 Wednesday, March 29, 2006Reflections from Reiko: New York and BsAs, Young and Old
I received an email a little while back from a dancer named Reiko, who has been traveling to New York and Buenos Aires and sharing some of her thoughts about tango along the way. Here are her latest thoughts from Argentina: I had a great time in New York. I went to a milonga each night at a different place. I found that there are many more good dancers, leaders, than in Japan. I got acquainted with some guys and exchanged email addresses. I'll meet them again when I am back in NY in April. About the style and quality of tango in NY, I found it a bit more like a show, which is quite understandable. At one milonga, we had a demonstration by professionals from BsAs and I didn't know then I was going to see the female dancer a few days later in BsAs. She was highly praised by New Yorkers but here I heard somebody saying that she was just doing gymnastics. How come this difference? I am avoiding to go to the milonga where a lot of tourists go. Instead, with a help of an American lady who has lived here for ten years (orginally from Chicago. You might have heard of her name, Janis Kanyon), I am going to where local milongueros go. I prefer dancing with the elderly, not the young. They seem to have a heart for tango, which I can share in the dance. On the other hand, I would like to take lessons given by youthful show dancers. I want to know how much I can follow them with my own understanding of tango. Or if there is something I haven't known about, it will surely be a pleasure to find it. -- Reiko
If you have any thoughts on the differences she mentions, please feel free to write to me with them! |