Music for swango?

Not sure if this fits better in AT or swing, so I put it in the General Dance forum...

Has anyone had any contact with the swing/tango hybrid swango? What kind of music do they use, to dance swango?

I ask since I yesterday sneaked by and watched a milonga for a little while, including a small performace by the guesting teachers. I realised that I do not really like listening to tango music. The classes I have taken so far, I guess I was so busy with learning the dance that I did not really think about the music, whether I liked it or not...

I did not really listen to jazz music either, before I went into lindy. It took 1 1/2 week at Herräng to brainwash me with swing - it is true! Now I am parmanently damaged. 8) Somehow, I have difficulties imagening that tango music will ever be the air I breathe. Of course, you never know. I just wish AT was danced to the kind of tango music that JPP plays instead. (It is a Finnish group, but their tangos are not typical Finnish tangos either as they mainly play folk music, Scandinavian type.) At the moment I don't know enough tango to be able to say if it's possible...

You can dance tango to almost anything. Does this answer your question blue?

:shock:

You can do it, or it works fine to do it?

Hmm. I had never heard of swango, so I decided to google it (of course :wink: :lol: )

And here's what I found. A web page for a musical called Swango which combines West Coast Swing with Tango. I wonder if there's a sound track. :roll:

http://www.mainstage-mgmt.com/shows/swango/swango.html

An interview with Louise Thwaite
http://www.hiphoplindy.com/swango/swangofaq.htm
At least according to this site, the music used is swing. They don't have any film clips of swango, though.

Interesting interview. Thanks, blue. 8)

Yes. Intriguing...another reason to learn both Argentine tango and WCS next year...and if I learn WCS there will be even more opportunities to perform. I alreday know I am performing rueda on January 15th; May at the Spring Ball at Cornell University; the Wyalusing Arts Festival, PA; Ithaca Festival in the summer; maybe the famous grassroots festival (bands come from all over the world) end of the summer?, End of semester ball in the Fall at Cornell University....if I learn WCS/lindy I'll be able to perform at the Wyalusing Arts festival...and if I learn tango the possibilities really open up!! :banana: Oh why is it that I get eager about all these dances at tthe wrong time - when no lessons are being offered. :?

pygmalion said:

Hmm. I had never heard of swango, so I decided to google it (of course :wink: :lol: )

And here's what I found. A web page for a musical called Swango which combines West Coast Swing with Tango. I wonder if there's a sound track. :roll:

http://www.mainstage-mgmt.com/shows/swango/swango.html

Click to expand...

Well there you have it. You can WCS to almost anything, so maybe Swango got that from its father too.

It seems most swango is more WCS than lindy, while Louise Thwaite's swango makes use of her lindy background.

In that interview, she says

The best tango musicians and the best tango dancers make tango swing! Danced at it's highest level the best dancers of both styles inhabit the music in a very similar way. They dance on the 'back of the beat' by that I mean they hang back very slightly in the music, creating a more intense sensation of rhythm.

Click to expand...

Does anyone know what she is talking about?

Oh well, I guess it can not be described over a web forum anyhow...

I know what she means, just like we say that salsa band really swings...but unfortunately I cannot explain it....

blue said:

It seems most swango is more WCS than lindy, while Louise Thwaite's swango makes use of her lindy background.

In that interview, she says

The best tango musicians and the best tango dancers make tango swing! Danced at it's highest level the best dancers of both styles inhabit the music in a very similar way. They dance on the 'back of the beat' by that I mean they hang back very slightly in the music, creating a more intense sensation of rhythm.

Click to expand...

Does anyone know what she is talking about?

Oh well, I guess it can not be described over a web forum anyhow...

Click to expand...

I can't speak to tango music but as far as jazz/swing: The drums/rhythm section keeps solid time. No slowing down or speeding up. The soloist may play just a little behing the beat. the rhythm section will play the 1 beat, and a split second later the soloist will play his/her one beat. Everthing the soloist plays is a little sluggish, for lack of a better expression, just a little behind the rhythm section. I assume the soloist is like the dancer. The band may be playing 1,2,3,4, but the dancers in AT are not dancing 1,2,3,4 like they were marching in time. They are a little slower, a little more sensuous, they play with one beat and are not in a hurry to leave that beat. With the music tempo going up then down I guess you have to do this or you will stumble around. Funny you brought this up. I used to play jazz trumpet for many years, I was dancing to an Argentine Tango song last week ( I have no idea how to dance AT by the way) and I remarked to my partner that it felt like playing a jazz solo. I mean with the tempo going up and down I would think one has to be flexible in one's dance.

Disclaimer: I know fairly well what I'm talking about concerning jazz. Concerning tango however, it is all conjecture though I like watching them dance.

EDIT: Hmmm. Think of lagging behind as having a rubberband fixed to the band. They go forward in the music, but the other end of the rubberband is fixed to you. When they go forward, you get pulled, but just a little later. And sometimes the rubberband is stretched and you are more behind. Sometimes the rubberband is less stretched, and you are catching up. Again this is reasonably accurate with regard to a jazz improvisational solo. Someone who dances AT should say whether this is the case for AT.

If you get the Hannukah song off the new Barenaked Ladies holiday album, you can do polka/tango. My female friend could not get over that switch without laughing uncontrollably.

Sounds hilarious. Gotta check it out. 8)

etchuck said:

If you get the Hannukah song off the new Barenaked Ladies holiday album, you can do polka/tango. My female friend could not get over that switch without laughing uncontrollably.

Click to expand...

They played a tango last night that definitely had a polka thing going on.

Polka/Tango cross-over -- Yeah!!!!!!

In response to the orig. post: try Queremos Paz by the Gotan Project. It's a kick-a$$ lindy/tango cross-over. It's more lindy than tango. Lots of fun.

For more ***/Tango cross-overs, check out tracks 1, 3, 5 on Emigrante by Tanghetto. These are 120 bpm hustle/tango cross-overs. They don't really swing, since the band went to town on the disco beat. To me, they have more of a novelty value than genuine dance value, but someone who's good at both Tango and Hustle might find them fun.

First on-topic response, w00t!