Argentine Tango circa 1900 - 1925

[opendoor]

Old Atlantic Tangos - Study on the origins of argentine tango

The by far most detailed recent work on the origins of TA before 1920 is unfortunately still in German and so restricted to a smaller group of readers. I´m still crawling very slowly through the 440 pages.

It is a PHD thesis on Tango, and its for free on google-books.

http://books.google.com/books?id=R3PTbiFavPYC&printsec=toc&hl=de&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0

The book has a very amibitious view on the music theory. Jorgen Torp is the "Tango-Professor" of our town. Think you can mail him, if you have a question.

Jtorp@t-online.de
http://www.uni-hamburg.de/Musikwissenschaft/Torp.html

 

[totaltango support]

We are terribly sorry to hear that there has been been a problem. Recently the eBookPro software has become less reliable, and we are trying to solve the problem. We are very unhappy about the current situation.

There is an alternative version of the software which does not use the eBookPro reader and has been completely stable. We originally developed this version for people wanting to view the material on a computer without an internet connection who could not register automatically on line. You will find full instructions at
http://www.totaltango.com/acatalog/tango_book_68.html

Someone mentioned that the content reminded them of American Tango. American Tango was originally invented by Vernon and Irene Castle around this time, and was based on Tango steps they had picked up in Paris, so it should not be too surprising to find some resonances. There's more on this, and on how the name Tango came to be applied to so many different dances, in the book "The Meaning of Tango"
http://www.totaltango.com/acatalog/tango_the_meaning_of_tango_49.html

Thanks

Helena
totaltango.com support

 

[Steve Pastor]

The Vals Criollo, very much like what we see today, was actually the argentine version of vals boston from the US (that should tick off some persons ). Certainly there was vals before then, but it was danced differently.

Angel

Wow, finally found "this ole thread".

Not only the "Boston", but the Hesitation Waltz. I mentioned somewhere else that I have a dvd with dances from the teens of the 20th century. I've got more notes at home, but for now will just say that the rhythmic "freedom" in dancing "vals" at an AT milonga or practica sure looks like the "Freedom" or having canter rhythm (also called Duck Walk, but without the rising on the toes), and dancing a one step to waltz as seen in popular "ballroom dances" of the teens and twenties.

What we dance now as vals looks like elements, and even an approach to dancing, of several of these old time dances.
We know that some early tango music had a ragtime sound and feel ("Ragtime Tango", meaning... it isn't Argentine?)
An interesting question is, did the ballroom dances of the time influence "Argentine Tango", as did the music of the time?

BTW, tried to reserve a copy of the book by Denniston, and I won't be able to get to it for some time, so here is the first review I came across.
"great names of tango get, at best, perfunctory mention and the long and contentious history of the dance and the [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]music[/COLOR][/COLOR] is glossed over. The great slabs of Golden Age propaganda are as dull as a sequence of badly done ochos."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...g-of-tango-by-christine-denniston-765129.html

 

[totaltango support]

Of the many reviews of the book on line now, it seems a pity that the first one you found was the only negative one I've seen. I thought it was odd, and anyone interested in this thread may think so too, that the main criticism of a book on the history of a dance is that it spends too much time talking about the past. (I also wondered why so much of the review was taken up with a description of a lesson taught by someone who wasn't the author and claimed no connection with the author.)

My favourite review is on amazon, written by a couple who met dancing in Buenos Aires and have been married for more than 50 years - they call it a "must-read" book.

But I'll be really interested to know what you think about it when you've had a chance to read it.

Helena

 

[JohnEm]

My favourite review is on amazon, written by a couple who met dancing in Buenos Aires and have been married for more than 50 years - they call it a "must-read" book.

For clarification from the TotalTango website:
[SIZE=-1]totaltango.com founder Christine Denniston says,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]"For me, dancing Tango has always been a joy.
One of the most striking experiences of my first trip to Buenos Aires,
many years ago, was seeing the look of joy on the faces
of the most experienced dancers there.[/SIZE]

So you would want to choose the most favourable review!

But I'll be really interested to know what you think about it
when you've had a chance to read it.

Well I have it. And it is a bit of a mix.
I have no argument with the motivation and intent of the book.

