In my previous post, I discussed with some detail my gradual, ongoing transformation to a tango snob. As I said, the morality (or immorality) of being a tango snob is unclear to me. But for now, I decided to embrace what I have become, in an attempt to understand the nature of the snob (or maybe it's just my excuse to be lazy and change, if you're a cynical anti-snob, which itself is, ironically, kinda snobby too). Perhaps I'm just trying to justify myself for something that might be seen as wrong, but I think, as you get in deeper into a hobby, it's inevitable to slowly become at least slightly more knowledgeable in the subject, develop stronger and stronger preferences, becoming pickier each time, and also maybe gain a little sense of entitlement given the amount of time, money, and effort invested in it. "Steve Pastor", Moderator and Feudal Lord of Dance Forums, gave me an example of his that suddenly made things clear:
"The Lion King was in town about a month ago. I'm going to Africa for a second time, and, although I've seen the film, a production in Orlando, etc, I went to see this production. Although someone in my office gave high praise, my reaction was more subdued. Someone called me on it, and it's simple. I've seem many live musicals, etc. over the years. This production of The Lion King was one of many. If you have never been to something like this, it's much more impressive."
But I digress. The point of this blog, as indicated in the title, is to directly point out who the people that irritate me at milongas are. I'm not going to include the obvious, such as people with no respect of the LOD or people who dance awfully even if they've been dancing a while. Of course, I've tried to be as decent as a self-confessed snob as possible, so I haven't been judging those who have obviously been dancing for a short time too harshly. And in the meantime, I'm just going to sit and fret over the people I will describe in a series of posts. That is, until the hypothetical day comes that I am good enough to be able to teach in order to eradicate all the things that annoy me of the tango scene, and in this way, give back to the community, as has been suggested to me. You might laud me and say that, despite my snobbishness, I still have a shred of humility left in me. But it's really an extension of my snobbery, owing to the amount of 'teachers' who have no business teaching, which seems to be proportional to the size of the tango community. Anyway, I digress again.... Without further ado, I present you:
The Escenario Barbie
I have no beef against Tango Escenario. In fact, watching the Escenario category of the Mundial is a lot of fun, especially if they fully express the drama of Pugliese, and if they can pull off Piazzolla, all power to them. But it's called Escenario because it should be saved for the stage. It is perfectly possible to do Tango Escenario on the stage, and switch back to salon/milonguero for social dancing. In fact, a couple participated in both Escenario and Salon in the Mundial, ranking 2nd and 3rd in each.
Last night, I encountered a species that I never thought I would encounter in a milonga. I'd seen her in rare occasion with her partner at a different milonga, and it was clear they were performers. A mutual friend introduced us, and my friend, in private, asked me to dance with her if it wasn't too much trouble. Apparently they are an Argentine couple who work at a local Argentine restaurant performing at shows, but for whatever reason, locals rarely ask her to dance. It became clear why (not sure if it's the same reason that others don't ask her to dance, but just to strengthen my argument, I'll imply it is, with no evidence whatsoever).
She looked pretty from a distance, but from up close, I could see the thick layers of makeup. I just thought 'oh maybe they were performing today and had to look pretty'. It was just a foreboding of things to come. As I embraced her, I have never been so convinced that somebody's boobs are not made of human tissue, but of synthetic material. It was a fitting metaphor of her tango - fake. The embrace was awfully distant. She was more concerned in looking pretty by making her legwork elegant rather than by just following, enjoying the embrace, the dance, and the music. As such, I could barely lead to a proper ocho atras without the embrace falling apart. I tried just walking, but she seemed to become bored. At every move, her torso stayed very still, hinting not so subtly that I should show her the way with the use of my hand (this became very apparent in watching her partner dance with her and other hapless women). I thought to myself "hell no, woman, my hand is for embracing you, not for moving you around like a sack of potatoes!" I guess you have to use your arms to throw your woman around in crazy saltos, ganchos, enganches, and the whole package. But yeah.... fortunately (or very unfortunately for me), I'm not yet enough of a snob, or rather I'm still an inhibited snob, so I endured the agony of the whole tandas. Di Sarli never seemed so eternally damning. From now on, every time I see them at the milonga, I'll politely say hi since we now know each other. But I'll use any excuse not to dance with her, and I will shake my head in contempt when watching them dance.
Stay tuned for the next edition of Victims of my snobbery
Monday, September 6, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tango snobs
There are plenty of stories, fictitious or not, in which a character ends up becoming the person he despises at the start. Napoleon, the leading pig of Orwell's famed allegory novel Animal Farm, leads a revolt against the human masters, but by the end of the novel has become just like them, learning how to walk, sleeping on beds in rooms, and even socializing with humans. Lately, I feel a lot like Napoleon. Although I've always had a bit of snob in me (remarking to El Ingeniero at a milonga how watching a certain couple dance makes my eyes bleed - so he already knows I'm a snob, and Dr Agsol Rac probably does too...- and previously having had a reputation among beginning tangueras that I'm standoffish, hard to please, picky, arrogant, and thus difficult to dance with because they are concerned of whether I approve - none of which, I admit, is entirely false-), it's never been full blown out as it seems nowadays. My previous rather acidic and hateful post about milonga pet peeves only begins to scratch the surface.
