First Tango in Buenos Aires

07/10/2019

Interview with Iona Italia in Buenos Aires, San Telmo 30 April 2019
Iona Italia, aka Iona May Italia (on facebook) or Terpsichoral Tangoaddict. Iona is a blogger on tango, sub editor for Ario – writer – podcaster – journalist – freelance translator.

I invited Iona to come to my place; a little hidden treasure on one of the rooftops of San Telmo, Buenos Aires. It was a beautiful sunny morning, so we decided to sit outside with a much-needed cup of coffee. I was very excited to meet the blogger of the fascinating stories on tango and tango life in Buenos Aires. I remember being in the first stages of my tango life and just finding it so fascinating how somebody can be so involved in the tango world, as if nothing else mattered .I would read all her updated on Facebook, imagining myself in Buenos Aires, and also taking in the tips on the sometimes complex world of tango and milongas. Totally oblivious of my own future in tango, where I would be captivated by the tango passion myself. We spoke for almost 2 hours and here are some of the snippets from our interview. It was a great pleasure to meet Iona, a true creative and beautiful dancer.
Why did you start writing blogs?
Iona started writing short tango stories in 2010 as a diary on her experiences on Tango. They were accounts of evenings, creative nonfictions, like sketches of tango life and opinion pieces. Iona has a huge collection of writings which are put together in her latest book Our Tango World vol.1: Learning & Community , mainly the slightly less poetic ones/ opinion pieces on culture, experiences, teaching and learning, partnership and experience of practicing, dealing with difficult emotions in Tango, and music, and the more technical side of tango ( i.e. why is disassociation so important, what is the psychological side effects).

Were you a Tango Addict?
An Addict in normal terms means; “compelled to do, even with adverse effects on normal life.” Not sure if a Tango Addict fits into this category. Late nights do have effect, for months Iona only slept when it was light. But at that time, she didn’t really have a normal life. Her life was evolving around tango and translation. She was running on coffee and adrenaline. Her blog was active then too and was creative that way. Was it a bad thing? She is not sure, but Iona won’t class it as an addiction. “Apart from possible lost opportunity, I don’t feel it has any ongoing bad effect. The ongoing effects were good as I realized I could be more a creative person, writer, started other dances.” “I thought I could never live anywhere in the world but Buenos Aires. That is where you have the best tango. Without tango I would not be happy. I had regular dance partners; I was practicing every day. “
“I am happy now that I came out the other end of the dependency of Tango. Tango released a creativity in me, which had a permanent effect on my life. It stimulated me and created a desire to write in general. I started other dances. My life is really full now. Tango becomes one means of fulfillment. I think the dependence on tango is unhealthy especially if you are an aging woman. Consider whether this is healthy for you.”

Hard to get dances as followers, especially for older followers
Iona explains: “It is harder to get dances as you get older. Hot shot young professional dancers will not dance with me now even though my dancing is much better.”
“A leader friend says there are three reasons to dance with somebody. I believe this is mainly true for most leaders, not for all followers. Men and women are different so that’s ok.
You dance with somebody if:
1. Its your friends
2. You fancy the person
3. You enjoy their dancing

“At milongas, for professional partners, they get their great dancing usually at shows and with their practice partners, so they would go for the second bucket mainly at milongas 😊 It depends of course where you live. Some have focus on community and the focus is on the feel of the milonga.”
How do you get into the 3rd bucket? “Become friends might help, but some do not dance with friends. It cheapens friendship if this is the only reason, do it if you enjoy their company. Dancing well helps and being young and hot helps too. I’m not convinced that the energy you bring to the milonga has anything to do with this. People are usually quite at milongas. “

Milongas – differences.
The rules in Buenos Aires are strong. Defending their freedom of choice is stronger here, because there are more people and more choices so they can. Here you find more dancers that dance with personal friends rather than somebody they don’t really know. Smaller scenes are different, these scenes are usually friendlier with a social obligation.
The best way to cabeceo: “You need to be active with your eyes and look around. Respond with similar gesture as the leader. When I feel bold, I make a gesture and use inclination of the head.”

