I agree that the fact that makes people scared to dance Milonga , is the lack of classes offered. And I personally like it a lot and have to be particular about whom going to dance Milonga.
"It's low hanging fruit" well said. It's a great way to be noticed by some of the better dancers that otherwise wouldn't dance with you. Once they see that you know how to dance milonga, it will open up other opportunities to dance with some of the top dancers in Tango and Vals.
I love Milonga. I am a female leader. I find so many men don't dance it. So I get so many requests from other females to choose them to dance with. It seems so many of us women really enjoy Milonga. The guys loss is my gain.😂
It is kinda nice that during a milonga tanda the floor is less crowded which creates an easier opportunity to invite someone to show what you got. While most leaders appear scared, there are stacks of followers itching to break into the dance floor.
Based on my experience as a follower, I believe that many leaders are super rigid in their way of thinking. They often stigmatize a follower based on her looks and line. I’m considered by many as an elegant dancer. So, if there is Pugliese playing I see cabaceo shooting from all different directions. If there is a milonga I am left out. Once in a while I get an opportunity to dance milonga at the marathons/ festivals, and every time I hear from a leader with a happy surprise after: Wow! Very good! I don’t understand why the leaders assume that followers can’t be versatile. Versatility is a must thing to have to be a good social dancer, isn’t it?
I think you also have to take into consideration that if you are a very great and elegant dancer then why would someone want to use their one tanda with you on a "milonga" tanda?
@@LeftFootRightFootTango Taking risk can be rewarding. I am Russian. In our culture we have a saying: One, who doesn’t take risk, will never drink champagne 😂
Good point about that fact that there are only a few milonga tandas in a typical milonga. Milonga tandas are the most fun of all, but maybe people need more practice dancing them. Maybe it's time for an all-milonga milonga!
More teacher teaching Tango than milonga. there was the time one teacher would have 5 milonga classes in a package! Now I havent seen any! Play more Milonga tandas 🙂 Milonga tanda is fun once they learn it!
Great topic. Derek- 12:10, I agree with you in regards to slowing down a bit during milonga songs and I've this in the past but this confuses the follower to a point where they begin to back-lead and rush. I sense that followers know/experience 1 gear, and/or I'm not as talented in my milonga steps as you and Robert are. Your suggestion is highly appreciated. Robert-loved the famous quote from the movie "Margin Call character played by Jeremy Irons- Well-suited!
I'm very picky with who I will dance milonga with, more so than any other discipline and I think that that same reason with so many people is why the dance floor is sparse during those tandas.
There are often more followers than leads at a milonga. In a small town the followers are mostly all your friends. It hurts to see then sitting...so you dance most every tanda all night, both for them and yourself (kid in a candy store).. A Milonga tanda means a chance to cool down, eat a snack, drink something, have a conversation or three and not turn into a puddle of sweat.
I always dance milonga. Pugliese is the ideal bathroom-break tanda. 🤣I am not picky about partners for milonga. I focus on 100% on connection. No matter how fast & frenetic the music, I start slow & simple, and gradually ramp-up as much as connection allows. I especially enjoy dancing smooth, comfortable, connected milonga with reluctant partners who carry trauma from the all-too-common disconnected rabid-weasel style. They always come away smiling. It really isn't so difficult to enjoy milonga. Focus on connection more than steps.
9:50 True. It's a good time to work on the milonga. And woman love milonga. Whenever milonga starts playing, they start looking around but all the guys are either gone or looking at the ceiling.