I used to despise those people at the milonga, the ones who act as though they hold the mysterious, magical way to tango, and brush off all others not belonging to the 'clique of the illuminated' as being mere wannabes. I think there were two major turning points to my transformation to who, what I am today at a milonga. At the local festival a few months ago, I was assigned as an interpreter for Javier Rodriguez and Andrea Missé. My perception of the whole experience, from the dance, the music, the little details, and interacting in the community, was completely shaken up, and has been evolving since. The second major turning point was starting to DJ regularly at milongas. From then on I have become an incredibly judgmental asshole.
At milongas where I'm not DJing, I'm sitting there listening, looking, and only dance if and only if several conditions are met: I like the music at the beginning of the tanda (I am developing a taste for the non-rhythmic music... it is rare that I dance to Rodriguez or Biagi, let alone D'Arienzo... but don't worry, I will still play enough of it when I'm DJing), I feel the energy, I spot a suitable tanguera (considering all aspects: does she have her shoes on? have I danced with her before? does this Tanturi-Campos tanda seem to be in congruence with her personality as I know her and with her mood today? Yes, I'm a prick), and I achieve cabeceo with her. Otherwise, I watch and praise some dancers while I grimace in contempt of others. If I do get to dance, I am exceedingly irritated when somebody does not follow the line of dance, and I make it as clear as possible without actually explicitly telling him and proceeding to pick a fist fight (no, I haven't gotten to that point yet... I would probably get banned from the milonga venues). I often am judging far more experienced DJs for recycling tandas or having mediocre tandas where the mood is all over the place. Next thing I know, I'll be rejecting every tanguera that verbally asks me to dance, even if she's a close friend and a great dancer. This would be very Javier Rodriguez, but he can do it because he's THE Javier Rodriguez.
Why is this happening? Is this wrong? I don't know the answers to these questions. But I think the more one gets into a hobby, the more you get a (false?) sense of entitlement, and that's where the snobbishness comes from. I used to be a 'just do it' kind of person at milongas, regardless of Buenos Aires códigos or expectations to abide by the local community customs. Now I suddenly am much more difficult to deal with in a bizarre way. Maybe nowadays I think much more about tango than I did before now that I am more involved in it. The thought of taking a break from this hobby (because that's what it is for me... for now) has crossed my mind, but it's like an alcoholic in front of an open bar told not to drink. During the World Cup, I did take a 'break', but it was mostly because the game schedule conflicted with milonga schedule, as well as to circumvent some tanguera drama. Even then, I listened to tango music all day and practiced tango walking around the apartment, much to the confused amusement of my brother. So basically, once you're in deep enough, you start acting strange and you can't quit it... I remember I asked a tanguera about what the hell was up with that guy at a milonga who is a major snob and acts like a judgmental dick (who does this remind you of?... surprise--> nowadays I get along with him). She just shrugged her shoulders and said: "he loves tango too much". I love tango. Maybe that's why.
I used to despise those people at the milonga, the ones who act as though they hold the mysterious, magical way to tango, and brush off all others not belonging to the 'clique of the illuminated' as being mere wannabes. I think there were two major turning points to my transformation to who, what I am today at a milonga. At the local festival a few months ago, I was assigned as an interpreter for Javier Rodriguez and Andrea Missé. My perception of the whole experience, from the dance, the music, the little details, and interacting in the community, was completely shaken up, and has been evolving since. The second major turning point was starting to DJ regularly at milongas. From then on I have become an incredibly judgmental asshole.
At milongas where I'm not DJing, I'm sitting there listening, looking, and only dance if and only if several conditions are met: I like the music at the beginning of the tanda (I am developing a taste for the non-rhythmic music... it is rare that I dance to Rodriguez or Biagi, let alone D'Arienzo... but don't worry, I will still play enough of it when I'm DJing), I feel the energy, I spot a suitable tanguera (considering all aspects: does she have her shoes on? have I danced with her before? does this Tanturi-Campos tanda seem to be in congruence with her personality as I know her and with her mood today? Yes, I'm a prick), and I achieve cabeceo with her. Otherwise, I watch and praise some dancers while I grimace in contempt of others. If I do get to dance, I am exceedingly irritated when somebody does not follow the line of dance, and I make it as clear as possible without actually explicitly telling him and proceeding to pick a fist fight (no, I haven't gotten to that point yet... I would probably get banned from the milonga venues). I often am judging far more experienced DJs for recycling tandas or having mediocre tandas where the mood is all over the place. Next thing I know, I'll be rejecting every tanguera that verbally asks me to dance, even if she's a close friend and a great dancer. This would be very Javier Rodriguez, but he can do it because he's THE Javier Rodriguez.