Why did you decide to come back to Buenos Aires after a few years in India among other countries?
“I missed tango. It wasn’t the central part of my life anymore, which felt weird. I loved teaching in Pune, India, but I wasn’t getting so much dance/dance creative fulfillment with it. The scene is very small with often 4 people at the milonga. I have a lot of love for them, but the artistic challenge is largely missing. At the Indian festivals though I had great experiences and lovely dances. “

Why Buenos Aires and not Europe or USA for instance?
“I feel that the quality of dancing is different here. I don’t mean the level/technical. Even people with less technical level tend to be much more musical even on those levels. It’s not genetic, it’s just being more familiar with the music, growing up with it and feeling that it’s their music. Here almost everybody is in the music. Having an emotional connection because it’s your local music. Here they embrace, with a lovely feeling too. They need to dance with maximal economy of space as well. You open when you need to do a particular movement that can only be done in open and you don’t hold somebody away from your body just because you can. You always begin and end in close embrace. This is my preference. “

Embrace and connection
“Open embrace as a basis doesn’t feel like tango to me. To me close embrace makes it feel tango and nice. Chicho and Juana dancing is haute culture. They use a lot of open embrace, but it is artistic and an exception. Close embrace is like a real-life hug with freedom of movement. Without that it feels like just movements. “
Connection
Mariana Dragone once said “Connection is touch plus timing”. Iona explains: “Connection is a hug; you convey human warmth of some kind. Being attentive to both music and what is happening in your and your partners’ body. I’m not talking about exceptional musicality, but for instance micro pausing at end of phrases. The more deeply I listen to music, the more connected I feel. “

Happiest future in tango
“Happiest people in tango are in a stable tango couple situation. Moreover, the more men the scene has the better. Competition between men is great for motivation and for balance. For single woman, you got to see it as an enjoyment for what it is and not for establishing something in the future. If you love teaching or writing, then that is fulfilling. There will be fewer people you enjoy dancing with as you grow, but there will be always somebody. Its already dependent enough, don’t make it an emotional dependence. Don’t make it the only dance form you do. Have something else you are passionate about. You can learn to lead as well. Find a follower that would like to swap leading, but you need to be ready to invest time in this. Both leading and following is high leveled skills. I recommend woman to learn to lead from the start, so you have more options. “

Importance of Learning and Practicing
“You can learn so much from solo practice. Do at least 20 min a day of focused practice. Its more effective to practice one focus a day. You need to take private lessons on solo technique before you do practices. Technique classes are helpful as well. You can approach it as something enjoyable. As long as you are consciously practicing, you understand why you are doing the thing you are doing, and you are monitoring the results. Dance it like a dance and put on the music. But practice to slow music or no music. Learn how to develop a body that can choose how to move. “
“Disassociation is counter intuitive in tango. Many people feel they are disassociating, but they really are not. This is hard to self-monitor, and you will need a teacher’s help, but for a lot of practices you can practice and monitor yourself, for instance with balance and head position. It’s useful to video yourself and learn to spot what you are doing wrong. My book has more tips on practices. “

More about her latest book: Our Tango World vol.1: Learning & Community by Iona Italia

Iona: ‘The book is the fruit of more than a decade of living here in Buenos Aires, practicing and taking lessons almost every day and frequenting the milongas almost every night. It's the culmination of eleven years of dancing tango around the world, visiting milongas and marathons and encuentros everywhere from New York to Tamil Nadu.’

Join Terpsichoral Tangoaddict, aka Iona Italia, on a sharply observed journey through the world of Buenos Aires tango. Along the way we get to meet Terpsi’s partners in crime: The Slow Semite, The Leprechaun, and Pretty Salony Boy; her teachers, the ever-patient Master of Calm, El Chino and others; her friends Foxy, The Sylph and Mr Hugman, as well as occasional dance partners Flirty Boy and The Turk.
This is, however, no travel memoir, but a guide to our own tango world. This first volume focuses on the learning experience and concludes with a guide to creating strong and healthy tango communities.

