@ the milonga
Milongas for beginner dancers can be really really intimidating. Most first time dancers, unless they’re young, pretty, and dressed to the 9’s, will sit all night long and be too shy to take what they’ve learned in classes and put it on a social dance floor because of what they’re seeing. My feeling is that you really do have to get out there and dance. You have to take what you’ve learned and put it to practice. Its one of the only ways that you’ll ever learn about what’s right and wrong (and at the beginning stages of the dance there is a right and wrong in your mind). However, you have to get out there and learn how many people feel, and move. You really do have to learn what works, what doesn’t, what will make you scratch your head for hours afterwards, and in some rare cases go home with a satisfied smile on your face.
THINGS TO KNOW
1.) What is a Milonga ? In short a milonga is a social dance. It’s a “Tango Dance Party“, in Spanish we call that by its proper name, a Milonga! Truth be told I hate that term, “tango dance party” because while its technically correct, it just sounds sooooo foreign to me now.
2.) If a Milonga is a Tango Dance Party, then what’s The Milonga ? Ahhhhh this one got me too at first, because I kept hearing the same word being used twice. A Milonga is the tango dance party. The Milonga is a type of dance done at the tango dance party. Capice ?
3.) What types of music do they play at Milongas ? This one is wide and varied, however its a safe bet that you will hear music like THIS at a milonga.
4.) Tango music at a Milonga are played in sets of 3’s, 4’s or even 5’s in the United States, and these are called “TANDAS”. A Tanda of music will consist of 3 (for example) pieces of TANGO music by the same artist or orchestra in the same vein of either Tango, Milonga, or Vals musical types. Typically when you ask someone for a dance, or being asked for a dance you are not being asked for ONE song of the tanda, but the ENTIRE tanda! This a blessing and can be a curse at the same time at the beginning of your dancing exploration.
There will be times, when you really click with someone almost immediately and there will be times where…well, let’s just say it will be like war has been declared, and you weren’t in on the declaration (which is putting it mildly). However, in either case you really do need to get to know someone, to learn them. This can take a little while. Really. So 3 songs, or a full tanda, is the best way to do that. There are some people that liken the Tanda to a real life relationship and in a lot of ways it is. That first song is like first romance with that person, its all new and exciting and there’s a treasure (or curse) waiting around every corner. The second song is like you’re familiar with someone’s idosyncracies and you’re on board with them (or not), they are cute and endearing (or not). By the 3rd song, your partner is either driving you frakkin’ crazy or you’ve fallen in love with them and can’t wait for the next tanda to see what else is goin on….its usually one or the other, never both. My only advice here is tread carefully and take your time discovering someone. Don’t be in a rush to show all your cards all at once, let the dance be a surprise to both of you!
Just for your education a bit, Tango is done in 4/4 time. Vals 3/4 time (6/8 by some reckonings), and Milonga is 2/4 time. Notice the speed bump there…
Tango is a walking beat.
Vals is a bit peppier. And…
Milonga is just seemingly crazy, its not really but it SOUNDS that way.
THE GUIDELINE
What follows is my own personal take on some rules of the road for going to a Milonga that I’ve picked up, it is a list of things to keep in the back of your mind. They are guidelines at best, not hard and fast ‘rules’ per se, but ideas to keep in the back of your head while at a Milonga.
Oh and BTW, this is just a warning shot, there ARE several do’s and don’ts in the list for lead and follow. Those I strongly suggest you follow religiously, unless otherwise noted, let it be a guideline. Above all else, remember that Argentine Tango is a SOCIAL DANCE, and that its about being ’social’. With that in mind…read on:
For Leaders: Here
For Followers: Here