Why is this happening? Is this wrong? I don't know the answers to these questions. But I think the more one gets into a hobby, the more you get a (false?) sense of entitlement, and that's where the snobbishness comes from. I used to be a 'just do it' kind of person at milongas, regardless of Buenos Aires códigos or expectations to abide by the local community customs. Now I suddenly am much more difficult to deal with in a bizarre way. Maybe nowadays I think much more about tango than I did before now that I am more involved in it. The thought of taking a break from this hobby (because that's what it is for me... for now) has crossed my mind, but it's like an alcoholic in front of an open bar told not to drink. During the World Cup, I did take a 'break', but it was mostly because the game schedule conflicted with milonga schedule, as well as to circumvent some tanguera drama. Even then, I listened to tango music all day and practiced tango walking around the apartment, much to the confused amusement of my brother. So basically, once you're in deep enough, you start acting strange and you can't quit it... I remember I asked a tanguera about what the hell was up with that guy at a milonga who is a major snob and acts like a judgmental dick (who does this remind you of?... surprise--> nowadays I get along with him). She just shrugged her shoulders and said: "he loves tango too much". I love tango. Maybe that's why.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
"Ella Es Así" and a small comment
I'm stealing Alex's idea (opens in new window), with my favorite milonga: Here are 9 interpretations of "Ella Es Así" by Edgardo Donato.
My personal favorite is Ariadna & Fernando's. What's yours?
My personal favorite is Ariadna & Fernando's. What's yours?
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Milonga pet peeves-don't, please just don't
Last night, the biggest milonga in the city was more crowded than usual, with a bunch of people from out of town. This is usually fine, but yesterday I wanted to get in a fight, or share a few nasty words at least, with multiple people. Namely, the following:
-Leaders dancing with their eyes closed. Are you kidding me??? Not only does said leader look absolutely ridiculous, but he also is a hazard to himself, his partner, and everybody around. I'm all for feeling the moment and the music, but that doesn't mean you close your eyes.
-Performers: People who think they're performing on a crowded dance floor, doing lengthy sequences with long steps requiring much more space than available, and doing them anyway regardless of the couple in front and behind. This also applies to followers who do big, showy adornos regardless of space. Some of them unled..... my 'favorite': unled high boleos as an adorno. Don't do it.
-'Drivers'. Just because the line of dance is figuratively referred to as a lane doesn't mean you're driving on it... In other words, slow the hell down. Your point of reference in terms of speed is the couple in front, not a speedometer. Do not pass, goddammit! And even worse, don't keep switching lanes! If you're going to be performing, do it in the middle of the dance floor where you'll be ridiculed... and stay there, don't cut in front of me, you stupid motherfucker.
-People who don't respect the dancers' right of way. Continuing the traffic analogy, there is no question that the dancers have the right of way on the dance floor. It should be a no-brainer, yet people continue to ignore this, and think it's more important that they get to the bar as soon as possible to get their drink or outside to have a smoke to the point that they pop in front of dancers or just push them. WTF? It also includes people gathering in front of the fan, occupying a significant area that would otherwise be dance space. Thanks for ventilating your sweat and germs to everyone, guys.
-Pissers: a few times, I've gone to the milonga restroom and come out traumatized. People taking care of their needs... then not washing their hands.......... come on, guys, WTF??????
-Gossipers: it's called private life because it's meant to be private. Please mind your own business.
You can be a very nice person off the dance floor. In fact, you could have achieved world peace, cured cancer, ended poverty and hunger worldwide. But if you do any of the above, in my eyes you're Hitler.
The above list is just off the top of my head. There are more. Feel free to suggest other kinds of milongassholes.
-Leaders dancing with their eyes closed. Are you kidding me??? Not only does said leader look absolutely ridiculous, but he also is a hazard to himself, his partner, and everybody around. I'm all for feeling the moment and the music, but that doesn't mean you close your eyes.
-Performers: People who think they're performing on a crowded dance floor, doing lengthy sequences with long steps requiring much more space than available, and doing them anyway regardless of the couple in front and behind. This also applies to followers who do big, showy adornos regardless of space. Some of them unled..... my 'favorite': unled high boleos as an adorno. Don't do it.
-'Drivers'. Just because the line of dance is figuratively referred to as a lane doesn't mean you're driving on it... In other words, slow the hell down. Your point of reference in terms of speed is the couple in front, not a speedometer. Do not pass, goddammit! And even worse, don't keep switching lanes! If you're going to be performing, do it in the middle of the dance floor where you'll be ridiculed... and stay there, don't cut in front of me, you stupid motherfucker.
-People who don't respect the dancers' right of way. Continuing the traffic analogy, there is no question that the dancers have the right of way on the dance floor. It should be a no-brainer, yet people continue to ignore this, and think it's more important that they get to the bar as soon as possible to get their drink or outside to have a smoke to the point that they pop in front of dancers or just push them. WTF? It also includes people gathering in front of the fan, occupying a significant area that would otherwise be dance space. Thanks for ventilating your sweat and germs to everyone, guys.
-Pissers: a few times, I've gone to the milonga restroom and come out traumatized. People taking care of their needs... then not washing their hands.......... come on, guys, WTF??????
-Gossipers: it's called private life because it's meant to be private. Please mind your own business.
