enrosskay
Member
Would be grateful if you could expand on what you mean by reserved in this instance.
Has Buenos Aires lost its tango soul?
- Thread starter brujo
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opendoor
Forum Master
It's certainly not a universal rule; it depended on the day of the week and the specific milonga. I usually find my way around milongas abroad quickly because I socialize a lot and don't stand around like a lone wolf cabeceoing from the dark corner. But in Milan, socializing was difficult. The scene was cliquey and only invited people within its own circles. It was a bit better a week later in Genoa. The scene there was also bit cliquey. I liked the milongas in Venice and Rome the best. People there are open and friendly.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
Ooof, cliques. They are destructive.
opendoor
Forum Master
Just call them groups of friends or neighbors who have a lot to talk about. Not everyone wants to dance at the milonga, and some limit their dancing to close acquaintances.
itwillhappen
Forum Master
This is a relatively new, value-based code of conduct that reflects the social dynamics required for a modern milonga to function.
However, if you scrutinize the idea that you should less dance with your partner, old friends, or class partners - simply to accommodate strangers - especially when you have no desire to dance to boring music with boring partners, and then consider how few tandas actually remain, the concept quickly becomes vague.
The smallest form of a clique is a committed partnership - omething that is explicitly protected by traditional códigos.
enrosskay
Member
Interesting. Can you explain why that is? Does it relate to numbers of followers vs leaders, or is it due to something else? St Petersburg is not really viable currently and Seoul is a bit far for me, but I am taking note in the case of Barcelona.
BA is a special case where if you go to the touristic milongas there are a lot of local men either trying to pick up female tourists, sell lessons, or both + there are group tours which just dance with the taxi dancers on their own table. I thought the less touristic milongas were generally very friendly and authentic feeling
(I do think the touristic part of the scene, and this is true in the rest of the world too, has indeed lost its soul because of the commercialism)
TTanguero
Forum Master
I remember very early on someone suggested that the best leaders were Turkish and the best followers Russian, and it seemed absurd to me to characterise entire nationalities in this way. However, I have to say that the Russian followers I've danced with have been almost universally amazing, so who knows?!
Istanbul is great but it you are an improver leader, delay your trip. It is heaven for women but as a leader you are competing with many good leaders.
Moscow if it had been open to travel would have been perfect for you. Very high level followers and not too much competition from men.
Barcelona has good level. You have to chose your milongas. Paris at this time of the year has lot of good milongas including by the seine and in the evening outside operation house. Berlin is good year around like Paris or Barcelona. Serbia is also very good and you should add Zagreb to your intinerary. I am not sure what's up in Warsaw these days. I haven't been to Rome or Bucharest.
The best way to play in that you can hop to these cities between the Tango weekend events (festivals/weekenders). Some marathons can also be good (e.g. Vienna in Nov I think). Best to ask those who are in the know when it comes to marathons.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
Being selective does not mean being part of a clique. They are different. Cliques are exclusive by definition.
itwillhappen
Forum Master
Aside from the negative connotation, I see no practical difference between a "clique" and a "peer group".
When we arrange to meet somewhere with our private workshop group, five tandas are implicitly spoken for in advance.
Plus three for my SO - though, as I mentioned, "traditional" códigos would actually advice dancing only with her.
Then there are a few desired or obligatory tandas ... and the number of tandas I’d usually want to dance at a milonga is reached or exceeded.
So, anyone looking to connect at a milonga would do well to keep an eye out for people in the same situation - people who are often at the same social phase.
These are individual interests. A community builder can, of course, pursue different interests and attempt to enforce them through value-based rules.
There was certainly a period of renewal in Buenos Aires during the early 90s, a time of surprise and delight that tango appealed to people and helped fund the rebuilding of infrastructure. One might call that "soul", though I would prefer the word "spirit."
Now, however, we are now in a different phase: tourists prefer dancing with locals, locals prefer dancing with locals, and locals urgently need the tourists' money. And the bubble is taking off.
Miradamiranda
Well-Known Member
Don’t neglect some of the not-so-big-and-famous cities. Many have decent scenes and a good number of places to dance. Smaller scenes are sometimes more welcoming to visitors. But more planning needs to be done to hit the right events.
I had the pleasure of meeting up with @itwillhappen and meeting his wonderful girlfriend last week for a couple of milongas. They were noticed as visitors and seemed welcomed. Our local scene is used to out-of-towners, though, since it’s a vacation destination and a place people pass through on their way to other vacation destinations.
enrosskay
Member
For these cities, let's call them 'second tier' for the sake of clarity...is it only recommended to go to such places when there is a particular event on? I'm happy to hear about any lesser-known tango hotspots, particularly in europe
I suggest just going to some city you want to visit anyway and not having any expectations of the milongas.