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I was drawn to the music from the first class, Di Sarli, Piazzola… whatever played on my teachers’ ipod. Whenever people asked me what had got me  addicted to tango, my answer was always the music and the women. The latter is another subject for another time, but my love for the music has been growing stronger.

In retrospect, my relationship with tango music has gone through the following phases

1. Following the music:

In my first year of dancing in the milonga, I followed the music. And I followed it pretty well. From time to time, women asked me if I played any instrument.

Why? I was curious.  I couldn’t even read music notes, let alone play any instrument. I love listening to all kinds of music, classical, pop, world…, but I was, am still, a music illiterate. You are so musical. They always said, sometimes surprisingly.

But I knew. I was not familiar with most songs that were played in the milongas. Most of time, I just moved to the music that I heard and followed it intuitively.

2. Chasing the music.

A few months into dancing in the milonga, I started collecting music, Di Sarli, D’Arienzo, Calo, Fresedo…. in order to know the songs better. Gradually, I had heard a lot of the songs played in the milonga many times. Within a year or so,  I’d known many by heart. I knew what the next phrase was, and the next one after. Unconsciously,  I started to think about the next phrase before finishing the current one. I rushed to finish the step in order to dance the next one.

That was my D’Arienzo/Biagi period, in which the fast tempo music became my favorite. After the tanda, my heart was racing, cheeks burning. The night felt like shorter, milonga felt like ended earlier. I had good time, although it had lasted only a few months.

Slowly I found myself bored by the way I danced. It seemed that I danced only one dimensional, speed. And I danced to every beat. Eventually, after a night of dancing, I couldn’t feel any satisfaction. (I had to blame my then partner for some of that. But as I said, women is another subject for another time.) I was in my worst slump. For weeks, I hadn’t felt the inspiration to go out dancing.

3. Riding the music.

My turning point was this.  Dance to the music like you are riding a horse. Stay on top of it. I’d found my own presence in the music, no longer losing control and letting it dictate my movement. I was clear with how I wanted to dance the songs. I started to feel the dynamics in the music.

4. Feeling the music.

A year and half ago, Silvina Valz introduced the concept of space to me, which at the time was bewildering. Slowly I realized that my dance was one dimensional and flat.  The lesson with Cecilia was pivotal to my understanding of the dance on a different level. When she talked about how to perceive the different energies from different instruments and vocal and feel the energy of the partner, Silvina’s concept was muy claro. Now, the dance was much more interesting with an able partner. There is another layer in the music, energy!

These days, I am not dancing very often. Without the right partner, I would rather sit and listen to the music and feel it. Once a while, when the right partner comes along, the joy of that tanda is always unforgettable.

The second time within a week,  I went to Buenos Aires Tango Club to get more cds with a DJ friend of mine who spoke fluent Spanish. My friend told Carlos that I was looking for more collection of Danceable music. Carlos,  probably an  encyclopedia of tango music, laughed: ” well, what is danceable to you, probably not danceable to me.” (via the translation of my friend).

The next hour or so, we sat with him and listened to different cds he brought out. The experience was so good that we went back the next day and did the same with him for another two hours. I’d bought over 80 cds ranging from 20s to 60s during my three visits in two weeks.

Lately, I have been reading some posts or comments about what is danceable tango music; or more, what is not danceable. The first time I heard of Valera played in the milonga, I thought what the heck that was. That was not danceable. Now every time, I hear Fueron Tres Anos by Valera con Ledesma, I want to dance. (And I am not moved  the same way when the same song is sung by Falcon).  When I started going to milongas, I always struggled dancing to D’Agostino con Vargas. I didn’t know how to dance to his voice.  Now I love Angel Vargas, with D’Agostino or Del Piano and Lacava.

What is with the change? My dance-ability has improved. I am now able to stretch my movement in the span of a few notes. I don’t just dance to every beat in the rhythmic songs. I don’t chase after the music. I could select the phrases that I want to dance (walk) to,  suspend on a few or just embrace and breathe through some.  I used to dance only,  if you will, milongueros, then salon.  Now if the woman wants to dance open on separate axis ( not my preference), fine, I could manage one tanda as well.

The thing is, the more music I listen to, the better I dance, the more high-level of dancer I’ve danced with, the wider range the music I enjoy dancing to. Before, I always danced to golden age. Now  I love to  dance certain music from the late 20s (Canaro, Lomuto, Di Sarli y sus Sexteto Tipica…),  early to mid 50s various orchestras (Di Sarli, D’Arienzo, Angel Vargas, De Angelis, Valera, Sassone, De Caro, Salgan…) and modern orchestras (Fervor de Buenos Aires/ Misteriosa, El Arranque, Esteban Morgado…).

