The Tangosynthesis Blog

with Graham and Nathalie

Tango with Bounce

19 Jun 2019 - by Graham

Tango can be bouncy and fun! Yes, there, I've said it. Tango, the dance style that so many people seem to think of as old fashioned or slow, can be just as full of energy and bounce as salsa or modern jive. And no, I've not gone crazy, I'm talking about milonga rhythm, the often-missed brother to tango that follows most of the same rules as its better known sibling, but with simpler faster steps, movement on every beat, and syncopation which adds to the musicality.

Okay, so full disclosure... until very recently I was no fan of milonga. I felt it was all a bit too frantic and lacked the opportunity for connection and expression that you get from a slower tango. But then I was unexpectedly thrust into a 3 1/2 hour milonga workshop with Sebastian and Roxana at the England International Tango Festival in Tonbridge ("Quick... we're short of leaders in the milonga workshop. You're on!") and something changed. Although I felt that at the end of the workshop I was no better at dancing milonga than I had been at the start, I understood more about how it worked, and had begun to see the opportunities it presented.

So I practised. And thought about it. And watched some videos. And practised again. And although I'm still not exactly good at it, I can now make it work if the music is right, and have really started to enjoy it.

For those of you reading this and thinking "Wait... I thought a milonga was a sort of tango freestyle event," you probably need a bit of background. What we group together as "tango" contains something like three distinct dance styles (there are more, but these are the main ones). There is tango, danced to the slower more flowing tracks, vals (or waltz) danced to music in 3/4 timing (or 3+1 / 4 ... but that's a whole different argument), and milonga. In this context, 'milonga' refers to a faster version of tango that uses a simplified set of steps and moves, has a change of weight on every beat, and makes strong use of repetition throughout a track. Yes, I know that the re-use of the word to mean two different things is confusing, but it's not my fault. Anyway, so I am talking about milonga rhythm (or just 'milonga') here, not the social gatherings.

Milonga has a very different feel to the slower tango rhythms. The change of weight on every beat and the utilisation of far simpler step sequences give the dance more energy, and you often hear people describe it as the more playful side of tango. It has bounce, enthusiasm, and you are far more likely to see even the most traditional of tango dancers laughing when they dance it than any other rhythm. It inspires you to experiment with new steps, as it is natural in milonga to do each step many times over before progressing to something else; you often see even experienced milonga dancers trying something that doesn't work perfectly the first time, but then it clicks for them on the second or third time through. And that's okay, because that's part of the fun of milonga.

But there is something else that starting to like milonga has shown me, and that is that with a bit of adaptation in the form of adding pauses and suspensions and mixing it in with some 'tango' style techniques, milonga can be the basis for a dance that works with a very wide range of musical genres.

Yes, that's other musical genres. Not tango. Popular stuff, like swing and jive and latin and more, which should be no surprise to anyone who has ever looked at this website or read any of my previous blog posts. I'm all about finding new things to do with tango, new music to dance it to, and new ways to get people to see what it is about this dance that I love so much. Dance is not just a goal in itself. It is something you do when you hear music you like that inspires you to get moving. People go to salsa clubs because they know the music inspires a party atmosphere and they love to party, so why not the same for tango? Because everyone 'knows' that tango music is old fashioned, and they would prefer to go somewhere that plays club music, hits, and things they know.

So watch this space. Bouncy fun tango, coming soon to a Tangosynthesis class near you!


Posted by: Graham   Permalink: link   Keywords: tango  milonga  

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