Argentina: Tango time!

Argentina, 1 April to 23 May

For those who aren't across the customs of tango nights, I'm going to try to explain a few concepts briefly :-) , while sharing my modest experience of tango nights in Buenos Aires.

Milongas or prácticas

Tango nights are called "milongas". Prácticas are much the same thing, but they more often take place in the afternoon and are generally more relaxed as well. You don't find the tanda concept in prácticas, so the songs run on without a break.... unlike what can happen at milongas.

Tandas

Milonga nights are divided into "tanda" sessions. A tanda is in fact a run of three or four songs played by one orchestra, if you're lucky enough to have a live performance — otherwise the DJ will play 3 or 4 songs by the same orchestra. You dance with the same partner for the whole session. It's quite nice for socialising: between each song in the tanda the dancers get a short pause, which you use to swap names and get to know each other a little. Each tanda is separated by a "cortina", a short break usually marked by music that has nothing to do with tango.

Maldito cabeceo

Now the concept of the cabeceo: this is the little invitation ritual, which I dreaded considerably before I started going out. You don't invite your partner to dance tango verbally, unless you know her very well... Men who invite women to dance verbally are immediately filed as beginners (they really are :D ). So to invite someone, you have to pick out a dancer and try to catch her eye; once eye contact is established, a small nod on both sides and off you go! Here's a little algorithm (well, I'm a software guy :b ) of my milongas (english version here ):

*Ambushing the gaze: there's nothing violent here :-D , it just means positioning yourself so that the target tanguera can't deny your attempt to establish eye contact. If she's kind, or not very experienced in tango, she'll take pity or feel cornered and grant you the dance. To be used sparingly :-D .

Food at milongas

And yes — I'm not sure a single post on this blog will skip the food :-). So what's the connection with milongas? Well, you should know that nearly all the ones I got to frequent in Buenos Aires had a more than decent catering service, where the empanadas sat alongside the medialunas :-D , and with empanadas at an average of 14 Argentine pesos (€1), I often did serious damage :-) .

The different music and dance styles at a milonga

There isn't only one style of music at a milonga. You'll find tango tandas, also vals tandas, and finally milonga tandas.

Each of these musical styles corresponds to a different way of moving around the floor. You'll notice the term milonga comes up again, but this time with another meaning. So milonga refers, in turn, to a venue or to a particular style of music (see Wikipedia)

The woes of an apprentice tanguero

So there you have it: it isn't easy being a tango beginner in Buenos Aires, but it was genuinely worth it all the same:

• On inspiration alone, I continually had the impression of watching shows — the general standard was really very high.
• I got to meet some wonderful people too. There are people from all over the world who come to practise tango in Buenos Aires; I danced with women from South Africa, Germany, Russia, Australia.....
• And finally, of course, there's nothing better for improving than throwing yourself in — though there were still milongas where I ate a lot of empanadas :-D and where it was hard not to head home frustrated... But then I reminded myself that I'd been through more or less the same at my beginnings in salsa, and I know that after a while it passes. Starting something new is always complicated; you have to accept that the "process" needs time to settle in :).