Although it serves as a linguistic convenience, technically there is rarely a
'line of dance' in Buenos Aires milongas, in the sense that couples are
progressing in a linear manner, moving forward counterclockwise in concentric
rings around the floor. First of all, despite some verbiage allocated to it,
there are rarely concentric lanes of movement; there is essentially one outer
lane and there is the nebulous center which has varying degrees of progression
and non-progressive movement in a somewhat unpredictable manner.
With regard to the outer lane that does progress, the movement of the ronda is
rarely rapid enough to maintain constant linear forward progression. Instead,
typically what one observes in a couple is a forward progressing spiral, a
movement that involves, with respect to body movement, forward, side, and back
steps by the man, accompanied by the woman moving around the axis set by the
man (e.g. molinete), although it is also possible that the man may circle
around the axis of the woman (e.g., 'calesita'-like movements, for which the
late Tete provided many examples). The rotation of the spiral may be either
clockwise or counterclockwise around the set axis. One rarely sees a man
progress directly forward in the ronda more than about 3 or 4 steps. The floor
density is usually too high to allow that. Thus, in order to navigate well in
the milongas of Buenos Aires, one needs to have skills in using turning
movements.
What one also rarely sees in Buenos Aires is someone blocking the flow of the
ronda with a stationary position. Even allowing for momentary pauses that
reflect the cadence of the music, there is always some momentum in dancers in
Buenos Aires milongas (clueless tango tourists excluded). Dramatic poses have
their place on the stage, but not in the milongas. Also rarely seen is passing
in the ronda, in the sense of leaving the outer lane and returning, although
one may occasionally see a couple leave the outermost progressing spiral and
circulate in the more spacious but nebulous middle.
Ron
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