Has Buenos Aires lost its tango soul?

[ArbeeNYC]

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.

Might be true. I've often wondered about that. We are certainly more systematic in its teaching and there is a greater emphasis on technique. I would only add that form alone is not enough, you need the content, you need the heart and soul of tango or you're simply strolling around the dance floor. The older dancers may not have been as polished but they had a deep, direct relationship to the dance and the music.

 

[ArbeeNYC]

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.

Don't think that's my quote.

 

[Tango Distance]

... She doesn’t mention where she is based and where her friend who was hiring taxi dancers for milonga is based. ...

It was a bit buried, she's from West Los Angeles.

 

[itwillhappen]

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.

She wants financial transactions to be discreet and not for everybody a pressure to pay for tandas. Well, I can understand that, especially since she obviously doesn't need these services herself and doesn't want to block this path for those less privileged.

But what does it mean for the "soul of tango" when the revered Milongueros of Buenos Aires with their strict codigos have to watch as profane taxi dancers earn their living right next to them?

 

[Bailango]

It was a bit buried, she's from West Los Angeles.

Is she the same one who did a video blog on taxi dancers at one of the festivals in Mexico. A couple of years or three years back. That blogger was from San Diego if I recall.

 

[Bailango]

She wants financial transactions to be discreet

To best I know they are discreet. Like her I too would wonder why a good dancer x is dancing so much with newish or intermediate dancer y. I had already been dancing for a decade when I learnt it is not uncommon or unheard from dancers like y to pay dancers like x, to dance with them at milonga.

I see it a good way to experience how dancing with a good partner feels in an actual milonga.

and not for everybody a pressure to pay for tandas.

The concern is valid but I never seen that creating a pressure so far.

But what does it mean for the "soul of tango" when the revered Milongueros of Buenos Aires with their strict codigos have to watch as profane taxi dancers earn their living right next to them?

Why “profane”. Are you being sarcastic. I would think most of the “revered” milongueros of BsAs no longer attend milongas, from their graves.

 

[brujo]

I see it a good way to experience how dancing with a good partner feels in an actual milonga.

If I am already paying a buttload of cash to travel to BsAs and it’s pocket change to get dances with the best at a milonga instead of warming a seat, they can take all my money and I would not care about what folks around me think.

 

[ArbeeNYC]

But what does it mean for the "soul of tango" when the revered Milongueros of Buenos Aires with their strict codigos have to watch as profane taxi dancers earn their living right next to them?

Not sure if this was meant ironically or not.

 

[Bailango]

Not sure if this was meant ironically

I think it was.

 

[itwillhappen]

Of course, that was sarcastic. For all do-gooder sentiments, I'm still not convinced we really consider purchased tango as truly equal, rather than simply "buying the game."
How will the honorable milongueros, these samurai of tango, who already get allergically when someone enters with a partner, react when a tour group has not only bought their dancers but also the best tables in the front row?

 

[itwillhappen]

If I am already paying a buttload of cash to travel to BsAs and it’s pocket change to get dances with the best at a milonga instead of warming a seat, they can take all my money and I would not care about what folks around me think.

Yes, of course, I would do the same if I felt inferior in the situation.
The question is whether one would then honestly portray the vacation experiences that way on social media?

 

[brujo]

Of course, that was sarcastic. For all do-gooder sentiments, I'm still not convinced we really consider purchased tango as truly equal, rather than simply "buying the game."

At its heart, isn’t paying for classes and private lessons also a form of buying tango?

 

[itwillhappen]

At its heart, isn’t paying for classes and private lessons also a form of buying tango?

Everyone is free to decide what they consider "playing the game" and "buying the game", and the boundaries are fluid.

 

[brujo]

The question is whether one would then honestly portray the vacation experiences that way on social media?

I think if that was the only service it would be weird but often the taxi dancers are just part of the package that includes yoga classes, shoe shopping, milongas and asados. So not a big deal… https://www.verokruta.com/bawomensretreat

 

[TTanguero]

I think if that was the only service it would be weird but often the taxi dancers are just part of the package that includes yoga classes, shoe shopping, milongas and asados. So not a big deal… https://www.verokruta.com/bawomensretreat

Almost $2,000 for a few lessons and a bit of taxi dancing?! Wow, no wonder it didn't happen!