There was a time in my life when I practically lived in a Karate Dojo. By my calculations, I spent more time training in Karate than sleeping or going to school.
Of course, now I'm just another lazy couch potato. But that didn't stop me from getting all excited watching this new TVB series regarding Muay Thai called "Gloves Come Off".
When we are not dancing Tango, we spend our time talking about the history of philosophy and debating the economic theories of Karl Marx.
Just kidding! We are consumed by shallow popcorn Hong Kong TV series!
It really brought back memories of those days. Punching bags and kicking drills. Martial Arts etiquette - being tested on Japanese Karate terminology. Grueling belt gradings. Sparring and Self-Defense. Cute guys! (That may mean Man Yung) Cute girls! ("Nope, that doesn't sound like an accurate description of Irene, sorry," said Man Yung)
There's this scene in Episode 5 in which the Hero of "Gloves Come Off" has to fight with the son of a competitor he accidentally killed in an underground match ten years ago. The Avenging Son is a formidable opponent because he fights with the ferocity of hatred and vengence.
"You see that?" said the Master to the Hero as they were watching a video of the Avenging Son fighting in a competition. "Remember what I taught you?"
The Hero replied, "Yes - Muay Thai is to strengthen your body, to improve your technique - it is the art of hand battle."
"The Avenging Son treats all his opponents like enemies, using his vengefulness as his source of power to destroy his opponent. However, this is the wrong path - he will also destroy himself. This is not the proper way to box. You have to box with happiness, without burden. In order to make the Avenging Son understand this, you must reconcile his hatred. You know what to do."
So the Hero fought the Avenging Son (while a epic whiny guitar solo played in the background) and he fought with peace and compassion and happiness and restrained himself from executing many killing blows, stopping just short. The Avenging Son realized what Muay Thai should be about. He found the power to forgive his father's killer and became at peace himself.
Now, a Novice student was watching this match with the Master. "What are they doing? Why isn't the Hero hitting back? He is wasting all his opportunities!"
"You aren't experienced enough to see," said the Master. "Don't look with your eyes - see with your HEART."
"Haha! That's exactly the kind of stuff (I mean baloney!) you keep saying in Tango," I said to Man Yung. "What kind of technique is that, looking with your heart? You've got to explain to me, because I don't get it!"
"Yes, the Master's words apply to Tango too. When people are looking, they don't understand what they are looking at. They are like the Novice student who can't see what is happening in the ring. They see the kicking and speed and the fancy moves - and they think that if something looks like it's winning, then it must be something good."
I'm having difficulty picturing blinking, teary eyeballs peering out from that lumpy muscle we call the heart. "What are we supposed to be looking at if we are looking with our hearts?"
"Osvaldo and Coca are one of the best examples of this. When you go on Youtube and check out their videos, there's bound to be some people who don't like their way of dancing. They complain that their dancing is not exciting enough - not enough going on visibly outside to interest them."
"I remember one time I saw a comment from someone who was criticizing Coca. That person was saying the nastiest things about her legs being dumpy and not lifting them high enough. And complaining that Coca was not doing enough adornments. How ridiculous is that?"
"That's right - The Muay Thai Novice could only see fists and feet and whether a strike landed or not. Novices at Tango can only see the surface as well. If you don't see with your heart, you won't see the whole story. If you look at Osvaldo and Coca's dancing with your heart, you see the story of their love, the story of the music they are dancing to (no-one can express music like they can with their Tango), and the story of Tango itself."
"No wonder it is so soothing and peaceful when I look at them dance! When I look at many other professional couples dancing, they seem to be doing all this stuff to be creative with the music and to make people applaud - I used to be impressed with that too, but once I gained more experience in Tango, their performances just made me feel uncomfortable, like it was full of artifice and jagged edges. They don't seem to be dancing with each other, dancing to music, or even dancing Tango!"
Kitty was looking at us intently. "Raaarrraaaaw!" he said.
Now, what's all this about? "Man Yung, what does Kitty want?"
"He wants to play chase with the paper bookmark. As for the kitty next to him (who was not even saying anything) - he wants a saucer of milk. And the other kitty (on the other side of the room, minding his own business) - he wants me to scratch him with a back-scratcher!"
