A DJ's "audience", "Tanda of the Week" and censorship

Martha Graham

Back here I said I wanted to respond to something that came up in a post on Tanda of the Week.  The owner of that tango music blog, DJ Antti Suniala said 

"the music has to be in relation to the audience as well".  I agree with this - with one crucial difference:  I don't think a DJ has an "audience".  A milonga isn't a show though on occasion I have seen DJs act or talk that way, or try to whip up a crowd with stamping, clapping, head-banging, air-punching, all sorts of odd things. That hubris can be fatal, I think.  A DJ plays for, is at the service of, dancers - always.  "Audience" implies something else. 

Unless Antti's idea of the DJ's role is profoundly different to mine, this mention of a DJ's audience I guess is a slip of the pen.  I have never heard Antti DJ, to my knowledge we've never met and we've never corresponded. I've read his blog for somewhere between 6 months and a year which is enough to at least get a feel for how things are there.  To date, he strikes me as one of the good guys.

Tanda of the Week is evidently not merely a personal showcase, not just a DJ setting out his stall for bookings, not least because the site is a mix of tandas put together by Antti and submitted to him by guest DJs.  So I think it's a resource, a tool, something useful, something you can learn from.  This is the main reason I also think it is great when DJs are open and share their sets publicly or privately.  TOTW is also about discussing music and DJing and that is what is great about it, what makes it really alive.  We don't always agree on music but that's kind of the point.  Where is the real interest in discussing things with people who already share your ideas?  The pleasure of discussion is in learning something new, in contrast, in persuasion, in seeing another's point of view, in understanding how they think and what they value, the finding out where you agree and disagree and why.

Tanda of the Week is well known.  In the secret lives of many DJs I suspect it is a well-used resource yet compared to the amount I imagine it is read it is commented upon comparatively little.    Antti posts his own tandas regularly, knowing that they differ in style, one from another, knowing that they could well be and in fact regularly are commented upon and have metaphorical tomatoes thrown at them, knowing his taste will be questioned and the good tandas often ignored -  yet he keeps doing it, cheerfully, with good humour.  The tandas, the cortinas and the comments are resources that can be used by new and existing DJs. I think this blog enriches the musical life of the contemporary tango scene.

I like that Antti uses this own name.  It is a good precedent.  It's less rare, for obvious reasons for a DJ to use a pseudonym online.  But of the few bloggers - and people who comment - who challenge or question, to different degrees, the status quo most seem afraid to speak out under their own name:  TangoCommuter, TangoAirO (defunct and removed), RandomTangoBloke (sadly defunct), and most obviously TangoVoice whose clam-like silence on their identity is proportionate to the degree to which s/he is, is, I think an advocate of the traditional, Buenos Aires way of doing things.  There are excellent reasons for this, not least the risk of ostracism and fear of a backlash in their local communities.  This is not on the same scale as the risks faced by some apostates or critics of religion and yet a social death in their local tango scene is enough to put off many from speaking freely - or at least publicly - especially if they already have roles as DJs, organisers or even teachers. But what actually does it say about these tango "communities" where there is evidently a sense that there can be no diversity in opinion, let alone practice, without repercussion?  Diversity is healthy.  Monopolies are not and breed a herd-like mentality and fear.  How many milongas are there round your way locally? How many compared to the number of teachers?  What kind of music is played?  How many different DJs are there locally? Does one group run all your milongas or is there healthy diversity? How diverse are things, generally, near you? I have found diversity by dancing in five or six different towns and cities within an hour of me but more local diversity is better.  

One of the best things for me about Tanda of the Week, is that it is open, uncensored.  That alone says much.  As far as I know, and as far as I have heard to date unlike many Antti does not censor comments where he does not agree with the view.  That freedom to speak your mind implies a degree of trust that, in a society which values freedom of speech, I have found to be surprisingly (to my mind) rare among bloggers.  It was Martha Graham¹ (pictured) who said "Censorship is the height of vanity" and I agree.  And of fear.  People who censor are essentially fearful, trying to cling on to something - usually their sense of a form of power, status or money.  When challenged on this, moderators or administrators almost universally adopt a libertarian line, saying this forum is a sort of private club where our own rules apply and if you don't like it, you can go elsewhere or we can kick you out. But censorship by definition happens (usually) before people get to see it, before that group  gets to decide collectively on whether something is OK or not.  It prevents discussion about whether it's ok.  I think that's what I object to. Some people are happy to abnegate that responsibility, but I care more about the people who aren't.  Open societies just like open forums discuss together what is acceptable and what is not. That's how we live together.  It's also how we develop diversity and toleration.  The rapper Jay-Z in his book, Decoded said we change people through conversation, not through censorship.

