Blogging about tango
While chatting at the milonga last night, someone pointed out that (apparently) there don’t seem to be as many, say, salsa blogs compared to tango blogs!? See, for example, the short list that I have built up.
Do other dances have a lower tendency for intellectual discussions? Is this phenomenon simply related to the type of personalities that are drawn to the dance?! Or perhaps because tango is intrinsically a dance that makes – for good or bad – people become passionate about?
Intriguing.
Today in tango
A not-so-recent find really. This website posts interesting tango-related (but not exclusively though) tidbits of information daily so far they seem to be able to their promise something new each day!
Cliques
There seems to be a survey of sorts doing the rounds recently. Apparently one of the reasons for people (no mention of beginners or experienced so probably both categories) quitting tango is the “cliquishness, elitism, and divisive politics” in tango communities.
Let’s face it, at a deeper level tango is not an easy dance and not everyone is suited for tango. Having taught some beginners in the past I can certainly say that almost anyone can derive pleasure from learning/dancing it at a social level. However, if we look at the survey results less critically, are the reasons cited not what one can expect at any social endeavour? Or is there anything unique about tango which supposedly brings out the worst in people?
Traditional tango
Keep coming across the term “traditional tango” on a number of tango teachers’ websites. The use of the term plus the sample video clips got me thinking: just like tango Nuevo was difficult to give a concise definition, what is traditional tango really?
The following is generally accepted as a good demonstration of social dancing by a respected milonguero/a (I am not using the term “milonguero style” here, which admittedly is somewhat ambiguous):
But is this the elusive traditional tango mentioned by the those teachers? Come to think of it, the pace at which tango is changing means what we consider revolutionary or modern will probably become the classic/traditional in, say, 5-6 years’ time? 😉