After a bad teacher experience I was on the point of stopping Tango
but the thought of throwing all the learning away stopped me, just.
So in an effort to work out what the dance was really about I returned
to the little red book amongst other things.

I've just done that again and my copy falls open at Page 38
in a section called "The Attitude of Men to their Own Feet".
That became one of the clues.

I'm afraid though, at that time, I thought the teaching part
was all but useless with its rather unhelpful, difficult diagrams.

 

[totaltango support]

I apologise if I didn't make it clear that there's a connection! I'd assumed it was implied by my previous post, but of course, not everyone will have read that, so I should state it explicitly every time.

It's not so much that it's my favourite review because it's the "most favourable" - there have been a lot of very favourable reviews. It's that the purpose of the book was to record the experience of the dancers who learned to dance in Buenos Aires during the Golden Age, so when people of that generation who have never met the author say the book accurately represents their own experience of dancing Tango in Buenos Aires at that time, that's kind of special.

Though, of course, not everyone thinks that the experience of people who danced Tango in Buenos Aires in the Golden Age is in any way relevant to how they dance Tango today - and this book clearly isn't for those that don't.

I'm glad that you found a useful clue that helped your own dancing in the book. That has to be a good thing, right?

Helena

 

[JohnEm]

I apologise if I didn't make it clear that there's a connection!
I'd assumed it was implied by my previous post, but of course, not everyone
will have read that, so I should state it explicitly every time.
. . . . . . . . .

Though, of course, not everyone thinks that the experience of people
who danced Tango in Buenos Aires in the Golden Age is in any way relevant
to how they dance Tango today - and this book clearly isn't for those that don't.

I almost wish you hadn't said that. If more people did read the little red book
then perhaps more people would find their own tango by forgetting
the steps and concentrating on movement within the embrace.

I'm glad that you found a useful clue that helped your own dancing
in the book. That has to be a good thing, right?

Absolutely it is. And there are other good things too.
But mixed up in it are the not so good as well.

I just think that other more meaningful information could have
been included instead of some rather awkward teaching.

Would I recommend anyone learning Tango buying it - yes of course.
Especially at the remarkably cheap price it is on sale at Amazon now,
not that it was expensive in the first place.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Tan...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284125354&sr=1-1

 

[totaltango support]

I'm glad you feel it's a book you can recommend.

Since I have a connection , can I just say that there isn't any part of the book that was intended by the author to be seen as a lesson, so I find it very interesting (and will pass on) that you are reading the Technique section (I assume it's that bit) that way.

That section was meant to be an explanation of why Golden Age dancers made certain technical choices and how those fitted in with their overall philosophy, rather than as an instruction manual. In a world where it seems no two dancers can agree on how or even whether the cross is led and followed, it was intended to be a point of reference to help facilitate the debate in the future as the Tango evolves and changes.

It may be that a further clarification needs to be added if there's ever a second edition!

(I gather it's coming out in Greek translation very soon - maybe they can add something!)

Helena

 

[v22TTC]

Would I recommend anyone learning Tango buying it - yes of course.
Especially at the remarkably cheap price it is on sale at Amazon now,
not that it was expensive in the first place.

Sold! If for no other reason than that I'm greatly intrigued by "The Attitude of Men to their Own Feet".

I've also found it best to take a completely inverted view of anything the mainstream media says: if the Independent says it's cack, then it's most likely pretty good....:roll:

 

[UKDancer]

I think I paid about £8 for my copy. It's very interesting but printed on very grotty paper so the illustrations don't reproduce well. What does anyone make of David Turner's A Passion for Tango? These are the two books I keep going back to.

 

[totaltango support]

The first printing was on grotty paper (the publishers thought it looked historical, but it was just a bad choice), but the second printing, which was done last summer, is on much better, whiter paper, so you should be fine if you get it now.

Helena

 

[UKDancer]

I looked again on amazon and it's under £7, which can include delivery if you don't mind waiting a few days (UK only, obviously). That's tremendous value, and I would say every tango dancer should read it, whether or not they agree with the writer's approach to the dance.

 

[Angel HI]

Haven't had the chance to welcome TTS and UK Dancer to the forums. Bienvenue a tous.