Terpsi believes passionately in learning and practice as the route not just to mastery of the dance, but to an ever-deepening world of pleasure and enjoyment. With her guidance, perhaps we can leave the Land of the Long-Term Beginners and gradually make our way towards the sunnier uplands of Tango Elysium.
Order here: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Tango-World-vol-1-Community/dp/1999755189/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544287015&sr=8-1&keywords=our+tango+world&fbclid=IwAR0ZjXr-JFnEqnV-geSA0d8HUDvIUYGkl_XxA2j4RnEGg_FG5OqOhaDdabo

Hope you enjoyed the interview. I would love to hear from you about your experiences in Buenos Aires ( or elsewhere) on these topics.
Abrazos xx
Zita

24/08/2019

This year I decided to follow my dream of being a dancer for a few months. But it took years to actually step on the plane to Buenos Aires. Deciding to leave everything for three months was a huge decision, especially to persuade myself that its OK to follow my dream even if it won’t bring cash or a medal. Dancing can’t be that important surely! Well, now I am back I realize that following your dream is so important, not only to accomplish what you want, but also for a deeper fulfillment of life, and an understanding of yourself. I feel like tango is in my body now, in my bones and my cells and it will never leave me.

From the moment I heard Gypsy music when I was hardly able to walk, I remember the feeling of dancing, the absolute enjoyment and feeling free to be myself. From then on, I never stopped dancing, but life t**e over and dancing was pushed back as a nice to have hobby. It was incredible to live and breath dance for three months!!

Three months in Buenos Aires, so what was my time like there? I danced every day, I definitely overdid it at the start, but after a while your body gets used to it, and every step you dance is like a celebration of your new learnings and feelings. It was a beautiful experience. I was so blessed to have worked with great teachers, even if some lessons were very intense. I loved all the challenges they put in front of me. You really get to know your own body, how Tango makes you move and feel and how the connection works between you and your partner. I was lucky enough to have a great practice partner, which was so rewarding as well. You really get a chance to understand the new learnings when you practice a few times a week. After a while I also got my regular milongas and dancing became better and better the longer I was there. Tango is so present in your body when you dance it every day, that it flows out like musical keynotes.

And what about the music? Buenos Aires has music everywhere, on the Subte underground, the streets, taxis and bars. Tango music is everywhere too and life orchestras are so common. You breath music there. I think the connection to music becomes so much deeper because of this. You really see that on the faces of tango dancers. They are so connected. For me this is one of the things that makes dancing in Buenos Aires so amazing. Its their music, their history, their life they dance to and you are invited to go on that journey with them. You feel one with them and the music.

Want to know more? Not sure if you can follow your dream in dance too? leave a comment :) More articles to follow with school/teacher recommendations for instance. Like my page :)

20/06/2018

This might be useful for your first trip to Buenos Aires for your tango classes :)

Attending a tango class in Buenos Aires? Learn to ask these essential questions in Spanish which will help improving your tango!

14/04/2018

Where to stay and how to travel
The map of Buenos Aires, as a first time visitor, looks like an unknown maze with hidden treasures everywhere! Where should we stay!? How are we going to navigate this city? What will the usual hangouts be and what about shopping?

Again, I turned to Iona Italia’s handbook first which gives a brief description on most areas of Baires. We asked around as well, and it seemed that there are lots of opinions around! Looking back, the main pain was that we had no idea what we would want when we are there and will we be able to travel on public transport and/or Taxi.

We ended up staying at Lina’s tango guesthouse in San Telmo. My friend and I were looking for a place with two separate beds, with an ensuite, a shared kitchen and a contact during our stay. This was what we found that suited all of that and it had amazing reviews. A tango house sounded just perfect too for our first introduction to tango. I have to say, we loved it at Lina’s! There were actually not that many tangueros there during our stay, but Lina was a great host and it had a great vibe! She organised a tango teacher to come and teach in her studio for us and they both put up an Asado BBQ at her courtyard with live music. Just gorgeous!