You can be a very nice person off the dance floor. In fact, you could have achieved world peace, cured cancer, ended poverty and hunger worldwide. But if you do any of the above, in my eyes you're Hitler.
The above list is just off the top of my head. There are more. Feel free to suggest other kinds of milongassholes.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Lady X
I will refrain from making sexual comparisons, but sometimes the first tanda you have with someone will be awkward and leaves something to be desired. This happened to me a few weeks ago at a festival I visited. I danced with a follwer, let's call her Lady X, who had really great balance and a good sense of following, but her embrace was too restricting and a little rigid. I had to switch from close embrace to open embrace and finished the tanda, which was, all things considered, a pretty good tanda.
However, after we were finished and I was walking her back to her seat, she actually asked me why I had switched to open embrace. I felt kind of bad, like I had hurt her feelings or something. So I gave a diplomatic yet honest reply. I told her that I thought she was uncomfortable with close embrace because she was squeezing me hard with her left arm, and that was that.
We met again at another festival recently, and this time around, the dances were simply amazing. Lady X's left arm did not choke me, but rested on my right arm and shoulder with just the right amount of pressure to achieve a wonderful connection. We had several fantastic tandas. A couple of things that deserve mention:
1. She apologized several times about tensing up slightly, adding that she felt a little nervous. This in turn made me feel bad. I am a passable dancer, not a very high caliber leader, and so I can only conclude that my previous comment about her embrace made her self-conscious. I apologize (anonymously) to this wonderful lady for making her doubt herself at all. That being said, I must acknowledge that my honest reply to her question, did result in her paying attention to the quality of her embrace. Conclusion: Leaders, please refrain from unsolicited comments to your dance partners at milongas, but if they ask you, by all means be honest, yet very nice about it. No doubt, some people will be upset if you point out specific shortcomings, but I have to assume that if I am directly asked, then the person asking me does have a genuine interest in hearing my input. And in my case, that input was taken into consideration, and made a great dancer even greater.
2. Among the leads in our community, I tend be one of the simpler dancers. I rarely lead ganchos, leg wraps or any of the flashier steps, even given the space at our more sparse milongas that makes these steps feasible without kicking other people. I was dancing with Lady X to 'El Adios' (can't remember if it was Donato's version or Canaro's), and during a couple of the phrases with the prominent wailing violins, I just walked and walked. I have something for wailing violins apparently, and I really walked from my heart. This did not go unnoticed by Lady X, who commented that she loves simple dances with lots of walking (Apprently she agrees with Jaimito that simple is beautiful), but that it's so rare for leaders to do that with her. My reply, and hopefully that reply undid whatever emotional damage I did with my previous comments, was that probably because she is such a wonderful dancer, all the other guys want to try out their "moves" on her. On my part, when I dance with such an exquisite dancer, I want to enjoy the dance, feeling the music and feeling my partner. If I wanted to do "moves", I'll go salsa.
However, after we were finished and I was walking her back to her seat, she actually asked me why I had switched to open embrace. I felt kind of bad, like I had hurt her feelings or something. So I gave a diplomatic yet honest reply. I told her that I thought she was uncomfortable with close embrace because she was squeezing me hard with her left arm, and that was that.
We met again at another festival recently, and this time around, the dances were simply amazing. Lady X's left arm did not choke me, but rested on my right arm and shoulder with just the right amount of pressure to achieve a wonderful connection. We had several fantastic tandas. A couple of things that deserve mention:
1. She apologized several times about tensing up slightly, adding that she felt a little nervous. This in turn made me feel bad. I am a passable dancer, not a very high caliber leader, and so I can only conclude that my previous comment about her embrace made her self-conscious. I apologize (anonymously) to this wonderful lady for making her doubt herself at all. That being said, I must acknowledge that my honest reply to her question, did result in her paying attention to the quality of her embrace. Conclusion: Leaders, please refrain from unsolicited comments to your dance partners at milongas, but if they ask you, by all means be honest, yet very nice about it. No doubt, some people will be upset if you point out specific shortcomings, but I have to assume that if I am directly asked, then the person asking me does have a genuine interest in hearing my input. And in my case, that input was taken into consideration, and made a great dancer even greater.
