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| Photo: P.J.L Cuijpers |
The articles to follow are what I learnt about dancing in the Netherlands over three trips in August, September and December 2016. I have been to about a dozen local milongas in the Netherlands, some of them more than once. All impressions are merely that of a visitor. George Orwell was probably more reliable than most of those reporting on the Spanish Civil War by dint of the fact that he fought there and was acutely aware of the deliberate propaganda and the merely lazy and hence inaccurate reporting of the facts. Yet he said, wonderfully: I warn everyone against my bias, and I warn everyone against my mistakes. ('Homage to Catalonia') I hope some of mine might be corrected by those who know better.
The big dancing centre of El Corte is not mentioned because I have not been.
What’s on: Tangokalender was most often recommended and has a useful sorting feature showing which milongas are on closest to a particular town - great if your geography of Dutch towns is vague. There is also Torito.
Pictures of some Dutch milongas on Ojo Oscuro.
What happens when nowhere is far away
No city is very far away in the Netherlands meaning you can explore milongas across the country by train much more easily than I find is the case in the UK, where milongas are often in village halls sometimes only practicably reachable by car. However, the Dutch who travel any distance to dance outside their locality seem to be in the minority. I asked one DJ if she had come far for that evening. She said, Yes, twenty minutes.
- By car?
- No, by bike.
I heard this kind of response about staying local confirmed in Amsterdam, in Utrecht and for the Nijmegen area from which one may (only cautiously) extrapolate.
- By car?
- No, by bike.
I heard this kind of response about staying local confirmed in Amsterdam, in Utrecht and for the Nijmegen area from which one may (only cautiously) extrapolate.
However, because many towns are nearby and some people do travel - at least to the next town with a milonga - it is not difficult to find someone you have met previously - especially in well-known milongas like the Waterlelie (review) in Leiden or the sell-out Oranjerie milonga in Arnhem. I find this to a much lesser extent with UK milongas where, largely because of distance, most dancers tend to stay local - and a few travel far.
There is though quite a divide between those who dance in Amsterdam and those who generally don't. I sensed it was in some cases almost ideological, on both sides - that isn't how we dance, isn't the music or the atmosphere we like. But if so it was done with a typical tolerant Dutch shrug - It's just not my way; it's their way, that's fine. The Dutch are so non-judgemental that, as in California I found it can be hard to get a true opinion, an actual view in the flow of "anything goes".
That divide that nonetheless does seem to exist between Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands is no bad thing. It becomes difficult when Utrecht for example seems to have a few milongas but no milonga I heard called really traditional and from what I saw at the end of last year seemed to be struggling to get one going. That means that Amsterdam and perhaps one or two other milongas will suck in the dancers from, say, Utrecht who are seeking a more traditional experience until a more balanced scene catering for different tastes become more widespread. Or perhaps not - people may compromise some preferences for what can be a more relaxed atmosphere outside Amsterdam.
The dancing population of the Netherlands as a whole seemed quite large to me. You have then a whole country with a well-connected airport, easily accessible internally by public transport and bike, with many milongas, a lot of dancers, a fair degree of cross-pollination between milongas, an apparently co-operative local milonga scene (after all, they organise a festival of the regular Amsterdam milongas), DJs from nearby countries like Benelux and Germany and a generally very laid back population. It is an attractive proposition - and that is before mentioning that the men are tall and the women embrace in a close, relaxed and natural way.
There is though quite a divide between those who dance in Amsterdam and those who generally don't. I sensed it was in some cases almost ideological, on both sides - that isn't how we dance, isn't the music or the atmosphere we like. But if so it was done with a typical tolerant Dutch shrug - It's just not my way; it's their way, that's fine. The Dutch are so non-judgemental that, as in California I found it can be hard to get a true opinion, an actual view in the flow of "anything goes".
That divide that nonetheless does seem to exist between Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands is no bad thing. It becomes difficult when Utrecht for example seems to have a few milongas but no milonga I heard called really traditional and from what I saw at the end of last year seemed to be struggling to get one going. That means that Amsterdam and perhaps one or two other milongas will suck in the dancers from, say, Utrecht who are seeking a more traditional experience until a more balanced scene catering for different tastes become more widespread. Or perhaps not - people may compromise some preferences for what can be a more relaxed atmosphere outside Amsterdam.
The dancing population of the Netherlands as a whole seemed quite large to me. You have then a whole country with a well-connected airport, easily accessible internally by public transport and bike, with many milongas, a lot of dancers, a fair degree of cross-pollination between milongas, an apparently co-operative local milonga scene (after all, they organise a festival of the regular Amsterdam milongas), DJs from nearby countries like Benelux and Germany and a generally very laid back population. It is an attractive proposition - and that is before mentioning that the men are tall and the women embrace in a close, relaxed and natural way.