Here is my theory: if you are moved by the music, then it is danceable. After all, it is the music that moves us, not we move to the music. Now whether you have the ability to dance to it or not, that is entirely another matter.

The following are a couple of brilliant performances, in my opinion,  on music that some might think  that is not danceable.  Yeah, They are performances. If you are open minded and shrewd, however, you might learn a few things that you could use on a crowded milonga .

Fueron Tres Anos:

Not longer I had another post : same title, different subject.

One night during the past weekend, I went to get my first tango fix in the New Year, despite the windy and chilly weather condition. Some of the tango acquaintances were in town, a famous DJ was playing. I went early (before midnight)  and left early (around 3am). My energy was high, my partners were good dancers. Music was good: all familiar and popular traditional from the golden age. I had danced 10 tandas. I was physically exhausted. Yet I left feeling half empty. Something was missing; I was not emotionally satisfied.

I was not inspired by the music.

The way I look at it, not only DJ should create dynamic throughout the night, he or she should also guide the emotion of the dancers. There are so many great vocal, beautiful pieces that are never played in the milonga here. Every one plays safe and plays the regular songs from the big orchestras. It gets uninspiring sometimes.

As I wrote to a DJ friend of mine not long ago in discussion of the DJs whom I had listened to.

I still remembered sitting at Nino Bien, listening to ” Sonemos” by Di Sarli con Florio, watching dancers embracing each other, moving slowly.  Two years later, till this day, that scene is still vividly lingering in my mind. A few weeks ago, at the local milonga, a veteran DJ played a tanda of De Caro 50s work. At the end of the tanda, a local teacher and I went to the DJ and thanked him for playing such a beautiful tanda. I had my dance of the month and I am still savoring it.

Too bad it didn’t happen too often. There are so many beautiful pieces, yet every one is playing the same old, same old.

Coincidentally, I woke up this morning to Sabastian Arce’s public petition on facebook to the DJs’  in Europe:

Dear Djs. I will ask you, as a personal favour, to play more:
* Tanturi Campos, the non very rhytmical ones… like Oigo tu voz, Igual que una sombra, Que sera de ti, En el Salon… HIMNOS!
* Gobbi: Camandulaje, Independiente Club, Nueve Puntos!, Pelele!!!!!! (este es de otra epoca pero no importa!).
* Laurenz!!! Garua, Nada mas que un corazon,Recien… hago la lista y se me heriza la piel!!!)

Along with a few more songs that are seldom played in the following comments.

I would quote what he said to conclude this post:

Its true that i would like to listen more this orchestras. But you all know me, and what i do in my life, and how i deal with my art. Althaugh what i require is a personal favour, i also see it as a way to help improve something in tango community.

I do not ignore the fact that dancing to certain orchestras is more diffucult… but that is the wrong process. You can not divide music in:
- What is dancable
- What is not dancable

Because music is made with a much greater goal, which is to create emotions in the listener! The ranges of emotions that tango music has is infinite. But today, in europe, that is being neglected. Many DJs, are afraid to play certain music because people dont know it, or because they think people will not be able to dance on it.
If people can not dance, they will seat, if they seat, they will listen! Listening is the first process in the musicality process. You can not be musical if you dont listen!

Today, marathons, and dancing with people on the dance floor for 2 hours gives students the wrong impression about tango, and that is: If you dont dance alot you fail… Is not like that!

POCO Y BUENO…

One gets to learn alot of the idiosincracy (?) of a popular art form when you just CONTEMPLATE IT, LISTEN TO IT, WITNESS IT…

Today someone owns 20 albums and is already invited to DJ in a milonga, owns 40 is invited to DJ in one international tango festival…
It can not be like that…

Im sorry if i hurt someone by saying this, but is the TRUE i feel.

You, DJs, Are /or/ should be:

ANIMATORS
SOUND ENGINEERS
BUT ABOVE ALL…
CULTURAL PROMOTERS!

(and Emotional Promoters… as one guy wrote in the following comment)

PS. I have over 10,000 tracks and more than 500 albums, covering late 20s to late 50s. I got praises from regular dancers to who’s who in the tango world when I djed. How come I was not invited to the international festivals?

I often hear people complaining about hearing the same music over and over again. They get bored.

I have been listening to the same old music over and over again for the past three years; more so recently as I started DJing. Sometimes I could listen to the same song over ten times a day. I never get bored, on the contrary I find something interesting and different each time I listen to the same song.

Then it occurs to me that the music isn’t boring, just that people who complain never really listen.

The same piece of tango music has always been here, interpreted by different orchestras, sung by different singers and danced by thousands of dancers from various backgrounds in numerous ways. How could it be boring if there are thousands of different interpretations?

“Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.”