2. Among the leads in our community, I tend be one of the simpler dancers. I rarely lead ganchos, leg wraps or any of the flashier steps, even given the space at our more sparse milongas that makes these steps feasible without kicking other people. I was dancing with Lady X to 'El Adios' (can't remember if it was Donato's version or Canaro's), and during a couple of the phrases with the prominent wailing violins, I just walked and walked. I have something for wailing violins apparently, and I really walked from my heart. This did not go unnoticed by Lady X, who commented that she loves simple dances with lots of walking (Apprently she agrees with Jaimito that simple is beautiful), but that it's so rare for leaders to do that with her. My reply, and hopefully that reply undid whatever emotional damage I did with my previous comments, was that probably because she is such a wonderful dancer, all the other guys want to try out their "moves" on her. On my part, when I dance with such an exquisite dancer, I want to enjoy the dance, feeling the music and feeling my partner. If I wanted to do "moves", I'll go salsa.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thoughts on my debut as a DJ
Last week, an organizer of a milonga I frequently go to invited me to DJ at his venue for Wednesday night (there is a milonga every Wednesday and Friday). We had previously had lengthy conversations regarding music and dance, so perhaps he felt I shared his vision on how milongas should be. Even though I had no previous experience, I felt that the Wednesday milonga was small enough and lenient enough to allow for newbie mistakes. This was not the case - I decided to announce my debut on Facebook, though I really did not expect that many people to show up! I was pleasantly surprised, and it added some more pressure to play good music (in addition to finding out that I'd be getting paid the equivalent of ~25 USD... the milonga entrance fee is ~6 USD). I made the playlist as the night went along depending on the mood and the flow, but I forgot to save it. Still, I remember most of it:
Canaro instrumental (Loca, Pampa, La Maleva, La melodía de nuestro adiós)
Lomuto (Son cosas del bandoneón, Madreselva, San Telmo, Por la vuelta)
Orquesta Típica Victor (El porteñito, Che papusa oi, Dominio, Cardos)
D'Arienzo instrumental (El flete, Retintín, El Cencerro, Ataniche)
Tanturi-Castillo (así se baila el tango, esta noche me emborracho and two more)
Biagi vals (Pájaro herido, Cuatro palabras, Lágrimas y sonrisas)
Caló-Iriarte (Marión and three more)
Troilo-Fiorentino (Yo soy el tango, toda mi vida, Pájaro ciego, Te aconsejo que me olvides)
Canaro instrumental milonga (La milonga de mis tiempos, Milongón, Reliquias porteñas)
Di Sarli-Podestá (Nido gaucho, Lloran las campanas, Vamos, La capilla blanca)
Fresedo-Ray (Siempre es carnaval, Como aquella princesa, Sollozos, No quiero verte llorar)
De Angelis vals (Soñar y nada más, A Magaldi, Pobre flor)
Donato (Mi serenata, Alas rotas?, El Adiós, Sinsabor)
Rodriguez con Moreno (Cómo has cambiado pebeta, Mirame de frente, un tropezón, Yo no sé por qué razón)
Villasboas milonga (La tierra gaucha, Papas calientes, El charo camaro)
Malerba con Medina (Remembranzas, Magdalena, Embrujamiento, Gitana Rusa)
Varela (Fueron tres años, Portero suba y diga, Muchacha, Fumando espero)
D'Agostino con Vargas (Caricias, ?, ?, No vendrá)
A few notes:
-Canaro tangos generally don't appeal to me, but the instrumental tanda I had at the beginning was very nice, and it was a real shame that there was nobody to dance to it. That's why for the following two tandas I played rather forgettable music (no offense to Lomuto and OTV fans). When people started showing up, probably there's nothing better than D'Arienzo to get people on their feet!
-The way I built the tandas, other than the almost mandatory same orchestra, same year (or at least spaced closely together), was to put 4 songs of similar mood, with the most recognizable one first to get people on their feet, and the best for last, to really enjoy that last song! It's rather subjective on what people consider to be the best and the most recognizable, but it's what I went for.
-The technical aspect of DJing is something that I had always taken for granted. Sure, every now and then, with an inattentive DJ you hear a scratchy, low quality recording, but no big deal, right? Well, big deal when I'm the DJ. I always listen to my songs on crappy computer speakers, so I hadn't realized how bad some of my sound files are. I was only worried about the scratchy ones, but at first the biggest issue was the inconsistent volume level, in general too low. This made me realize the value of not being a cheap ass and actually buying the albums. And if I really want to overdo it, maybe eventually go old school and DJ with only CDs!
-Looking back at the playlist, maybe it's true what people tell me... I'm indeed a hopeless romantic! Also I was worried that people might complain that there wasn't enough instrumental tandas. A mock playlist I made beforehand was composed of mostly sung tangos, and I think non-Spanish speakers may not have the same appreciation.
-Going back to the technical aspects, I didn't realize that my laptop makes the default system clicking noise when I navigate through the folders, which happened a lot when I was going through the music to choose... but didn't realize it till the day after! The organizer later told me he was aware of the little clicking sounds through the speakers, but let it slip because it was a common rookie mistake. You can imagine how embarrassed I was........
-An unusual thing I did for this milonga was to play a different cortina every time. People used to hearing one or at most two or three of the same cortinas all night and every week might have found it distracting, but I have two reasons for having done this: firstly, I am always unspeakably bored of hearing the same cortina throughout the milonga. Secondly, and more importantly, I wanted to give the crowd a hint of what was coming up. For example, before the rhythmic tandas or milonga tandas, I played heavy metal, capoeira, and techno. Before romantic tandas, I played some mellow ballads, and so on.
-I played an experimental milonga tanda, and by experimental I mean that it's not a tanda that I've ever heard being played in this community, although I consider it very danceable. Anyway, it was Villasboas milonga, and people were rather confused during the Papas Calientes song because of its abrupt and long pauses, perhaps thinking that I had accidentally stopped the music or that it was just how the song ended. I think I'll play some experimental tandas every now and then. For the precursor cortinas, Frank Zappa or The Doors would work wonders.