I don't invite most followers for a milonga tanda because they are simply too slow to respond - and most of them aren't listening enough to the music anyway, they're just hearing it. It isn't a matter of age or fitness, because I have danced with followers in their 60s or 70s who are more than capable of keeping up with the tempo and syncopations and even adding their own adornos. Like you said, dancing milonga well requires a high level of synchronicity, communication and musicality. Tangos and vals are easier on average, so people focus on these two subgenres. It isn't so much that we have to dance every single beat - it's having the ability to dance every single beat, and choosing not to, and actually having enough musicality to switch between the music's layers and different textures at a moment's notice. That takes a lot of sensitivity and responsiveness, which I've noticed that followers these days focus less on. I think that people don't dance milongas much these days partly because the prevailing styles these days are more elegant or athletic, which I attribute mainly to people idolising visiting professionals (who are mostly dancing some variant of what I like to call the Mundial style, with varying amounts of stage tango thrown in for good measure). There's just not enough individuality out there. Milongas aren't really meant to be elegant per se. A well-danced milonga is dirty and down to the ground, which goes against a lot of people's preferences. And when they do dance it, they dance it like it's just a fast tango. (Don't get me started on how people don't dance vals properly - they just don't travel enough! They'd rather dance on the spot and do planeos and ganchos (in a vals!) until the world ends.) (Also, most DJs hate vals and milongas, so they play the shit ones and expect us to dance them! It frustrates me every time a DJ tries to be special or puts no effort whatsoever into non-tango tandas. We get so few of them every milonga too...) (And thanks for mentioning Di Sarli milongas, they're my favourite! Zorzal, Cuando un viejo se enamora, La Mulateada... !)
Dj here who LOVES milonga. My observation is that it depends on the music played. If I choose slow Canaro or D’Arienzo, 75% of dancers are on the floor. Donato is popular too (but not as popular as slow Canaro). Laurenz will get mainly more seasoned dancers. I’ll play Di Sarli soon and see what the response is.
I’ve had very good success with dancers’ response to new interpretations of Guardia Vieja classic milongas… as long as it’s not crazy fast. It helps get out of the Canaro rut and add some excitement 😊
Milonga (derived from Candombe) is perhaps the oldest tango form. It may be the most difficult tango to dance well. It was the last of the three tango forms that I learned. I’ve been dancing for more than 20 years and rarely dance milonga. I have a very short list of partners that I trust to dance well enough. One’s rhythm, technique, and floor craft must be at the highest level. This is a huge problem because many dancers have developed the habit of being “inventive” rather than understanding how milonga works. This leads to accidents and injuries.
It changed in 1932 with Piana's Milonga Sentimental. During the 1920s, Tango slowed down and the habanera/milonga rhythm disappeared. Camaro claimed to have coined 'milonga' as 'tango for dancing'. You're correct that the variant derived from candombe is the oldest, but today's milonga music is relatively more recent. See also milonga campera (rural - slower, guitar music) and milonga urbana - from which tango originated. See, and dance to, Milonga del Ayer - milonga of yesterday as an example of the older forms.
Special Thanks to LA teacher, organizer, and performer Jerry Perez for the question and topic If you have a topic that you would like us to discuss, leave a comment or send a DM on Insta
It would be good to discuss about dancing with new people instead of dancing with same people all the time… I am a big fan of trying everyone’s “art” at least once, so I can have an opinion about everyone’s dance. Also, I get bored of dancing with same people all the time once I figure out how many “tracks” they have… meaning how many combinations they are able to perform 😂 it is like there is not more challenge for me 🤷🏻♀️ I’m always looking forward to dancing with someone visiting the city if I see the potential 😅
Have you done similar on vals? Contemporary (danceable) tango music (milonga, vals, tango)? Maybe even some Argentinian musicians unknown in the 'west'? Flashmobs? Advertising and attracting people to tango. Is it seasonal? Do women need 'protection' in tango? There's also the dependence on the culture where you live (we don't have guns to shoot people)😮, but is there still the Salonlöwe (I've come across a small numberr)? How is tango evolving - steps, music, culture? Tango for the greying generation? They can pay (in Europe) and likely to stay dancing whilst capable. Cortinas and tandas. We have TTVTTM, but only 3 dances per tanda. Is 2 better? Or 4? Remember the tanda was a construct of a ti😢me! And the 'cortina' was to pay for 'services', although it then got to the advertising break. Live music (if only!) Pedagogy of tango
Milonga is a FUN dance, But it's not taught well. And teaching frequently ignores various alternatives (e.g. campera). Yes, you can use some of the tango repertoire (e.g. crosses, ochos, ocho cortado, calesitas), but not in the same way. And PAUSES. It does require skill, but you can have a fun dance with simple steps. I look forward to a milonga tanda. It used to be a busy tanda with a need to circle around, but it's become less populated (don't think we frightened them away!). Worst situation is someone who doesn't get milonga trying to dance tango to a milonga rhythm. No problem with campera - but the DJ needs to understand the difference, not just that it has 'milonga' in the title. Milonga ought to be taught better. There are plenty of good examples (and teachers), but primarily Argentinian or Uruguayan. With your big spaces (ballroom) it sounds like you're taking AT away from its roots to the 'American' Argentine Tango.
personally, I find three milongas in a row is too much. I do not like too much sweating ). Tango is more sifisticated and requires more than simple steps.
