I think that the milonga at Sense 99 was one of the most interesting I have seen recently in Hong Kong.  It was intimate, it had very nice music, and it was small and crowded.  And it was apparent that while a lot of people enjoyed it, most found it difficult to dance there, and yet the dance density was really nothing exceptional by Buenos Aires standards.  Since many of these people are pretty decent dancers, it’s interesting to ask ‘why’?  Shouldn’t we be able to dance wherever we want?

I think that at some level we all feel we should…

It seemed that the main difficulty in Sense is that people aren’t used to dancing in a small space, and most don’t have a real feeling as to what the problem is.  They just feel that their normal way of dancing doesn’t seem to work!  So I thought that perhaps a few observations from someone who has experienced a very concentrated form of this problem might be of interest.

The first obvious comment is that, like any form of dancing, using a small space efficiently needs practice and that is sorely lacking here.  And it’s equally obvious that dancing to the music makes people’s movements more predictable and makes it much easier to share the space,

And I believe that this is a key concept.  This is a social dance and we share the space with each other – in slightly macho rather than a socialistic way.  I sometimes got the impression at Sense that people were claiming the space rather than just using it for a moment!  Perhaps because they wanted to make a BIG movement. 

So make a small movement – but to the music and with your partner!  She will probably prefer it anyway!

And then there are the whole collection of ‘rules’ that we have all been exposed to:  you know them all.  Don’t step back.  Don’t move across the dance floor.  If you change lanes do it clearly.  And many many more.  Well, we all go through a phase of more or less ignoring these and I think that it’s a mistake.  They are basic traffic regulations developed over a long period of time.   They work, and we ignore them at our peril!

And above all remember: preserve the good atmosphere of the milonga, the dance floor is sacred ground.  If there is a collision look and apology at the other couple even if you feel it’s their fault.  Who is keeping score anyway?

Related Items:

1. A Dream of Tango
2. Buenos Aires - The Start
3. C.I.T.A.
4. Helpful Tips on Women traveling Solo in Buenos Aires
5. How different it is - BsAs in 2007

Related Links:

1. HK Tango Studies
2. Tangazos

Last update: 13-02-2007 13:31

Published in : Blogs, Other