Salon Canning
On Tuesday (7 April) night, we made plans to go to Salon Canning after a late afternoon class at EAT with the Dispari’s. This night was special for a couple of reasons: Color Tango was playing and Julio and Corina will be teaching a class as well as performing later. Since I have always enjoyed their dancing and their recent seminar, what more could I ask for?
Salon Canning, which I have heard so much about, was a nice and spacious venue. It has a high ceiling and a square dance made of chequered timber. There are large portraits – many depicting Claudia y Esteban – hanging on the walls, and large professional-looking speakers hanging above the dance floor. In short, I liked the venue and was looking forward to a nice of enjoyable dancing.
Hands-on cabeceo
I had previously commented on what I thought was the gist of the cabeceo. Since arriving in Buenos Aires, I think in principle what I wrote was still applicable. However, two additional and essential ingredients are required for success: accuracy and speed, especially at the more “competitive” milongas.
Firstly, as always, it is important to know who you may like to dance with – which in itself may require a few repeated visits to the same milonga – and to hope that he/she will look your way. Secondly, time is of the essence, because once the floor starts to get filled up, your line of sight will be blocked and, depending on the seating arrangement of men and women at the particular milonga, the window of opportunity may be lost. By the way, I am still trying to figure out how some men still manage to cabeceo after people have started dancing. It seems the only option after that is for the men to take a walk!?
For these two reasons, while I have had limited success with the cabeceo at the milongas I have been to, it can get a little stressful for a new-comer to the milonga scene in Buenos Aires. To add to this mix, as a total stranger, you may not always get the more favourable seats which makes cabeco extra difficult.
Feeling stressed?
This may be coincidental, but in the space of a month, ‘stress’ has been mentioned as a factor (by followers) which is keeping them away from Tango at some stage.
Although a little surprised, I can fully sympathise with the sense of anxiety faced by beginners. It just so happens that I do still vividly remember, as beginning leader, the insecurity and perhaps the often-unfulfilled desire to “perform” on the dance floor all those years ago. However, perhaps at that time,
- only practicas were regularly held (milongas were were few and far between),
- people were pretty much of similar standards,
- small groups meant everyone got to know each other well after a while,
- goals were similar,
- …
these feelings eventually went away. However, I must say that at no point was ‘stress’ something that would drive me away from the dance floor.
After all, Tango is a social dance, as we have so often heard mentioned, no?
Simple yardsticks
With more and more people coming into contact with Tango, occasionally I get asked by beginners about “how to spot a good leader”?
Without going into a debate into which style is better which is a largely personal choice, or open vs closed embrace**, I think there is a few simple items a beginning follower can look out for.