Sometimes censorship is more insidious - an edited history is provided. So things happen, things are said, and then quietly deleted, history is rewritten. It reminds me of China's history books - it happened, but only like this, only as we tell  you, or only as far as you remember and we know how how unreliable memory is.  Except memory can be surprisingly persistent and objectionable when things are suppressed.

TangoAirO sometimes looked at things from a questioning angle.  S/he took his site offline earlier this year - not left for posterity to learn from, and yet if ever a blogger was didactic this one was - but removed so the author could move onto the more important things in life.  I can't help but wonder if that was teaching.  For me discussion about ideas is at the very heart of life.

So while discussion remains not ad hominem but about ideas and opinion then I think no censorship is very valuable.  Actually, even personal attacks, unless severely disruptive, or revealing of privacy, personal or confidential information are worth leaving in place - as indicative of the person that made them.  I understand when comments are moderated maybe to avoid spam or perhaps with the idea that someone should be spared another's vitriol but I do not comment upon blogs like Melina's Two Cents (dormant), and TangoCommuter's that allow comments yet filter them in god-like fashion depending on the degree to which they disagree with the blog owner.  If only part of a comment is published it is for me a form of dishonesty and the kind of manipulation of which the media is often accused.  Mostly this filtering smacks of fear which sits uneasily with someone writing publicly.  It feels like grandstanding yet having hoods at the back to chuck out the dissenters.  Besides, I find the public back-slapping - rife on social media - between people who share uncontroversial ideas uninteresting at best, slightly sinister at worst. 

Someone said to me recently, "We can't rely on what our friends say about us...they love us unconditionally. What our foes say is the more accurate benchmark."  I don't know about accurate, because enemies are also prone to propaganda. But still, I asked,
"So what do your enemies say?"
"I have no enemies, When you expect the best out of people, nine times out of ten that's what you get."

That, I think is what is happening in Tanda of the Week.  Antti expects it to work, for the most part expects healthy debate and ideas (since his "never criticize" comment, this under review) and gets it, I think.

Antti argues, believe me. But he will sometimes be persuaded by or make a concession to a point.  I have found that in life to be a rare trait between individuals, let alone in public.  It suggests honesty, open-mindedness and a willingness to change one's mind.  There is more often strength than weakness in that.

The point about a DJ's "audience" was the first I wanted to respond to.  The other will be next time.

¹Martha Graham "the Picasso of dance" was an influential twentieth century modern dancer and choreographer whose work, rooted in America, crossed artistic boundaries. She said, "A dance reveals the spirit of the country in which it takes root. No sooner does it fail to do this than it loses its integrity and significance".

Photograph by Cris Alexander, courtesy of Martha Graham Dance Company.

NEWS: A practica by dancers, for dancers

I was really pleased to see that there is a new practica run by dancers for dancers and beginners running over the summer about 45 minutes drive from me. 

It is north east of me, near Forfar and will run for 2.5 hours. I think of it as "Paddy Tango" because it is in a place called Padanaram, in Angus, but in fact it is part of Dundee Tango Society.

The music will be a "varied selection of tango music". I am not sure what that means.

It is a great thing when there are standalone (no classes beforehand) practicas and milongas.

"I didn't understand at first, but there was NO music during my private lessons. I was able to concentrate on what I wanted the follower to do without worrying about keeping up with the music. I wrote a long time ago that there shouldn't be music during classes so leaders and followers can concentrate on movement instead of rushing to the music. If you can't execute a figure without music, you definitely can't execute a figure with music." 

- By "Michael" on the Tango-L mailing list for May 2015. 

This is what I believe happens when you stick classes in front of practicas and milongas. You get people thinking it is all about the figures and they just can't let go of that idea. You get what Michael goes on to say:

"When I sit out a tanda, I love to watch women's faces as they pass me. Very few have a look of bliss. Some have a look that says "Please. Shoot me and put me out of my misery." Others have a look that says "Please. Shoot him and put me out of my misery."" 

