Reflections of a tango professional

Warning: 
This post contains boring, disenchanting or even disturbing details about the life of a tango professional. 

I have long pondered whether I can actually publish this, because it might be severely misunderstood. This is why I have to prepend the following:

This article is in no way meant as a complaint about my situation. I really like my job and find it rewarding to help grow an international tango community, meet lots of interesting people and bring joy by promoting such a wonderful dance. I also cannot deny, that I savour the attention, positive feedback and respect for my work. Ah... and dancing with a lovely person who has absorbed some of our principles into his or her dance! I get to reap the harvest of our endeavours directly in the milongas or encuentros. I have actively chosen tango over the career as a psychologist and am glad I did.

But as you know, I am a very realistic and rather prosaic person and a lot of my tango friends, students and clients do not seem to know what my profession actually consists of or implies. Their romantic misconceptions often leave me speechless. At first. Then I try to explain and get carried away. That can be quite annoying for the person whom I am talking to because they were just making polite small-talk. This post is so that I can say: read my blog. 



Here are the facts about my life as a tango teacher, dj and organiser.

1. Job description
My main activity is not dancing or being at milongas. It is not even teaching. 
What I do mostly is to sit in my office (or elsewhere) in front of my computer. This is where I spend 80-90% of my work hours with: event-, class- and travel organisation, preparing local team meetings, building and updating several websites, analysing or preparing music for classes or milongas, updating client data, editing videos, preparing class-content, writing and sending out class material, communicating with students, organisers or team members, writing invoices and bills of delivery, advertising in several languages and much more. A huge part of this involves spreadsheets, online forms and lists and is as exciting as the work of an accountant. Luckily I don't mind such tasks. But add some more annoying work like buying provisions for events or teacher-trainings, cleaning the studio or setting up venues and you'll understand my typical work day. Yes, there are the days during which I teach or dance, but even then the overhead work does not go anywhere. It still has to be done. 
In general I can say: My most important tools aren't dance shoes but the computer and my most important body parts aren't my legs but my brain. I could very easily do most of my work with a broken leg, but basically nothing without my computer.
When I am at home, I get up early in the morning and spend my day in front of the screen until dinner. I try to make a break around noon for a workout and breakfast. In the evenings, I watch a series or movie with my non-tango-sweetheart and go to bed around 11. I usually read 1/2 hour before I fall asleep. 
On rare days, I retire to my sofa in the afternoon because I started work before 6 in the morning. But as I take my computer with me, I usually end up working again. Like now. 
I do not take holidays and I will answer your e-mails within a day (usually within the hour) even on X-Mas or my birthday. 

2. Business travels
How come that everyone wishes me "have fun" when I am travelling to someplace for workshops? Would you say the same to an executive or engineer going to a business conference? Apart from the very few times per year that I go to an encuentro just to dance, travelling stands for a series of very challenging days with only few hours of sleep. Apart from classes, demos and dj-gigs, I squeeze in all the duties described above in the hours free of the payed work. Again, I love my work, but it is still work and I'd rather hear "I wish you lots of energy or success" than "have fun" as if I were going on a holiday. 
On business trips, I don't have time for sightseeing. Although I travel to many exciting places, I seldom see anything apart the tango venues, hotels, airports, train-stations and restaurants. And no, it does usually not make sense to stay a few days longer. I just spent some time in Austria with friends prior to an engagement in Slovenia. It was lovely, but the two extra days of group activities meant that I arrived less well rested than usual for work and overhead tasks piled up. I cannot allow myself to do this very often.
On days of traveling from A to B, I have some more time to read a book, because working whilst driving a car or sitting in a plane does not function well for me. If a train is not too full, I sometimes manage a few tasks on my computer, but I usually do not get a lot done because of the iffy internet. Traveling itself can take up two entire days per week. Judging by the actual work-output, you could call these holidays, but considering the amount of fatigue and stress, I am not sure if I can agree with this interpretation. 
In the past, we traveled up to 46 week(ends) per year. Now we are at home more often because of two encuentros, a 4-module tango-teacher-training, as well as workshops and classes in our studio. Less travel reduces my general stress level but increases the overhead-workload. How so? Well, when we give workshops at a festival or local school, the organisers will manage the client-bookings and payments, a huge part of the advertising and all local logistics. When we offer a workshop in our hometown, all of this is my job. 

3. Financial aspects of tango dj-ing
To dj does not generate an income to speak of, but is rather a very expensive and time-consuming hobby. A well known tango-dj can earn between 100€ and 250€ per gig plus expenses. (A local non-tango-dj in a disco earns a minimum of 500€.) Taking into consideration that you will have to buy lots of music and expensive equipment, the profit will be around zero, if not a loss. Some popular djs who live in an area with many regular milongas might be able to make a modest income, but usually even they have day jobs to pay the rent. When I am invited to dj at an encuentro, I see it as a great opportunity to play music for nice dancers, to get into an event for free and have my travel-expenses covered. My salary will most likely be spent on meals during the weekend. 

