Secrets of milonga dancing

[larrynla]

Looking back over the last couple dozen threads I see almost no mention of milongas. Do you do them? Any secrets of how to do them, and well, which you want to mention?

Here is an example of a performance by my favorite tango nuevo dancers, Sebastian Arce and Mariana Montes. I love their footwork. I also like how compact their embrace and movements are – with two or three exceptions no move intrudes into what on a packed floor would be someone else's space.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LR-Us0-a48

Larry de Los Angeles

[bordertangoman]

i prefer this

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlU0uWLW9lk&feature=related

[Ampster]

Looking back over the last couple dozen threads I see almost no mention of milongas. Do you do them? Any secrets of how to do them, and well, which you want to mention?



I dance milonga all the time. Ampster's milonga rules of thumb:


Use the same steps for tango as you would in milonga
Apat your tango technique to milonga
Dance smaller, which allows you to dance faster
Keep it simple as possible
Listen and dance rhythmically to the music (very, very important)
Keep the connection constant with your partner. Don't break the embrace
Dance at a comfortable pace for your partner
Be smooth. Don't use your arms, don't bounce, and ground your steps

[dchester]

Here is one that I like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kmqbQTUlk

[larrynla]

i prefer this

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlU0uWLW9lk&feature=related


I love it Thanks!

However there are characteristics that make this performance more suited to a show than the social dance floor, which all add up to "takes up a lot of space, with back kicks that could hurt someone."

I want to emphasize that I don't think tango show dancing is any less valid tango than tango social dancing. I find that kind of snobbery ridiculous.


Larry de Los Angeles
http://shapechangers.wordpress.com

[Aurora]

Here is one that I like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kmqbQTUlk
dchester, I love this one! (It helps that I love that song, heehee.)

As a follower, I do NOT like to dance in a milonga the same sorts of steps that I dance in a tango. I prefer to avoid anything like boleos, ganchos, leg wraps, volcadas, etc. I will make exceptions for certain leaders who can pull them off and have it feel natural, but mostly I avoid leaders who try these things. I like to focus on simple things like walking and ochos, but danced with a lot of focus on rhythm and musicality. I also enjoy leaders who dance milonga very grounded and with changes of height and a dynamic torso. (Those aren't terrible specific to milonga, I enjoy them in tango and vals as well, but I especially notice them in a milonga.) I also tend to prefer leaders who stick with stepping on each beat and traspie, but again there are exceptions for leaders who are particularly good at using pauses while maintaining the "feel" of dancing a milonga.

[Peaches]

Love milonga.

Unfortunately, I don't find a lot a leaders who lead it well. At all. Fast tango abounds (and I realize what people here meant by that), but true milonga is lacking.

Edit to add: I wish more leaders could/would dance con traspie. The guys here don't do it. (Or at least not the ones who deign to dance with me.)

That said...still like it. Big, small; open, close...it's all good.

[Ampster]

Love milonga.


Edit to add: I wish more leaders could/would dance con traspie.

That said...still like it. Big, small; open, close...it's all good.

Ooo, Ooo, me! Me! :banana:

[Ampster]

And if I might add, I had to work on my milonga the longest. I found it the hardest as my brain doesn't work as fast for the music.

My other secret here was perseverance.

[Heather2007]

Looking back over the last couple dozen threads I see almost no mention of milongas. Do you do them? Any secrets of how to do them, and well, which you want to mention?

There are absolutely no secrets to doing the milonga. Just one rule: stay on the beat of the song. (i.e. you wouldn't do a foxtrot to a Bob Marley track or a waltz to the Rolling Stones). Many leaders I dance with do salon type steps/vals rhythms/too many fancy moves to a milonga and miss the beat and spirit of the song altogether. Don't get bogged down with what others are doing (i.e. Youtube etc.) aS much of this displays tend to be choreographed. Just practice walking (back, front, side) to the beat of the song. Choose one you like and know well. In much the same way you drum your fingers on the table to your favourite pop or rock song. All of the women I have led have a superb sense of rhythm (beginners to advance) and so (for me) it's all in the lead. And remember the K.I.S.S. ruling: Keep It Simple Stupid. And fun. ;)

[Dave Bailey]

I like milonga, especially the newer stuff - Otros Aires for example.

Use the same steps for tango as you would in milongaI'm sure proper Milonga dancers can do anything in Milonga that they do in Tango, but I just keep it extremely simple, mainly just forwards and side steps. No ochos, for example, although I do the occasional giro. Linear giros also work.
Apat your tango technique to milonga
Sort of. It's still a led dance, but there's more of a "step-on-the-beat" assumption built-in, which means you don't have to focus quite so much on leading each individual step.