I found biking in Amsterdam to be unquestionably the fastest and easiest way to get around between milongas though in that city you need your wits about you. Biking I found superlatively good in the Netherlands generally. I biked and trained a lot. See Biking in the Netherlands. I heard on my last trip that there is also a bike-hire scheme at local stations which means it is getting easier for visitors to participate.
Meeting people
Openness in the Netherlands does not necessarily in general mean warmth and openness from the get-go in the way that you do feel that tactile warmth in Buenos Aires and in southern cultures from men and from women. Certainly I found the Dutch far from unfriendly and within three trips I was offered overnight accommodation at least three times. Openness to the Dutch I found means that they may be more willing to talk about most things openly. In actual fact I find the British as much or more open though one's access to one's own culture makes it hard to be objective. Despite what the politicians say class and the related problem of social inequality is in any case still so rife in Britain that it is difficult to generalise.
I found the Dutch independent - they like it, they respect it and expect it in others. Is there anything the Dutch don't like to talk about? I asked a tall Dutch girl. We met in Dundee airport but she lives in Aberdeen. Money, she said and I sensed later there was truth in that. Characteristically though, the Dutch will be open about the fact that they are not open about money.
I found the Dutch independent - they like it, they respect it and expect it in others. Is there anything the Dutch don't like to talk about? I asked a tall Dutch girl. We met in Dundee airport but she lives in Aberdeen. Money, she said and I sensed later there was truth in that. Characteristically though, the Dutch will be open about the fact that they are not open about money.
In the milongas I found many Dutch happy to chat. While most did not make overtures to a solo visitor this is characteristic of many milongas and some certainly did. I mean social chat, not walk-up dance invitations. But if you want to meet the Dutch in their milongas, as in most places I have been, you the visitor might well have to initiate chat yourself.
I found and heard from many Dutch people that the Amsterdam milonga scene is quite closed. There can be good dancing but the attitude is not necessarily especially warm towards visitors. The 'Northern Mischief' (visiting separately) also found this, certainly in one milonga. There were exceptions. The hosts of TangoTerras (review), La Bruja (second review), El Cielo (review) were all welcoming to me but I mean the dancing population. For example, De Plantage (review) on Friday I found a quiet, reserved place as you might expect for a late-starting milonga for older locals but some people were certainly pleasant - socially - to a visitor. It was not a cold atmosphere there. I did not feel invisible there as I did the first time at La Bruja or at Tango11 (review). To an extent you make your own destiny and at slightly chillier places or places where the women are putting the work in to get noticed you may also feel you need to work harder to get noticed - if, that is, you think these things should be about work and putting that kind of 'effort' in and you have the temperament for it.
On the other hand, milongas outside Amsterdam I found more laid back, socially.
Swapped roles
It was quite easy to dance with women in Netherlands. It is not that I saw many women in swapped roles - I did not but they all seemed to twig quickly to invitation even from a woman they did not know and many were interested. Gratifyingly, some seemed interested in me before I was saw them. It's so different girl interest from guy interest. Girl interest is very liable to mean nice dancing. Guy interest very often does not!
I rarely saw guys dancing together. They seem to do things quite conventionally in the Netherlands, which surprised me. Maybe that was just chance or perhaps tango attracts the more conventional people in Dutch society. That said, I saw one of the best dancers I have ever seen in swapped roles in El Cielo (though she danced both) - and virtually all she did was walk. Girls, huh! I think there's a lesson there, for the more adventurous and open-minded gents - or those who just really want to learn to dance.
I rarely saw guys dancing together. They seem to do things quite conventionally in the Netherlands, which surprised me. Maybe that was just chance or perhaps tango attracts the more conventional people in Dutch society. That said, I saw one of the best dancers I have ever seen in swapped roles in El Cielo (though she danced both) - and virtually all she did was walk. Girls, huh! I think there's a lesson there, for the more adventurous and open-minded gents - or those who just really want to learn to dance.
Invitation
In the milongas I went to everywhere in the Netherlands invitation was mostly, but not wholly by look. More often, if you chatted with a guy, I found he was very likely to invite you, but as everywhere the better the dancer, the less this happens. I can’t say though that I had much chat or dance with many great dancers but I was probably just cautious because I went to many places, I was alone and there was a lot to take in each time. I look back and find I danced with a handful of great local guy dancers over three trips.
Up next: Milongas in Amsterdam: making a weekend of it and a visitor's summary of the top milongas, top DJs and top venues
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