4. Financial aspects of organising events
Organising events or milongas will usually not be profitable. Sure, if you've got a regular milonga with more than 100 visitors in your own studio and you don't pay an external dj... But most local milongas just cover the expenses or make a loss. Our local milongas often are within the deficit range, but we see them as important service for our students and the community. 
Events like encuentros can generate a profit. But please note that the biggest part of the income will still go into the venue, djs, other staff, equipment, catering, insurances and taxes. Sure, if the organisers are smart, an event with 200 visitors can make an income of 1000-5000€. Sounds a lot? Not if you consider the work hours that go into organising it. 
Please be aware that the only ways of making an appropriate income with events would be:
- Reducing the expenses and therefore the quality and/or exploiting djs and helpers. Which would be evil and stupid!
- Raising prices. That would be the sensible thing to do, but tangueros will complain when the event costs 120€ instead of 85€. Considering that the entrance fee is the smallest expense over a weekend... well... 

5. Financial aspects of teaching
The only activity that can generate a decent income in tango is teaching. But even then, I do not know any tango teacher who could be considered as wealthy by normal standards. 
I live from tango since 2006 and cannot complain. Actually I think that we are better off than many other tango teachers (see note below *):
We have (a little) above average per hour prices and therefore generate an appropriate income. Our lifestyle is acceptable: we never had to hunger, we rent nice apartments and I can afford to buy a new Macbook and iPhone every 5 years. Or books and videos. Or invite a friend for dinner in a restaurant and give money to family needy members. But I do not own a house, our car is old and I do not have a pension plan. Why is that?
- Because of the disadvantageous proportion of classes (payed work) to overhead (not payed work). I will usually not teach more than 6-10 hours per week, sometimes less, because we do not travel all the time. 
But teaching is my only income to speak of. So why don't we teach more? Well, even if there were more engagements, I would not have the time to actually take on more classes because of the overhead workload and the traveling from A to B. When we started traveling for workshop weekends, we decided to give up our regular classes in three cities. It would have been just too much.
The ratio of payed/not-payed work is better during tango-holidays (14-20 teaching hours per week) and teacher trainings (25-30).  
- We do only seldom take on privates during workshop weekends or festivals, because we have to preserve our energy for group classes for which the organiser carries the financial risk. We also do not charge for demos - unless it is during a festival where the other teachers also get payed for their shows.
- Because in spite of a good turnover, work-related expenses are quite high and we spend a considerable part of our income in tango again: travel to encuentros as paying customers, buy tango music, software, online services, ads in tango magazines, studio rent, equipment, paying staff, inviting clients for dinner... yes, I also buy shoes and dresses - but from what I can tell, much less than most dancers.
- We often give substantial reductions to people with a low income, in rare cases up to 100%. Sometimes, I even offer free classes or seminars for entire groups because I want the tango community to develop. In tango, one cannot just take, one has to give as well to keep the system running. 
Had I pursued my career as a psychologist, things would look very different.

6. Expiration date of tango careers
Unless you are an "old Argentine maestro or milonguero", who will still be invited for classes abroad and highly respected in Buenos Aires, please do not expect to make a great living from tango once that you've passed a certain age. Younger, better dancers are constantly popping up and the memories of customers are surprisingly short. No matter how impressive your résumé as a teacher or how much you have perfected pedagogical skills, you will eventually be discharged. 
And even if not: can you imagine how the above described workload will feel when you're 75? Would you really want to travel that much, live out of your suitcase, often staying at tango people's homes without any privacy at an advanced age? I actually pity the "old ones" who still have to go on tour. 
Successful local teachers in big cities will have better prospects, but only if they play their cards well and integrate young talent. 
Rigorose diet and exercise (or just good genes) as well as plastic surgery might also help, but Detlef and I have now both passed the 50s-demarcation and I stopped colouring my hair recently. We're not young anymore and one can see it.
This last consideration may sound particularly harsh and bitter, but I am just being realistic. I have been teaching tango and expanding my business for 18 years. I do not regret having chosen this path, but I'd better start working on a backup plan. 

Conclusion:
The life of a tango teacher, organiser and dj is not in the least bit as glamorous as you imagine. Sure, there might be the few top-notch "maestros" who do not prepare their classes, are so famous that they do not need to take care of publicity, will answer mails with a delay of weeks and can spend their retirement on the beach. But I guess that these are rare exceptions. And even then: these artists might spend hours per day practising or preparing choreographies. That's maybe a little bit more exciting than managing the pizza-list for our encuentro, but it is also hard work. I guess.

Please consider all this:
- when you see me or another professional being tired or not dancing a lot during a workshop weekend,
- before you complain about the costs for a class or an event,
- before you plan on taking up one of these activities professionally.

... in particular if your partner is not a tanguero. You need a very, very understanding sweetheart. Luckily, I do.



* This is just a guess, because I know of so many tango stars living in tiny flats or even entirely out of their suitcases. But maybe they are just smarter and saving money for the future. It is true that I do not see a lot of professional teachers at tango events unless they are there for work. As mentioned above: we still go to encuentros a couple of times per year and everyone knows how expensive these trips can be. I guess we could save a lot of money by not going or by participating for free and staying with local dancers. But we don't feel comfortable with such practises and we love dancing. So: spending money for tango is indispensable. Also: what would be the point of teaching a social dance and not dance yourself? Right?


P.S. Here is a link to a post from 2011. As you can see, my general perspective has not changed over the years. 

ABC of Tango Events - No More Porridge!

Tango defies all kinds of standardisations. It is a highly individualised tradition based upon the personal views, styles and philosophies of thousands of people all over the world. This is what makes tango so complete and interesting. I certainly don‘t aim to downsize its diversity or the inventiveness of organisers in creating new forms of get-togethers. It can nevertheless make sense to define certain forms of events or more accurately: to describe some commonly agreed-upon categories of events.

