Tangos in Buenos Aires

I was wondering how some record could be made of some of the wonderful improvised dance of the older generation in Buenos Aires, and the only way I could think of was for someone to get a bit of money together and set up a milonga there where the older dancers could be filmed – and be paid for being there, instead of having to pay to get in.

So it's wonderful that Irene and Manyung managed to film some of the older dancers on their recent visit to the city. Of course! I missed the obvious. These are people who will dance in front of your camera if they like you and trust you! Not that money's a bad idea, but it creates its own problems. A dance you do for enjoyment suddenly becomes a paid performance, and there's going to be the suspicion that the film-maker is making money out of it, and we're all inclined to believe that films make lots of money! So there can be mistrust, too. But Irene and Man Yung dance themselves, and love the dance, and that's reason enough for them to want to film it. There are three or four recent posts on their blog, which are great to read, and full of the most wonderful videos. There must be around three dozen videos altogether. Some of the dancers are really well-known: some probably aren't names even in Buenos Aires. But how good they are! I really enjoyed Oscar Omar Denico, and there's also a Cumparsita that is just amazing (it even has Elba Biscay leading Adela Galeazzi in the background). I hope you've already found all this but, if not, you might be missing an insight into how much fun a night out in Buenos Aires can be, and how much wonderful tango there is there.

I can't resist embedding one of their videos of Alberto Dassieu and Paulina. This just has to be the best video of them ever, better than the others because it's in a social dance, and it's not a display. So it's the real thing, and moreover the camera can follow them closely along the line of dance. The floor isn't crowded - and it's really well lit! Amazing that those folk in Buenos Aires can have so much fun without disco lighting! (Anyway, bright light helps prevent you from getting sleepy.)



I love that. Thanks so much! & please go back there again soon!

PS. Alberto should be on a teaching tour of Europe this summer. I'll post any dates and places I hear of. And Osvalo and Coca Cartery will teach at Tango Retiro in Sweden between July 26 and 30, and probably elsewhere: that's the only booking I've heard of so far.