Tango in Torquay 2012... Three: the milongas

20th January 2012

Tango In Torquay One | Tango In Torquay Two | Tango In Torquay Three | Tango In Torquay Four

Introduction

So, this is part of the Tango In Torquay set of entries, reviewing the Rock Bottoms Tango milonga. I've done the Introduction and the Class Notes, now it's the turn of the milongas...

The milongas were all in the main room - there was a second room (the "Secret Disco") in the basement of the complex, but that was reserved for Modern Jive and Blues music and dancing. Unlike last year, this year the main hall was reserved for Tango only.

Each evening had about 60% traditional and 40% nuevo music. The standard sets were mainly (80%) traditional with a few nuevo tandas, and there was a 45-minute-ish nuevo-only section each evening (see Caveat!).

The main room music stopped around 2am, the Blues Room (Secret Disco) lasted longer, until "very late O'clock", but I didn't have the energy to carry on.

(Caveat / Declaration of Interest: I had the pleasure of playing the nuevo-only sets during the weekend, so I won't comment on those sessions overly.)

(And I'll put the playlists up soon, for anyone who's interested.)

Night-by-night

Friday night

There was a "bottom-warmer" class, which demonstrated "good etiquette" by role play, using selected couples as examples of "what not to do" (for some reason, I and Hev were selected to demonstrate "why you should not teach on the dance floor", I can't imagine why...). The class (taken by Warren) also illustrated Line of Dance, good / bad cabaceo etiquette, and other social aspects of tango. It was really useful, and also entertaining.

We had teacher introductions, then tango from around 10-ish to 2am.

The music was mainly traditional, with occasional nuevo tracks. The music was generally in tandas, with both vals and milonga tandas, but (usually) without cortinas. It seemed to work well. The room is nicely arranged, with a good-sized dance floor, a raised area which was reserved for practice, and plenty of seating around the outside allowing people to mingle and walk around.

It was great to see people I knew, it was nice dancing, the music was good - generally a nice relaxed milonga.

The numbers weren't great - maybe 40-50 people in the main room - but this is typical for a Friday, and the dancers there were both friendly and keen.

Despite the etiquette class, the floorcraft at the start on Friday was a bit of a nightmare - but it's interesting to note that, by the end of the weekend, this had almost vanished as a problem.

Saturday night

This was the "dress-up" night, the theme being "Strictly". I managed to acquire a waistcoat...

The teachers all did a cabaret session at 10pm - the comedy turn was taken by Warren and Kerenza this year (no Ricardo Oria dressed as Mr Blobby this time, alas). There was also a comedy competition - basically, people being asked to dance waltz, quickstep etc., and the winners being judged on objective and measurable criteria of "clap-ometers". And whether Hev fancied them.

The milonga atmosphere was similar to Friday night, but with better floorcraft.

Sunday night

There was a "Jack and Jill" (also called "Dance with a stranger") competition on the Sunday night, with the winner receiving a, umm, bag of sweets or something. To be fair, that's probably more valuable than most competition prizes...

As last year, the Sunday night milonga was absolutely the best of the weekend - good numbers and a great atmosphere. The "Sunday night effect" at weekenders took effect again - I've noticed that Sundays are usually the best nights at most weekenders now.

I had a great time and left before the "last mand standing" photo-shoot and the YMCA routine this year. Once is enough.

Overall impressions

The Bad

I'll get the critiques out of the way first...

Firstly, this is not the place to come to if you want a six-hour set of uninterrupted traditional tango music. The longest continuous and uninterrupted traditional set was probably an hours, which in tango terms is barely time to get your shoes on.

Secondly, the floorcraft - especially on the Friday night - was a bit of a challenge. Fortunately there was enough space to move around, but the general level of awareness of dancers, and the overall amount of space each couple took up, meant that you did need to keep yourself aware of your surroundings.

(And yes, this is very similar to last years' comments. Basically I'm confident in saying that this is what to expect as a standard now.)

The Good

To put the counter-argument to these points...

Firstly, there was choice. The fact that the sets were short meant that you had variety, and options. If you don't like the music at (say) Carablanca, then you're stuck - you've got several hours of that DJ, that's it. But here, you could simply wait for the next one, go to have a coffee, go downstairs and listen to the music there, and so on.

Secondly, the floorcraft improved noticeably as time went on - in fact, by Sunday it was not an issue. I suspect this is a combination of people becoming more experienced, and the remaining dancers on Sunday being more "hardcore" than usual. I'd also say that the floorcraft in some venues, whilst technically better, is also more dangerous. I've seen experienced tango dancers - teachers, even - take several large back steps (against the line of dance) in some London venues, just because they can.

The etiquette was interesting - definitely more "Modern Jive" than "Tango", in that the asking for a dance was far more casual, and the women were happy to ask the men. I preferred this, to be honest; it's more relaxed, and it saves all the hassle and effort of the cabaceo. The cabaceo can be quite serious, this was more fun. Although I did have to get out of "Cabaceo mode", and restrain my look of shock when a woman came up to ask me to dance on the Friday night (yes, I have been assimilated...!).

I enjoyed the milongas - they were light, relaxed, and enjoyable. And the Nuevo sets were brilliant, don't let anyone tell you otherwise :)

~ David Bailey, 20th January 2012