Why is that?

When I started dancing tango, there were just a few local milongas. Once in a while the local teachers would invite an external (usually argentine) teacher couple and maybe even a tango-orchestra. And then you’d dress up and call the event a festival, because it was more than a normal milonga. Expectancies were not very well-defined and life was easy. Everyone ate porridge.

Nowadays, there are many different forms of events that have developed based on the philosophies of sub-groups and organisers in the tango community. Sure, there are still those who dance no matter where to no matter what music in no matter what style. When you start out, that might even be normal. But the majority of more experienced dancers will develop personal preferences. Some like dancing to the “old” tango orchestras, some prefer non-tango-music, some love live bands… Most dancers will choose evens quite consciously and spend a lot of time, money and energy to fulfil their quite accurately defined and  sometimes exaggerated expectations, like someone who visits a restaurant:

You know, when I order a Diet Coca Cola, I don’t want to be served a Pepsi Max, because I really don’t like the taste of it. When I order my steak medium, I don’t want it raw. When I order Paella, I don’t want to eat Risotto. And a Pizza is no Flammkuchen. These dishes might be related, but they are not the same. 

In order to prevent their customers from being disappointed and themselves from having to listen to complaints, I think that organisers better describe their events as honestly and detailed as possible in advance. This is where labels come in handy. If everyone agrees upon what a marathon is, an organiser can use this single term to describe his or her event very accurately. If an event will not fit into a commonly agreed-upon category it will of course need a more detailed description.

Unfortunately, a praxis of (intended or uninformed) mis-labelling has spread in the tango community and customers are confused. 

An example: Two years ago, local organisers promoted an international Festival-Marathon-Encuentro. From what I can tell, they have neither been to an encuentro, nor to a marathon. As for the internationality: all milongas in my home region will host dancers from France, Germany and Luxemburg because of our city’s situation in a triangle of three countries. Does this make an event with less that 200 mostly regional dancers an “international festival”?

Another case from last year: A couple of organisers who are specialised in big festivals and personally dance in a rather expansive manner visited their first encuentro milonguero. After that, they decided to organise one as well. Because of their lack of connections in the milonguero community, it was mostly visited by their regular festival- and milonga-customers, who are no milongueros. Do you think that this was a genuine encuentro? I just know, that the single participant who had traveled from afar because she had believed in the publicity was very disappointed. 

The same is happening in lots of places: organisers who want to make money or are just too lazy to describe their events properly, use popular and often quite wrong labels to attract customers.

Sure, there is no law against it and one can expect customers to inform themselves properly. And yes, experienced organisers can cater to different tastes, if they take their jobs seriously or ask for help from experts. But sorry, the above-described behaviour is just unsound business practise. 

I firmly believe that it is not enough to label an event in a certain manner and then stick to some general features in order to make it work. To deliver quality, you have to believe in what you are doing and share the philosophy of your desired customers. That is what makes tango events authentic, personal and good. I know the features of a marathon and I could surely organise one without making any major mistakes, but: I only have very few connections in the marathon scene and there are some aspects of marathons, that I don’t agree with. How could I deliver a great experience for everyone else? You have to know something intimately to create it and you should love what you sell.

In this I agree with many other organisers and business-people in general. Just recently, I visited an encuentro-marathon mixer in Barcelona and discussed the subject with friends. They are anchored in the marathon scene, but have started visiting encuentros. And they are observing the same phenomenon: organisers announcing events as “marathons” without being able or wanting to deliver what they promise. Because of this, Dany de Kay has recently published a brief “terminology of tango events”, to be found here.

At the time of publishing, I had already written the biggest part of this article. But when Dany published his list, I stopped working on it. I have now decided to post my “ABC of Tango Events” nevertheless, as it may offer insights from another perspective and because my blog is read by another clientele. The more we spread the idea of correct labelling, the more we can help organisers and customers to agree upon what the want from each other.

In order for you to understand the basis of my terminology, I will first define three general terms.

1. Los Codigos Milongueros

… are a set of behavioural guidelines recommended by organisers of what often is called “traditional” tango events. 

A short note: Let us not forget, that some of these codigos might the result of a very recent development. As far as I can tell, mirada & cabeceo e.g. might not have been used in the “época d’óro” - at least not everywhere. Men just walked up to their partners and asked them - or their mothers - for a dance. And how could the music be arranged in “tandas” when only one orchestra played live music at a milonga. Actually I believe the “codigos milongueros” to be a modern set of guidelines, that developed to cope with the inevitable chaos and misunderstandings that came with the tango-renaissance in the 80s and 90s.

However long they exist, this is what they boil down to:

- Preservation of the embrace throughout the dance.

- Respect for the ronda and other dancers: leaders cabeceo to enter the ronda, abstinence of movements that take up too much space or might disturb other dancers, constant movement counter-clockwise in one’s lane on the dance-floor.

- Respect for the personal space of everyone and equal activity of followers and leaders in the process of invitation: use of mirada and cabeceo.

- Promote of frequent exchange of partners, so that no-one is left out: clear dance-floor after one tanda, so that everyone can choose another partner.

2. Milonguero, Milonguera, Tango Milonguero

A milonguero or milonguera is a person who dances tango on a regular basis with a high level of commitment and will act upon the "codigos milongueros“. 

