An acquaintance of mine asked me about a tango video I shared years ago. The video shows the comic personal/public interaction between tango dancers as they show up for a milonga and during the dance.
It was shot in Buenos Aires and done very well. Dancers with highly different personalities show up early at a milonga, preparing themselves in anticipation of getting the dance of their dreams, a new love, or simply holding another person.
The characters were hysterical, from the man with sweaty hands to a woman who wore gloves and barely allowed a lead to embrace her. There was an excruciatingly funny scene with one man trying to do a cabaceo and every woman completely ignoring him.
It all ended with some despairing at not even having a chance to dance and others elated over becoming an actual couple.
The video is funny because it reflects what really happens at a milonga: there are so many different types of people, some with distinctive personalities, who dance tango. We arrive with expectations, and sometimes, they are met, and many times, they are not.
For me, when I dance with someone and completely forget about my surroundings because the connection is so strong and the dance so fluid that we become one entity, I go home sighing happily. Other times, I go home depressed and vow never to dance tango again.
But I always come back, seeking the beautiful connection of tango that brings us all together, day after day, week after week, year after year.
Unfortunately, I could not find the video I explained. So below, I compiled a few entertaining tango videos that many of you may have seen but maybe not.
Enjoy, and see you at the next milonga!
Photo by Ilona Niknia Glinarsky at Milonga LAX
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