Oh, we thought this would be such a blast - dancing Tango in Zurich, Geneva and Istanbull. We had heard so much about the tango communities in these towns. As it turns out not all turned out as expected.
Zurich has a lot of tango. But it was not always easy to find. One club advertised a Friday night Milonga at 10 PM. We searched for the venue for an hour going thru back alleys and parking lots that would make your skin crawl and wish for the hole-in-the-wall venues of Buenos Aires. We arrived at 10.30 to find the place empty, lights turned off. A car pulled into the parking lot with two friendly africans who told us it was going to be the African Dance night at this club, beginning at midnight. The second venue we went to Zeughausen Restaurant. A quiet place located in a well hidden, unmarked gated court yard, self-service dinner, and low mood lighting. The dancing was half and half traditional and nuevo, and mostly in open embrace. High technical quality dancers, but hey, where is the connection? Then we also spent a night a Club Silibando the well established Tango School. Traditional music, good quality dancers, but mostly dancing within their own groups.
Geneva turned out to be more interesting. We found the Tango Club Alpin in the middle of town 2 blocks from our hotel. But that was because our local host had been there before. The club entrance is on a side street, and it is tucked away on the second floor (red lights in windows), xeroxed flyer on first floor announcing it. Less advanced dancing than Zurich, but more friendly people, and a gorgeous dance floor. After the Milonga was over at 1AM, the real party began - Champagne, chocolates, unbelievable live music on the Bandoneon by the club owner, and live piano by a concert pianist, more dancing - they were celebrating the birthday of one of the milonga organizers. Next day we did a presentation at the University of Zurich on "Managing with Passion" - using Tango to learn managerial skills of improvisation, teamwork, and leadership. And just following the talk and reception we found out there was a Practica on the very next floor of the building, run by the same folks who organized the Milonga. So we got in a few more dances before hitting Istanbull.
Istanbull really has a ton of tango. Yes, you can dance every night. But this is a city of of 12 million people stretched across two continents. The European side has most of the Tango spots we went to, but the Asian side too has many that were recommended. The Milongas are are at well established hotels of clubs, so they are easy to find. Sometime you may have a $20 cab ride to get to them - its a big city. We danced at Milongas at Armada Hotel in Sultanahmet, and at the Point Hotel, and Tangojean in Taksim area. Beautiful locations, professional floors and music systems. Milonga entrance often includes a few drinks and food. Friendly dancers, mostly traditional music with about 10% nuevo. And then there is the "Turkish Tango Music" innovative, full of energy, with gypsy music themes. The dancing is very much in a stage/show style. Line of dance is not always followed, and people stop in their tracks to do elaborate if irritating figures for entire 45 seconds. There are lots of young dancers and they know lots of figures.
Overall this was very different from the tango communities in Allentown, Philadelphia and New York, but it was still a lot of fun. Tango is different everywhere. There is sufficient anchoring in tradition for it to be recognized as Tango, but enough innovation and customization to give each country location its own indigenous flavor.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Woow Istanbul is my dream city.
Post a Comment