Some people relate the term “milonguero“ to a certain style of dancing, often limited to a small repertoire of typical steps and an "apilado“ (leaning) embrace. In my opinion, the term should not be narrowed in this way. General opinion agrees, that milongueros can have different and individual styles, varying from very traditional to highly modern. These styles are often influenced by the space available at their regular milongas. The milongueros of the packed milongas in the centre of Buenos Aires have obviously developed a style with small, rhythmic moves in contrast to their colleagues in the outer barrios, who’ve got huge dance-halls to move in. Even the embrace can range from a slightly open v-hold to a very closed chest-to-chest contact. In general one can say, that a milonguero dances tango de salón.

There are recent opinions who challenge the codigos-based definition by stating, that a milonguero does not necessarily agree with the "codigos milongueros“. In their opinion, the term “milonguero” would just describe a dedicated tango dancer. I don’t find this generalisation helpful. Most tango dancers are dedicated to the tango culture and there is a term to describe them: they are tangueros. To be a milonguero or milonguera implies a shared philosophy, a commitment to a set of values that helps define the community and its expectations.

3. Tango de Salón

For many years, this term has been signifying tango as it is danced in the milongas, the salons. It distinguishes social tango from the choreographed stage tango, the tango escenario. As social tango is always danced in a ronda with other couples, it makes sense to forgo movements, that would endanger the other dancers on the floor, such as high voleos, certain forms of ganchos or volcadas, sentadas, jumps, huge colgadas and the like. As the ronda requires the couple to adapt to the movement to the other dancers, it does not allow for pre-set figures or choreographies. Improvisation is of the utmost importance. 

Since the turn of the century, there has been the tendency to limit the term “tango de salon“ to a certain style: Tango Villa Urquiza. This was done in order to distinguish this more elaborate style from the supposedly very restricted “estilo milonguero“. But as I don’t believe that there is one “estilo milonguero”, I don’t see the necessity of constricting “tango de salon“ to such a narrow meaning either. I will go on using it as a generic term. When asked what he was dancing the late Tete Rusconi - a famous milonguero - would answer “tango de salón” I keep it as simple.

Let me now describe the different forms of tango events, as I know them. There are of course events, that have mixed features, but - as stated above - these traits will usually then be mentioned in the event’s description. For example: Our “Festivalito con Amigos” started out as a festivalito, a small festival. Later is was more clearly specified as a festivalito milonguero, but nowadays it is a pure encuentro milonguero, that preserved only one feature from its festivalito-days: short demo by a couple of our friends. 

So here finally goes my: 

ABC of Tango Events

Encuentro Milonguero

Definition: A meeting of milongueros. In Italy, these events might be called raduno", in France "rencontre“ or ”rendez-vous“. The term suggests a rather intimate setting in which people can socialise easily as opposed to the more anonymous festival atmosphere. (There can of course also be encuentros of non-milongueros, but in the last years, this terms was mostly used in the milonguero context.)

Duration: 3-5 days

Milongas/Dancing: Separate milongas, usually one in the afternoon and another one in the evening. The last Milonga is often called “despedida” (farewell party) and will usually take place on Sunday afternoon to allow the participants to return to their home towns on the same day.

Demos: Usually none

Music: traditional tango music in tandas and with cortinas presented by experienced DJs, often with international reputation, no live music

Classes: None

Booking: Several months in advance

Balance of gender or dance-roles: Yes

Separate seating of men, women and couples: Contrary to uninformed belief, only 50% of the encuentros use this set-up. Please enquire with the organisers or check here.

Participants: Aims to attract experienced dancers from all over Europe or the world, but might also have a smaller catchment area, depending on the connections of the organisers.

Number of participants: Approx. 80 - 300. (Recommendation: stay below 200 to preserve the spirit of an intimate encounter.)

Behavioural codes: The „codigos milongueros“ are promoted.

Typical examples: Abrazos (UK), Les Cigales (France), Yo Soy Milonguero (Italy)

Festival

Definition: Festivals are important events with a comprehensive programme, often hosted at spectacular or big venues. The term "international“ might be added to suggest its significance. 

Duration: 3 days or more, some festivals last up to a week

Milongas/Dancing: Separate Milongas, at least one per evening, usually a formal ball on Saturday

Demos: Shows by the teaching couples and guests of honour

Music: Tango music presented by experienced DJs, often of international reputation, often one or more orchestras.

Classes: Numerous classes by the teacher couples, additionally there might be private classes, lectures, discussions, art presentations. (Recommendation: please call your event a festival, if you plan on inviting more than 2 teachers couples of a certain recognition. Inviting the local teachers to do a beginners class alongside the Argentine guests does not turn your workshop weekend into a festival.) 

Booking: Classes and or festival passes are usually booked in advance, milongas/balls might sometimes be payed over the counter.

Balance of gender or dance-roles: No

Separate seating of men, women and couples: No

Participants: Dancers of all levels and styles, sometimes additional spectators, who come for the shows and concerts. 

Number of participants: A lot. (Please do not call your event a festival, if you expect much less than 200 dancers. Large festivals might host up to 2000 participants, in the past even more. If your events is much smaller in scale, why not call it Festivalito?)

Behavioural codes: Often none, which is why experienced dancers often shun festivals. But it does not have to be that way. Why not encourage the use of the „codigos milongueros“ to prevent the chaos, that often comes from an in-homogenous mixture of participants? At least those codigos that refer to the behaviour on the dance-floor would help a lot and might stop the decline of festivals in the customer’s favour.

