Internet
searches are a bit like the tide: you never know what's going to turn
up amidst a mound of flotsam and jetsam, and YouTube recommendations are similar. Amidst a recent list of videos that YouTube
thought might appeal to me I found genavel1's channel, which includes
a whole archive of films of the 'Todaro era', of Antonio
Todaro (1929-1994) and his followers.
The
film of Todaro and his nine year-old daughter Títi has been on
YouTube for a while, and this archive also includes him dancing with
her aged perhaps around 13 or 14. The films are undated, but the
dates of Todaro and his daughter would suggest that some of the
filming goes back to the 1960s; many of the women are wearing short
skirts (which may not altogether suit them). The locations look
'underground', barely decorated except for posters on the walls, but
the lighting is very poor. & either the filming was silent or the
recorded sound was so poor that the sound we hear was added later, so
what we hear isn't necessarily the music the couples are dancing to.
& I assume it was film: 8mm or Super8. Home movies! The dancers include Todaro, 'Petroleo', Raúl
Bravo, Miguel Balmaceda y Nely. 'El
Famoso Arturito, inventor de milonga traspie' is also there (ever
heard of him?) The
more recent clips have recorded sound, and these may be from the
1980s/1990s, and include 'Puppy' Castello dancing with Graciela
Gonzalez.
A
random look at the clips shows a familiar enough dance. What
fascinates me about the dancing in these clips is the extent to which the women are empowered:
their energy and input and determination equal that of their male
partners. It really is a 'no holds barred' dance. It must have been
fairly revolutionary and, like the short skirts, suggests profound
changes in Argentine society since the early 1930s. It's not stage
tango; it's too lively and disorganised for that, although a lot of
skill and practice has gone into it. Nevertheless, I assume that
stage tango is a refined version of it, replacing the audacious joyful fun
of the original with a simulacrum of bored passion and sophistication. Despite the poor
lighting, there's a real sense of enthusiasm, and people having fun
dancing. Which doesn't mean I'd want to be anywhere near them on a
crowded floor!
It's
not the dance of contemporary milongas, which have gone in a
different emotional direction. The affectionate embrace of milongas
today is one of the great attractions of tango to many of us, and you
don't see that in these clips. At the same time, this is part of the
background to contemporary Buenos Aires tango. Many of the older
dancers didn't go near Todaro and his academia, but others did, and
this kind of tango would have been seen around, and I think everyone
would have been aware of it. Tango and Chaos has a piece on Todaro
that seems to sum it up very clearly. He doesn't actually say that
Celia Blanco, who runs that most
'traditional' of milongas, Lo
de Celia, was Todaro's student, but I'm sure I've read that she was: I wonder if that's her in the picture.
Todaro might not be an obvious influence on the dance of contemporary
milongas, but I'd assume he's there, and he's certainly there in the dance of
dancers like Geraldine and Javier, and a host of alikes. To dance his
tango requires ability, and a lot of practice, as well as a certain
desire to show off. Innocent fun when you have space, and all your
friends encouraging you, although many of us have other preferences.
I
can't help wondering what happened to 'Títi', Todaro's hyperactive
beanstalk of a daughter. I guess she'd be in her 60s now. Hard to
think that she'd have turned her back on tango.
PS: The clip of Todaro and his nine year-old daughter is on Babaz's channel, which I see also has this clip -- of Charlie Chaplin dancing tango. Hilarious, and much too short.
PS: The clip of Todaro and his nine year-old daughter is on Babaz's channel, which I see also has this clip -- of Charlie Chaplin dancing tango. Hilarious, and much too short.
6 comments:
"...the extent to which the women are empowered: their energy and input and determination equal that of their male partners."
Absolutely, TC - what a contrast to the British concept of tango that recasts the woman as a 'follower'.
The referenced videos make for fascinating viewing but like you, TC, I would not relish the thought of being anywhere near them on a crowded floor. However, perhaps we are both missing something. So why not indeed
-thrill your partner by sliding down the fire pole?
-or empower yourself while surprising your partner with that elegant toilet squat position?
