![]() Spaniards, Italians and other ethnic groups came to Argentina bringing with them their polkas, waltzes, mazurkas, and schottisches. The birth of the Argentine tango took place in the dark, immigrant corners of Buenos Aires in the late 1800s, when European immigrants were flooding into the Americas, including Argentina, by the millions. “Because the dancers are so focused on the rhythm, the music and on their physical communication, one might compare this dance to transcendental meditation, where the music is the mantra,” Campbell added. That tango offered a lot of flash but not much heart. There is nothing of the tango we Americans so readily recognize – swirling dancers with arched backs, looking over their shoulders, executing deep dips and showy moves – the tango made famous by dance studios, stage shows and movies. Unlike the showy, American style tango, the Argentine tango is just for the couple any ‘showing off’ in this tango would be in the execution of smooth, precise and subtle movements.” She said, “The Argentine Tango is an intimate conversation between two dancers, a lead and a follow, under the umbrella of rich, passionate, emotion-filled music. Robin Campbell, who lives in Sandpoint where she owns two retail boutiques, is the co-founder/coordinator of Tango Tuesday. The scene was utterly captivating and one which conjured up visions of an earlier time of slicked hair, entwined legs, lithe movements, slinky dresses, cigarette holders, and smoky nightclubs in Buenos Aires, Paris, Casablanca or Miami – jammed with sophisticated, self-absorbed dancers and, of course, the very suave Rudolph Valentino.īut suddenly, there was a squeak in the lovely but well-used, 80-year-old wooden dance floor, interrupting the melancholy thoughts, and it was once again February 2008, and Tango Tuesday at the VFW in Coeur d’Alene. The atmosphere was pensive and subtle the music heady, provocative and seductive. Some had their eyes closed as they moved together, smoothly and precisely in rhythm with the music. The Milonga dancers were in a close embrace, dancing cheek-to-cheek. This strange, ethnic-sounding music was multilayered – an exotic blend of the sweet sounds of the violin, an impetuous flamenco guitar and the mournful sounds of the essential bandoneon, an accordionlike instrument. Leaping up from the torches were long, wildly flickering flames that seemed to dance in rhythm with the sultry and evocative music filling the room. Inside, in the darkened ballroom, the only illumination came from candle torches around the edge of the room. One must wonder what kind of madness would lure normally sane people out on a snow-filled night like this, even from Spokane and Sandpoint? … at the VFW Hall in Coeur d’Alene.”Īnd, such a wintry night it was. ![]() The newspaper calendar item was intriguing: “Argentine tango dance, 7 to 9 p.m. ![]()
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