They become deaf to the music and their partner so there isn't really dancing going on. When in fact it's all about the music. You don't need actually need any figures at all.

***STOP PRESS*** Tango Stafford drops classes

I was just alerted to this great news on the Tango Stafford website (my highlights): 

Events and Classes
Currently, we are running private lessons and guided practicas rather than classes. We believe that, in this area, the last thing students who have been dancing for a while need is more steps or sequences but rather to improve the ways in which they execute and adapt the things they already know to match the music and their partners needs. Our hopes are that, eventually, after a tanda, dancers will have enjoyed the experience but not even thought about steps. This is at the heart of Buenos Aires tango: dancing to the music.
The exception to this is when we occasionally invite renowned teachers to enhance your learning experience.
New students are still welcome and we will endeavour to help you - as will all the students who attend. In fact, this "one to one learning" is the traditional way people, especially the young men, in Argentina learned tango.
We will also direct you to other local class teachers and other students will advise you on what they offer.

An apology

Front cover of an early printing of 'The Dream of Debs'

My take on writing "responsively" to things others write is that generally, I prefer to do my own thing.  It is usually the ideas and impressions in the milonga or in conversation with strangers and friends that make me want to write, rather like the music that makes me want to dance.

I notice that the writers and bloggers I most respect have a ring of authenticity.  They are not bottom-feeders.  They are not merely responsive, in the same way that they are not merely personal.  I like to read people who don't just engage in the tit for tat of an argument but who move an idea forward.

The writers I like acknowledge influence, demonstrating a bare minimum of integrity.  They don't pass off a response to another piece as a new idea because that oblique form of plagiarism, is nevertheless one of the grosser forms of dishonesty and dissimulation.  Astute readers notice a lack of authorial integrity and the tendency towards one-upmanship which that implies.  Anyone with an iota of intelligence and self-respect will spot and steer clear of those.

The Scarlet Plague is a collection of short stories by Jack London, some of them set in a world facing plausible apocalyptic crises.  'The Heathen' though - one of these stories - is about the relationship between two men.  The character Otoo is described thus:

"He believed merely in fair play and square dealing.  Petty meanness, in his code, was almost as serious as wanton homicide and I do believe that he respected a murderer more than a man given to small practices."

I like the sound of Otoo.  He is from the start heroic in his unusual talents, good judgement and his selflessness.  In the other stories, London, the political writer envisages the anarchy and two different kinds of new order that arise from the stasis created by entrenched power and vested interest, whether that disruption arises from careful planning as in 'The Dream of Debs'¹ or from unfortunate natural circumstance as in 'The Scarlet Plague'.

Of course we are influenced by things all the time.  I am indelibly influenced in what I think about tango music, dance and culture from the things I mentioned, from having taken classes, by books and articles, by tango lyrics in the wonderful resource that is the Tango Translation Database and elsewhere.

If there has been a single area of most influence it is the observations and conversation in various correspondence with those more experienced than me in music, life and dance, perhaps because in writing our thoughts are distilled and referenceable. But that strong influence is not surprising because we grow in ideas and confidence as we gain experience in dance, in sport, in life, by engaging with, learning from those with more experience.

It is social learning and it is based on trust, interaction and our own judgement of what is valuable rather than on being passively told what to think and what to do.  For my first baby I cooked and pureed, froze miniature portions and thawed them; I weighed and measured and sterilised the way professionals told me and books instructed me.  I spoon-fed him carefully, tidily, exhaustedly and he had a violent dairy allergy.  My second baby I let reach out for things independently.  He ate pretty much what we ate, with his fingers, naturally, messily, with relish and with disgust.  He picked the flesh from whole sea bass, spat out olive stones, sucked meat bones and grabbed at spinach.  I was always afraid he might choke but it was better the second way.  We sat on the floor by the fridge alphabet:  "a" is for Aarrrrgh! "b" for "Boo!", "c" is for Cuddle, "d" for Dance.