San Telmo treated us very well too! We fell in love with this area, even with its dodgy roads and the 24 hour buzzing of the place ( not the best when you try to have your morning sleep)! It has such a great personality and the market is just awesome for food and coffee! The street art and the bars and restaurants give it an eclectic city vibe, but you still feel like you live amongst the locals with the schools around and the local businesses. We were warned about safety in San Telmo, but we did not experience any danger or robbing. We did use caution, just like you would in any large city. Lina’s place feels safe and she is around most of the time.

Location wise San Telmo is far from all the main milongas though. We ended up spending quite a lot on Taxi fares ( 140 to 240 pesos from Lina’s to La Viruta for instance, depending on time of the day and traffic). We were close to Independencia station which is on the Subte blue line. For most places we had to change lines at Diagonal Norte which meant longer travel time and battling through the crowds to get to the hot platforms. We did do lots by foot though as the city centre is in walking distance and San Telmo had so much to offer itself too, including La Maldita milonga on Wednesdays, Patio de Tango on Fridays and some tango schools, like Mariposita.

For our first trip Lina’s guesthouse ( https://www.facebook.com/LinasTangoGH/ ) was just what we needed, a home away from home in a very inviting part of the city. I do think though, when I return I’ll be staying in walking distance, or at least on the right Subte line, to the classes I’ll choose and Salon Canning/ La Viruta or La Catedral or even ( non tango related) to Park El Rosedal ( which I found the best escape from the usual tango pattern!)

Some suggestions from fellow tangueros:
Airbnb is a popular option

Tango guest houses with a school:
Mariposita
La Maleva

Tango guest house, the social ones:
Casa del Sol
Casa do Maria

Tango guest houses for more reclusiveness if desired:
Lina’s Guesthouse
Tango Oasis

Some tips ( if you haven’t heard them already!):
Take a taxi that has the sign on the roof, and it should say Radio Taxi somewhere on the car ( this might be on the door or roof). Have change available as they might give back counterfeit notes.

Keep your valuable always in front of you when travelling on public transport, as a matter of fact, anytime when in public places. Milongas seem to be safe though, even the outdoor ones, but we always had some cash on us ( my friend made us a little pouch that we would pin to our dress or somewhere hidden ;) )

Again, any accommodation suggestions are welcome in the comments below!

07/04/2018

A usual day in Baires
It was something we really had to get used to, the rhythm of a day in the tango capital! We knew about the high possibility of skipping breakfast most days, but I had no clue that all else will be out of whack too!

We had so many great plans of visiting touristy sites, go shopping, do day trips and maybe even cross the border to Uruguay. Thank goodness we actually did fit in the main sites in this beautiful city, and of course some shopping, but we had to do it on the spare of the moment. Like everything else really. Our days revolved around the evening milongas and our classes. Anything extra was a bonus, like having dinner or a coffee date with a friend. Our guesthouse got used to leaving the breakfast goodies out for us past their cut off point so we always at least had some fuel for the start of the day. This was of course our choice of how to spend our time here. I know of a few that come and have quite a regular life with quite a lot more sleep then us :)

We actually did find some great places to eat! The stories we heard were quite grim, so we were pleasantly surprised. There is more to Baires' culinary world than steak and bad coffee that is for sure! Some places we stumbled upon others we got recommended :) Here are some favourites ( which include gluten/ vegetarian options):

Next to our guest house we had this gem:
El Refuerzo Provisiones, C1101AAP, Estados Unidos 758, C1101AAP CABA

On our way back from shopping at 2x4 shoes :)
Casa Muamor, Soler 4202, C1425BWV CABA

A break from sightseeing
BIRKIN, República Arabe Siria 3061, C1425EYK CABA

Great charm, lovely service and best coffee I had in Baires
Le Caravelle, Lavalle 726, San Nicolás 1047, C1047AAP CABRA

Deliciously creamy ice cream:
Freddo- throughout the city

Another favourite in San Telmo
Le Blé, Carlos Calvo 601, C1102AAM CABA, Argentina

A must tourist destination I think:
Café Tortoni, Av. de Mayo 825, 1084 CABA

At one point in our journey we decided to treat ourselves with a spa visit in the city centre. We were recommended the bathhouse at the Castelar Hotel & Spa. There are numerous hotels with spa, but this one appealed to us as it was old worldly :) For $520 pesos we got to enjoy whirlpool bath, steam, hot room and sauna.