Typical examples: Tangomanía (Netherlands), Ostertango (Switzerland), Tarbes en Tango (France)

Festivalito Milonguero

Definition: Basically the term describes a small festival - less participants, less teachers, a downsized programme. But when specified by the expression “milonguero“ it is usually an encuentro milonguero with some classes and a demo. This is what I am referring to in this description.

Duration: Usually 3 days

Milongas/Dancing: Separate milongas, at least one per day, sometimes additional afternoon Milongas

Demos: Usually a short improvised demo of close-embrace by the teaching couples or guests of honour

Music: Traditional tango music in tandas and with cortinas presented by experienced DJs, no live music.

Classes: A few classes by 1-2 teacher couples, additionally private classes or privatandas (privates of the duration of one tanda), sometimes practicas

Booking: Usually several months in advance, classes might be booked later

Balance of gender or dance-roles: Mostly. I strongly recommend to stick to this feature, as the general audience expects this feature to come with the label.

Separate seating of men, women and couples: Usually not.

Participants: Aims to attract experienced dancers, in particular those who want to develop their skills and knowledge, but might also be open to less experienced dancers in order to integrate them into the community. A festivalito can nevertheless can be composed of a very international, highly-skilled crowd, depending on the “pull“ of the organisers, DJs and teachers.

Number of participants: 80 - 200

Behavioural codes: The "codigos milongueros“ are promoted and expected.

Typical examples: Festivalito Rural (2010-15 in Slovenia), Embrace Norway (Norway), Pequeña (Germany)

Marathon

Definition: Non-stop dancing over a longer period, typically in a more informal setting.

Duration: Usually 3 days. There seem to be other formats as well. A 12-hour Milonga might also be called a marathon, but I am not sure, if marathon folk would find that appropriate. Dany de Kay’s terminology speaks of 3 days.

Milongas/Dancing: The milongas blend into each other, usually interrupted by short breaks in the morning hours or during the shared meals.

Demos: None

Music: Usually traditional tango music presented in tandas and with cortinas by experienced DJs, but some Marathons may be also open to non-tango music or modern tango recordings. Please check with the organisers. No live music.

Classes: None

Booking: Usually several months in advance

Balance of gender or dance-roles: Yes

Separate seating of men, women and couples: No

Participants: Depends on the connections of the organisers, but aims to attract an international crowd of experienced dancers. 

Number of participants: Approx. 80 - 300. (From what I can tell.)

Behavioural codes: Depends on the organisers and participants. At some marathons mirada & cabeceo are encouraged as well as the clearance of the dance-floor during the cortinas, but at other events, people seem to dance several tandas with the same partner. Depending on the experience of the dancers, the ronda will certainly be civilised, but some more higher-risk movements are to be expected.

Typical examples: La Tosca (Italy), High Noon (Germany), Bergen Tango Marathon (Norway)

Milonga

Definition: A single tango event during the afternoon or evening. Can be a recurring or a one-time-only event.

Duration: Approximately 3-5 hours

Milongas/Dancing: Single event

Demos: Usually none - except in many Buenos Aires Milongas, where demos can be seen on a regular basis.

Music: Depending on the taste of the organisers, please check with them.

Classes: Usually none. In the USA, pre-milonga classes are popular.

Booking: Usually not required

Balance of gender or dance-roles: Usually not

Separate seating of men, women and couples: Usually not. There are a few Milongas in Buenos Aires, Italy and France that use that special set-up, but they are definitely exceptions.

Participants: Depends on the connections of the organisers 

Number of participants: 2 - 200 or even more

Behavioural codes: Depends on the organisers and participants. More and more organisers encourage the “codigos milongueros”, at least those related to the behaviour on the dance-floor.

Typical examples: Any milonga in your home community

Milonga Weekend

Definition: A series of connected or un-connected milongas on one weekend. Either by one organiser or by several. A recent variation is for a bunch of friends to “band together” and visit several local milongas. Can be recurring or a one-time-only.

Duration: 2-3 days

Milongas/Dancing: Separate Milongas

Demos, Music, Classes, Booking, Separate Seating, Number of Participants: See “Milonga”

Participants: Depends on the connections of the organisers, but because of the higher concentration of milongas on one weekend, dancers from afar are more likely to visit.

Typical example: Tangosommer Wiesbaden

Workshop Weekend

Definition: A special event, created around the visit of a teacher couple or workshops by local teachers.

Duration: Usually 2-3 days

Milongas/Dancing: Separate evening milongas, at least one per weekend, usually no afternoon milongas, as the classes will take place at this time of the day.

Demos: Demo or show by the teaching couple

Music: Tango music presented by local or traveling DJs, sometimes an orchestra might be invited.

Classes: Single classes or intensive seminars, additionally there might be private classes or privatandas.

Booking: Classes are booked in advance, milongas are usually payed over the counter.

Balance of gender or dance-roles: Only in the classes

Separate seating of men, women and couples: Usually not

Participants: Mostly local and regional dancers of all levels

Number of participants: Depends on the local community and the "pull“ of the teachers

Behavioural codes: Depends on the local customs or the philosophy of the guest-teachers

So, that’s it for the moment. I hope this list will help organisers and consumers to communicate and plan better.  

