Same Place... Different Milonga (Practica)....Tango as it is Danced in Baires

How is Tango danced in Buenos Aires...well, it depends on which night you go,



and in the same city...in fact in the same room...




videos above were found here along with many videos of various milongas in BsAs as well as a great number of sights worth visiting there(click on uploads... there are 409 videos at the time of this post)

by these people (seems to be a very good resource if you are travelling to Baires)

And from a different source (this is what I found when I visited this location in 2009 The most traditional milonga I have ever seen...also the sweatiest)



(Notice that the music remains traditional from video to video)

El Tango Es Uno!

The Line of Dance!

From one of my favoite Milongas, Cachirulo, @444 Miapu, BAires.

(I would have added, please keep the line of dance moving)

Denver Memorial Day Weekend Tango Festival 2009

Another Awesome Festival in Denver as Always!

I only attended six milongas and no classes, which is good because when I started out I only anticipated attending two, thanks to a couple of good friends I was able to stay two extra nights. (I really want to attend Daniel Trenner's classes but it just wasn't happening this trip).

Friday afternoon I arrived in time to catch the last hour or so of the afternoon milonga, really only danced four tandas and got to see a few friends I haven't seen for awhile. The energy was good.

That night at the Mercury also was fantastic, as Extasis was playing (always a treat). I especially enjoyed the more danceable tandas (thats a hint, if anyone is listening). I did get two compliments on my musicality (I guess some people have a hard time dancing to Pugliese). The floor was not as crowded as it has been in the past, really it was just right, similar feeling to the crowds in BA. Floor craft was a bit loose but not really bad at all.

The Alternative Milonga Saturday afternoon, This is always one of my favorite milongas In Denver. The music was right on, and everyone seemed to be having a great time (smiles clear across the dance floor). I did see a video of myself dancing during this milonga and was somewhat disappointed with my posture when I am dancing in open embrace with a shorter follower, as I have said before video does not lie so I have some work to do (whats new!).

The Elegant Milonga Saturday night, is it just me or does this milonga always feel a little stiff until about midnight (maybe it's just coming down from the high of the Alternative milonga earlier in the day), still I had many great tandas with old friends and new, I really don't remember sitting for longer than two or three tandas all evening (a man has to have a glass of wine and socialize from time to time). Tara finally kicked us out at three thirty.

Sunday Afternoon Milonga at Cheeseman Park Pavilion, this is arguably one of the best settings for an outdoor milonga and picnic that I have attended, despite heavy rain earlier during the day, everything went off without a hitch. Photographers were a bit of a navigation hazard as they were not one bit shy about getting right out there in the thick of things (I would like to get a look at those photos, and videos!). Several people choose not to attend this milonga (fear of rain I guess) man did they miss a treat, it seemed like almost everyone that was there was dancing most of the time (I'm guessing around three hundred people) after eating I danced almost every tanda.

Sunday evening, SLEEP ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Awaking in time to catch the last four and a half hours of the All Night Milonga (in retrospect this might just be the best way to do this milonga, much better than going early and dropping into bed dead at 6:30Am) the best vibe happens during the wee hours anyway! After the music stopped and the applause died down, I got some of the best hugs I've had all year.

Ain't Tango great!

Cabeceo, the trip to BA really taught me a great deal about how to get dances with the followers I want to dance with (don't hesitate, just do it or miss out), and navigating in difficult situations.

I only had two gripes, both about other leaders at this festival;
1. Leaders who will not move. (you can never trust someone who is completely terrified in traffic).
2. Leaders who are only interested in long slow figure demonstration for a nonexistent audience, with a complete disregard for the music and others on the dance floor.

Observations of Buenos Aires Tango 3

1. Afternoon Milongas, I found the afternoon Milongas very disappointing. The quality of dancing at these events was generally poor compared to the late night Milongas.

2. Plaza Bohemia, Maipu 444, I really enjoyed this venue and attended two different Milongas here three different nights during my two week visit (Cachirulo twice, and
Shusheta once). I have noticed that when you return to a Milonga more than once you are greeted and recognized by the hosts and the dancers, this is a very good feeling when you are a stranger in a strange land. As I was leaving Shusheta the hostess grabbed me as I was going down the stairs and insisted that I dance with her (she is very short and very round), she also invited me to attend another milonga that she was hosting at a different venue, I didn't go but I certainly enjoyed the hospitality.
I was seated in the same spot both times I attended Cachirulo, at first I thought it was a poor location but as it turned out it may have been one of the best seats in the house for Cabeseo, I was directly behind a large number of women and could see most of the other followers in the place (also right beside the entrance to the ladies room, every follower in the room knew exactly where I was sitting).

The only bad thing about the place was the quality of service by the two young waitresses whom were far more interested in texting people than waiting on tables (seems that poor work ethic is a problem no matter where you go).

3. A note on Buenos Aires Women, There seem to be more beautiful women per square inch in Buenos Aires than in any other place I've ever been, a trophy wife walking down the street on every block, people in general are far less prone to obesity than they are in the United States.

