Trini wrote: ”Close-embrace tango is not going to go out of style, as long as there are people who enjoy being held by other people.” By far the best pronouncement about the tango future I read on this list in years! The “classic tango”? Feels a little too exalted for what was a dance of the people. Why not push the Trini's observation to a logical conclusion and call it "close embrace tango"? Considering how restricted is the selection of the "classic" steps, only a rank beginner would be executing these in an open embrace. Some, of course, dance in close embrace, even "classic", yet when the space opens up may (given a suitable partner), open the embrace and do something less than classic, close the embrace again and ( following the ronda, of course ) leave the scene of the crime. BTW, is anyone on this list aware that Gustavo Naveira, e.g., teaches a close embrace,“colgada milonguera”? Did it in his class. Based on the name it ought to be classic. One more recent: No wraps in the "traditional tango"? The paucity of "steps" and of the physical expression in the "tango de salon" was not necessarily due to the lack of skill or interest. It was to have the dance accepted by the "nice people". Appearance of propriety controlled the expression. My mother was born (not in Argentina) in 1904. So I know exactly what I write about. Somehow unnoticed by the list has been the last paragraph of Shahrukh’s (Administrator’s) April 4 post. He wrote: “For the record, as far as Tango-L is concerned, it's all still Tango. It's all considered Tango in Buenos Aires even amongst people who have preferences for one style or the other…” Indeed, regardless of their style preferences, Argentines appear content if not happy to see that THEIR tango is alive, vibrant, inspiring and evolving – in contrast to a museum specimen that must be preserved at a constant temperature and humidity :-). BTW, how many tango-L readers have been noticing that there is almost no Argentine participation in these tango-L “flare-ups”? ( The last "flare-up" I remember, started about 18 months ago concerning the “nuevo”.) Could such debates be an evidence of the provinces lagging behind the capital? With apologies to some – it’s all tango. Jan P.S.: Saw it just before hitting the "send" button. Yes, Trini, some on this list want tango codified, immutable, for ever :-).
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