"That's incredible, Man Yung. No wonder it is easy for you to see with your heart. The Kitties have been secretly training you to be Cat Zen Master!"
Does a Porteño have an advantage over non-Porteños when it comes to learning to dance Tango?
Unfortunately
for all those who were not born and raised in Buenos Aires – yes,
Porteños have the advantage! You cannot hide from Tango in Buenos
Aires. Either you have seen it on television, or danced in the street.
And you still hear Tango played everywhere – on the radio, in taxis, in
your house. You can’t help it, Tango seeps into your soul…
Our
friend Martha is a Porteña who lives in Toronto. Martha didn’t start
dancing until 2008, when she was living here in Toronto. She took
classes from Toronto Tango teachers and attended milongas in the city –
but as Man Yung can tell you, the quality of her dancing is different,
much more “Buenos Aires” compared to the dancing of non-Porteña dancers.
As to exactly what, well, Man Yung can’t say, as he is always blissed
out after dancing and can give no instructive description!
Luckily
Martha agreed to be interviewed for our blog. Maybe I can finally stop
dancing Hong Kong-style tango after learning some of her secrets?
INTERVIEW WITH MARTHA
What is your earliest memory of Tango? Do you have any recollection of having grown up with Tango?
Hmmmmm,
I can’t really pinpoint it. Tango was what my mother and my aunt
listened to, along with boleros, American jazz and folklore.
Every
Saturday morning my two sisters and I had to help with cleaning of our
condo while music was blasting from the record player – first 78’s,
later LP’s and 45’s. And of course, every day Tango and folklore was on
the radio.
So,
you evidently heard a lot more Tango during your youth than we would,
as people from a non-Tango culture! Were there any dancers or musicians
of Tango in your circle of friends and family?
On
our floor, lived a couple with no kids, Ruben Pesce and Marita
Battaglia. She was an actress and a singer, and he was a TV writer/
producer, and the director of the theatre “Florencio Sanchez”, (a
landmark in Buenos Aires, no longer there, now just a piece of bronze
where the theatre once stood). Another neighbour on our floor, Cacho
Bustamante, was also an actor and part of the Florencio Sanchez crew.
Their plays were about Tango and folklore. When Ruben had a play
opening, we all went, and more times than not, the whole crew would come
back to our home to dance Tango and boleros and have a good time.
It
sounds like Tango was very much a part of ordinary life in the
neighbourhood for you. Did you know any other personalities from Tango?
Martha with Maestro Alberto Podesta
We
grew up listening to Tango, but ours was the generation of mainly rock
and roll, although my older sister had at one point an older boyfriend
that sang Tango. She was friends with many well known singers of that
time, and she always went to listen to them.
For
a few years during my childhood, my mother used to have a small
clothing store in a neighbourhood nearby where she met her boyfriend “El
Tano”. El Tano had a shoe factory in the same neighbourhood and his
younger brother used to help at the back, while writing and singing
tango - “A Dreamer,” my aunt used to say. He went on to become the
famous Tango singer, Cacho Castaña.
** Man Yung wants to add - "I love the music of Cacho Castaña! One year we were in Buenos Aires at El Ateneo, the theatre that was converted into a big bookstore - and I heard Cacho's voice in a Tango played at the store. His voice is smoky and full of world-weary emotion, and I immediately bought his CD and I have loved listening to it, and dancing to his Tangos since. I highly recommend this singer!
When did you start to want to learn how to dance the Tango? Why did you decide to learn it?
I
never danced tango in Buenos Aires, until lately. It was during one of
my visits to Argentina in 2004, that an old friend of mine told me that
she was dancing Tango.
“Really”? I asked, and she said, “Yes, I go five times a week, it changed my life.”
So
I told my sisters, “Cristina is dancing Tango,” and they said, “Lots of
people embraced Tango lately and folklore.” It wasn’t until the end of
2008, during one of my sisters’ visits to Toronto, that I started to
learn Tango. My sister Sylvia had been taking Tango for a while and had
with her the list of all the milongas in Toronto, and the ones that had a
class before the milonga. So before she left she took me to Paradiso,
Victor Hugo’s milonga and Club Milonga, and I’ve been dancing since
then.