Dance smaller, which allows you to dance faster
Keep it simple as possible
Listen and dance rhythmically to the music (very, very important)
Yes yes and yes :)

Keep the connection constant with your partner. Don't break the embrace
Depends - I sometime do a weird fusion-y thing to the aforementioned Otros Aires-y tracks, which incorporates some turns and other strange things. Is there an official "Nuevo Milonga" style?


Dance at a comfortable pace for your partner
Be smooth. Don't use your arms, don't bounce, and ground your steps
Always good advice :)

[Captain Jep]

[quote=Dave Bailey;640762]I like milonga, especially the newer stuff - Otros Aires for example.

I'm sure proper Milonga dancers can do anything in Milonga that they do in Tango, but I just keep it extremely simple, mainly just forwards and side steps. No ochos, for example, although I do the occasional giro. Linear giros also work.

/quote]

Yes, ditto. Keep it simple.

However even then the big challenge for me is not to dance every beat - it's just too tiring - instead to interpret the music at a slower rhythm ...

[bordertangoman]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V23DnAi4XX8

milonga is rhythm, maaan!

[dchester]

dchester, I love this one! (It helps that I love that song, heehee.)

As a follower, I do NOT like to dance in a milonga the same sorts of steps that I dance in a tango. I prefer to avoid anything like boleos, ganchos, leg wraps, volcadas, etc. I will make exceptions for certain leaders who can pull them off and have it feel natural, but mostly I avoid leaders who try these things. I like to focus on simple things like walking and ochos, but danced with a lot of focus on rhythm and musicality. I also enjoy leaders who dance milonga very grounded and with changes of height and a dynamic torso. (Those aren't terrible specific to milonga, I enjoy them in tango and vals as well, but I especially notice them in a milonga.) I also tend to prefer leaders who stick with stepping on each beat and traspie, but again there are exceptions for leaders who are particularly good at using pauses while maintaining the "feel" of dancing a milonga. I agree with much of what you said. In milonga, I mostly do walking with some simple turns. On rare occasion I might throw in some ochos, but not very often. For me, how often I do traspies depends a lot on the song. Obviously, it's easier to lead them in the slower milongas, but if my mood (a function of how I'm doing, the follower, and the song) is good, I'll do traspies in fast milongas as well. I almost never will do a pause.

It's strange, but despite milonga being a faster dance, at some point it seemed to get much easier for me than tango or vals (possibly because I'm doing simpler steps). Of course I'm never sure if the followers think I'm doing better, or just being polite. In any case, they continue to dance with me (so there's hope).

[bordertangoman]

Rarely do ochos in Milonga; its that first turn for the woman that's difficult to lead, once started its a doddle but it helps if one can do contra beat steps; two for each ocho.

[bafonso]

Love milonga.

Unfortunately, I don't find a lot a leaders who lead it well. At all. Fast tango abounds (and I realize what people here meant by that), but true milonga is lacking.

Edit to add: I wish more leaders could/would dance con traspie. The guys here don't do it. (Or at least not the ones who deign to dance with me.)

That said...still like it. Big, small; open, close...it's all good.

If it ain't got traspie, it ain't milonga!

[exaggerating]

[dchester]

If it ain't got traspie, it ain't milonga!

[exaggerating]
What about Milonga Lisa (or Liso)?

(not sure how it's spelled, and too lazy to look it up)

[bordertangoman]

What about Milonga Lisa (or Liso)?

(not sure how it's spelled, and too lazy to look it up)

Ah the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Louvre.

[opendoor]

Hi over there.

I am a little bit concerned about this topic, because its my "what are you working on" currently and I think I´m a little late with it.

@ Peaches: I "don´t do it", too. And I wonder why. I´m dancing TA for about 5 years, and I think I got pretty far. But, I did not start with Milonga cT yet. Feels like a chick that cannot hatch out of the shell. When I started TA I did not knew how difficult it would be. But I do know now, that Milonga is much more difficult. (By the way, I love Milonga, and when no one can take a look, I´m tripping over the dancefloor).

@ Amster: I did not follow your advice and may be that is the reason for my problem. I still think Milonga is a totally different dance: different steps, different feeling, differnt leading technique. Unlike TA, I want to come out perfectly, and not with a flowing mixture towards Milonga. But I must admit that your direction had been easier.

[bafonso]

What about Milonga Lisa (or Liso)?

(not sure how it's spelled, and too lazy to look it up)

Exists and is great. I like to mix it with traspie. :)

[Angel HI]

I still think Milonga is a totally different dance: different steps, different feeling, different leading technique.
You are correct.

As a follower, I do NOT like to dance in a milonga the same sorts of steps that I dance in a tango. I prefer to avoid anything like boleos, ganchos, leg wraps, volcadas, etc.
Good. There are no voleos/ganchos, enganches, volcadas, etc. in 'real' milonga.

