Tango in Torquay... Three: the milongas

20th January 2011

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.

Each evening, at midnight, there was a switchover, with a half-hour set of Modern Jive in the main room. This dovetailed nicely with the "Hev's Hatch" opening - basically serving free teas, coffees and snacks in a side room from 12 onwards. So if you wanted a break, then this was a great time for it.

After 12:30, the music continued with Tango in the main room, and Blues in the Secret Disco. The main room music stopped around 2am, I hear that the Secret Disco lasted longer but I didn't have the energy to carry on...

Night-by-night

Friday night

There was a "bottom-warmer" class, and then teacher introductions, then tango from around 10-ish to midnight.

The music was mainly traditional, with occasional nuevo tracks. The music was generally in tandas, with both vals and milonga tandas, but 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.

Saturday night

This was the "dress-up" night, the theme being Pink and Black. I managed to acquire a pink tie and socks :)

The teachers all did a cabaret session at 10pm - it was very interesting to see the different styles of dancing. Plus, we got to see Ricardo Oria dressed as Mr Blobby, which has to be a first...

For some reason, I've no idea why, this night wasn't as much fun for me, I didn't quite get into it... No reflection on the dancers or music, just me I guess.

Sunday night

Firstly, I have to declare an interest now - I got asked to do a guest DJ slot on the Sunday evening, which I greatly enjoyed, so I'm obviously a little biased with that one. The general format of the evening was quite similar to Friday - apart from the set I played from 10:30-11:30, which was all neo Tango.

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

I felt that the atmosphere on Sunday night was the best - it was more relaxed, more people were dancing, and generally I liked the music (from others!) more. I stayed until the end (2:30am), at which point they had a "last man standing" photo, combined with a sing-along and, God help us, a YMCA routine at 3am, at which point I ran away to bed...

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 set was probably a couple of hours, which in tango terms is barely time to get your shoes on and have a drink.

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.

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.

I enjoyed the milongas - they were light, relaxed, and enjoyable.

~ David Bailey, 20th January 2011