Yesterday I went to a concert by the quintet "La Maquina Invisible" from Argentina. They played excellent dance music. What was special was that their sets that also were organized around tandas. In the cortinas, they played jazz and demonstrated their true skills.
As for me: the small studio was packed. During the live tandas, only a few couples danced, those who had already been sitting next to each other. Cabeceo or walkaceo weren't possible. During the break between the live sets, all the other dancers rushed onto the dance floor. I was overwhelmed. I couldn't get near the two tango princesses because they were immediately grabbed by two musicians. Other followers were either too tall or unfamiliar to me. When I went home, I was proud of myself for not having given in to the pull of the dance floor. I told myself, every tanda not danced is a good tanda for you.
There was a sit down tango concert followed by a milonga last evening. It was a new place.
Concert was 45 minutes and the published ticket was $35 for concert and $20 for milonga. I had another event I had to be that clashed with the concert. But $35 to me was too high and I would have skipped the concert. I did go to the milonga. It was very nice place. Good floor. Not surprising to me, the attendance was thin. About 15 dancers. Plus about 6-7 new people who took lessons in adjacent room, they had attended the concert. No one was collecting $20 for the milong. Instead chef made food and wine were available for purchase.
Music was good. Some followers were busy talking to each other through 2 or 3 tandas. I looked around and didn’t feel like asking 5 to 6 followers that were dancing. A lot of walkaceo. The music was good.
After an hour a follower came asked, saying why I was not dancing. It was a decent dance (better than average). She was better than other followers. Then another follower I hadn’t never seen before cabaceo’d me. She had only danced a tanda or two earlier. Then was busy talking with non-dancers and showing them basic tabgo steps for about an hour. I think she had tried to cabaceo an hour earlier but was nodding her head (dim light, long distance and people around her as well as where I was seated). I wasn’t sure. This time I was sure she was asking me. It was still good 15 to 20 feet of distance. I was standing around the makeshift bar area in light and she was standing way behind dimly lit area behind single row of chairs where I had been seated earlier. She turned out to be extremely good dancer. We were dancing to the Vals. Turns out she was one of the musicians who played at the concert. We both enjoyed the dance.
So those two tandas made my night and I didn’t had to ask for either.
Incidently at the start of the milonga gentleman that I have seen multiple times as a regular was seating one seat over. After dancing a tanda with the lady sitting between us, he came over and introduced himself. I was a bit surprised as we both knew each other as regulars. Apparently he hosting a former dance partner of Gustav Naveira for workshops next month and wanted to let me know about it.
There were certainly 2 or 3 extra leaders than followers last night. Earlier in a week at another popular milonga there were about 25 people rather than usual 40 to 50. I hadn’t been to in over a year. With about 8 to 9 couples on the dance floor, there were 7 to 8 extra leaders that I counted.
These dynamics makes more leaders resorting to cabaceo. But it also results in the followers making no attempt to be available for cabaceo. When I was seating, there were two ladies on either side of me. The one on the left soon started talking with another lady and they didn’t stop for talking for 3 tandas. One more lady came and joined them. Then they left for the bar. An hour later when I saw her dance, I thought I was saved from a sub-par dance. The lady on the right always had her head turned away so cabaceo was not possible. She didn’t seem interested in dancing with leaders outside of a couple she knew.
It is always interesting to watch the dynamics. Especially when the milonga is thin and not enough people.