I like to focus on simple things like walking and ochos, but danced with a lot of focus on rhythm and musicality. I also enjoy leaders who dance milonga very grounded and with changes of height and a dynamic torso. (Those aren't terrible specific to milonga, I enjoy them in tango and vals as well, but I especially notice them in a milonga.)
This is exactly how it should be danced.

....but again there are exceptions for leaders who are particularly good at using pauses while maintaining the "feel" of dancing a milonga.
Again, this is a most intricate part of the dance. It is not just about stepping on every beat and looking lively. It is not a march, rather a very fun and upbeat play with rhythms against pauses.

[Aurora]

Again, this is a most intricate part of the dance. It is not just about stepping on every beat and looking lively. It is not a march, rather a very fun and upbeat play with rhythms against pauses.
I should add to this - I feel a difference between pauses danced well in a milonga and pauses danced well in tangos. When I mentioned liking leaders who stick to stepping on the beat/traspie I was generalizing too much ... I mean, I really prefer leaders who use rhythmic pauses (rather than fall into that march-like, step-on-every-beat milonga). But I really dislike slipping into a milonga in which the leader does grandiose pauses - which always seem to lead into tango steps.

[Steve Pastor]

The pauses in milonga are quite often "pauses" at the end of phrases. And I like what I read once (or twice), that they are like the pauses we take at the end of sentences. I really like it when my partners pick up on the fact that the brief pauses I hit in milonga correspond to the music, and start hitting them with me. Of course sometimes I will hit one that I thought was going to be there, and it isn't. That can be fun, too, Oooops!
And that pretty much sums up milonga for me. It should be fun (although some milongas aren't that much fun musically, resulting in a dance that is less fun).
I would perfer that students should be exposed to the 3 flavors of tango early on, as part their musicality training.
Is is a different dance than tango? Is vals a "different dance"?
I disagree that there is a different leading technique.
Different feeling, you betcha.
But I dance lots of tangos that have a different feeling from each other, too.
And I think that, if approached differently, I wouldn't hear from women all the time remarks such as, "Oh, guys don't usually like to do milonga."
For me, it is perhaps the easiest of the flavors of music heard at milongas to dance to.

[opendoor]

...would perfer that students should be exposed to the 3 flavors of tango early on, as part their musicality training...

Hi Steve, I agree. But where would you draw the line? Canyengue, Vals, Milonga, Chacarera, Chamamé, Candombe ....

[Steve Pastor]

Canyengue, Vals, Milonga, Chacarera, Chamamé, Candombe ....

It is my understanding that Canyengue is what they did at the "dance parties" or "clubs" that were called Candombe, which is also the style of music?
Sinking into the knees, twisting, hip movement, etc is a flavor that you can add to your milonga once you get the basic idea.

Chacarera is a whole different animal. A folk line dance, as it were.

Chamamé??? I think I'd save it for the country western club, since it appears to be descended from schottiche.

The "big three" are the ones to concentrate on because tandas are rotated among them at many venues.

[UnfamiliarSameness]

I've enjoyed reading this thread.....it's funny I've found learning milonga hard work at times..but when it finally started to click a little bit... wow just soooo much fun! And if you find yourself dancing with someone who really loves it even better.

(Milonga seems to be one of those dances were folk go "Ah C'mon Milonga!" or "Oh...it's a milonga...erm..do you still want to dance". LOL)

One of my fav vids http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UZTQkGKT9y8

[kieronneedscake]

Special request to anyone and everyone: Followers, please sharpen up your movements for milonga! Slow languid steps (to a reasonably energetic lead) make my leader's life really really difficult.

I had quite a few milonga tandas tonight that never quite worked because I felt no change in my partner in response to either my increased vigour, or the character of the music. It's the only thing I have to complain about from the whole evening, so I suppose I should be thankful.

[bordertangoman]

One of my fav vids http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UZTQkGKT9y8


really nice and spot on with the music. fantastic

[opendoor]

.. The "big three" are the ones to concentrate on because tandas are rotated among them at many venues.

Alright, the reason for my posting was, that in some schools you are tought Chacarera prior to Milonga!

Greetings

[Steve Pastor]

Never had that problem here in Portland. In fact, I had to wait for/ watch for, a class for Chacarera. Chacarera is never done at the practica I go to. At Alex Krebs' Berretin they would do Chacarera once in the few hours I would spend there at the milonga.
Frankly, I prefer line dancing hands down over Chacarera anyhow.

[Angel HI]

Alright, the reason for my posting was, that in some schools you are tought Chacarera prior to Milonga!

Greetings
Never heard of such. Chacarera is not a social/miloga dance (as has been stated). Yes, it is taught, but not as one of the social 3, and certainly not as a prerequisite to milonga.