It’s
funny, how your sister from Buenos Aires was the one to introduce you
to Tango in Toronto! Do you feel that Porteños have an innate sense of
the Tango because of the culture of the city? When Man Yung and I talk
about your dancing, we often refer to the notion that you have “Tango
DNA” in you because dancing with you feels different than dancing with
other non-Porteña Tangueras.
I’ve
lived in Toronto for most of my life, but I grew up in Argentina, and
Argentina has stronger roots in me than Canada which is my second
homeland. Throughout my elementary school years I had to perform at
school, for all the patriotic holidays, in plays or dancing folklore.
Those things are forever in my memory i.e. la chacarera and la zamba.
Too bad kids didn’t dance Tango at school performances back then like
they do now.
Regarding
the tango DNA that you said is in me :-), I believe exposure in any
areas of life, what you see and what you learn, becomes a part of you,
especially if is related to your culture in which case the roots are so
significant and so strong.
What was it like for you, learning how to Tango? Was it any different from what you imagined it to be?
Learning
Tango was more difficult than what I thought it would be, but we have
good teachers in Toronto and they are always bringing great teachers
from Argentina for workshops and classes. Good teachers will make the
smallest correction on the way you put your feet, that you may think is
nothing, but that will totally change the way you dance.
Now that you are a veteran dancer, what makes you love the Tango and keep coming back to dance it?
You
might not see me much in all the milongas because of my work, but I
don’t think that I’ll ever stop dancing tango, ever, it makes me happy,
and it has opened memories of my life that were very concealed until I
started dancing, like a new awakening for me. It’s been great.
Have you danced in Buenos Aires? What is your impression of the milongas in Buenos Aires?
Although
I haven’t gone to many places, the milongas in Buenos Aires are pretty
crowded, all of them, but you can still dance, they follow the line and
etiquette, and there is always one tanguero that will make your night “A
Night to Remember” :-)
That’s
really beautiful – that’s why we keep on recommending that people visit
Buenos Aires at least once! Finally, do you have any advice for any
non-Porteña Tangueras on how to dance better, or enjoy and feel the
Tango like a Porteña?
I
don’t think I can give any non-Porteña Tangueras advice, I couldn’t.
But what I can say is: Stop looking at everybody else’s feet, embrace
your partner, embrace the music and just dance.
Martha with Maestro Rodolfo Mederos at Toronto Harbourfront in 2011
It’s
the simplest tips like these that make the biggest difference. Thanks
Martha for giving us a glimpse into what it is like to learn Tango as a
Porteña, and see you soon on the dance floor, where you will give to all
your partners the feeling of Buenos Aires in your embrace!
Martha
has a beautiful little place in Buenos Aires that she stays at whenever
she travels there to visit family and friends – and to dance! Martha’s
Apartment located in a convenient location downtown and available for
rental. For further information on
Martha’s Apartment and contact information, please follow this link:
Everyone knows their Tango is incredible. So is their Milonga (and Vals!) Talk about well-rounded!
Do you want to know what dancing with a Milonguero* is like? Even a tiny little bit?
* Now, when we say "Milonguero", we are not defining this term as
"Good-for-nothing, dance all the time, no job and neglecting family
worthless bum". We are using "Milonguero" in the general sense of
"Great Porteño Dancer of Tango from the older generation".
"Oh, I don't care. I'm happy doing my own thing. I'm sure that once I graduate with a black belt/diploma/PhD in Tango from my local Tango school, I'll be one fine dancer!"
Many Tangueros don't want to know because they are already hot-shots or will quite soon become hot-shots. They think the Milongueros are passé. However, they get the evil eye all the time from all the people they bump into all the time at the milonga while flailing in the historically interesting but no longer alive style of dancing called "New Tango". Talk about irony. Anyway, if this is you - you should stop reading now.
For the Tangueros who want to know (and perhaps even guide their dancing in a "Milonguero" like direction) - Irene's the one to ask! She's danced with quite a few Milongueros. Not every single one in the whole world, but quite a good selection.