-Learning how to say no: As a man, it's hard to say no when a girl asks you to dance. I danced much less than I usually do, but still more than I would have liked to and definitely more than what's advisable for a serious DJ. Although it's against Buenos Aires code to even explicitly ask for a dance (even more scandalous when it's the woman asking for the dance... more on this later), people still do it, and it's hard for me to say no. But when DJing, I found that I can't even concentrate on my dancing, as I'm constantly thinking of what tanda to put next, how the flow and the mood is going, how the sound quality is, etc.
Overall, I think it was a successful debut. A milonguera friend who is currently taking it easy because of her pregnancy (she is due in a few weeks) showed up just to listen to my music and didn't even bring her dance shoes, but was up and dancing anyway, probably more so than was medically advisable, so she had people worried. But at least, I guess (or hope) that it was a good indicator of my performance. So it seems it was good enough, at least to impress the Friday milonga organizer at the same venue, so he invited me to DJ again. This second time, I made sure to turn off the system sounds, focus on sound quality through equalization, and actually save the playlist!
De Angelis Instrumental (Nueve de Julio - being 9th of July and all -, El entrerriano, El Chañar, El huracán)
D'Arienzo con Valdez (Hasta siempre amor, Adiós corazón, Andate por Dios!, Chirusa)
Donato con Lagos (Gato, Me voy a Baraja, Se va la vida, Alas rotas) - to get the milonga really started with some playful mood
Vals Biagi con Ibáñez (Lejos de tí, Loca de amor, Viejo portón)
Canaro instrumental (Lorenzo, La Maleva, La viruta, La melodía de nuestro adiós) - I wanted to make up for a similar tanda last time being wasted at the very beginning of the milonga
Rodríguez con Moreno (Cómo se pianta la vida, En la buena y en la mala, Llorar por una mujer, Danza maligna)
Milonga Di Sarli con Rufino (La mulateada, Yo soy de San Telmo, Zorzal)
Tanturi con Campos (Una emoción, Palomita mía, que nunca me falte, Oigo tu voz)
Fresedo con Ray (Vida mía, Araca la cana, Yo no sé llorar, Cordobesita)
Balcarce vals (Unitaria, La pulpería de Santa Lucía, Luna de arrabal)
Biagi instrumental (Re fa si, La marca de fuego, El yaguarón, El estribo)
Troilo instrumental (Cachirulo, Milongueando en el 40, El Tamango, Guapeando)
Milonga Donato con Lagos (Ella es así, Sacale punta, La milonga que faltaba)
Demare con Miranda (Malena, Pa mi es igual, Al compás de un tango, Mañana zarpa un barco)
D'Arienzo con Mauré (Dime mi amor, Infamia, Ya lo ves, Humillación)
Vals D'Agostino con Vargas (Esquinas porteñas, El espejo en tus ojos, Tristeza criolla)
Caló con Berón (La abandoné y no sabía, Entre sueños, Domingo a la noche, En tus ojos de cielo)
Laurenz con Podestá (Nunca tuvo novio, Como el hornero, Yo quiero cantar un tango, Todo)
Di Sarli 50s instrumental (A la gran muñeca, Organito de la tarde, El once, El amanecer)
Troilo con Fiorentino (Pa que bailen los muchachos, Percal, Colorao colorao, En esta tarde gris)
Gobbi instrumental (Independiente Club, El andariego, La viruta, Racing Club)
Canaro instrumental (Poema, El Adiós, Paciencia, La Cumparsita)
For this milonga, there was a lot of people visiting from abroad, so I didn't really know their taste. It seemed like they would dance to whatever I played, though.
Regarding the last tanda, I don't like playing Poema because it's such a recognizable song that the rest of the tanda doesn't have the same impact. But at that point in the night, I wanted to get the few people remaining on their feet, so I tried my best to make it a worthwhile tanda even after the first song. They later told me it was fine, but suggested I mix it with other recognizable songs by other orchestras that are hard to fit into tandas (Buscándote by Fresedo, Café Dominguez by D'Agostino, for instance). I've shown my playlists to friends in other communities, and they almost invariably ask why there's no Pugliese... for the first night, the milonga wasn't long enough to really fit in Pugliese; it would have seemed very forced to play it. For the second night, the mood didn't really seem to call for Pugliese. Maybe next time.