Anyway, that was the apology, because sometimes I do come across something I want to answer, not just because I want to, but because I don't like monopolies or unchallenged, potentially influential views, especially when I think they are mistaken.  One of the dangers is that these can come to represent the kinds of interest tackled in the 'The Dream of Debs'. Vested interest is very dangerous: ruthless, unscrupulous, potentially hegemonic.  It will run the timid right off the road and sees no problem there.  Sharing the view of that unlikeable sophist, Thrasymychus in The Republic, it believes in the rule of the strong and that injustice is mightier than justice.  It's different when influential views are reliable, insightful, plausible, trustworthy and impartial.  But in life I notice the trick is more often to be seen, to be believed to be those things, rather than actually being those things.  Marketing and PR is all and like gleaming used cars, there is often little of value under the hood.  Or, circus tricks are employed for applause, relying on shine and dazzle or in appeal to base and easy sentiment.

Most people know it isn't useful to accept things unexamined and on faith especially from those so invested.  But it's more the recognition of that interest that is the issue and recognising that interest - in its common forms of money, power and status - behind the scenes usually trumps whatever is divertingly on public show.  Scepticism is one of the most useful and underused intellectual tools so I find it healthier when there's a variety of opinion - of anything actually.  I like it when things are even-handed, balanced and since even-handed treatment of any subject is vanishingly rare, it's more common to have, and probably better when there is debate and diversity of opinion, true to its own colours.

Tanda of the Week  by Antti Suniala is a useful, interesting, balanced, open and probably influential blog about tango music that I keep up with regularly and actually, next time I do want to write responsively to a post from there.

 ¹Eugene Debs (pictured) was an early twentieth century American socialist, orator, labour union leader of strikes and opponent of American involvement in the First World War.  His actions in the latter two fields caused him to be imprisoned and disenfranchised for life.  Given his commitment to the voice of ordinary people to be heard, this was a hard and symbolic punishment. He was a radical, called an "enemy of the human race" by the New Yorker and a traitor to his country by Woodrow Wilson who said:  "He is a man of much personal charm and impressive personality, which qualifications make him a dangerous man calculated to mislead the unthinking and affording excuse for those with criminal intent." (New York Times. December 24, 1921)

Thanks to L Currey for permission to reuse the photo of this early printing.

Berlin - Sunday: 'Café Domínguez' and 'Max & Moritz'

Max & Moritz

The two main events for Sunday that were recommended by pretty much everyone I spoke to locally were Café Domínguez in the afternoon and  Max & Moritz in the evening.  I had already heard about them in the UK from friends.  They were described - Max & Moritz in particular - as the places where teachers and the best dancers went to dance.  Everyone had said that it was very hard to get dances there.  I was curious to see how they compared to the places I had already been.

For Café Domínguez (Mala Junta [dance school] Kolonnenstr. 29 Berlin 10829) look for the access road on the left, just past the bus stop (coming from Platz der Luftbrücke). It is also signed Mala Junta. 

Towards Café Domínguez 

Entrance to Café Domínguez 

The door on the right has a buzzer for Mala Junta.  The milonga was on the 4th floor.  It is not a particularly large space for the numbers that were there so it was especially good that there was an area for coats outside the main room. I think it's one of the signs of a civilized milonga when there's space to leave your coats and shoes and larger bags outside.

The DJ was Raimund. I bought tea at the bar.  There was delicious-looking cake which everyone said goes fast! I arrived around 1600 and stayed until about 2030. Video. 

I think it was here (rather than at Max & Moritz later) that I arrived to Verdemar (this is the earlier 1943 version with Rufino).  The music was good. I was a bit surprised to hear three or four Di Sarli tandas in the time I was there.  Some DJs  believe that you have to play, regularly, whatever their interpretation of "the big four" is.  If these include Di Sarli - and you don't happen to be a huge Di Sarli fan - or Pugliese, and you believe Pugliese is more enjoyable when played sparingly and to the right crowd - this can make things strained.   Few, I think, would object to D'Arienzo being the backbone of most milongas - again, depending on the type of D'Arienzo and the crowd. Beginners I have noticed really aren't likely to stand up to Yapeyú ('51) or El huracán ('44).   I am relieved when I find more of a mix. 

Age varied here.  There were still mostly younger women but quite a number in their forties.  Most invitation happens to the left of the bar area and near there along the window.  There are a few tables and chairs near the DJ but you would probably only sit there if you were in couples or maybe with a group of friends.

