Saturday, April 13, 2013

Double standards or what it could be?

I am quite puzzled about the two standards applied on musicians and dancers on a tango pista in some circles.

Many of the old orchestra members had classical, long education and professional career behind them when they entered the tango scene. My musically educated friends are coming every now and then, telling about the wonders they have found in the music: Those men were so genius! they knew the rules! they were so creative!

They were not fiddlers who learned just by playing!

Yes, those musicians are at real equal level only with the professional dancers, performers, but still - Why should the preferred state for the amateur tango dancers of today be an uneducated mind, untrained body, who learned by dancing in a milonga?

I do not know the education level for these old milongueros, but many of the newcomers in tango have a lot of education and academic degrees.  I think their background does have impact on their relationship to tango and for them it includes more formal learning and education activities. That's the way we relate to new things, we want to study them!

The world has become more complicated too! If you wanted to take a walk at 60's or 70's or earlier you just went out and took a walk. Today it is much more elaborate process. You need to think of your shoes, clothing, technique and devices. When I made a search for Nordic walk, ONE of the walking techniques, I got 48.000 hit on youtube and I think thousands of them are relevant. Why would tango activities stay outside of this trend?

So the main questions here are:

How can real, true music performance include education, training, performing, admiration of the audience and still be moving and true? But in the same time the dancer is losing the authenticity, by training or seeking the applause and appreciation from the audience or peers?

Or have the times changed so even an amateur dancer have right to train her/his body and mind and still be a true dancer?