Music and dance style

Locally, there seems to be a common misconception among many beginners and some who has been dancing for a number of years that certain types music can only be danced in a particular way. For example, one misconception is that Golden Age classics can only be danced using a close embrace. On the other hand, one can only dance tango Nuevo, as championed by Chicho, Naveria, etc., to electronic music from, e.g., Gotan Project, Otro Aires, or other contemporary music collectively known as Neo-tango (or simply as Alternative).

However, a quick search through Youtube reveals many fine examples from Chicho, and (two of my favourites) Pablo Rodriguez and Ezequiel Farfaro dancing fantastically and musically to music of “oldies” such as Canaro, Biagi, Di Sarli and D’Arienzo. Here are some examples to illustrate my point. In fact I personally find their performances to classics much more impressive than when dancing to some new-age music… It all boils down to how we are able to interpret the music using the vocabulary at our disposal, and in a way that will not disturb the line of dance (for social dancing).

Chicho dancing a D’Agostino (once the camera stops moving…).

Chicho dancing a Di Sarli.

Ezequiel Farfaro & Eugenia Parilla dancing a Canaro.

Pablo Rodriguez and Noelia Hurtado performing to D’Arienzo.

Finally, another case in point: same song by the same orchestra, expressed differently.

“Milonguero Viejo” performed by Sebastian Arce & Mariana Montes.

“Milonguero Viejo” performed by Carlos y Rosa Perez.