On Oct 26-27, there was a guest Argentine Tango Instructor Enriqueta Kleinman from Buenos Aires to OKC. The iDance studio owner Hazel Lopez is a big fan of the style Enriqueta teaches, which is the Milonguero style danced in social settings in Buenos Aires.
I danced with her. She was a very good, strong Milonguero-style dancer. It was a pleasure.
She was a strong advocate for the Milonguero style, which is an Argentine Tango style closest to the "original".
Why do I have to use such a strange way of talking about a style?
Argentine Tango as we know it is a dance known worldwide. Tango has captured people's attention and incite fantasies. That is why it spread. The fantasies are so powerful.
Certain professionals cater to the fantasy through "Show Tango". Movie moves, You Tube moves, Dancing With The Stars moves. They are all fair game.
The show professionals are generally skillful and can do very athletic, attention-getting moves.They use the shows to spread the Tango, and in part for their living. At some point in the history, the show tango developed to its own dance. And it divided the entire Argentine Tango world.
There used to be and still is a very different Argentine Tango dance, so called the "original" Argentine Tango. They are social dance, and not limited to the "young and skinny".
A group of Argentine Tango dancers are trying hard to combat the unstoppable spreading of the fantasy version of Tango, by teaching the original version "Milonguero style" and "Salon Style", and by trying to communicate that the Show version is NOT what they call "our dance", original Argentine Tango.
Enriquetta was one of such instructors. They are like evangelicals or ministries, trying to properly educate the original form of Argentine Tango. Since the dance started in Argentine as a part of the culture, they demand cultural respect.
From their eyes, the Show Tango is adulterated version of Tango.
True. Shows are something you usually see on YouTube, and are far more attention-getting. In doing, they have sporty appeal and fun. Although it takes serious efforts for the show to be presentable to others (Choreography, skills, graceful execution), just do it in figures is an easy way to start. It would be pain for these Argentinean instructors to witness some dance completely different from the original is marketed as Argentine Tango with the same name.
For the "Original" style, it is not about the show. In general, on stage the Milonguero style pale in comparison with the show-oriented styles. But the appeal is in the tight conversational connection and improvisational freedom. If you can tune in to the appeal, it certainly is an addictive dance. When was the last time you got someone's complete attention? When was the last time you paid so much attention to someone else, or "Gazed" into your partner?
In a social dance setting when you dance constantly with new partners, it becomes somewhat similar to martial arts. You can feel how good the partner is. The clue is a mixture of attitude, ability and smoothness. In some cases when she is extremely good, you can almost feel it like she is radiating it. I had some partners who actually gave me goosebumps. To get the "feel" doesn't take long. It is like first impression, formed in 3 seconds but it rarely is wrong.
Strangely, the feel is not always visible. You never know until you dance with the partner.
Okay I digress a little. Today's my blog entry is to make it clear that there is a big divide in Argentine Tango; "The show, and the social (original)". Both have their own charms. In dancing Argentine Tango, you need to be aware of it.
My suggestion to the divide? Try them both. Do both well, but don't choose sides. Have respect for both. Both have charms. Enjoy both.
Don't assume someone good at one cannot do another. Imagine you can do both well. You would be kind to both and enjoy both, wouldn't you?