See the notes on floorcraft at this milonga.  Despite this there was good dancing here, though if you are sitting along the window side, right on the floor, you may need to watch out if this sort of thing is going on.  But it is many peoples favourite milonga and it is busy.  I chatted a lot and was not as consciously listening for the orchestras but it was a relief to hear some of the gentler, softer music, in fact a broader mix compared to some of the other trad milongas I had been to.  It was not all strong and dramatic and of course it was the afternoon and early evening.  I usually find time of day is a factor in what is played.  You probably noticed Lomuto's Nostalgias in the first video.  I seem to be at odds with Antti Suniala and perhaps others over this orchestra but I and many enjoy this sweet, firm and lovely piece.  I was at this milonga either earlier or longer than at Nou, Alma and Loca and so did not hear the music that was played earlier on at these places.

I prefer more balance, more contrast between tandas rather than too much of one type or the other.  I once played a Biagi tanda that started with Bélgica and ended with La marca de fuego then started the next tanda with Canaro's Candombe criollo.  A teacher-DJ said he would've preferred I keep the energy high but if not everyone wants high energy tanda after tanda that isn't going to work.

The eponymous song by d'Agostino/Vargas reflected the atmosphere of the place - of good dancers out to dance and to relax.  It was true that it was by no means easy to get dances here. I danced with women and then a Demare tanda with an Italian visitor who really felt the music and then with two guys, one of whom I already knew and one I had corresponded with a little.  Both these men were good, established and popular dancers, but even this did not persuade any of the other Berlin men.  One tries to avoid having a crisis of confidence but I remembered Alma when I did not even get on the floor and let it go.  I got chatting to the ladies I danced with and stayed an hour longer than I had intended. 

Around 2300 I arrived at Max & Moritz (Oranienstr.162 Berlin 10969) when the milonga was well under way.   Leandro was the DJ. 

This milonga is in the back of a typical German restaurant. I liked the room for dancing. It reminded me a little of the Counting House in Edinburgh.  I  arrived about 11pm and left at about 0115. 

The music was good trad but, especially at the start, was almost painfully loud from the wall-mounted speakers.  There is a slight division in the room between the main dance area and the (unused) rear bar which is the DJ spot.  Perhaps because of that the DJ just didn't always realise how loud it was, although since he was not always at his spot he might have been dancing so maybe he just liked it loud.  I sat in front of the bar along the wall, across from where the photo at the top is taken. 

There was a very good Donato tanda that started with El huracán and finished with Elegante papirusa. There was also a good vals tanda and a milonga with Milonga de los fortines, and Cacareando both by Orquesta Típica Víctor (OTV). Cacareando is  the other "bird" piece I forgot.  It is great for private drunken parties or the beach in summer - but it is often played with the other track and they are not the easiest milongas to place.  Overall I liked the music and the cortinas but I was in conversation  for a good part of the time I was there and don't remember it all.

After what I had heard back in the UK I was surprised that the dance standard at Max & Moritz was not as high as at Café Domínguez though a few people had come on from there.  There was a big mix of people, of dancing, of age, of style, of everything.  There were at least a couple of groups who looked as though they might be visiting from out of town.  I rather liked the mix even though I couldn't see any guys with whom I particularly wanted to dance.  I was happy to watch and listen and see what transpired.  There were two or three couples of wild and crazy young dancers who I did not remember seeing elsewhere.  They were dancing trad tango music more in the way you sometimes see at nuevo dances but also at a strange speed that was too fast.  They were doing the most dangerously high, uncontrolled voleos I saw in Berlin.  

It was at this milonga that I found the kind of dance I had been looking for in Berlin. I felt quiet, relaxed and happy in that embrace.  I left soon after, wanting that to be my last dance in Berlin.

Today I discovered another perspective on dancing tango in Berlin.  It was written last summer and updated last month.  The writer refers to scene 1 dancers (trad) and scene 2 (alt) and describes scene 2 dancers pitching up at scene 1 venues and "making it their own"  - not an idea I have much sympathy with.  On this site you can even buy for $5 a guide to surviving your own first milonga. Or you could just turn up, watch and get chatting.