I might add more info later upon noticing that I have forgotten important features or entire forms of events. Do not hesitate to contact me with reasonable suggestions.

For my Romanian followers: Check out the Romanian translation of this post.

Tango Communications: Branching Out!

Most of you will know this already: I am expanding.

In addition to my usual activities as a teacher and organiser in cooperation with Detlef Engel and the Tangokombinat, I am now offering a wide range of services for dancers, djs, teachers and organisers. My aim is to help them develop their dance and their communities, to organise great events, to develop work-related skills and to find students who share their philosophy.

For dancers: special workshops and private coaching
For teachers: agent services, coaching in the fields of all work-related skills
For organisers: event-management and help in developing your local activities
For DJs: agent services, special workshops and private coaching

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Insulting a world heritage

For a couple of months now, I am re-importing my Tangos, Milongas and Valses onto my computer. I started DJing in 2004, when internal hard-drives had only little capacity and external drives were huge, heavy and expensive, so I imported the music as mp3 or AAC files. Nowadays a DJ is expected to use a loss-less audio format, so all my files have to be replaced one by one. That‘s quite a feat!

I also use this opportunity to add missing info - e.g. recording dates - and to re-evaluate my entire library as my musical taste has evolved and changed. (Although I have to say: my general musical preferences are pretty much the same as eight years ago. It is not very likely that I rate a Tango with 5 stars now which I have given only 2 stars earlier.)

So I started this process of re-evaluation early this year with my favourites Di Sarli, Biagi, Canaro... Then I moved on to the orchestras that I find ok, although not very exiting: Tanturi, Demare, Calo, Fresedo... But eventually I also got to the ones that I don‘t like so much like Laurenz, D‘Arienzo, Firpo, Troilo and De Angelis. (Notice how smoothly I blend in a sacrilege: There are classic Tango orchestras that I don‘t like!)

Whatever I worked on, I commented on Facebook, describng the precious gems that I discovered but also the boring or sometimes even annoying part when I have to listen to music that I don‘t like for many hours or even days. This can be quite unnerving. So I vent.

This is the moment, when comments or mails start rolling in. Some agree, some are fun or neutral, just stating another opinion on a specific orchestra but others get very personal or even aggressive:

Some „friends“ actually accuse me of insulting a world heritage or their national pride by stating that I don‘t like a specific orchestra, style or song. They remind me of my duty as a  professional DJ to preserve Tango-culture or they just start calling names and declaring that I am surely a crappy DJ who hasn‘t got a clue. How could I? I am a bloody European! Or - if the writer is not argentine - I obviously have not spend enough time in Buenos Aires.

Oh my! 

Can you please get a grip?

Germany is one of the countries with the largest and most important artistic output over the last few centuries. 

I am half German - well basically full German as I grew up here - but if you tell me that Goethe is boring and Novalis kitsch, I will most likely agree. And although I like Heinrich Mann, I can perfectly understand if someone else will not want to read his novels. I prefer Shakespeare to Schiller and Verdi to Wagner. I‘d rather read a novel by Jane Austen than a poem by Novalis. I won‘t even feel insulted when you call Bach a loser even when I perceive him as a pure genius. But I never watched a choreography by Pina Bausch and hate Schlöndorff and Fassbinder! Ah, yes, not to forget: the greatest singer of all times was Pavarotti and not Fritz Wunderlich. Although that one might be a tie.

So, do you get it?

It‘s not about national pride. It‘s not about not acknowledging the importance of an artist for a certain genre. It is about personal taste: People (dancers, DJs, teachers) are allowed to have different personal tastes and to express them.

As a Tango teacher, it is my pleasure and duty to teach musicality and I can proudly say, that very few others focus as much on it as we do. We work on rhythmical variations in Tango, Milonga and Vals, we examine step dynamics, composition, phrases and cadencia, we introduce select orchestras in detail and we present others as examples for different styles of music.... I am sure, we won‘t forget any of the important musicians who have contributed to the development of Tango.

As a DJ, it is my job to keep a Milonga going and not to preserve a world heritage. That‘s what a foundation is for. 

If you‘ve read my posts, you will have noticed that I‘ve got quite strict but simple rules for dj-ing. I will play music of all mayor epochs - from the late 20‘s to the 50‘s. I will interchange rhythmical and lyrical Tandas and add a little drama at some point. I will surely play one or two Tandas of D‘Arienzo at every Milonga, even though I‘m not his biggest fan. If it fits into the flow of the evening, I might even play a Tanda by Troilo and if the level of dancers is good enough I will play Pugliese instead of a dramatic Biagi! Oh yes, and I will play De Angelis once in a while, his Valses actually quite often.

But: I make choices. Certainly as a dancer and teacher, but particularly as a DJ. 

Like any director of a classical orchestra who determines his programme for the season, I will chose the music that speaks to me or that I (!) feel is appropriate and important for a certain group of dancers. In my not so humble opinion, a lot of Tangos are either not danceable unless you‘ve got classical training, they are inappropriate for the social dancefloor or they are just too cold and academic. Some Tangos or even entire orchestras just don‘t speak to the heart. Not to mine anyway! I will start crying when listening to Nada by Di Sarli but stay totally unmoved by Danzarin of Troilo. So sorry!

The logical result for my work: some orchestras, I will use more often than others and a few, I might not even use at all.

