Misconception I
You don’t need to take lessons, you just have to dance in the milongas.
I am not surprised when some amazing dances tell me that they’ve not taken a tango lesson in their lives. The world is full of talents and geniuses, people who are born with good genes, people who have life long training in other disciplines…
I am surprised by how many mediocre ones, men and women, stop learning just after a few lessons, thinking that they’ve already known how to dance. Many who have never stepped on the beat, who have never embraced, who could not stand on their own feet without using their partners’ body as a crutch, who could not walk without taking their partners off balance…and they have been dancing the same old year after year in the milongas. You know the type if you are reading tango blogs.
More often what I’ve learned and heard is how talented dancers still work hard and learn on the daily basis, hire coaches to help them to perfect their dance. I am not suggesting that everyone is doing the same. After all, tango is a social dance, not a competitive sports. It is a hobby for most of us. We want to enjoy it.
Some suggest that the milonguero(a)s do not take classes.
Well, first of all, there are milonguero(a)s whom everybody loves to dance with, many who are just average, and some whom most avoid. Milonguero(a)s, just because they’ve danced in the milongas for many years, don’t naturally make them all good dancers. Some have bad habits, awkward postures and embraces that make partners uncomfortable, uneven walks that feel like driving on a gravel road. The fact is that of many portenas whom I had danced with while I was in BaAs, there were only a handful I could honestly say that I had the pleasure. 
Secondly, before there was a tango school in BsAs, people taught each other, among friends, relatives and families after the milongas, or close door practicas. That is considered “taking lesson”.
Although the follow quote might not be most suitable for this post, it certainly brings me to the next one. So stay tuned.
No, a fool learns from experience. A wise man learns from the experience of others. -Otto von Bismarck, reply when told that a wise man learns from experience.
This is exactly why there is the culture of the practica which is not, as some seem to consider it, just a watered down milonga. It is an opportunity to learn from the experience of others. If it happens to be held in a milongueros garage, all the better.
In my community, some dancers told me that they consider a good dancer as someone who can dance with them no matter what they do. I don’t think they even had thought about having people suffer due to the poor technique, etc. Why there is no one sticking his neck out explaining the way tango should be danced. Tango has many styles. Yet tango is tango which involves embrace, posture, musicality and movements. Not kind of steps taken in kindergarden or nursing homes. Sorry wish I could be more positive.
It seems to be a widespread belief that every old guy that dances tango in BsAs is a milonguero.. The fact is that there are few milongueros left (using the term in its honorable meaning), but many dancers of dubious skill
In general I think it is safe to say that the milongueros worked (note the past tense) very hard to achieve their great skills, which have since become second nature through a life in the milongas.
Picture the symbol for a pyramid. There are very few who reach the pinnacle of excellance no matter what the field or art. It’s the same with tango. There were many who learned to dance generations ago and stayed at the bottom of the pyramid, but only a few excelled enough to be admired for their natural talent.
Tango is a pasttime for many who dance today. They enjoy it and don’t have the need to reach greatness in something they dance to express and not applause. There are those who are obsessed with studying, excelling, impressing, performing, and reaching the top to satisfy their egos or desire to achieve. It’s not for everyone.
Those who practice hours each day and hire coaches are dancing tango for the sake of performance and earning a living at it. They don’t go to the milongas to dance with a variety of partners. The average dancer doesn’t have time to dedicate his life to tango.
Milonguero is a lifestyle and doesn’t apply to all the old dancers in Buenos Aires. If you read a few posts on my blog, you will understand. A milonguero is basically self-taught with an individual style. Learning to dance with his mother at the age of 12 isn’t the same as going to a dance school where one has to pay a professional to learn.
If you would like to meet a milonguero and/or take a private class, email me when you are in Buenos Aires. I’ll be glad to introduce you to men who have a life in tango.
What’s the point of dancing with a variety of partners, If you don’t enjoy dancing with them? I am not a professional. I don’t earn a living at tango. I don’t practice hours each day (as a matter of fact, I rarely practice these days). And I don’t go to milonga often here as well. If I don’t find a good partner, I don’t dance at all. And I have danced with a lot of professionals who enjoyed dancing with me, in the milongas. Tango is a very personal experience. As you said in the comment ” it is not for everyone.”. Why should anyone, professional or not, dance with a variety of partner, just for the sake of dancing?
Milonguero is a lifestyle, yet not all is good and healthy. Booze, sex, drugs were/are part of it. It is not necessary ideal for others to accept that. In modern society, in this culture, we pay to learn (I think some of the milongueros are the beneficiaries of it). If we are shrewd, we are selective about which school to attend, what kind of education we are paying for. There is nothing wrong about going to a dance school to learn dance. Where else does one learn?
I’d met some milongueros. I had some fun time with Pedro, whom I am looking forward to seeing again. I am sure that there are some good milongueras who will be happy to see me and dance with me after two years.
In term of lessons, my main purpose of the trip is to work with Javier and Andrea again, who are both respected among old milongueros. But thanks for the offer.
Let me clarify. Those who teach in BsAs never dance with anyone except their partner. That may be fine for them, but those who study with them want to be able to dance with anyone (unless they have a spouse, etc.) Tango is a social dance, not an exhibition dance. Milongueros can dance well with anyone.
I agree with you; if there is no one with whom I want to dance, I prefer to sit and listen to the music.
Alcohol and drugs have been present in the milongas of Buenos Aires for decades. Foreigners aren’t being expected to participate in that lifestyle when they visit BsAs. What others do is their business.
No, there is nothing wrong with going to a dance school unless one isn’t getting good instruction. The milongueros learned in the street. Tango is a street dance because that’s where it was developed. Technique wasn’t part of the milongueros’ curriculum, but it has become the most important thing because many young dancers who teach were trained in schools. That keeps one studying for years. Ricardo Vidort said that eight classes were enough for any of his students. After that, it’s up to them to practice and develop their own style.
I’ll have to ask Pedro Sanchez what he thinks of Javier and Andrea. I know he will give me his honest opinion.
” What others do is their business.” Whom others choose to dance with is their business as well.
Tango was born in the ghetto, now it is danced by some highly educated people around the world. My point is that things evolve, for better or worse. You can’t always say that because old milongueros did it this way, and it has to be this way. Like the milonguero way is the only way. How tango was danced in the 20s was different than how it was danced in the 30s, 40s. How tango is danced now is different than how it was done in the 90s. Tango evolves… so do the dancers. Just because so and so had said so, doesn’t mean it is a golden rule.