People are lazy and out of shape. Most people who came from salsa to tango LOVE milonga dance! People who started tango as their 1st serious dance did so to escape excess physical activity. Now, tell me WHY in the world would they like dancing milonga?
Do you think the majority of tango dancers are out of shape? That is an interesting point about the laziness factor. I would say I think most tango people are fairly good shape
@@LeftFootRightFootTango in comparison with swing or salsa dancers, yes, many tango people are out of shape. I have personally experienced this phenomenon after not doing salsa or swing, only tango for a while. I am not talking about professional tango performers, naturally: just regular folk like myself, having social dance as a regular hobby.
![RSEQ Volleyball féminin 🏐 Lionel-Groulx @ Outaouais [11/29/2024]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tjSzuRTACjY/mqdefault.jpg)
I love it when good milonga tandas are played. Personally I feel that it's a bit more fun and lively.
Kinda hard not to smile when there's a canaro milonga playing
I agree that the fact that makes people scared to dance Milonga , is the lack of classes offered.
And I personally like it a lot and have to be particular about whom going to dance Milonga.
"It's low hanging fruit" well said. It's a great way to be noticed by some of the better dancers that otherwise wouldn't dance with you. Once they see that you know how to dance milonga, it will open up other opportunities to dance with some of the top dancers in Tango and Vals.
I love Milonga. I am a female leader. I find so many men don't dance it. So I get so many requests from other females to choose them to dance with. It seems so many of us women really enjoy Milonga. The guys loss is my gain.😂
It is kinda nice that during a milonga tanda the floor is less crowded which creates an easier opportunity to invite someone to show what you got. While most leaders appear scared, there are stacks of followers itching to break into the dance floor.
Exactly, so many followers enjoy Milonga so much. For me. If it was all Milonga. I would be in heaven.
Based on my experience as a follower, I believe that many leaders are super rigid in their way of thinking. They often stigmatize a follower based on her looks and line. I’m considered by many as an elegant dancer. So, if there is Pugliese playing I see cabaceo shooting from all different directions. If there is a milonga I am left out. Once in a while I get an opportunity to dance milonga at the marathons/ festivals, and every time I hear from a leader with a happy surprise after: Wow! Very good!
I don’t understand why the leaders assume that followers can’t be versatile.
Versatility is a must thing to have to be a good social dancer, isn’t it?
I'll be honest. I do make alot of assumptions. But I also like to gamble. But a great place for me to gamble is during day time events.
I think you also have to take into consideration that if you are a very great and elegant dancer then why would someone want to use their one tanda with you on a "milonga" tanda?
@@LeftFootRightFootTango😂 because it’s FUN? 😂
@@yelenabutler3772 well most dancers even the most advanced tend to be more hesitant with milonga. So hard to know who thinks it is fun or not 😂😂😂
@@LeftFootRightFootTango Taking risk can be rewarding. I am Russian. In our culture we have a saying:
One, who doesn’t take risk, will never drink champagne 😂
Good point about that fact that there are only a few milonga tandas in a typical milonga. Milonga tandas are the most fun of all, but maybe people need more practice dancing them. Maybe it's time for an all-milonga milonga!
❤❤❤
More teacher teaching Tango than milonga. there was the time one teacher would have 5 milonga classes in a package! Now I havent seen any! Play more Milonga tandas 🙂 Milonga tanda is fun once they learn it!
Great topic.
Derek- 12:10, I agree with you in regards to slowing down a bit during milonga songs and I've this in the past but this confuses the follower to a point where they begin to back-lead and rush.
