To our dear fellow countrymen:Man Yung and I are chinese, and we like being chinese. We are all for freedom of fashion. And we are all for celebration of our "chinese-ness".
We see certain fellow countrymen in the milonga wearing "chinese fashions" like the lovely silk shirt pictured here. Nothing wrong with that. But don't you think dressing like a chinese waiter from the 50's is just a tad too conservative? If you want to make a statement celebrates your chinese-ness, you should make it loud and clear. Can we make some recommendations?
fashion inspired by Bruce Lee!
If your ultimate goal is to look like the tango guru (chinese flavour) you think you are (don't be shy, you can't deny it!), I don't think our previous recommendations would quite fit the bill for you.
Here's one wise chap, and he had lots of followers. There's nothing like dressing like a chinese sage to attract a devoted and adoring following - it worked for Confucius, it'll work for you!
4 comments:
I&M,
So you know who this is - it's your Saturday practica members...
I am so happy i came upon your blog. It rocks!!! I just digested it in one sitting :) and now i don't even know where to begin with all the thoughts i had along the way. That said, the following comments won't blend together very well...
With our upcoming trip to Bs.As. i've been reading tango blogs like there's no tomorrow. Like the 2 of you, Jani and i want to prepare ourselves. We already know we'll be avoiding the gringo milongas, we know we want to learn from some of the wonderful instructors you mentioned, we know that we are prepared to be told that everything we are doing is wrong, we know that the level of dancing is not low, and most importantly we know that we are very open to the experience that is Tango in Buenos Aires.
You mentioned being nervous about dancing the first time at the milonga... we are nervous about it now! :)
As for your comments about the "humping" dancers... hahaha!! So true, so true. It really is so inappropriate. When i've danced with the leader of the humping pack, i've had to stick my butt out so far in order to create space and not be harassed by the humping... I believe he no longer asks me to dance anymore because he doesn't get a free feel anymore :) YUK!
In regards to Paradiso... There are 2 reasons we rarely go. One reason has to do with my first encounter with one of the organizers during the lesson. I won't broadcast it here, however it was unpleasant and i am troubled to the core that she has made/or makes other beginner dancers feel the way she made me feel back then. Therefore, i'm not happy to support the milonga. The other reason - the main reason - we don't go is because of the music. So needless to say, i found your post very interesting. We think the music is just awful, but not because it isn't the "trendy" tangos. We love Canaro, so it has nothing to do with that... and we LOVE the music you play on Saturdays... Jani has a very musical ear and must be inspired by the music to dance - as is the premise of tango (unlike the majority of people in Toronto who will dance to anything and everything). This doesn't mean he needs to know the song though... There have been times we've gone to Paradiso and danced 2 tandas the whole night because the music was so awful... hmmm... I look forward to speaking with you guys more on this topic...
As for the post regarding "Junkies"... absolutely fascinating. I must admit i am upset with myself for not seeing the obvious and disgusting connection between drug life and tango obsession (i suppose tango passion would be the best term for it - if there had to be one).
Lastly... "styles". I just posted a wonderful quote on my Facebook about this. It is borrowed from www.tangoandchaos.org - a site we love. The chapter is called "The Style Myth" and basically says there are only 2 real styles: show tango and salon tango. One is for the stage and one is for social dancing. That's it.
We will be educated on this in Bs.As., there is no doubt, but for now i see styles in 2 ways. One is that it is simply your own personal "style" of dancing the dance (without sacrificing the essence of tango) and the second has to do with the way people dance tango in the specific milongas they frequent (in Bs.As. of course). It is only common sense that people will borrow "styles" from each other when they dance together all the time. As well, if a milonga provides more space than another one, people will dance differently.
All this said... J&i definitely would like to hear more from you about your thoughts on tango and your experiences in Bs.As. We'd also like to enjoy a Chinese dinner with you. State the time and place :)
Kristina
Dear Kristina and Yani,
Thanks for your comments and thanks for being two of the three people in the world who have read our blog ;) ! We have one more post for our 2007 trip to Buenos Aires, and then we will start posting the stuff that happened on our 2008 trip. We had a big revision of the way we looked at "Villa Urquiza" too in 2008. Tango has a steep learning curve, we find that we change our perspective with all the new things we learn all the time.
We're sure you will be quite intrepid in Buenos Aires, meanwhile, enjoy the music, keep dancing and stay away from the "humping"!
Irene and Man Yung
Dear Irene!
Thank you for this post:) This is so true and you made me laugh.
Cheers,
Elena
Dear Elena,
Glad you are enjoying our old posts!
Thanks for your comment,
Irene and Man Yung
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