Berlin - Saturday: The Werkloft with Michael Rühl, cabeceo and lighting

This milonga usually takes place in the Balhausballhaus Walzerlinksgestrickt or occasionally the Balhaus Rixdorf, but the day before it was moved to the Werkloft, a smaller but still large room for dancing above Tango Loft.   Michael Rühl was DJing.  Had I remembered that another milonga was on - Bailongo - I might have gone there to see another venue as I had already been to Tango Loft twice.  I was curious in any case to find out where, besides Roter Salon and Villa Kreuzberg, there might be some dancers aged over 35 (women, not just men).  I thought this might be the place.

On Saturdays in Tango Loft there is a milonga with a mix of traditional and alternative music.  This coincidence of two dances in the same building is apparently uncommon.  I went downstairs two or three times to have a look and every time it was alternative music.  I heard a trad vals played on one occasion but it was so slow I didn't really see the point.

I arrived early at the milonga, about 2130 and there were only two or three couples there.  There are lockers near the entrance for coats etc.  The Werkloft has its own bar.  I ordered wine and water.  There is a, I think single bathroom on that floor or there are the separate facilities downstairs in Tango Loft. 

Michael is a very experienced DJ and we chatted for a while about music. He was helpful, knowledgeable, patient and very open to my questions about music and dancing in Berlin. We danced a very strong, late D'Arienzo tanda that I don't think I knew.  Two of the tracks were by D'Arienzo cover bands. I asked Michael why he used cover bands. He said because the songs were very good but had not been recorded by d'Arienzo himself so if we wanted to hear them in the D'Arienzo style then we needed to hear them through a cover band. I preferred one of the cover band's songs in the Caló version though it's easy to prefer the things you know.

The room itself has seating on four sides. It is too long for invitation by look to work easily.  Characteristic of many Berlin milongas it is also very dark. I asked Michael about the lighting with regard to cabeceo.  My understanding was that he thought it was acceptable for men to ask directly for dances and for women to refuse. I thought this a very direct view and suggested that many "walk-up" invitations turn into poor dances since the men who do this often cannot get dances by or are not experienced in invitation by look.   Though it may sound psychologically counter-intuitive, I think good lighting and cabeceo actually makes it clearer who really does want to dance with who.  He did respond to this and I think the general idea was that invitation and acceptance by look is not an art that is universally practised in Berlin.

At first I sat in the area outside the dance floor, again to see where people would sit as they arrived.  Later I wanted a table before they were all taken so I took a corner seat by a light in the bottom right hand corner of the photo where I had a good view of the floor.  My first partner walked up to invite me. Partly because I still sometimes find it awkward managing these situations and also because it was the last track of a Fresedo tanda, I agreed.  If you accept this kind of invitation, you might think the last track of a tanda is the best possible time to accept.  At the end of the track he stayed on the floor which I took to mean he wanted to continue.  I dislike staying on the floor during a cortina.  Not especially wanting to dance more, I moved, indecisively off the floor to the side, hoping he would too.  This is the stage at which things become even less clear.  I find it difficult - a "thank-you" after one dance, even at the end of a tanda is still a clear snub.  So unless you are not troubled by these pangs or unless you want to risk dancing five tracks you may not want to dance it may be better not to accept the last track of  tanda from someone who walks up! The next tanda was a milonga I didn’t like and I found it easier to say so and return to my seat.   

There were a lot of good tracks, also quite a few that I didn't know or don't hear that often.  There was a Demare/Berón I know and quite like but haven't played, Que Solo Estoy and a Demare I think that is less well-known: Corazón No Le Digas A Nadie with Horacio Quintana in extravagant form.  There were some good, well-known  Caló vals, there was a Canaro tanda, a bit later there was Pugliese-Maciel with I think Y Todavia Te Quiero and Cascabelito neither of which are much my thing for social dancing. There was a D'Arienzo milonga I liked and a Di Sarli that didn't do much for me though it was well known -  something like El ciruja and A la gran muñeca.  I remember dancing a great tanda shortly before I left.  I think it was a Tanturi instrumental with maybe El buey solo (the intro is my ringtone!), Una noche de garufa, Argañaraz - those sorts of friends. 