One may qualify this kind of dancing as innocent fun when you have space. Too often these days, however, similar exaggerated moves constitute dangerous fun when you have no space with a class-going tango public that consistently fails to appreciate the difference between exhibition pieces on a cleared floor and social dancing on a crowded one. Evidently, this necessary distinction applied then as now.
A couple of weeks ago in Brussels, a professional (if somewhat acrobatic) couple gave a workshop on tango milonguero that was immediately followed by one on saltos (“jumps”). Unlikely bedfellows, one would have thought, but it illustrates at least one of the perennial problems associated with tango schools/classes/workshops: course content entirely unsuitable for suitable dancing.
Thanks, Paul. 'Innocent fun' was rather my reaction to what I saw in the videos than my reaction to the possibility of having what feels like a revolving saw blade inches away from where I'm dancing! I like the cheerful energy and enthusiasm in those clips although I don't particularly enjoy the dance itself. & I am really curious about the position of Todaro in Buenos Aires: on the one hand, his dance is at best marginal, but on the other my impression is that he is respected.
Your acrobatic professional couple teaching 'tango milonguero' is a real nightmare. People unlikely to have much experience of milongas, who've probably taken a course identifying this 'estilo milonguero', who claim to be qualified to teach, and take people's money for it. It is truly sad. Personally I wouldn't bother unless I was convinced that the teachers had a background of years actually dancing in the milongas. (& I mean the Buenos Aires milongas, where they would be close to a tradition that goes way back.)
P.S. I'd assume that all the dancers in those videos are primarily very experienced and capable social dancers. Perhaps the 'fun' element I see there is in people doing something a bit beyond their normal dance.
...we hear isn't necessarily the music the couples are dancing to...
It doesn't matter. Watch Bravo in Glorias Argentinas. He's not listening to the music; he is thinking about his steps for the audience. Years ago I attended his practica in Club Maragata. He showed a complicated step combination and then let everyone fool around with it for an hour with the help of his assistants Jose and Ricardo.
...the women are empowered: their energy and input and determination equal that of their male partners...
They have no choice in the matter. They are there to anchor the man as he does voleos, sacadas, enrosques, etc. while she runs around him. One dance like that is exhausting; I can't imagine a tanda of it.
..The affectionate embrace of milongas today is one of the great attractions of tango to many of us, and you don't see that in these clips...
The embrace of milongas today was the way it was in the 1960s in the city. The film clips are of milongueros of the barrios who created steps, not the milongueros del centro who danced a feeling. Nobody filmed dancers in the city in those days, so we have nothing. That's why I started filming 12 years ago.
..Many of the older dancers didn't go near Todaro and his academia,..
Why would they need to? Todaro and Bravo trained the young dancers like Miguel Angel Zotto, Guillermina Quiroga, Roberto Reis, etc. who are professionals.
TC's comment: I am really curious about the position of Todaro in Buenos Aires: on the one hand, his dance is at best marginal, but on the other my impression is that he is respected.
It didn't take Todaro long to figure out when he was in Europe that dancers wanted to learn steps. Supply the demand by the step collectors and make money.
The dancers who were filmed are those in the clubes de barrio. They had all the tricks to show and were invited to Europe to teach -- Pepito Avellaneda, Todaro, etc. The milongueros del centro didn't do tricks, weren't filmed, and had no desire to teach anyway.
Celia Blanco worked with Eduardo Arquimbau.
Good point, Jantango: it doesn't matter what music you hear since they aren't dancing to any particular music anyway.
But I don't agree, from the clips I've seen, that the women simply had no choice. Their enthusiasm equals that of their partners, they are very active, almost agressively so, and seem to enjoy their activity. That's what really struck me when I watched some of these clips. I suspect it's to do with the times: that (false?) dawn of feminism in the 60s, because one of the reasons women in Europe today often give for preferring this kind of tango is that the decision-making isn't entirely in the hands of the men. What I saw in those old films was women saying they want an active part, not only in tango but also in society.
& you don't deny what TangoandChaos says about the walls of Lo de Celia being papered with images of Todaro. Not that it matters, but I find myself wondering if there wasn't a really valuable core to his teaching, even though the elaboration of it has had some unfortunate consequences.
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