Post #20

A brief introduction to Argentine Tango to make poems like this one accessible to more than just my tango friends 1. In Argentine tango, you don't learn steps. You learn a universal system of communication that two people can use to create a fully improvised dance tailored to any music that is playing. 2. This means you can dance with people you met for the first time – to music you've never heard before. 3. A "milonga" is a dancing event where people dance tango (in Argentina, it's also a venue where such events are regularly held). To confuse the hell out of everybody, the same name is also used for a jolly genre of music with a faster beat, which is also played in milongas – along with valses, to add some variation for the tango dancers. 4. People usually dance to tango music recorded somewhere between 1930-1970 (a smaller number of songs recorded by contemporary bands may also be used). That's a lot of very different musical styles, tempos, and moods. 5. To make it easier to adjust to your partner and the music, at a milonga, songs are arranged into "tandas" – each tanda is made up of 3-4 songs by the same orchestra from the same era. A tanda is usually 12-15 minutes long. 6. People dance the whole tanda with the same partner. When it's over, a "cortina" is played for 30-60 seconds. During the cortina, couples leave the dance floor and find new partners. Depending on the DJ's preferences, this can be any music – from jazz to pop to death metal – what's important is that it should not be confused with tango. 7. Milongas usually last between 3-5 hours. If you dance 15 tandas, you'll likely be quite tired. 8. If you were thinking of learning to dance something – learn Argentine tango and get a second life for free.