Another guy walked up to invite me. I did not look up but realised that, as with the previous guy, since I was the only woman in that area I could not easily look away without causing him worse embarrassment than a straightforward refusal. Tango Therapist in a recent post mentions addressing this problem as a sort moral responsibility (my term) or as "attitudinally intelligent behaviour" if you prefer.  So, regretting my earlier decision to accept a walk-up invitation,  I did look at him, in some confusion, which of course then leaves you with little option.  It is particularly difficult to refuse someone who has walked around a room to where you are the only person because a refusal could hardly be more public - but then I feel that by walking up they make things difficult for you.  None of it works this way.  Still, of the half dozen or so walk-up invitations that I accepted during my week in Berlin this turned out to be one of two that I did not regret. 

In complete opposition to his chosen style of invitation, the whole focus of this man, who was considerably smaller than me, was a particular and lovely kind of care of the woman. It's very hard to describe the feeling he created.  I've only ever felt it, perhaps less than a half dozen times. This is sadly rare in dancing tango. If guys are taught, why isn't the focus more on protection, care, respect?  Perhaps it's because - how could you sell these things?  And frankly I have no idea how you might teach what he conveyed.  His style of dancing was not quite mine but it was fine and in any case it did not matter at all, this feeling was enough.  I did not encounter the same feeling in quite the same way again in Berlin. We danced one tanda.

Most people in this milonga came and stayed in couples. I noticed two younger girls but overwhelmingly the dancers were over thirty-five or forty, many considerably older. Later on I saw a couple of guys I would've liked to dance with but they were in couples and not or barely changing. The dancing was mixed, but got better as the evening progressed and more people arrived.  I thought there was quite a lot of nice dancing.  There seemed to be a degree of fluidity - people came and went more than is usual in a milonga.  I think the dancing downstairs contributed to this.

Later on a French group of teachers and friends arrived.  They were from Nacer tango.  I had seen and spoken to them briefly in Roter Salon and in Nou.  They always seemed relaxed, light-hearted, laughing and happy.  Somewhere, perhaps in Nou, very late when they would not cause disruption on the floor, I saw three of them dancing in the middle, one behind the other, like a train, all facing the same way, all synchronised.  They were fun.  Nacer introduced me to Katarina and Ulrich who teach in Berlin and run Tango Safari a child-friendly tango holiday in Rome in May and Poland in July. They both have young children like me.  We all danced; it was a nice end to the evening.  I left not long after 1AM.

Berlin - Friday: "ART. 13", "Panoramico" and "Nou"

Panoramico, towards the "alt" room

The ART. 13 milonga (Dresdener Strasse 11, HH, 3. OG, 10999 Berlin- Kreuzberg,) had been recommended by a friend but did not seem to be on the radar of people I spoke to locally.  I decided to have a look. It was in what I thought at first was a residential block.  ART. 13 must have been on the buzzer.  Behind that was a courtyard.  The entrance to the milonga was on the other side of this, on the right, and up some stairs. There is an explanation here about how parts of these hinterhausen are often converted into rooms for dancing.  Perhaps that is what the "HH" refers to in the address.  There may have been an area by the door to leave coats.  There was a single bathroom, shared by men and women.   It had no light and had been like this for as long as the next person in line could remember.

ART. 13, practica

There was a very busy practica in progress with mostly young, new dancers.  I think a guided practica is one where teachers help people individually or as couples.  I think a taught practica (basically a class) is where the teacher demonstrates something to the group and they practice it. What I saw was the taught version.  The session ran over into the milonga by twenty minutes.  Perhaps Berliners don't mind this as many do not come out until after 2200 anyway.  I got chatting to a guy who was waiting for his friend who was doing the class.  He was very courteous. I also spoke to the polite and candid DJ, (Joerg - sp?) who played a good Donato tanda, a good D'Agostino, a mixed vals and then something alternative/nuevo. His plan was for a 60/40 split of trad/alt music. I danced with my new acquaintance and with his friend for the two trad tandas. The beginner was very tall, a nice guy who trod accidentally but excruciatingly on my toe.  His friend had mentioned earlier that the Panoramico milonga might have better dancing.  I was happy to forego ART.13.  In any case the alternative tanda was about to begin and they had turned the lights right down once the milonga had started.  I saw only one couple dancing anything like musically (to the alternative track).  They were also the only couple in the embrace.  The people from the practica were doing class-style movements more or less independently of the music and in open hold.  The more experienced dancer said as we left that ART. 13 is becoming a unique scene with some good dancers arriving later from the local area who only dance here. If they dance with the new dancers this will bring on the beginners no end.  That is the advantage of a practica followed by a milonga.  Apparently we passed some of these dancers on the stairs and they were also young.

