Adriana Pegorer presented her investigation, Performing Gender: Tango in the Milongas of Buenos Aires, in a video conference for Body, Movement and Dance in Global Perspective, Hong Kong in July 2008. Her presentation in three parts is recommended viewing to understand the cultural surrounding tango in Buenos Aires. I found it interesting.
May 31, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I watched this a couple of weeks ago.Although the methodological flaws are a bit too numerous to get into, since when did Rodolfo Dinzel qualify as a credible primary source for _anything_ remotely related to social Argentine tango as it is danced in the milongas in Buenos Aires?
June 1, 2009 at 12:34 am
I agree with you that Dinzel knows nothing about the milongas. He has a name in the tango world as an author, performer, and teacher.
I am reminded of a conversation years ago with a friend who was attending Dinzel’s classes at the University of Tango in BsAs. My friend asked Dinzel what he thought about tango milonguero. Dinzel replied, “it’s the latest fad, and it will die out soon.” That only proved to me that Dinzel has never danced in the milongas.
June 2, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Hi Jan,
I saw this on YouTube months ago and had a very interesting conversation with her not long after. I am sorry, but is it me?, the men think they choose, but the women actually make the final choice. I love the part where the men relax and socialise and when they are ready they choose a woman, while the women don’t relax because they are always scouting around to see if anyone is asking them to dance. As bad as going out with a single girlfriend who constantly looks around to see if there are any interesting men around rather than staying focused on the conversation.
Hello! Something is not quite right here. Perhaps if the women went out and chatted to each other like they do in the UK and when they are ready to dance then they look up. Or we get a bit annoyed when we are interrupted. (they don’t use cabeceo much here). Hey, I am not even English.
I know cabeceo is used to save face from refusal, but really ladies, pretend like you don’t care and eventually you won’t. Fake it til you make it. My God. They are only men! Bless them, but since we outnumber them, something is not quite right here.
June 2, 2009 at 6:54 pm
In the machista world of the milonga, men believe they have all the control. When it comes to reality, all will agree that if the woman doesn’t want to dance with a particular man, it’s never going to happen.
Conversation among most women in the milongas is kept to a minimum, at least at the beginning of each tanda. Once the floor is full and two dances have played in the tanda, conversation may ensue between women who are not dancing.
In the minds of men, they are in control. They don’t consider an invitation to dance an interruption when two women are talking. In BsAs this is seen as “we’re not interested in dancing this tanda, that’s why we are talking.”