1. The Non-Milonguero
Not every old Argentinian person who dances Tango is a Milonguero. In fact, we were easily mistaken in the early years - quite absurdly referring to non-milonguero dancers as being "Milonguero" for no good reason except that they came from Argentina.
Sometimes you could be easily fooled. These gentlemen are old, dressed a suit, and attending a milonga. But Milongueros they are not.
How can you tell that they aren't Milonguero?
Well, the quality of their dancing is the pits. Their dancing has nothing to do with the music - they are constantly rushing ahead of the music, missing all the beats, and/or doing large complicated movements they learned off Solo Tango "Tango Fantasia" videos. In addition, they are manhandling their partners. Or else, they are leading like sissies - too scared to take a step, too afraid to communicate a lead - except they are not too timid to start telling their partners using frantic gestures and annoyed looks and outright verbal instruction as to what they should be doing. Dancing with these actually quite ordinary Tango dancers is a torture. But they like to call themselves "Milongueros". Some may even hand out business cards and dispense unsolicited advice on dancing.
I'll let you in on their secret - they might have only started to dance Tango in the 80's. Or 90's!
Thankfully, the longer you have been in Tango and the longer you have been exposed to Tango, whether through trips to Buenos Aires, classes with good teachers, or even literature and video on the internet, the more likely you won't be fooled by these "Non-Milongueros".
2. The Common Milonguero
Not every good dancer is famous or a superstar. They can be quite content going to the milonga on a regular basis, enjoying their drinks and dances with their favourite ladies. They dance simply but well.
There are lots of Common Milongueros still around in Buenos Aires. You will find them most frequently in the milongas catering more to locals. They can all dance to the beat, and some can dance to the music. They communicate the lead firmly and clearly - easy for them to do, as they only have a repetoire of three or four (or even five) figures that they will do again and again and again.
They are also able to embrace well. It would usually be on the side of a firm embrace, since they need to be firm to communicate the lead with their arms and bodies. Dancing with them is usually pleasant and fun, and you don't need to guess the lead. But beware of the lack of pauses, or maybe there's pauses, but they are in exactly the same place in their rigid non-flexible step sequence no matter what the music is saying. Their dancing is more suited to rhythmic Tangos by Biagi, D'Arienzo, Troilo, etc. and you can always see a rush to the floor whenever these tandas are played. More than one tanda with them can be monotonous and repetitive, because they are doing the same things every single tango or vals or milonga.
When the Common Milonguero encounters a Tanguera who is not following, he's in deep trouble. He can't adapt his rigid limited style of dancing to unexpected movements from his partner. He may use a death grip to keep things under control. Ladies, if you have experienced this, maybe you are moving around too much!
Some ladies are already in ecstasy dancing with these venerable old fellows - it's not complicated, and when you are so used to the sequence you can do it blindfolded and in your sleep, things go smoothly. If the ladies want a little variety, they can dance different tandas with different Common Milongueros.
It's all good dancing, just a little repetitive, and not very flexible.
3. Milonguero
Moving on up from the ordinary run-of-the mill "Common Milonguero", we have Milongueros who actually have made a name for themselves for being good dancers. They know at least two to three times as many figures as the Common Milonguero - and they actually react to the music with more depth of movement, rather than dance automatically the dance sequence they have known and practiced for fifty years.
Quite a lot of these Milongueros are filmed doing birthday dances or even performing at their local milongas, and the ladies view them as being their choice of favourite dancers over the Common Milonguero. To be on the dance card of the Milonguero - well, it's something to look forward to and be congratulated on!
The musicality and skill of these Milongueros of course, is a great deal better than that of the Common Milonguero. In their dancing, you will find pauses, steps that are chosen to fit the music (rather than being danced by default or from habit), with variations that may surprise you. The leading too, has more finesse - you are less likely to be pushed around awkwardly, and ladies may even be led to do things that they don't "know" how to do. Accordingly, the embrace doesn't have to be as rigid or in a death grip. Glitches in dancing or uncooperative followers can be handled with subtlety, with inventiveness rather than brute force.
