All you need to know about tango in Buenos Aires

Readers have asked for some guidance on tango in Buenos Aires - where to learn, where to dance. 

What a seriously difficult task I have been set. 

Let me start by identifying the problem, and only then will I propose a handful of solutions. I am simply a tanguero on my personal tango journey, which may be very different from those of my readers. And I will almost certainly miss more than I cover.  So here is your task. Should I neglect your favourite location,  milonga or teacher, just add details in the comments section below.

Note too that tango in Buenos Aires changes from day to day. 

My first visit to Buenos Aires was in the heady days of Confiteria Ideal at Suipacha 384, El Arranque at Bartolome Mitre 1759, Cachirulo at Maipu 444, Centro Region Leonesa at Humberto Primo 1462. Who would have thought they would ever close and that the El Arranque milongueros would become too old to dance? Venues come and go, turned into hotels or offices. With them, the milongas disappear, some to be revived in different locations by new organisers, inevitably with changed codigos and a different feel. Teachers, once supreme, become too old to teach, and others who were but children, now reign supreme.

Each tanguero (and would-be tanguero) has a different tango taste. Some find themselves in milonga heaven when dancing with the old milongueros in milonguero style, others are committed to strictly salon tango and its technique, and there are those that want to stretch their tango aerobically with tones of nuevo; with all of the tango tastes in between.

Stephanie and I are becoming more comfortable with milonguero style, but our hearts remain in salon tango, as danced in the Tango Mundial. To an extent this will influence our choices here.

Beginner tango in Buenos Aires

If you have never learned to dance Argentine tango before your visit, getting started can be daunting. It can also be fatal. An inappropriate tango methodology, or the wrong tango teacher can spoil or ruin your personal tango journey, maybe instilling bad tango technique, and at worst causing you to give up on the task. 

Beginners in Buenos Aires should look no further than Lucia y Gerry  Lucia, known historically as the milonguers’s favourite follower is at the top of her game. They provide reasonably priced private tango lessons for beginners that are not simply about the steps, but encompass your whole tango journey. With them, you will learn about the structure of tango, its codigos, where to dance, and even be taken to a milonga for your first tango adventure. Check out their reviews and awards by following the Trip Adviser link above.

Beginners should also take advantage of the tango classes that precede the milongas. A quick check of Hoy Milonga will show which are available. Here, you will never learn good technique, or indeed how to dance tango with skill, but you will meet new friends that share your passion and can accompany you to milongas.

Beginners and Intermediate tangueros

Yes, I know what you are thinking. What is an intermediate tanguero? When do you become one, or stop being a beginner? Well, actually, there is no answer to this. With intuitive skill and lots of practice it is possible to advance quickly in tango, and some that have danced tango for a decade remain long term ‘beginners’. 

For both beginners and intermediate dancers, the rules are the same.

First and foremost, find a great teacher, then stick with him or her for the duration of your visit. Here, I shall not be recommending particular teachers, for the choice is massively dependent on one’s age, aptitude, preferred method of learning, tango aspiration, personality type and tango style.

There are two great ways to identify ‘your teacher’. Some tango tourists have found a visiting teacher in the USA or Europe. Others have their favourites from YouTube. My recommendation for those that have yet to find a teacher is to visit the principal tango schools here in Buenos Aires and to take a group lesson with different teachers. If you are living in Palermo, especially for younger dancers, visit DNI  In the microcentre, you cannot beat Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires  with the widest range of classes throughout the day from a variety of top teachers. Should you be staying in San Telmo, Carolina Bonaventura’s Marieposita de San Telmo tango school offers a great starting and finishing place for your tango journey.

Whilst on the topic of tango teaching, it is important that I mention tango music. Those hearing ‘Golden Age’ tango music for the first time frequently describe it as alien scratchy and incomprehensible. It is, after all, from another age. But Golden Age tango is ubiquitous here in Buenos Aires both in the milongas and on the street, and you must understand it before you can properly dance to it. 

My advice is to listen to as much Golden Age tango music as you can before you visit Buenos Aires. Ideally, you should be able to distinguish between the orchestras - the distinctive sounds of Canaro, Biagi, D’Arienzo and Fresedo. You should have worked out the structure of the songs, and better still, understood the words. Listen and learn the full names of the principal orchestra leaders,  their singers, and when the recordings were made. This will help you to develop tango musicality - the key to dancing tango. You will discover that different parts of a tango bring a different mood to your dancing, just as dancing to each instrument may take you on a changed tango journey. Here, I highly recommend Michael Lavoca’s fascinating book.

