Organizing а milonga is much more than playing music and letting them dance. It’s not a rocket science, but every organizer has to know some things in order to enable their guests to enjoy.
If you’re starting your first milonga this post is for you. The points explained here are very basic, but they’re important. The more experienced organizers can also use this article as a sort of reminder or a check-list for their already existing milonga.
My feet were tired and I decided to skip the milonga tanda. The music that evening was great and I enjoyed a lot. Siting on the comfortable leather covered armchair I was watching the mastery of some of the dancers in the ronda. I sometimes feel immense enjoyment just from observing others having good time – it seems that the positive mood transfers from others to your heart…
Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by a scream. I turned my head and I saw girl’s white dress all red. The waiter dropped all drinks on his tray on her while trying to pierce his way through the ronda. I’d seen him few times that evening getting his way on the floor between couples – he was having a good time, dancing in a funny way with the drinks in his hand, jumping around skillfully like a skier doing his zigzag slalom.
I guess this time he was not so lucky. He bumped into a couple and dropped his tray on the girl sitting near the floor.
Well, I was thinking, you can’t blame the waiter – he was just doing his job. People usually pay attention to the waiter, but tango dancers are not just regular people. There is a part of the visual field that is completely covered during the tango dance – so the dancers can’t see if someone is coming their way. This is why the organizer should prevent this kind of incidents by educating the stuff.
There are of course many other aspects of having successful milonga – these are just some basic tips you can start from.
1. Good music
The musical content of the milonga is the key for its success. People may complain that the floor is not good or that it is too hot, but they will stay and dance if the music is good. So an organizer had to pay special attention to choose their DJs very carefully – they can make or break their event.
The music has to be organized in tandas and cortinas in a predictable way, so dancers would not be surprised – some of them count and wait for their favorite part (milonga or vals).
2. Smooth floor
Wooden floor is the optimal choice, but I’ve visited perfectly good events where the floor was marble or something similar. Even some of the most famous traditional milongas in Buenos Aires are in venues without wooden floor. Take a look at these two examples – “Sunderland” and “Lo De Celia”
The floor has to be smooth enough so that the dancers do not have problems with pivots, but not too much so they are afraid to slip and fall.
If you organize all-weekend event where there will be dancing almost non stop, a wooden floor is a must – since marble is hard and after hours of dancing people feel pain in their knees and ankles.
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3. Uninterrupted ronda
Ronda is one of the basic rules of milonga. It’s the organizers job to enable an uninterrupted flow in a counterclockwise circle. The host has to predict all that might interrupt and intervene before it happens. Interruptions might come from thins like waiters trying to serve dancers seated around, outsiders trespassing, parts of the furniture, chairs etc. All these interruptions can kill the mood, not giving people chance to relax and enjoy completely.
Place chairs and tables around, organize the space so that people can feel where the center of the ronda is without solving complex formulas in their heads.
4. Fresh air
Tango is a physical activity and people burn out calories and exhale carbon dioxide. They also sweat.
Big crowded milongas get stuffy after just one tanda. To make the experience enjoyable the organizer has to find a venue with proper ventilation. Air conditioning and ventilation are very important – particularly in summer months.
5. Light
Many people think that tango should be danced in darkened rooms. It might be romantic experience from time to time, but, most of the time, milonga venue needs light.
There are three main reasons for that:
- People need to see each other in order to make invitations
- In a dark room, the mood is dark as well
- Dancers need to see others dancing if they want to chose their next partner.
Above in this article I posted links where you can see that some milongas in Buenos Aires are completely lighted.
6. Dancers, of course
This is the last point because the organizer has a lots of things to do even before the dancers show up. No milonga can be considered successful if the dance floor is empty.
Some organizers even adjust the size of the floor in order to have it filed up with dancers. A half empty floor is one of the biggest mood killers. Usually 1 to 1,5m2 is enough for a couple – maybe more if they are beginners or dancing showy.
The adjustments can be easily be done by moving the tables and chairs closer to the dance floor.
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