some videos that leave me gasping for air. Some that make my heart stop. Some that make my heart beat very hard. Some that make me feel butterflies in my stomach, and some that make me feel as if I were crying inside, with the each of the steps, with each of the notes of the music.

I'm not really sure why. In fact, I often go back to the videos I have posted here in my blog, to watch them. Each one of them has made me feel something important. Some very strong emotion, that comes back to me every time I push "play" on the little screen in my computer.

The funny thing is, there is *that* other crowd of "You-Tube-Tango-Watchers" who I'd call "The Pragmatics". Curiously, these are often men, who watch with extremely careful attention for specific steps, repeat certain sections of the video again and again and again, trying to memorize what the leader is doing. And once they feel they got it, they stand up and try to replicate what they just watched. I often have the impression that this kind of Tanguero has divorced himself from the feeling the dance provoked on him in the first place. It may well have been that a high note of emotion was what caught his initial attention to the step, but once he's into the "learning" mode, it is all about understanding the mechanics of the steps. And I bet that there are many Tangueros that browse videos not looking for the feeling per se, but for something interesting to learn about the technique of the dance.

I definitely do *not* belong to this class. To me, the technique details are a bit of a blurr when I'm watching. It's not that I'm not amazed by them --just as an example, Javier and Geraldine's interpretation of "Poema", and Ezequiel and Sabrina's dance to "El Patético" never cease to leave me breathless with their technical perfection. But the thing is, in the end, I don't browse Tango You-Tube Videos looking for a step to learn, or an adornment to copy. I am in search of the bliss that watching something completely beautiful and artistic can provide me. A wonderful moment in which I can see, with my own eyes, the ideal of perfection captured in 3 very concrete minutes of a type of beauty that really gets into my heart. And it encompasses the greatest musicality, the most wonderful connection, the living representation of the music I love.

Needless to say, this is not something that comes with every video. Indeed, there is mediocrecy everywhere, sometimes coming even from the Masters. But it does come from time to time, and when I find it, I am happy.

And I should add, perhaps, that I don't really look for dancer "names" most of the time. Very often, my You Tube search is triggered by a sudden urge of listening to this or that song that is playing in my head. If I don't know the name of the song, but I'm lucky enough that it has lyrics, I "google" them to find the song's title... then, I look for videos that would allow me to listen to it and savor it right away. At times, this has led me to great videos of Tango singers (Gardel's Yira Yira is one of my favorites) or of Tango Orchestras (like this one from an incredibly powerful D'Arienzo performance). On others, it's led me to discover all types of dancing couples.

Anyway... Just a reflection on this issue. What about you? Why do *you* watch You-Tube-Tango?

More Blogs...

Just to share, a couple of newly discovered Tango Blogs:

Tango Padawan

Confessions of a Tango Dancer