Observations of Buenos Aires Tango 2

1. After my last post I now have a NEW favorite Milonga in Buenos Aires, Lo De Celia. I went there last night and the place, and everyone there that I met or danced with, was fantastic. This place has an energy that is totally unique, it's the mixture of the lighting, the stone floor, the cool green colors, but mostly it was just the people there that made the evening so terrific.

These people know how to have fun!

I got there around 12:30am and finally left at 3:30 or four, wishing I could have spent more time there.

I danced with one woman who may have been the best dancer I have encountered here, not once but twice.

This is the reason Tango is so addictive, every once in awhile the moons and planets all line up and nothing can go wrong, if that ever happens to you you are a goner!

2. I really wish that I had gone there last Saturday instead of going to La Viruta, that place is not a Milonga it is a night club. They did dance tango there about 50% of the time, but the place has no soul, like I said it feels like a hip hop club without the hip hop music. Just a bad experience (is there such a thing?).

Lesson learned!

3. Practica X (equis) WOW! What an incredible rush, to dance big after dancing nothing but close embrace six hours a day for a solid week, this dance is kind of a hoot! I did feel like sort of an outsider at this practica due to the fact that most of these people all are very familiar with each other, and not with me, but of course that feeling went away after my first tanda (no tandas there, no cortinas, just lots of room, and tons of incredible dancers).

For people who do not like this style of dancing, all you have to do is look around this room and notice that all of the young energetic people, (natural leaders), are here, doing this style, to realize that this is going to have a major impact on Tango as we know it. I personaly think it is for the better!

Question: Why don't they dance like this at the downtown Milongas?
Answer: The venues aren't big enough.

Question: Why don't they get larger venues?
Answer: Money$$$$$

Question: How do you get more people into a smaller space for less money and more profit?

Answer: Close embrace.

Don't get me wrong! I also love close embrace with a passion, I just enjoy really expressing myself in this style just as much!

Observations of Buenos Aires Tango 1

1. I had absolutely no trouble getting dances at any time using cabeseo.

2. The venues here are much smaller and not as crowded as I have been led to believe.

3. The tango I learned in the states works very well here, I am very pleased with the fact that I can lead any follower here with ease, and I have received numerous compliments on my dancing.

4. The tango danced in most places here is very simple and straight forward, of course the Nuevo venues are the exceptions.

5. Argentine followers compared to followers where I come from are much heavier (feeling) and far more off balance and axis, I would place all but a few of them that I danced with in the intermediate category at best.

6. Navigation on the dance floor is far superior to navigation in the states.

7. I went to every Milonga on this trip by myself and did not reserve my seat, from what I saw it would have made almost no difference (from the stand point of a solitary leader).

8. The performances I witnessed at both Practica X and TangoCool were possibly the best I've seen and I don't even know who the dancers were.

9. The best all around Milonga that I attended here was El Beso. The level of dance there was far better than anywhere else that I went. I saw several well known milongueros there and was very impressed with the way things were done overall.

10. The worst Milonga I attended was Gricel, very poor dancers, poor selection of music, dark with a funky feel to the place. When I got here the hostess tried to seat me way back in a corner of the room even though there were empty tables everywhere (this was late in the course of the Milonga)I insisted on a better seat and she gave in. I did meet a very nice woman from Ireland there that I have been running into all over town ever since that night so it wasn't a total loss!

11. I also attended a Milonga called Viejo Correo, this was a very good and interesting experience. Everyone there was at least 70 years old, excepting my self, the place is deep and narrow. Everyone there was Argentine excepting myself as well. Seating was strictly segregated, with the men on one side of the room and the women on the the other with only enough room for a passage between the opposing tables (about three deep on each side). Couples were seated on the other side of the dance floor completely isolated. It felt very odd and sort of like a junior high school dance. Everyone there that I talked to or danced with was extremely nice, even though I felt like I was under a microscope the entire time I was there I would not have missed that experience for the world. I was not that impressed with the quality of dancing there but it was a genuine insight into the way milongas may have been back in the fortys and fifties.

12. Getting around the city is not that difficult as the cabs are everywhere and very affordable compared to any other spot I have ever used taxi service. The subway is also very efficient and dirt cheap, about $0.30 a ride. I used Manuel Tienda Leon to get from the airport into town it cost about $45 AR (about $12 US).

13. It is worth while learning at least some Spanish before coming here, most of the locals do not speak English beyond the very basics. You should at least learn how to tell the cab drivers where to go and know how much money to give them.

14. Use the ATMS for currency exchange, they are all over the place.

15. The most annoying thing that I have encountered here are the people trying to hand out ads on every corner (if you have ever been to Las Vegas you know what I am talking about) next time I'll bring my taser (just kidding, sort of).

16. Don't let anyone fool you, the food here sucks! especially if you like vegetables, these people don't have a clue. Find a large supermarket and cook your own food.

More later!

Buenos Aires Milongas addresses and contact information

Here is a Link that gives addresses and phone numbers for many Buenos Aires Milongas on different days of the week.

It was created by Shuhrukah Merchant.

Does anyone have any information as to email addresses for these milongas so that a person might get reservations that way?

Teaching at Milongas

Just don't do it!

Ever.

Wiki Map for Tango Events Worldwide

Check this out, one stop shopping for milongas, festivals, classes, and practicas anywhere in the world!

knowtango.com