Has Buenos Aires lost its tango soul?

[Bailango]

but others might stay away, preferring to dance with partners who really do want to dance with them.

I agree with your post. However if high level dancers are at the milonga as taxi dancers discreetly for foreign women, I doubt most women are going to be bothered by above. It is easier for a woman to have a dance with high level leader. If the dance experience is good, why should it matter if the guy really wanted to dance with you. If you (that is woman) makes it a yardstick, she is not likely to get too many dances unless she is very good. The PYTs attract a lot of leaders who are middlings at best. So not like they are getting the best dance experience either.

 

[Bailango]

I have a couple of young tango friends, mid-to-late twenties, very attractive. One speaks Spanish. Both of them had a great time in BA. Stayed up late, went to many milongas, took classes. Ate well. Older, more experienced dancers talk about the floorcraft on crowded floors (so much better than locally) and the quality of the dancing.

Both young and older local followers say the same thing - had a great time, went to one or two milongas every night, took classes, ate well, got invited for “coffee”. Many can speak Spanish. If they had any complaints about not getting to dance sufficiently, it would be at a particular milonga rather than the whole BsAs stay. All said the quality of dancing is better than local milongas. I doubt it is better than at festivals which are mainly embraced by better dancers.

 

[Bailango]

Unnecessary (with regards to dance). I can meet those Argentinians sofa-surfing across Europe, or visit the better teachers who've settled here (or within travelling distance). I don't need to visit BsAs. If I'm passing by somewhere in south America, then I might stopover. Whilst AT is significant, it's not my whole life.

There are people in my local community for whom tango is their primary outlet. They are not rich or well off. But once or twice a year they will visit BsAs for at least a week.

It may not be of allure to you. It is to others. They are almost all women.

Whether someone gets their tango high by visiting festivals, or going to BsAs, or dancing locally - who are we to judge? Whatever makes someone happy.

 

[Bailango]

I suspect that was the result of its greater visibility and dissemination and also the greater availability of video so forms of the dance could be more easily compared.

Plus the festivals. I also think the quality of dancing now is higher than at any point before. There are a lot more instructors, more pedagogical teaching, and more technique being taught. There are more dancers dancing at higher level tha. when golden age tango dancing was mainly confined to BsAs.

 

[Bailango]

A propose of taxi dancers:

I am not sure if it is a topic for 27 minutes of monologue. She doesn’t mention where she is based and where her friend who was hiring taxi dancers for milonga is based. Stopped playing after a few minutes. Wasn’t engaging.

 

[Brummbaer]

There are people in my local community for whom tango is their primary outlet. They are not rich or well off. But once or twice a year they will visit BsAs for at least a week.

It may not be of allure to you. It is to others. They are almost all women.

Whether someone gets their tango high by visiting festivals, or going to BsAs, or dancing locally - who are we to judge? Whatever makes someone happy.

I'm not 'judging' them; I'm judging whether the destination is worthwhile to me.

I'll be visiting villages, towns, cities, regions, countries and taking part in activities with people which won't interest them.

 

[brujo]

Well, from our perspective, Argentina is a relatively poor country where mutual support is often essential. So, while "Tango Argentino" may lack a soul, Argentinians certainly do not.

There is always this friction when folks from richer countries meet with ones with less resources. Reminds me of going to Havana with illusions of encountering great dancing and music, which it did have. But it was also weird to be told by locals that going to the afternoon shows was a better experience because at night a lot of local women were there for the many sex tourists that will show up to the music venues.

Unless you’re going as a couple, feels hard to separate this idea of “romance + culture tourism” from the dance environment and the city.

 

[opendoor]

..people in my local community ..not rich or well off. But once or twice a year they will visit BsAs .... almost all women...

Makes sense, since there are significantly fewer balanced encuentros on your continent that exactly fulfill this function here.

 

[itwillhappen]

I am not sure if it is a topic for 27 minutes of monologue. She doesn’t mention where she is based and where her friend who was hiring taxi dancers for milonga is based. Stopped playing after a few minutes. Wasn’t engaging.

Here also it takes her 22 minutes to explain that she wasn't chasing after the sought after milongueros in Buenos Aires.
And she comes to the same conclusion: dancing with women goes better.

 

[pianistamediano]

For instructors who organize tango tours to BsAs they probably have arrangement (for a fee) with local dancers to dance with the women in the tour group. Of if you are traveling as a single woman or with a friend, it is easy to inquire around and hire a man to accompany you to milonga who will dance with you. The impression I have got is that these men are younger and often very good dancers.

I am also told that the locals are used to foreign women at the milongas. And some locals are in habit of dancing and preying on foreigners.

Second info based on talking to more than a dozen local followers who keep visiting BsAs.

Well, if the followers are happy, there's no problem at all! Especially if it's a short trip and they want to maximise their enjoyment.

I think I'll take my chances the first time I visit there. Ideally around January/February so that I can meet my friends there too.

 

[Miradamiranda]

I am not sure if it is a topic for 27 minutes of monologue. She doesn’t mention where she is based and where her friend who was hiring taxi dancers for milonga is based. Stopped playing after a few minutes. Wasn’t engaging.

I put speed at 1.5 and closed captions turned on so I could scan through it. (She is a slow talker.) I think she had some interesting nuances about the topic.

 

[Bailango]

I'm not 'judging' them; I'm judging whether the destination is worthwhile to me.

I'll be visiting villages, towns, cities, regions, countries and taking part in activities with people which won't interest them.

I think there are quite a few of us on here who have been dancing for a long time without ever visiting BsAs.

 

[brujo]

There are people in my local community for whom tango is their primary outlet. They are not rich or well off. But once or twice a year they will visit BsAs for at least a week.

It may not be of allure to you. It is to others. They are almost all women.

Interestingly enough a friend said she had a better time in Instanbul than BsAs. English level and overall dancing level was higher for her and more festivals and more creative dancing. But when you talk to tango dancers in the west coast of the US it doesn’t feel like something that pops up as a place they’d consider since it is a longer trip.

 

[Miradamiranda]

Interestingly enough a friend said she had a better time in Instanbul than BsAs. English level and overall dancing level was higher for her and more festivals and more creative dancing. But when you talk to tango dancers in the west coast of the US it doesn’t feel like something that pops up as a place they’d consider since it is a longer trip.

I’ve heard that also.

I had not yet really danced outside of the US at a time when I had a discussion with some fellow tangueras about going to BsAs. A friend told me not to bother, that Berlin was the BsAs of Europe, so I went on a whim and was blown away. Since I’m quite tall, and I wasn’t used to tall partners like they ‘grow’ them in Berlin, that factor played a role. And I liked the variety of styles. I was no longer in a rush to do my pilgrimage to BsAs. I haven’t been to Turkey either, but all the Turkish dancers I know are very good. Sooner or later I will, but for now, my happiness on the dance floor is found in European festivals/marathons and some smaller full-weekend events.

 

[ArbeeNYC]

Or, maybe because of visibility, it's just more obvious?

Well, it's what I know, so, yes, I would imagine so.