Given that we tangueros and tangueras seek that sublime dance connection a partner, we attend milongas in a variety of location—from the divine to the dive. Most often, our dance venues are in places like an Elks or Moose club, a senior center or Masonic Temple. But some milongas are held in warehouses, which look like fire traps or a scene out of CSI.
Why don’t we have a dedicated dance space? Probably the source of the problem is lack of funding. Tango does not draw the affluence of ballroom. Tango dancers don’t spend a lot of money on food or drink but will travel to workshops or to Buenos Aires.
Our favorite dance place would provide ambience, comfort, good music and friends and the possibility or food and drink.
--My favorite tango bar—Jack Blues has been hosting the Tuesday night Milonga Linda (Cagnes-sur-Mer) for nearly a decade (but who would know to walk down this alley to the wine cave, where the milonga is held?)--A ballroom with a floating wood floor offers a near- ideal experience (top photos show the Downtown Dance Studio, Titusville, Fla., just prior to the milonga).
Given that a tango club rents space for each event, organizers cart in the sound system and food as well as set up tables and chairs. It’s a lot of work, especially for the organizers, who never know whether a handful or the masses will attend (despite promotion via social media).
We are all driven by the love of the dance.
If you are not familiar with Argentine tango, here are a few of my favorite dancers:
- Detlef and Melina (dance a milonga) - , Geraldine and Ezequiel,
and Kamran and Colleen (dance nuevo tango).
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