Milongas

I have already mentioned Hoy Milonga - the essential app that you will need for your visit. Use it to find milongas, their locations and how to get to them. It is kept up-to-date and is mostly reliable, although milongas can be cancelled at short notice, or disappear overnight.

The number of traditional venues has reduced, but the variety of milongas still remains rich. 

The main salons and tango clubs, including the ‘must do’ list are:

Salon Canning, Scalabrini Ortez 1331

The most iconic tango venue in Buenos Aires, known for its smart set and tango performances. It tends to be crowded, so be prepared to dance on a tile.

La Viruta, Asociación Armenia, Armenia 1336

If you happen to be under 40 years old (and even if you don’t), Friday and Saturday nights here are a lot of fun. Siesta beforehand and stay until 6 am to see the professional dancers when they arrive from other milongas

El Beso, Riobamba 416

A personal favourite, especially those of Eli Spivak,  with a variety of afternoon and evening milongas offering quality dances in milonguero style

La National, Associazione Nazionale Italiana, Adolfo Alsina 1465

Hosts a range of milongas that have gravitated from other locations, now housed in a gorgeous salon with a great floor

Obelisco, Entre Rios 1056

Popular, modern salon hosting a number of milongas throughout the week. Not my favourite, as the cabeceo/mirada is difficult here, but many love it.

Villa Malcolm, Cordoba 5064

Choose the right night to see the young, fast performers practice for their next exhibition. Choose the wrong night and sit with the aged.

Lo de Celia Tango Club, Humberto Primo 1783

I love this milonga - friendly, traditional and relaxing to dance

Club Gricel, La Rioja 1180

A popular place to dance in milonguero style, with a degree of formality of codigos

Nuevo Chique, Asociación Casa de Galicia, San Jose 224

A delightful little location, with a very popular milonga for tangueros at every level

Maldita Milonga, Peru 571

Wednesday night is El Affronte night - when an orchestra of 10 musicians will introduce you to the dark side of tango. Lots of fun as an event, but stay on for the best feel after the non-dancing tourists have left at 1.00 am.

La Catedral, Sarmiento 4006

Attracting tourists and beginners to practice their steps, and with a questionable floor, this is a ‘must-see’ place, simply because it is so unusual.

La Glorieta, Echeverria 1800

Open air milonga in a big bandstand. Not a high standard of dancing, but a very romantic location.

Plaza Dorrego, Defensa 1100

My favourite open air milonga. Don’t wear your best dance shoes, and avoid taking a bag, but this has to be part of your tango journey whilst in Buenos Aires.

De Querusa, Carlos Calvo 3745

A personal favourite attracting a range of age groups, and many better dancers of the salon tango style. 

Bar los Laureles, Av Gral Iriarte 2300

If you have the time to do this in your visit, book a table, come to eat pizza, pasta and budin de pan, and dance on the small floor of Buenos Aires’ oldest tango cafe. It will re-define your love of tango. Choose the tango dance nights.

El Tacuari, Tacuari 1557

Little milongas like El Tacuari exist all over Buenos Aires. Many can be fun for a night, and some may become your tango home during your stay. The art is to ask other tangueros where they go, and to follow them there.

Your tango journey

Your visit to Buenos Aires will almost certainly re-define and refine your personal tango journey, helping you to mature as a tanguero. You may (as did I in 2007) arrive with a love of nuevo tango music and leave with an obsession for Golden Age. 

Importantly, come with a truly open mind. Forget preconceptions absorbed from dancing tango elsewhere in the world or watching professional dancers. Tango in Buenos Aires is not really about either of these. It is owned by the Portenos that dance it day-in and day-out. It is managed by the cordigos that you will need to learn and respect. It is a living, organic dance that is defined by the embrace, the music, the mood, and the feel. It is danced on a floor with feet that rarely leave it.

If I were asked to sum up my tango check-list learned over eleven years and 30 months of dancing in Buenos Aires, it is this:

• Respect the traditions - they are not restrictive - they are what allows tango to develop and remain the most fascinating dance genre
• Use the cabeceo and mirada - without it you are simply a tourist to be avoided
• Perfect your embrace - with the right embrace, you may be forgiven all of your other shortcomings
• Concentrate on musicality rather than steps - any fool can learn steps
• Leaders - always respect the pista, the lanes, your partner and lead her from the pista
• Followers - relax and have fun - your mood will be infectious

So, that’s simple isn’t it? I would love to hear from readers that are able to take anything from this post - what worked; what didn’t; what was most valuable; what I missed or should be corrected. 