Panoramico, at the top

I had heard about Panoramico  (Tanzsuite im Haus Berlin, Strausberger Platz 1) previously only by word of mouth. I was glad I was accompanied because I am not sure I would have found it otherwise. It is about thirteen floors up. There was a good area to to change shoes and leave coats.

The bar was busy and in the strange, coloured glow of the place there was a good vibe.  I ordered wine.  Here you pay the barman the entrance fee. Age was mixed, mostly heading towards middle-aged. We bumped into the very charming and sociable DJ for the alternative/nuevo room and chatted briefly.  His larger room was packed with dancers.  There is a much smaller, thin room for trad music.  Shortly after arriving I headed here.  It has glass sides and lacked atmosphere or at least it felt a bit like being in a goldfish bowl.  The DJ was friendly and accommodating when I asked about the music.  The space was poorly attended but picked up a bit in the forty minutes or so that I stayed.  In that time there were two great instrumental tracks: Unión Cívica ('38) and Retintín ('36).  The latter I find so good it is like feeling music in the blood, but they were squashed in bizarrely with the 1958 Nada más with Jorge Valdéz.  If it had been 1938 version with Alberto Echagüe I wouldn't have minded the mix of instrumental with songs, although there is an embarrassment of great d'Arienzo instrumentals from 1935-39.  It was an interesting venue but I can't see that I would go back.  I thanked my new friend, and said I wanted to go on to Nou.  He was going to stay so we parted.  I wanted good trad music and good dancing and I knew from conversation that the "in" crowd followed those things and that they would be at Nou.  It was after midnight, starting to rain and the street was large and empty, dominated by buildings of intimidating architecture. The U-bahn, if I ever found it, would take 40 minutes. I hailed a cab to get there quickly. 

Entrance to Nou, on the right

Nou (Chausseestraße 102 2. Obergeschoß, vorderer Eingang, 10115 Berlin, U6 Naturkundemuseum).  It was with relief that I heard Pensalo Bien playing as I arrived.   There is an area to leave coats outside the salon.  By the time I walked in, I heard playing the great De Angelis vals, No vuelvas María. It felt like a balm.  The DJ was Francesco who I had heard the night before at Loca. The music was just distractingly good.  In my relief and desire to dance the music, it was not until after I left the place I realised that with no one and no honesty box on the door (both of these I find often in the UK) I had not paid the barman the entrance fee!  When I return I will pay my  forgotten dues.  I recognised people there from Milonga Popular and Alma.  The venue had lighting you could see by and was of a good size for invitation by look though there was little in the way of tables.  If you want to have somewhere to put your drink I guess you stand by the bar.  Many guys did.  

I danced that tanda and then the lady I had met at Roter Salon came to say hello and we danced one or two tandas.  I thought she was brave coming to this place with the cool crowd, mostly young, but I saw her dancing. I danced with a visitor I had danced with the night before at Loca and it was nice.  None of the local guys I could see were inviting but I didn't mind because the music was good and it was nice to watch couples who I did not know.

I remember talking to Francesco about a d'Agostino tanda and that he played the popular Palais de Glace.  There was the good d'Arienzo vals Amor y celos.   I was glad to hear the 1941 Rodriguez milonga  Chunga que si, Chunga que no.  I had come across this a few weeks before, randomly on Spotify and put it on my "review" list but could not remember hearing it in a milonga.  I give tracks I have not heard or not heard often in the milongas a very long incubation, months at least, before considering playing them.  Most, over time, fall by my mental wayside as being of not sufficiently good quality for dancing. I am curious to know if this track is played elsewhere.

The guy I had danced with at Roter Salon and Loca arrived very late and we danced for a while.  Then there was some Varela including Qué tarde que has venido  which isn't me at all and a very strong late D'Arienzo including the 1967 version of Canaro en Paris.  I think that is a good piece but I don't generally like dancing that kind of music.  Some tandas can be so contrasting that the cortina just isn't enough to change the mood.  I was happy to end with the great Laurenz  tanda that he played penultimately.  There was  Recién, Todo, Garúa and I forget the other.  These are all lovely, lovely tracks, some of my favourites.   Overall, I liked the music.