I have the next week and a half off from DJing duties! So I'll gather my thoughts further. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Canaro instrumental (Loca, Pampa, La Maleva, La melodía de nuestro adiós)
Lomuto (Son cosas del bandoneón, Madreselva, San Telmo, Por la vuelta)
Orquesta Típica Victor (El porteñito, Che papusa oi, Dominio, Cardos)
D'Arienzo instrumental (El flete, Retintín, El Cencerro, Ataniche)
Tanturi-Castillo (así se baila el tango, esta noche me emborracho and two more)
Biagi vals (Pájaro herido, Cuatro palabras, Lágrimas y sonrisas)
Caló-Iriarte (Marión and three more)
Troilo-Fiorentino (Yo soy el tango, toda mi vida, Pájaro ciego, Te aconsejo que me olvides)
Canaro instrumental milonga (La milonga de mis tiempos, Milongón, Reliquias porteñas)
Di Sarli-Podestá (Nido gaucho, Lloran las campanas, Vamos, La capilla blanca)
Fresedo-Ray (Siempre es carnaval, Como aquella princesa, Sollozos, No quiero verte llorar)
De Angelis vals (Soñar y nada más, A Magaldi, Pobre flor)
Donato (Mi serenata, Alas rotas?, El Adiós, Sinsabor)
Rodriguez con Moreno (Cómo has cambiado pebeta, Mirame de frente, un tropezón, Yo no sé por qué razón)
Villasboas milonga (La tierra gaucha, Papas calientes, El charo camaro)
Malerba con Medina (Remembranzas, Magdalena, Embrujamiento, Gitana Rusa)
Varela (Fueron tres años, Portero suba y diga, Muchacha, Fumando espero)
D'Agostino con Vargas (Caricias, ?, ?, No vendrá)
A few notes:
-Canaro tangos generally don't appeal to me, but the instrumental tanda I had at the beginning was very nice, and it was a real shame that there was nobody to dance to it. That's why for the following two tandas I played rather forgettable music (no offense to Lomuto and OTV fans). When people started showing up, probably there's nothing better than D'Arienzo to get people on their feet!
-The way I built the tandas, other than the almost mandatory same orchestra, same year (or at least spaced closely together), was to put 4 songs of similar mood, with the most recognizable one first to get people on their feet, and the best for last, to really enjoy that last song! It's rather subjective on what people consider to be the best and the most recognizable, but it's what I went for.
-The technical aspect of DJing is something that I had always taken for granted. Sure, every now and then, with an inattentive DJ you hear a scratchy, low quality recording, but no big deal, right? Well, big deal when I'm the DJ. I always listen to my songs on crappy computer speakers, so I hadn't realized how bad some of my sound files are. I was only worried about the scratchy ones, but at first the biggest issue was the inconsistent volume level, in general too low. This made me realize the value of not being a cheap ass and actually buying the albums. And if I really want to overdo it, maybe eventually go old school and DJ with only CDs!
-Looking back at the playlist, maybe it's true what people tell me... I'm indeed a hopeless romantic! Also I was worried that people might complain that there wasn't enough instrumental tandas. A mock playlist I made beforehand was composed of mostly sung tangos, and I think non-Spanish speakers may not have the same appreciation.
-Going back to the technical aspects, I didn't realize that my laptop makes the default system clicking noise when I navigate through the folders, which happened a lot when I was going through the music to choose... but didn't realize it till the day after! The organizer later told me he was aware of the little clicking sounds through the speakers, but let it slip because it was a common rookie mistake. You can imagine how embarrassed I was........
-An unusual thing I did for this milonga was to play a different cortina every time. People used to hearing one or at most two or three of the same cortinas all night and every week might have found it distracting, but I have two reasons for having done this: firstly, I am always unspeakably bored of hearing the same cortina throughout the milonga. Secondly, and more importantly, I wanted to give the crowd a hint of what was coming up. For example, before the rhythmic tandas or milonga tandas, I played heavy metal, capoeira, and techno. Before romantic tandas, I played some mellow ballads, and so on.
-I played an experimental milonga tanda, and by experimental I mean that it's not a tanda that I've ever heard being played in this community, although I consider it very danceable. Anyway, it was Villasboas milonga, and people were rather confused during the Papas Calientes song because of its abrupt and long pauses, perhaps thinking that I had accidentally stopped the music or that it was just how the song ended. I think I'll play some experimental tandas every now and then. For the precursor cortinas, Frank Zappa or The Doors would work wonders.
-Learning how to say no: As a man, it's hard to say no when a girl asks you to dance. I danced much less than I usually do, but still more than I would have liked to and definitely more than what's advisable for a serious DJ. Although it's against Buenos Aires code to even explicitly ask for a dance (even more scandalous when it's the woman asking for the dance... more on this later), people still do it, and it's hard for me to say no. But when DJing, I found that I can't even concentrate on my dancing, as I'm constantly thinking of what tanda to put next, how the flow and the mood is going, how the sound quality is, etc.
Overall, I think it was a successful debut. A milonguera friend who is currently taking it easy because of her pregnancy (she is due in a few weeks) showed up just to listen to my music and didn't even bring her dance shoes, but was up and dancing anyway, probably more so than was medically advisable, so she had people worried. But at least, I guess (or hope) that it was a good indicator of my performance. So it seems it was good enough, at least to impress the Friday milonga organizer at the same venue, so he invited me to DJ again. This second time, I made sure to turn off the system sounds, focus on sound quality through equalization, and actually save the playlist!