Leave a comment on the post below, or message me via email or Facebook/Messenger. And have a great tango trip.

The story of Voodoo Café

Voodoo Café Milonga Club arises from the story of Tango a Trois and Café Banlieue.

One July, three musicians met by chance in Café Banlieue. Peter Ludwig, pianist, was playing tango in the café bar, whilst celist Peter Wopke and violinist Arben Spanhiu, both professional musicians in the Bavarian State Orchestra, stood at the bar and listened with wrapped attention. What they heard, they loved. Tentatively they took out their precious violin and cello and improvised. The music they played was tango.

After that night, each week the three met at Café Banlieue to play together when the café closed to customers. Some regulars asked to stay behind, sitting in the darkened shadows to listen. One, Nellie, started to dance. Thus Tango a Trois and Café Banlieue ascended into tango folklore - and our concept of the Voodoo Café Milonga Club was born from it's memory.

At Voodoo Café we have a small floor, contained but not surrounded by tables. For us, the floor is a resource rather than a focus. We dance, and encourage those who have never before danced - to try tango. Leaders are invited to forget their feet, and to concentrate on leading their partner through a soft embrace. This is how we learn dissociation - leading by the torso, allowing our feet to follow where we have led. First 'steps' are not steps at all, but leads. New followers simply to walk with the lead and beat, advancing to the giro (a turn), and the keystone - the ocho.

Part of our concept is to introduce people to Argentine tango without having to go through the too challenging process that can come with learning it. Those with established skills tend to be insecure when trying something new. For many men, dancing can be daunting - but dancing tango is beyond belief. So our focus is on the value of the embrace and the way it works to create direction and 'feeling' in tango.

Prominent is the importance of embrace and connection. Leaders are taught to 'invite' a change of direction or pace. The style owes more to Juan Carlos Copes and his daughter Johana than to a more modern and technical style. By learning this way we develop an affinity with Argentine tango, a dance where 'attitude' and 'feeling' is more important than 'steps'.

Of course, some come not to dance, but to watch, or simply listen to tango music. Here we capture the essence of the Buenos Aires milongas which accommodate everyone of every age, interest and ability.

On Thursday night, as the softening summer night closed in around Voodoo Café windows, I looked around the room. Lights were dimmed, and small candles flickered on the tables. Tangueras draped themselves across high stools, and tangueros cabeceod across the room to secure the next tanda of dances. I had an overwhelming thought - this was the moment of which memories are made - a snapshot in time to a feeling of pleasure, friendship - and tango.

The Milonga Villages of Manhattan

Triangulo, Manhattan

You need to live in New York to get the feel of Manhattan's milongas. Richard Lipkin's great guide is one of the best places to start, giving you the facts: the days, dates and links to events around the city. Then, there are the well-blogged subjective views of which are the busiest, the best, the ones that attract young dancers, and the favourites of the older milongueros. Of course, these cannot really form the best basis for choice - one man's meat is another woman's poison. And milongas, by their very nature, change. This month's most popular milonga becomes next month's graveyard. Perhaps the organiser is away, or the DJ has moved. Maybe re-decoration is underway and dancers stay away.

Being part of the Manhattan milonga scene for such a short time, this blogger does not seek to pick between  RoKo at Manhattan Ballroom, Ukranian East Village, Triangulo, Tango Cafe, La National or Tango Lounge. Nor, in doing so, would he want to take attention away from the missing gems he failed to visit whilst in Manhattan. Rather, this blog will tell the generic story of Argentine tango on the island, focussing on 'feel' and atmosphere of the New York tango scene. For the rest, you will simply have to dance your way around Manhattan and decide for yourself!

Mid September is a great time for tango in Manhattan. During the summer months, when temperatures soar and air conditioning machines hum cold air into the milonga studios, the tanguero is trapped between heat and chill. As the season turns, and New York settles into autumn (or 'fall'), the condensing units are switched off or down, and a gentle breeze drifts down with cooler Canadian air. Past are the prickly nights when shirts stick, and arrived is that short rest between the heat of summer and the Arctic chill of winter.

With the departure of summer visitors, the milongas are returned to the New Yorkers, together with those from neighbouring states that travel to dance in Manhattan. A quiet time, but one still blessed with able tangueros who love to dance.