One of the memorable tourist visits for us was the surprisingly good milonga at Plaza Dorrego on Sunday evening. Combining shopping at the market, dancing Tango then a caipirinha at the Todo Munda bar proved us to be a great combo!

I’ll let you share your finds below :)

30/03/2018

Choosing the right classes
Baires is the Mecca of tango classes! You can find group classes, technique classes for women and men, private lessons, body awareness and Gyrotonic strengthening classes. So where should you go?

Of course it all depends on your personal preferences, the level you are at and what you want to achieve. We gathered loads of advice and recommendations from our tango friends and checked out videos of their performances, and their website or page. I went with an open mind and booked a couple of privates and a woman's technique class to get me started. The teachers prefer to communicate via Facebook messenger or Whatsapp. Most, however, were not responding, so I left it to organise while I'm there, which worked out well.

Finding our private teachers was the best we could have done. Me and my friend both found a teacher that we resonated with so well. My friend's was organised through the guest house we stayed at and mine was recommended by a friend back home. We tried other teachers, group classes and classes before milongas but quickly developed a routine of privates with our teacher and women's technique classes. This worked well for me at this time of my tango journey ( I have appr. 5 years experience), as I mainly wanted to improve specific areas and moves, develop awareness of connection and strengthen my balance and core.

20 days was just not enough! I would have loved to continue and include group classes now that I found a partner I could have practiced with ( met him at a milonga and we instantly had a great connection and had similar tango experience). The group classes I did attend were not the best. It's hard to determine which level a class is and which level you are at in Buenos Aires terms. It's also quite weird the way they run the classes when there is an imbalance of leaders/followers. It's random and people tend to stick to one partner. I ended up either practicing the steps with leaders quite confused or standing out quite a lot. So if you have a partner then I recommend checking out a variety of lessons and choosing which suits best.

I found that most schools don't have an elaborate website, but rather a timetable that they share on their page. Larger schools that are targeting foreigners are in English and do have quite a good website ( like DNI https://dni-tango.com/?lang=en)

Some suggested checking out the classes before the milongas. We attended a few and they were fun, great way to meet people that you might dance with later at the milonga.

Technique and body awareness classes we attended were brilliant. We don't get many of those back home so it was even more special to learn from these experienced dancers. They were very specific and attentive to all their students.

Before my next trip I'll definitely learn some Spanish. I got by ok with Google translate but would have felt more at home with a bit of knowledge. Most classes do swap between Spanish and English but if there are a couple of Spanish speaking students then they mainly keep to Spanish. Booking classes and tables at milongas should be done in Spanish too, as you generally get a faster reply.

25/03/2018

Last night we went to a milonga, excited about dancing again, fit in some more tango miles before we leave in 4 nights. It was recommended by a friend who didn't know much about it, and thus we dove in blindly. It was so not what we thought it would be, and by the time we got there we could not go to another one.

Making sure you have got the right milonga ( out of the usual 20 or so on the one day!) to go to is a pain as a first time Baires visitor! It takes time to do your research and it's trial and error. The app Hoy Milonga is a great start to see what is on, but this only gives you the basic details, nothing about style, dress code, usual crowd ( young or old, tourists or locals) and the rules of the milonga ( formal or chilled). I ended up collating all the milongas and practicas that were recommended by friends and consulted tangoblogger Iona May Italia's Brief Guide to Buenos Aires Tango.

We were lucky that a friend, who is a regular to the Baires scene, was there to chaperone us on the first few nights! She showed us how to book a table, how a milonga works, how to work the floor, and how to have fun!

