I don't. I really don't. I never knew how lucky I was to have learnt tango in Edinburgh, until I started going to other places. I'm not saying it is the best place in terms of everything. Of course, as mentioned by koolricky and lots of other people, there are good points and bad points to the tango community of Embra.
Anyway, here are the reasons:
1) Friendly & Welcoming
2) Cheap & Frequent
3) Good standard of dancing
4) Good teaching
5) Relatively integrated (albeit some rivalries)
The first impression is so important. As a guest, one would like to be welcomed where they visit. Maybe one is nervous, is feeling lost, or maybe even doesn't speak the language! Somebody mentioned that the general atmosphere flows from the organisers. The hosts have the responsibility to treat the guests, that are potential future regulars, nicely, or else it's their loss.
In Edinburgh, Toby Morris makes sure that visitors are welcomed. He almost pounces on them as they enter. I've seen it so many times. He talks to them very attentively and introduces them to the local dancers. For a few years that's what I've always seen so I assumed that this would be the case wherever I go. Uh uh. Wrong.
When I was on the committee for the Edinburgh University Tango Society, I was always at the door and made sure I spoke to all those that signed up and came in, and learnt their names. When some of us started up La Otra Milonga, we made an effort to speak to people that we had. How else would people know more about what we did? How else would people come back for the next session? What organisers do, the attenders follow.
The Edinburgh tango community consists of various characters: multitalented, ultra-intelligent, dirty (I don't mean covered in mud and unwashed), tarty, hippie, posh, shy, confident, creepy, chatterbox-that-can-speak-for-Scotland, nice (genuine & fake), interesting, geeky, artsy, weird, temperamental, charming, opinionated, old, young, single, attached, etc, etc... On an unlucky day you might end up sitting next to somebody who is in a bad mood (this happens to at least once a month if you're of a female species) and might just bump into somebody who is rather hot-blooded. Somehow, somehow though, despite such a spectrum of people, MOST of them, I find are friendly and chatty and they are fairly well integrated. Even some known enemies are quite civilised to each other.
Those that complain that men have become lazier and stopped asking women to dance, I totally understand, as I used to be one of them. But what I can say to them now is that it's probably the general trend in life anyway*, and really, Edinburgh is doing well compared to other places. The only exception I can think of is if you're young and female, visiting a testosterone-filled milonga abroad, you have no time to sit down.
In conclusion, my dear Edinburgh tangueros, please don't take Edinburgh for granted, and do continue to be friendly to visitors and newcomers.
*I'm just trying to be provocative; seeing if I get any reactions.
Monday, November 05, 2007
The reasons I don't take Edinburgh for granted
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5 comments:
Aye, well, I didn't mean to generalise. I didn't even mention specific places other than Edinburgh. My take home message is simply that Edinburgh, in my opinion has a very lovely atmosphere to dance, possibly more so than other places and that people shouldn't take that for granted. The 'trigger' for me to write this, of course, is due to the impression I got from this weekend's milonga in Birmingham.
Well phrased, Supantheress!! It is some times the case that you go to a milonga and nobody spares a word for you. In some places it seems that people must first get used to your presence before they find the courage, or the interest, to approach you. Also, in places where tango is still small, people tend to look at it as their exclusive club. However, cliquey attitude does not survive the epidemic nature of tango frenzy and once the tango community grows, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed.
I’ve seen it happen in Greece. Now that tango in Athens is not a club of 10 milongueros, now that it’s expected to see new faces every week, people are more cheerful, and more prepared to dance with a stranger. And if the stranger keeps coming back once or twice every year they remember your face and adopt a more relaxed attitude in the lines of "oh, you're back, let's take advantage".
That’s why I think that in places like the Midlands, where tango is small, the first concern would be to make it bigger. More people, more teachers, more interaction.
Hi Eleni, isn't it what we're doing? ;o)
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