We arrive in Manhattan at that moment when the New York weather forecasters are on the alert for change. A jacket or wrap may become necessary, but not quite yet. Perhaps an umbrella is wise, as showers flick in across what moments before was a clear blue sky.

Before arriving, I had pictured Manhattan as being divided North-South. Perhaps it is, but the Manhattan subway map tells another story; as do the Manhattan villages. The real divide for the visitor is, of course, East-West. Subway lines 1,2,3, A,C, 4,5 & 6 all run end to end, giving quick travel (especially on express lines 2 &3) along the island. The East-West divide is both physical and cultural - although lines E, 7 and L give small relief and continuity for the tourist.

So, for milongas, take Richard Lipkin's links and map their location. Manhattan comprises 23.7 square miles, is 13.4 miles long and is 2.3 miles at the widest point between Upper West Side and Yorkville. Check and plan your route, and note when exiting the subway, which way to turn. How I wished I had taken my compass! Consider too, a laminated city street map - small cost for great convenience.

Check also your return route, and keep your 7 day Metrocard, and the free subway map obtainable from the ticket office, to hand. Returning home after milongas by subway is not that bad - they run throughout the night and are sufficiently safe for the careful traveller. As in Buenos Aires, avoid an ostentatious show of wealth. Use a 'false wallet' if you travel alone, and separate your possessions. Travelling to a milonga, you need little other than your Metrocard, dance shoes, a jacket, bottle of water, the entry charge of up to $15, and something for a drink. And if your shoes are in a shoe bag, they will have little appeal to the passer-by. 

Coming from provincial England, with only Buenos Aires milonga experience to contrast, I was amazed to discover how many milongas were set up amongst the twinkling lights of the high-rise towers. If you have charted your principal choices of venues, it is not a bad idea to check their location when passing in the day. Some appear quite obscure, and their locations may well melt into a multitude of doors and blocks after dark. Note that some entries may need a code or specific bell to gain access to the elevator, which will whisk you up to the 4th floor or beyond before giving onto a corridor concealing the milonga doorway. A preparatory visit, email, text or phone call may save precious minutes trawling the street and avoid asking passers by who may not even recognise the word 'tango'!

As you would expect, each of the milongas has its own character and interest. The tango community of Manhattan is not huge, so you will encounter some of the keenest dancers at different venues throughout the week. These are often the people to ask - they will tell you where the dancers are meeting and which are the current favourites. Our experience of local tangueros is just how helpful they will be in this regard - so ask, and keep your pen and paper to hand to note the advice. For those travelling alone, consider taking a plain card bearing your name - something that sounds pretentious simply reminds those who you meet who you are - and that often smooths the way. 

I should add a few words about tandas. Visitors from Europe will have been brought up with the codigos de tango where an invitation means that the full tanda will be danced. This is not necessarily the case in New York. Even some apparently experienced dancers will terminate a tanda after one or two dances, much to the concern or disappointment of their partner. How could they! This may well be the subject of comment elsewhere in tango-blog land, but forewarning is helpful for those encountering this for the first time.

The standard of dancing throughout Manhattan varies considerably from milonga to milonga. Some are sharp and smart - La National, Triangulo, Milonga Roko - others are friendly and more informal - Ensueno and Central Park tango. Remember that all venues contain both joys and disappointments - and that an evening of tango is just one night of lifetime. The emphasis on cabeceo is not universal, but wherever possible should be tried first. Leads should not approach followers directly without first making some eye contact, and followers should announce their desire to be asked by presenting themselves actively as dancers, rather than women who wish to chat together. As in Buenos Aires, the better tangueros will refuse the direct request to dance.

And so, let us leave the Manhattan milonga scene at Milonga RoKo, 29 West 36th Street. It is Sunday evening. The elegant studio is set around with small tables. The bar offers complimentary water and snacks. Here are young, sophisticated dancers, even numbers of leaders and followers, and some expert tangueros - perhaps this is the Milonga 10 of Manhattan? For a moment, we sit and watch the dancers, soaking up style and content - seeing the smart RoKo society in full flow. Yet, at one side of the dance floor stands a lone figure. He will be perhaps seventy, with a look reminiscent of Albert Einstein, his wild white hair and crumpled suit. As the Canaro tanda starts, he enters the pista alone, making his way safely to the centre of the floor, where he dances. The young and daring dance around him, whilst he - in a world of his own - quietly moves to the music. This is the telling link with tango past - the new styles, steps and fashions pass him by, relationships come and go, and he tells us what we really need to understand.