Tango Diaries

[Miradamiranda]

May be you are still a PYT and you don’t know it

Haha if lights are dimmed. But considering I’m * still * in my 50s and many of my partners up in their 70s plus…

Actually as a leader I had great time dancing tango at a milonga in Prague the women were quite friendly. Tells you how different experiences can be!

Oh I bet you did. So many nice women. It was the local leaders who were constantly dancing with same few over and over. They weren’t even that good by the look of things with some exceptions.

 

[opendoor]

...May be you are still a PYT and you don’t know it

Be assured, she's no less attractive!

 

[TTanguero]

I can never tell if they were interested in dancing with me (stone faced)

I never judge by that (I've seen my own tango face in photos, and I generally have a RBF ...).

 

[Bailango]

I never judge by that (I've seen my own tango face in photos, and I generally have a RBF ...).

But there are other stoned face followers who still manage to indicate their interest in dancing. For example by looking around. A man or a lady looking to dance can be recognized. Those that might want to dance but stare at the floor or in space, are almost impossible to read - not interested in this tanda, sitting out, avoiding being asked, not in mood, not dancing, etc.

 

[opendoor]

...(stone faced)...

My face always is stoned. Peripheral sight is on. That's a sign of quality. Compare my profile picture from 2009!

opendoor dancing

The finger is still sticking out, but hair and beard are grayer now.

 

[brujo]

I never judge by that (I've seen my own tango face in photos, and I generally have a RBF ...).

RBF or stone face while dancing feels like a totally different signal than at a cortina or when sitting in the sidelines though…

 

[itwillhappen]

Wait, there is one scene I have no desire to dance in again: Prague. Dancers only dance with others from their own school. On the other hand, the women sitting around were great at socializing. Very international cool crowd.

My view is that a large community is, on average, always mediocre; that for every milonga style, there's a counterweight. I've heard all sorts of terrible things about Berlin, then I happened to go to Villa Kreuzberg, which was quite nice. Yes, that's fine, I heard; but go to Nou, that's where the elite dances, it's elitist there. Sure, But why should I strive for that?

 

[Bailango]

RBF or stone face while dancing feels like a totally different signal than at a cortina or when sitting in the sidelines though…

I was only referring to only the end of cortina or on the sidelines.

I too have a stone face in general. But if I want to dance I will make eye contact.

 

[opendoor]

..too have a stone face in general..

How can you salsa then ? You know that during my foray into salsa, I struggled with the general dissociation (foot from leg, leg from hip, hip from thoracic spine, shoulders from arms, hands, and head).
But the hardest part still was controlling my facial muscles: Andreas, laughing!

 

[Brummbaer]

RBF or stone face while dancing feels like a totally different signal than at a cortina or when sitting in the sidelines though…

Try smiling - then you can bare your teeth at your enemies.

 

[itwillhappen]

Dear Diary...

...last weekend we attended a liberal-progressive tango marathon.
Compared to an encuentro, there were significantly fewer established couples, and the clothing was more relaxed. Aside from that, it was interesting to see how the rules of attention economy of an established event couldn't be suppressed there either. Most people need to belong to a group, and groups need shared characteristics and codes to differentiate themselves. Of course, not everyone greeted everyone else, let alone danced with everyone else. There was the "we've been here ten times" clique, the "we're from the capital" clique, and the "we dance very progressively" clique. Double-role dancing was normal, at a gender ratio of 3:2 also advantageous, and some women were excellent leaders.
Overall, everything was quite relaxed - if you were experienced; I hardly noticed any beginners.

 

[Rabbit]

Dear Diary...

...last weekend we attended a liberal-progressive tango marathon.

In what sense does it define itself as progressive?

 

[itwillhappen]

Good question!
I find encuentros to be conservative and was simply looking for a contrasting term.
Although Melina Sedó did explain in a fb post that encuentros are a relatively recent development in the tango scene and therefore progressive, and neo parties are conservative.
At that marathon, was it partly an imitation of 70s youth culture, which one could consider conservative from today's perspective? Like people climbing out of their self-converted vans in the morning, sitting at brunch in sweatpants, dancing in colorful pants, and later catching up on sleep they'd missed the night before on the sofas in the dance room.

 

[opendoor]

In what sense does it define itself as progressive?

The organizers and many of the attendees are against Melina.

 

[brujo]

Compared to an encuentro, there were significantly fewer established couples, and the clothing was more relaxed.

I went to an alt tango party where a couple of the women got down to their bras as it was so hot. Never seen that at a milonga