I will definitely never play Varela or Racciatti at a Milonga and I have not used Sassone, De Caro or Firpo for years. I just don‘t like these orchestras, no matter how great artists they have been. (I know that some will already cringe because of me mentioning De Caro in this line-up.)

I will also not play late Fresedo, Troilo, D‘Arienzo, De Angelis or Canaro. These guys have recorded danceable and sometimes even nice music until the end of the 40‘s, but forget about their 50‘s! This is when Tango as a dance was on the decline and the remaining orchestras tried to stay in the game by adapting to a more commercial hollywoodesk style or by evolving into orchestras who played for a concert audience only. Very few orchestras - like Biagi or Di Sarli - managed to keep some integrity AND play danceable music in these difficult years. 

So far, no one EVER came to me after a Milonga and asked, why I did not play this or that particular orchestra. My choice usually guarantees, that needs are fulfilled and people leave the Milonga happy and tired because they have danced all evening. 

So I will keep on doing my job and saying my opinion. If you feel insulted by me having one, that‘s your problem.

Get over it!

Caló don't live here anymore!

Di Sarli, Fresedo, D'Agostino, Garcia, Malerba and De Angelis have moved out as well. Biagi, Rodriguez and Tipica Victor have decided to limit their repertoire to the purely rhythmical stuff and obviously D'Arienzo will be asking for a pay raise soon. He should do so - having to play all evening long! 

Yep. I am talking of the „Milonguero“ events and traditional Milongas. Not all of them. But a large number are obviously trying to re-enact the Cachirulo (see note below) as close as possible. Now this is a nice Milonga - I‘ve been there a couple of times. Respectful dancing in a closed embrace, nice music with a strong emphasis on the rhythmical Tangos: Tchaka-tchaka-boum most of the night - at least when was there! That‘s fine in Buenos Aires, because even the most passionate Cachirulo fans will go there only once a week. The rest of the week, they‘ll be at other Milongas with a slightly different repertoire.

But what about the habitués of a traditional Milonga in Europe: Do the have any other Milongas of that kind to visit? And what‘s with the visitors of an Encuentro: They have travelled from afar. Do they really want to dance to rhythmical music only at all Milongas of the event? Won‘t they miss something? The nice lyrical Tangos by the afore mentioned orchestras... The soft and extra-cuddly embraces to a romantic Tanda... Is this boring now? Are we now supposed to run and play with rhythmical variation all night long? 

But now earnestly:

In the last 2-3 years there has been a significant shift in DJing style at the traditional events and Milongas. Some years ago, you could always expect to hear a mixture of lyrical and rhythmical music with a more dramatic Tanda once in a while. Nowadays you can be happy, if the is one Tanda by Di Sarli or Calo per evening. The rest will be pure rhythm with a strong emphasis on the late 20s and early 30s. The 40‘s are rarely played anymore and the danceable 50‘s never - except for a late D‘Arienzo or Troilo. That cuts the repertoire of traditional and danceable Tango music in half!

Mind you: when I am speaking of a harmonic mixture of rhythm and romantic, the portion of lyrical music will still be smaller. Why is this?

When I dj, I use the TTMTTV system and alternate rhythmical and more lyrical Tango-tandas methodically. As Milongas and most Valses will be perceived as rhythmical music as well, that makes 4/6 of rhythmical tandas. Leaves maximum 1/3 of Tandas with stronger lyrical components. 

Why do I not only write „lyrical Tandas“? Many of the quasi-lyrical Tangos have strong rhythmical components as well - think of Di Sarli of the 40s, D'Agostino and the likes... I‘d classify them as rhythmical-lyrical. The percentage of pure lyrical music is therefore quite small even in a well-balanced DJ set. So, when I complain about the lack of lyrical music, I only request some more Tandas with stronger lyrical aspects. (See definition of musical style at the end of this article.)

But many of the hardcore Milonguero DJs will only play 1 or 2 more lyrical Tandas in an evening of 5 hours. This is 6,8 %. Not enough.

Now, some of you will say: Sure, that‘s Melina with her weird emphasis on the intimate embrace and her aversion against D‘Arienzo. She‘s just old and does not like to move. 

Only half true: I do like a rhythmical Tango by Biagi, Canaro, Donato or Rodriguez. I like playing with rhythmical variation in Vals and sometimes I even dance a tanda of Milonga - if there‘s an appropriate partner. But I also like to cuddle to romantic music, to interpret a more complex melody with both lyrical and rhythmical components or even to dance a Tango with more dramatic aspects. And so do many others.

And even if I had a preference on lyrical music... There are more dancers with the same bias. The last years have seen a segregation of dancers who prefer close embrace in a traditional setting from those who like a fluid embrace in a setting with less codes of conducts. We have also separated events with traditional Tango music from those who play a mixture of traditional Tangos, Electro-Tangos and Non-Tangos. We have got Festivals with live music and Festivalitos with recordings of the „old“ orchestras only. Do we need to separate the lyricalists from the rhythmicalists as well? Can we not dance at the same Milonga? 

I think that there are some indicators, that my opinion is not freakish:

• The last encuentro that I visited sported 6 Milongas. Two of the Milongas were pure rhythm and the DJs received almost no applause. The DJs who received the most applause at any event that I‘ve visited in the last years were the ones who presented a well-balanced mixture of lyrical and rhythmical music with a very small choice of dramatic Tangos.
• At the purely rhythmical Milongas, Vals and Milonga tandas are less appreciated. There will be less dancers on the floor. I guess this is because they all had their share of rhythmical music and need a break. During a well-balanced evening, all Tandas will be equally appreciated and populated.