De Angelis Instrumental (Nueve de Julio - being 9th of July and all -, El entrerriano, El Chañar, El huracán)
D'Arienzo con Valdez (Hasta siempre amor, Adiós corazón, Andate por Dios!, Chirusa)
Donato con Lagos (Gato, Me voy a Baraja, Se va la vida, Alas rotas) - to get the milonga really started with some playful mood
Vals Biagi con Ibáñez (Lejos de tí, Loca de amor, Viejo portón)
Canaro instrumental (Lorenzo, La Maleva, La viruta, La melodía de nuestro adiós) - I wanted to make up for a similar tanda last time being wasted at the very beginning of the milonga
Rodríguez con Moreno (Cómo se pianta la vida, En la buena y en la mala, Llorar por una mujer, Danza maligna)
Milonga Di Sarli con Rufino (La mulateada, Yo soy de San Telmo, Zorzal)
Tanturi con Campos (Una emoción, Palomita mía, que nunca me falte, Oigo tu voz)
Fresedo con Ray (Vida mía, Araca la cana, Yo no sé llorar, Cordobesita)
Balcarce vals (Unitaria, La pulpería de Santa Lucía, Luna de arrabal)
Biagi instrumental (Re fa si, La marca de fuego, El yaguarón, El estribo)
Troilo instrumental (Cachirulo, Milongueando en el 40, El Tamango, Guapeando)
Milonga Donato con Lagos (Ella es así, Sacale punta, La milonga que faltaba)
Demare con Miranda (Malena, Pa mi es igual, Al compás de un tango, Mañana zarpa un barco)
D'Arienzo con Mauré (Dime mi amor, Infamia, Ya lo ves, Humillación)
Vals D'Agostino con Vargas (Esquinas porteñas, El espejo en tus ojos, Tristeza criolla)
Caló con Berón (La abandoné y no sabía, Entre sueños, Domingo a la noche, En tus ojos de cielo)
Laurenz con Podestá (Nunca tuvo novio, Como el hornero, Yo quiero cantar un tango, Todo)
Di Sarli 50s instrumental (A la gran muñeca, Organito de la tarde, El once, El amanecer)
Troilo con Fiorentino (Pa que bailen los muchachos, Percal, Colorao colorao, En esta tarde gris)
Gobbi instrumental (Independiente Club, El andariego, La viruta, Racing Club)
Canaro instrumental (Poema, El Adiós, Paciencia, La Cumparsita)
For this milonga, there was a lot of people visiting from abroad, so I didn't really know their taste. It seemed like they would dance to whatever I played, though.
Regarding the last tanda, I don't like playing Poema because it's such a recognizable song that the rest of the tanda doesn't have the same impact. But at that point in the night, I wanted to get the few people remaining on their feet, so I tried my best to make it a worthwhile tanda even after the first song. They later told me it was fine, but suggested I mix it with other recognizable songs by other orchestras that are hard to fit into tandas (Buscándote by Fresedo, Café Dominguez by D'Agostino, for instance). I've shown my playlists to friends in other communities, and they almost invariably ask why there's no Pugliese... for the first night, the milonga wasn't long enough to really fit in Pugliese; it would have seemed very forced to play it. For the second night, the mood didn't really seem to call for Pugliese. Maybe next time.
I have the next week and a half off from DJing duties! So I'll gather my thoughts further. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Way to butcher one of my favorite songs
I normally am an advocate of "whatever floats your boat" as long as it respects the well being and reasonable interest of others, both on and off the dance floor. But this is just revolting......
Why???? Why???????? I won't be stating the obvious that there is no way you could ever use these kinds of movements at a milonga, unless it's a really really slow night..... but even if it's a performance, why would you do this? Whatever that is, it's plain ugly... They look like a very inelegant hybrid of half-assed splits and a few kicks here and there. And no need to get into semantics of what is tango and what is not, because that sequence on the video above is definitely not tango. From that, my biggest complaint: why would you disrespect such a beautiful, elegant song with such awful nonsense (no other word comes up to mind)? Associating "advanced revolt-cadas" with Nido Gaucho is travesty, and it makes me cringe. Di Sarli is rolling in his grave, and Podestá would probably cry.
Some people will no doubt say "oh quit living in the past, nuevo is the way forward!" I'm no one to say how tango should be danced, and I'm all for experimenting with weird things. But this is just plain disgusting, it doesn't even look pretty, no matter what your standards of beauty and elegance. People pay to learn this?????????? Really??????????
Why???? Why???????? I won't be stating the obvious that there is no way you could ever use these kinds of movements at a milonga, unless it's a really really slow night..... but even if it's a performance, why would you do this? Whatever that is, it's plain ugly... They look like a very inelegant hybrid of half-assed splits and a few kicks here and there. And no need to get into semantics of what is tango and what is not, because that sequence on the video above is definitely not tango. From that, my biggest complaint: why would you disrespect such a beautiful, elegant song with such awful nonsense (no other word comes up to mind)? Associating "advanced revolt-cadas" with Nido Gaucho is travesty, and it makes me cringe. Di Sarli is rolling in his grave, and Podestá would probably cry.
Some people will no doubt say "oh quit living in the past, nuevo is the way forward!" I'm no one to say how tango should be danced, and I'm all for experimenting with weird things. But this is just plain disgusting, it doesn't even look pretty, no matter what your standards of beauty and elegance. People pay to learn this?????????? Really??????????
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)