I have danced Tango for only one year, but have danced Balboa (an original swing dance out of the 1930's) for many years. The parallels, and especially the discussion topics, are amazing and probably say more about human nature than dance, but just for the heck of it here is a quick list off the top of my head:
Both were developed in pre-WW II times with aspects reaching back to the turn of the century. Both are danced to large bands (Big Swing Bands/Orquesta Tipicas). True believers in both dances only want to dance to recordings made in the 30's and perhaps into the 40's by the original Bands/Orquestas. Modern efforts to fully recreate the sound of the era fail due to lack of appropriate musical talent (or whatever - but they ain't the same). Both are characterized by a close embrace basic dance. The history and specifics of the dance styles are murky. Dance masters in both are passing far too fast. The masters (70-85 yeas old) are generally one dance generation removed the originators/'true masters' (a 15 year old dancer from 1935 would be nearly 90 today) True believers decry the new developments in the dances (if the masters/portenos didn't do it, it isn't really Balboa/Tango). The only way to learn is dance with the masters/portenos. Although many may be close, modern teachers don't quite have it. For those of you curious about Balboa, the following clip is of Willie Desatoff and Ann Mills dancing at a club in LA perhaps 30 years ago? I have forgotten the exact date but could recall it if pressed. Willie passed a couple of years ago but Ann, who is over 90, is still dancing. http://youtube.com/watch?v=bMBzJ8BaBr4 Doug "You can flame me now or flame me later. But y'r gonna flame me." _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
