Well, I found myself agreeing with 50% of the burst of good high-energy discussion in the last few days, then realized that since every opinion and its counterpart had been expressed, that statistically speaking pretty much everyone would have to agree with 50%. :-)
Anyway, some observations on the over-generalized use of "Nuevo": Various people have attached the "nuevo" label to all of the following things, in some cases lumping them together, in other cases treating it as an "evolution" (or "devolution," depending on the perspective). There may have been an evolution in a chronological sense in some of these, but they are all distinct phenomena and are being grossly over-generalized and even more grossly over-simplified by all being given the label "nuevo." - STRUCTURE: Naveira/Salas/Frumboli (the last to a lesser extent) analysis of tango movements into elements to identify a structure within the dance. They never called it "nuevo," they called it "structure" and it was largely within the realm of traditional Tango. Mid/late '90s. Some of it I found extremely useful (e.g., it's emphasis on the giro and its technique as a fundamental building block of Tango structure), other things "interesting but not particularly useful mathematical curiosities," such as trying to explain the cruzada as just another giro, and other things "experimental" such as extrapolating the structure into new "figures" like "Change of Direction." The last of these seemed to me more like a particle physicist's attempt to define all the possible elementary particles that must exist by symmetry and then spending a good part of a career trying to discover them: it is great that science is being pursued by a talented few, and it must be, but practical applications will be few and far between for most of us. - MORE OPEN MOVES: This PARTIALLY evolved from the above, where some extrapolated figures really needed a more open position. But there was also the influence of dozens of Tango stage dancers (which the N/S/F trio really are not), who for many years dominated the teaching of Tango around the world, and who taught open figures because (a) that's how it's danced on stage (easier to see and do flashy stage moves) and (b) students flocked to classes to learn the aforementioned flashy stage moves. In fairness to these teachers, most of them DID place a lot of emphasis on proper technique. But a lot of people wasted a lot of time and kicked a lot of shins learning to do back sacadas (not easily done in close embrace) while thinking they were learning social Tango. A third influence on open moves and a more open embrace was that in most non-Latin cultures, people are just more comfortable dancing further apart (the milonguero movement in exported Tango came later), and a fourth influence was of course the much greater space to do these open moves in the relatively nascent Tango communities of the time (and in most even now) outside Buenos Aires. - NEW FIGURES: The oft-mentioned "colgadas" and "volcadas" come to mind. (The colgada, unlike the volcada, IMHO is largely incompatible with traditional Tango technique, but that's another discussion ...) The point is that these have nothing to do with the first two (they don't directly derive from the "structure" nor do they come out of an open embrace--a volcada would in fact preclude one). The N/S/F trio (among others) WERE instrumental in their development and adoption and dissemination, no doubt helped by their effective and successful marketing (in a positive sense). - "TECHNO"/ELECTRONIC TANGO: The music that is. I'd guess the term "Tango Nuevo" was first used in the context of the music. This music came, and still comes, from Argentina, or in some cases from Argentine musicians in other parts of the world (e..g, Gotan Project). Some of the more sweeping figures and/or open moves went well with SOME of this music (a very small fraction of which is actually danceable, notwithstanding the "one can dance anything to anything" school), so there was some synergy there. - ALTERNATIVE TANGO [SIC] MUSIC: From the "one can dance anything to anything" school, an attempt to dance Tango to anything EXCEPT Tango music (techno or otherwise). Sorry, but this is an entirely gringo phenomenon. To the extent that it exists in Argentina at all, it's to cater to the Tango tourists who "learned" to expect this. I call them "excessively long cortinas," and they are most appropriate for doing what one does during cortinas (anything except dance Tango). - BAD NAVIGATORS/INCONSIDERATE DANCERS: Nothing to do with any of the above, except (and this is a big "except") that big-movement dancers are much more of a nuisance when they disrupt other dancers. As succinctly stated by Aron: "bad nuevo dancers are like lighthouses, bad traditional dancers are simply ignored." But I would expand to "bad and/or inconsiderate and/or unaware" (after all, someone who is bad just because he is a beginner is to be nurtured, not rejected). One can't really lump all these things into the word "nuevo" (and some of it isn't even new). My own personal preference (or tolerance) for these is roughly in decreasing order in the way I listed them above: - I've found some of the structure extremely useful, particularly in giros, barridas, and the like. - Open/sweeping moves: with the right space and the right partner and the right music, sure, but I very rarely encounter that combination, and even less if it's techno Tango I'm dancing to. - Volcadas: yes (but sparingly), colgadas: no. - Alternative Tango [sic] music and inconsiderate dancers: Here, I'm with Ron--let's isolate these to the same room and lock the door (from the outside). :-) Shahrukh _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