I sense that followers know/experience 1 gear, and/or I'm not as talented in my milonga steps as you and Robert are.
Your suggestion is highly appreciated.
Robert-loved the famous quote from the movie "Margin Call character played by Jeremy Irons- Well-suited!
I get really heavy and lower my center of gravity like I'm about to take on a sumo wrestler. If that doesn't slow down a lady, then I dunno. Bear hug?
I'm very picky with who I will dance milonga with, more so than any other discipline and I think that that same reason with so many people is why the dance floor is sparse during those tandas.
There are often more followers than leads at a milonga. In a small town the followers are mostly all your friends. It hurts to see then sitting...so you dance most every tanda all night, both for them and yourself (kid in a candy store).. A Milonga tanda means a chance to cool down, eat a snack, drink something, have a conversation or three and not turn into a puddle of sweat.
Milonga tandas are usually my break too :)
Milonga tandas are for a fun dance with your favourite dance partner!
I always dance milonga. Pugliese is the ideal bathroom-break tanda. 🤣I am not picky about partners for milonga. I focus on 100% on connection. No matter how fast & frenetic the music, I start slow & simple, and gradually ramp-up as much as connection allows. I especially enjoy dancing smooth, comfortable, connected milonga with reluctant partners who carry trauma from the all-too-common disconnected rabid-weasel style. They always come away smiling. It really isn't so difficult to enjoy milonga. Focus on connection more than steps.
Wow I cannot like this message. To say such things about Pugliese
9:50 True. It's a good time to work on the milonga. And woman love milonga. Whenever milonga starts playing, they start looking around but all the guys are either gone or looking at the ceiling.
I don't invite most followers for a milonga tanda because they are simply too slow to respond - and most of them aren't listening enough to the music anyway, they're just hearing it. It isn't a matter of age or fitness, because I have danced with followers in their 60s or 70s who are more than capable of keeping up with the tempo and syncopations and even adding their own adornos. Like you said, dancing milonga well requires a high level of synchronicity, communication and musicality. Tangos and vals are easier on average, so people focus on these two subgenres.
It isn't so much that we have to dance every single beat - it's having the ability to dance every single beat, and choosing not to, and actually having enough musicality to switch between the music's layers and different textures at a moment's notice. That takes a lot of sensitivity and responsiveness, which I've noticed that followers these days focus less on.
I think that people don't dance milongas much these days partly because the prevailing styles these days are more elegant or athletic, which I attribute mainly to people idolising visiting professionals (who are mostly dancing some variant of what I like to call the Mundial style, with varying amounts of stage tango thrown in for good measure). There's just not enough individuality out there. Milongas aren't really meant to be elegant per se. A well-danced milonga is dirty and down to the ground, which goes against a lot of people's preferences. And when they do dance it, they dance it like it's just a fast tango.
(Don't get me started on how people don't dance vals properly - they just don't travel enough! They'd rather dance on the spot and do planeos and ganchos (in a vals!) until the world ends.)
(Also, most DJs hate vals and milongas, so they play the shit ones and expect us to dance them! It frustrates me every time a DJ tries to be special or puts no effort whatsoever into non-tango tandas. We get so few of them every milonga too...)
(And thanks for mentioning Di Sarli milongas, they're my favourite! Zorzal, Cuando un viejo se enamora, La Mulateada... !)
Dj here who LOVES milonga. My observation is that it depends on the music played. If I choose slow Canaro or D’Arienzo, 75% of dancers are on the floor. Donato is popular too (but not as popular as slow Canaro). Laurenz will get mainly more seasoned dancers. I’ll play Di Sarli soon and see what the response is.
Yah I feel that some DJs play milonga songs because they saw there favorite performer dance to it and that can go pretty bad depending on the crowd
I’ve had very good success with dancers’ response to new interpretations of Guardia Vieja classic milongas… as long as it’s not crazy fast. It helps get out of the Canaro rut and add some excitement 😊
Milonga (derived from Candombe) is perhaps the oldest tango form. It may be the most difficult tango to dance well. It was the last of the three tango forms that I learned. I’ve been dancing for more than 20 years and rarely dance milonga. I have a very short list of partners that I trust to dance well enough. One’s rhythm, technique, and floor craft must be at the highest level. This is a huge problem because many dancers have developed the habit of being “inventive” rather than understanding how milonga works. This leads to accidents and injuries.