So please, dear DJs: listen to the dancer‘s rating!

At last, let me focus on some side effects of purely rhythmical DJing at Milongas. As a dancer and teacher I can tell, that the choice of one specific musical style will influence your capacities as a dancer.

• If you dance to rhythmical music only, you will most likely dance „fast“ most of the time: You will use more normal and double speed to play with rhythmical variation. You will less often slow down to half speed or even make pauses. Slow movements and pauses require a better BALANCE. It‘s like driving a bike slowly. In our classes, we encounter many dancers who are physically not able to slow down. And if they only dance to rhythmical music in Milongas, they will never get the chance to practice this skill.
• When dancing rhythmically, you will most likely concentrate on very simple moves to interpret the rhythmical variation within the music. That‘s totally fine and we do the same. But lyrical and slower music allows for a more complex repertoire that creates a unique level of suspense in the dance. Some dancers almost never change into crossed system because the speed of their movements makes it impossible for them to cope with the higher COMPLEXITY. Sure, an experienced dancers will also have the ability to dance more complex moves to a rhythmical music, but most beginners won‘t dare. And they will never try, if the music will not allow for it.
• Last of all, the range of MUSICAL VARIATION in lyrical or rhythmic-lyrical music is immense: a complex lyrical melody will suggest pauses, half speed, normal speed, double speed, different quick-quick-slow patterns, syncopations... Sometimes, a deceleration is followed by a syncopation. What a challenging contrast! And the use of different step dynamics in lyrical-rhythmical or even dramatic music can be such a pleasure! Dancing only to pure rhythmical music will limit your musical interpretation to one kind of step dynamic and only certain rhythmical variations. I have danced with many men who will even stick to their usual normal-speed and quick-quick-slow patterns in the most challenging Tango of Di Sarli with Podesta. They are not used to this kind of music anymore. That is so sad!

So, I think we all agree, that danceable traditional Tango music is very rich. We can chose from a great variety of Tangos from the late 20‘s to the 50‘s ranging from rhythmical, over lyrical to more dramatic music.

And I wanna have it all!

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Appendix A: A mini-definition of musical styles

In my Tango world, there are three pure forms of Tango-music: lyrical, rhythmical and dramatic music. In addition to that, there are three kinds of mixed forms: lyrical-rhythmical, dramatic-rhythmical and dramatic-lyrical music. Let me give you our definitions of the styles that I mention in the text.
(This categorization is - as any categorization - a  simplification of reality and the examples are up for discussion as well. A Tango that I perceive as rhythmical, might be perceived as lyrical-rhythmical by someone else. But: different forms of music offer different options for our dance. It makes therefore sense to define some objective factors that influence our movement apart from "el sentimiento".)

Rhythmical music:

Music with an audible basic count (1234) played mostly by the contrabass, the left hand of the piano or a bandoneon. The melody is played in staccato more then legato and emphasises the faster rhythmical variations, e.g. 123 or 134 or syncopations.

Because of more strong or important notes in one measure (13, 123, 134, 1+34, +13 or sometimes even 1234 as in many D‘Arienzo Tangos) the music is perceived as faster - there are more notes that encourage us to make a step.

Examples: Most late 20‘s Tangos, most D‘Arienzo‘s, many Biagi‘s, Rodriguez, Donato, Lomuto, Canaro, Tanturi, lots of Troilo...

Lyrical music:

Music in which the basic count is not always audible because the melody is dominant and legato. The violins will play a stronger role or a singer will have a bigger part. Because of the fact, that there are less strong notes per measure (1 or maybe 13) the music will be perceived a slower.

Examples: most late instrumental Di Sarli, some De Angelis

Lyrical-rhythmical music:

There are two kinds of lyrical-rhythmical music and many, many Tangos can be placed into this category. The first kind is music, in which a legato melody is accompanied by a strong and driving basic count, like many Tangos by Fresedo or Calo. The second kind are Tangos in which rhythmical and lyrical phases interchange like many pieces by Biagi (with Alberto Amor), Demare, Di Sarli with Podesta or Rufino and some Tangos by Rodriguez or OTV.

Dramatic music:
A large part of the Tango is dominated by a dynamic melody with a very strong bass beat. There is an extra strong accent on the 1, as if all instruments of the orchestra played it together at maximum volume. Dramatic contrasts  are used (high/low, loud/soft) and also the speed may change. All in all, this music feels more aggressive or powerful. Because of it's expressive character, this style of music is mostly used for Tango-performances. In a Milonga, it should be played rarely and with consideration as it encourages dancers to do bigger and more energetic moves.
Examples: Most Pugliese, very late Biagi, late Troilo, late De Angelis, very late D'Arrienzo, Varela

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Appendix B: A short note on the Cachirulo Milonga in BA

I know that they do not play ONLY rhythmical Tangos in Cachirulo and I surely don't want to criticize this highly respected Milonga. But it seems to be the most prominent example for a more rhythmical musical choice and referred to all the time by many "Milonguero" DJ's and organizers as their model.
As I am told right now, even Cachirulo might have changed it's repertoire to a more balanced style in recent times. So please, tell that to the DJ's, who try to play exactly as they think, the Cachirulo habitués would prefer. ;-)

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