These Milongueros can give some good advice on dancing. Some even teach, and have made a name for themselves as teachers and performers.
Most ladies would be content to dance with these Milongueros the rest of their dancing lives. But then, I've seen a lot of ladies who are not picky, and who would dance with Non-Milongueros and Common Milongueros with equal enthusiasm. Perhaps they haven't danced with any Super Premier League Milongueros?
4. Super Premier League Milongueros
When you are a professional football player, you are obviously good enough so that someone will pay to have you kick a ball around, and perhaps even pay to watch you. But that doesn't mean that people would pay you an astronomical sum to slap your name on some t-shirts and on bottles of perfume, and then make millions of dollars selling them to your fans.
Some Milongueros are like the Messis and Beckhams of the football world. If Tango had a market as large as professional football, these Milongueros would also make millions of dollars and hire agents to negotiate their contracts for them.
Why are they so special?
Let's do the football analogy again. You have a lot of professional football teams out there. They can all do a decent job of playing football - like, following the rules of football, lasting through whole matches and whole seasons, year after year. However, unless you are a die-hard fan of your team, some teams play football that is so mundane, watching them play is just boring. And they don't win games. Man Yung hates it when two mediocre teams meet on the field. "It's like water against water" he says. By the way, the Chinese word for "Water" can also mean "Lousy". The teams spend the whole time passing the ball up and down the centre without a breakthrough for the whole ninety minutes. Yawn.
The best teams in the world have it all - attack and defense, interesting personalities, great teamwork. And on the best days, their football tells a gripping story. "Like the time when Liverpool was playing the 2005 UEFA Champions' League Final against AC Milan!" said Man Yung. "Liverpool was the underdog, and was losing by 3 goals at halftime. It looked like all was lost - but Liverpool Captain Stephen Gerrard started yelling for everyone not to give up. The Liverpool fans sang "You Never Walk Alone". Gerrard scored Liverpool's first goal at 54' - followed by a goal by Smicer at 56', and yet another by Alonso at 60' - TIED! Liverpool grabbed the chance - and won on the penalty shootout!"
Watching this makes me want to cry, it's so good. And I'm not even a Liverpool fan!
The whole thing gave Man Yung tears and goosebumps. I didn't watch the match but I heard about it from Man Yung and it was a such a great story, I remembered it all this time and now I'm writing about it here eight years later!
The best Milongueros are well rounded. They can dance Tango, Milonga, Vals with equally impressive flair. They aren't just hitting the beats - they are telling a story with their dancing. It may come in the form of changing their steps whenever the phrasing of the music changes - or pausing "When the music is telling them to pause". When they lead, you don't feel the mechanics of the leading - the shoving this way or that, or the strong-arming - it feels like magic, like their partner is hypnotized into just doing whatever springs out of the thought process of the Milonguero. When something goes wrong? Nobody knows - the Super Premier League Milonguero has just improvised right around the problem.
And they don't just dance the same steps again and again. With the best Milongueras, these Milongueros can do anything. They don't have to stick to the same recycled step sequence. In fact, they are full of surprises - even if you have been dancing with them for fifty years. Even the same step doesn't have "sameness" - it is loaded with different feeling according to that moment in time and the music you are dancing to. Super Premier League Milongueros live and taste every second of Tango like no-one else on earth.
When all this comes together, it is complete Tango magic in a package. Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of Super Premier League Milongueros out there. To get there takes a lot of experience dancing, but also a natural born talent for music expression through movement. That's why dancing with even one of them is an earth-shattering experience - you don't know that dancing Tango could be like this! And if you can put some of that Magic in a bottle or on a t-shirt, Tango-lovers will be lining up for miles with their credit cards out to get some.
5. What about Milongueras? What is it like dancing with Milongueras?
Well, to know more about that, you have to ask Man Yung.
"You have to tell me what it is like dancing with a Milonguera! With some idea in mind, maybe I could emulate their magic!"
"I have no idea except it was really great!"
He is so blissed out dancing with Milongueras he comes out of the fog with complete amnesia as to what he has been doing.
So, until Irene gets a chance to dance with a good cross-section selection of Milongueras... you'll just have to wait!
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