There are a few other sources including research done by Christine Denniston. They mostly are oral history which got documented.
Tango Diaries
- Thread starter Bailango
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opendoor
Forum Master
Thank you for bringing up this name. Diaries have a biographical element. And with that, I'm connecting the thread from history back to my personal experience of tango. I've read a lot about the history of tango; the most recent book was "The Quest for the Embrace" by Gustavo Benzecry Sabá. Nevertheless, Christine Denniston's "The Meaning of Tango" left the most lasting impression. I borrowed a very important sentence from this book and made it my motto in the early 2000s. She wrote, in essence, that the Golden Age was the low point in tango history. She was referring to average dance skills, not to music productions. However, something similar applies to music, because when a lot is produced, there is also a considerable range of quality. This is how my second mantra was born: there are more bad tangos than good ones. Thanks to Christine Denniston, I became immune to the normative belief so widespread in our hobby that tango has to be exactly like this, otherwise it isn't tango!
That applies to most history, including the Bible! It's a, sometimes limited and biased, view of the time, and sometimes there are contradictions. Other 'history' is supposition extrapolated from other artifacts.
I do sometimes wonder what 'history' we will leave of the latter part of the 20th century and this one as it gets digitised - with longevity less than parchment and vellum - and less accessible without electricity. Let's not forget that 'Tango and Chaos' had to be rescued and its videos converted to remain accessible.
itwillhappen
Forum Master
Dear Diary...
...I'm happy with tango.
Of course, not everyone does what I expect of them. But on the other hanf, I don't do what everyone expects of me. In general, the practical experience that you can't (and don't have to) make everyone happy was an important learning.
And tango is a fairly inexpensive hobby, anything you invest beyond a few dozen group lessons and practica/milonga fees primarily serves your own ego. You might be able to dance with better dancers, but not with better people.
Although I'm quite glad now that I still have reserves to improve for and with my girlfriend through private lessons and practice.
And so I'm satisfied drinking wine by a lake, next to my campervan. After an enuentro where I met @Miradamiranda, and before an encuentro where my girlfriend will be joining me, followed by a week of hiking and the next encuentro together.
P.S.:
I've never met a woman who genuinely expressed a longing for the violent macho culture of the 1940s. And why should "the hardworking masses" be able to dance well if they're swept onto the dance floor by a tango wave without any teaching? An absurd thought.
...I'm happy with tango.
Of course, not everyone does what I expect of them. But on the other hanf, I don't do what everyone expects of me. In general, the practical experience that you can't (and don't have to) make everyone happy was an important learning.
And tango is a fairly inexpensive hobby, anything you invest beyond a few dozen group lessons and practica/milonga fees primarily serves your own ego. You might be able to dance with better dancers, but not with better people.
Although I'm quite glad now that I still have reserves to improve for and with my girlfriend through private lessons and practice.
And so I'm satisfied drinking wine by a lake, next to my campervan. After an enuentro where I met @Miradamiranda, and before an encuentro where my girlfriend will be joining me, followed by a week of hiking and the next encuentro together.
P.S.:
I've never met a woman who genuinely expressed a longing for the violent macho culture of the 1940s. And why should "the hardworking masses" be able to dance well if they're swept onto the dance floor by a tango wave without any teaching? An absurd thought.
Tango is quite expensive unless you have a high level partner who you can constantly practice with. Private lessons are expensive and people always say you can’t really get better without them. And I wouldn’t say it’s about serving your own ego as it is getting better at the dance. Although I agree it’s less expensive than other hobbies and arguably gets cheaper the better you get.
opendoor
Forum Master
I know many tango dancers for whom the high-end milongas in my hometown have become too expensive. And privates may be affordable for single freelancers, but not for the majority of our clientele. Privates aren't appointments with a tango wizard or a tango fairy. Sometimes (at least in my case) they involve long-term bodywork with a specialist, comparable to physical therapy. That costs a fortune.
itwillhappen
Forum Master
And what did they choose as a less expensive leisure activity?
itwillhappen
Forum Master
But surely one can dance with those who have similarly few resources to mutual satisfaction, if one's own ego allows it?
opendoor
Forum Master
Private milongas, of course, which brings us back to your favorite topic. However, I find the withdrawal from the public screen what counterproductive. Suburban milongas are not an alternative, as the level of dance there is too low. But I still find the gray area to be affordable, which are milongas in publicly funded cultural, community, or neighborhood venues.
Miradamiranda
Well-Known Member
Zum Wohl. And thanks for the wonderful tandas.
Tango as a hobby doesn’t have to be expensive - it can be, but I sure am convinced what we invest in it *sensibly* pays off. One thing I observed at this encuentro this weekend, was a bunch of older people ( definitely not all the participants) but a good number, who managed to carve out a very fulfilling activity suitable for old age. I found them inspiring. I hope “when I grow up” I can keep pushing myself to keep learning, have a purpose, have satisfactory social interaction centered around tango, and have tango as a reason to travel in an age-appropriate way. Meanwhile, I’ll keep on investing in improving my dance skills, because the satisfaction of becoming better is … ehhh …. satisfactory…. So, I find that money well spent. I did observe some women spend a fortune on a weekend event and be sitting around grouchy because they were not getting their money’s worth.
I don’t invest in the latest fanciest dance shoes or tango outfits because I’m not of the belief that I’ll get more and better dances if I look just so (unlike how some other women think). I’ve decided maximum one weekend event out of town per month in the summer months and one event for the winter months is more than enough. And I don’t need to stay in the fanciest hotels. I will, however, book a hotel way in advance of an event to get a cheaper hotel rate and a hotel that’s closer to the venue. Booking cheap travel to events also becomes almost a sport.
The price tag of the emotional high after a nice event, however, is unquantifiable.
I JUST booked my next event for July in Baden-Baden, if anyone here wants to show up also. PM me. The last couple of weeks I’ve danced with two DF regulars at different events. Always a good experience
Miradamiranda
Well-Known Member
This could go the other direction as well. As in, the better you get, the more you seek better partners and find the need to travel to find them.
For some it may be an ego thing, for others it can just be being able to have the ability to dance how they like.
For example, if I’m bad at cooking, I can still eat my food although I know I can work on it and have it be better. I wouldn’t say that’s ego, rather you know what taste good and what doesn’t.
For a lot of people their minimum bar to enjoy the dance (or a specific food) is a lot lower, so yes they can just dance without trying to get better and still enjoy it, and I wouldn’t base that on having/lacking ego necessarily.
Maybe you have better teachers where you are, but after a few dozen group lessons, i was a bad follower and a worse leader.
I dont think that striving to learn a craft well is necessarily an ego thing. For me that line is somewhere at taking photos with maestros after workshops and overpurchasing shoes.
pianistamediano
Forum Master
The only important question for me: does it feel good (enough)?
If yes, great!
If not, oof.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
I like Denniston's work but Benzacry-Saba's is better and more comprehensive and makes use of documented sources. The best one in terms of going to the actual sources is the Historia by Lamas e Binda: El Tango en la sociedad porteña, 1880-1920 (Abrazos Books, 2019).