It changed in 1932 with Piana's Milonga Sentimental. During the 1920s, Tango slowed down and the habanera/milonga rhythm disappeared. Camaro claimed to have coined 'milonga' as 'tango for dancing'. You're correct that the variant derived from candombe is the oldest, but today's milonga music is relatively more recent. See also milonga campera (rural - slower, guitar music) and milonga urbana - from which tango originated. See, and dance to, Milonga del Ayer - milonga of yesterday as an example of the older forms.
I love milonga and just can't sit down when I hear the habanera. I wish they'd drop the vals as that's my sit down time.
Special Thanks to LA teacher, organizer, and performer Jerry Perez for the question and topic
If you have a topic that you would like us to discuss, leave a comment or send a DM on Insta
It would be good to discuss about dancing with new people instead of dancing with same people all the time… I am a big fan of trying everyone’s “art” at least once, so I can have an opinion about everyone’s dance. Also, I get bored of dancing with same people all the time once I figure out how many “tracks” they have… meaning how many combinations they are able to perform 😂 it is like there is not more challenge for me 🤷🏻♀️ I’m always looking forward to dancing with someone visiting the city if I see the potential 😅
Have you done similar on vals? Contemporary (danceable) tango music (milonga, vals, tango)?
Maybe even some Argentinian musicians unknown in the 'west'?
Flashmobs?
Advertising and attracting people to tango. Is it seasonal?
Do women need 'protection' in tango? There's also the dependence on the culture where you live (we don't have guns to shoot people)😮, but is there still the Salonlöwe (I've come across a small numberr)?
How is tango evolving - steps, music, culture?
Tango for the greying generation? They can pay (in Europe) and likely to stay dancing whilst capable.
Cortinas and tandas. We have TTVTTM, but only 3 dances per tanda. Is 2 better? Or 4? Remember the tanda was a construct of a ti😢me! And the 'cortina' was to pay for 'services', although it then got to the advertising break.
Live music (if only!)
Pedagogy of tango
💪💪💪💪💪🙌🙌🙌🙌
Milonga is a FUN dance, But it's not taught well. And teaching frequently ignores various alternatives (e.g. campera). Yes, you can use some of the tango repertoire (e.g. crosses, ochos, ocho cortado, calesitas), but not in the same way. And PAUSES. It does require skill, but you can have a fun dance with simple steps. I look forward to a milonga tanda. It used to be a busy tanda with a need to circle around, but it's become less populated (don't think we frightened them away!). Worst situation is someone who doesn't get milonga trying to dance tango to a milonga rhythm. No problem with campera - but the DJ needs to understand the difference, not just that it has 'milonga' in the title. Milonga ought to be taught better. There are plenty of good examples (and teachers), but primarily Argentinian or Uruguayan. With your big spaces (ballroom) it sounds like you're taking AT away from its roots to the 'American' Argentine Tango.
personally, I find three milongas in a row is too much. I do not like too much sweating ). Tango is more sifisticated and requires more than simple steps.
Then I can only imagine how u feel with 4 song milonga tandas ;)
@@LeftFootRightFootTango it is unmerciful hahahah
People are lazy and out of shape. Most people who came from salsa to tango LOVE milonga dance! People who started tango as their 1st serious dance did so to escape excess physical activity. Now, tell me WHY in the world would they like dancing milonga?
Because it’s fun
Yes, that was my point at the beginning. But the lazy people do not appreciate milonga! I myself LOVE milonga, lead and follow.
Do you think the majority of tango dancers are out of shape? That is an interesting point about the laziness factor. I would say I think most tango people are fairly good shape
@@LeftFootRightFootTango in comparison with swing or salsa dancers, yes, many tango people are out of shape. I have personally experienced this phenomenon after not doing salsa or swing, only tango for a while. I am not talking about professional tango performers, naturally: just regular folk like myself, having social dance as a regular hobby.
Ahhh I was comparing to non-dancers so yes I def agree if that is the comparison lol