One of the advice we got given was to find a favourite milonga and go there regularly so we get noticed and create a network of dancers. I only managed to do this on my last weekend! Most milongas are only once a week, so it is hard to find your regular when you are only here for 20 days! You can, however, find a location you really like and go to the different milongas held there. I generally found that you bump into the same people at different milongas anyway. This is super great, as you start building up a 'touring network'. I tried to remember the names ( and there are a lot of names, with every tanda you get one ;))of my favourites so that it's easier to go and say hi when you see them next. I also ask them which milongas they usually go to ;)

One trick I learned was to check out the page of the milonga ( you get the link through Hoy Milonga). The photos usually show the kind of crowd that goes there and it has more information on any extra events happening. I would usually book a table if required, on the day through sending a Facebook message, in Spanish for a faster reply ( thank you Google translate!)

The variety of the milongas is confusing, but it's also great fun exploring! We checked out milongas that are formal, young and high powered and some with a very old crowd. Again, Iona's guide was a great indicator for this. But then others are very casual, some even outdoor :). Practicas can be a hit and miss too. My favourite La Maria is a very kind practica where people generally dance with everybody and there is hardly any showing off. It's a younger crowd and it's very casual, some great dancers ( quite a few teachers spotted) mixed with intermediate. Then again, we went to La Maleva, and there they seemed to dance with the people they knew and it was hard to break into. Very high quality dancing, beautiful to watch!

You definitely have to remember that the night depends on the night. Don't let a 'bad 'milonga get to you. We expected not to dance much from the start, which helped me as I was pleasantly surprised :)

20/03/2018

I'm sitting in a cafe having my lunch (4.30pm ...). My body is tired all over and my heart is beating fast. It's been almost 2 weeks and have not stopped dancing. I'm properly addicted now, and would go out tonight if I would know my favourites ( I already have those even after such a short time!) will be there tonight. My body is saying no, my heart can't stop beating fast. Emotionally it has been exhausting as well. This comes not only from the usual motions with milongas, lessons and meeting new people but also the energy from all those leaders that you take on naturally when you dance with them! Utterly draining sometimes! How do you take a break and find a bit of peace if all you want is dance more?!

14/03/2018

It's been a week tomorrow that we arrived in Baires, and it has taken me a while to find a moment to sit down and gather my thoughts. On a normal visit to a new city you have the initial orientation and getting familiar with all the ins and outs of the city's public transport, customs and directions. Tango puts a whole new spin to that! Not only are you bombarded with endless possibilities of milongas, classes, shoe shops and the ever changing etiquette of all the different milongas, you are also settling into a life routine you have never come across as a virgin to Baires. I have been to tango events before, but they are over a short period of time and you usually know exactly where you need to be and when. Here it's for you to explore and find out yourself. It's overwhelming and you realise that you have to change your day from the usual breakfast in the morning lunch then dinner in the evening, to living and dancing at night, then sleep during the morning hours, which leaves a big mess until you get ready again to go dancing! Routine, make space for impulse and desire!

My first impression! After hearing all the alarming advice from people, the whole first impression was very good indeed! Thanks to a beautiful friend we were picked up by a gentleman who t**e us to his childhood churros shop before dropping us off at our tango guesthouse in San Telmo. Of course, it is a big city and you need to be aware, but people in general are friendly and 'normal'. It was great to have pesos already though, as that set us up for the first few days.

Tango is everywhere! Coming to the heart of tango you expect tango everywhere, but that's not how it really is. It's there, but with subtlety. Taxi drivers don't know the milonga names that you want to go to but are tuned into the tango radio station. The waiter does not know where the tango shoe shop is but has placemats with tango couples dancing. We went to the outside milonga in San Telmo on Sunday expecting a load of tourists, instead there was a beautiful mix of locals and tango enthusiasts dancing tango and the traditional chacarera/salsa. You seek out tango, it's a bit like an underground operation. The classes and milongas have a lot of locals, which makes it even more special as you really feel that you are at the heart of it :)

Emotional upheaval! Coming to Baires certainly intertwines with an emotional journey that you need to be ready for. It explores your desires, fears, insecurities and passions. We went to a milonga with the most beautiful dancers that were all dancing amongst their friends, we hardly got any tandas. I was prepared for this so chose to suck up the atmosphere and see how I react emotionally to this to set me up for the next round!

Tonight we are off to Salon Canning, with live orchestra! Our first time!