Tips for European 'encuentros'

A looooong post with all the bits of advice that have helped other people. A bit of an orientation guide to help if you're considering it, and haven't done it before.

What are they?

About the name: the people who organise and attend the kind of event I'm describing, call it an encuentro. So I'm going to call it that here. Obviously, nobody owns a word which is just the Spanish for "meeting", so there will be occasions when people organise a totally different kind of event and call it the same thing. It's pretty much always clear from the website.

It's a different concept from a marathon or a true 'festival', with workshops and shows and whatnot. Those can scale up to 300 or 400 - but they aren't all-shapes-and-ages social events in the same way as an encuentro is, although that might be changing.

'Encuentros' are normally between 100 and 200 people, sometimes as few as 80 or as many as 250. The format is from four to six (or even seven) milongas in one location over a weekend or a long weekend. They hire the best DJs they can, and people come from all over the world, but mostly from all over Europe. It's modern, close-embrace, social tango, with mirada/cabeceo, and aiming to create a social floor (that is, a good connection and flow between couples dancing as well as between individuals) and attract a modest, no-showing-off sort of mindset that is there to meet and dance socially rather than to see or be seen. The milongas are 'traditional', but not 'formal', except in the sense that everyone dresses nicely for the evening ones.

The programme is usually something like:

Friday night milonga from 22:00 to 03:00
Saturday afternoon milonga from 14:00 to 18:00
Saturday night milonga from 22:00 to 04:00
Sunday milonga from 14:00 to 21:00ish
Maybe some kind of communal meal, not always, usually on Saturday or Sunday or both.

A few events might have milongas on Thursday or Monday or both, and you might get an extra afternoon one on the Friday.

They happen in all sorts of interesting places where you might quite reasonably spend a holiday. Dans Tes Bras linked to this map, and put up a nice general description of what these events are. Melina put up a listing for this year, of just the ones she could vouch for at the time.

The quality of organisation varies, and I base my own choice of which ones to apply to on the the cost and effort of getting there, the DJ lineup, and the organisers, in more or less that order, with some tradeoffs and of course some estimate of who else is going to be there. I'll travel further and accept more hassle for my favourite dancers and DJs, or for a location that really attracts me. The personality of the event also varies.

The distinctive general quality for me is that you do not find anyone preoccupied with selling, buying, seeing, being seen, name-dropping, fawning, hype, or similar embarrassments. Everyone is there to dance socially, as social dancers, for fun, with other people who are fun to dance with, and fun to share the floor with. No commerce. No classes. No shows.

There is likely be a wide range of ages - with a good supply of people between thirty and forty, many between forty and seventy, and some younger than 30, who are often beautiful dancers and having a whale of a time. This is part of what makes these events a lot of fun socially.

What's called a 'festivalito' is practically the same thing but includes a small scale opportunity to take workshops or private lessons focused on social dancing, and perhaps one brief demonstration - over time, these tend to drop the classes and convert themselves into 'encuentros'. A festivalito is a good choice for a first try, and the lessons offered tend to be very worthwhile and with very nice and professional people. By 'encuentro,' people mean the kind with no lessons at all.

Swimming pools are not unknown, but it's extremely unlikely you'll be expected to dance in one.

Dance style, and a quick check for Londoners

The dance style, in as far as there is one, is what the europeans call 'milonguero'. Londoners should be warned: this has NO relation to what people mean when they talk about 'milonguero' as going with a particular kind of music and 'salon' as going with another. That idea is inapplicable, and would be laughed at. In this context, it means you need actually good basics - balance, connection, embrace, axis, musicality.

Quick check: if you think the utterance "You just can't dance milonguero style to Di Sarli" sounds sane, you're using the word in a completely different sense. If you say it, people will think you're crazy and have crap technique.

You will find that people dance in ways that are very dissimilar to each other. It's extremely individual. This is a joy.

Customs

It's always mirada/cabeceo; if you go up to someone and ask verbally, this will be understood - with some astonishment - as an explicit announcement that you have no idea what you're doing. Dancing in an unexpected role doesn't cause any problems with this. I know people say it might in theory, but in real life it doesn't. Everyone can cope.

There are often a handful of men at these things who like to follow, and do that a lot, and some women who like to spend half or more of their time leading. If any of those are you, be aware that you are very welcome at these 'encuentros', and the layout and seating is rarely set up to make you feel otherwise. The only exception I am aware of has been Barcelona, but I believe they've abandoned the segregated seating this year. I agree with them dropping it, as I don't think it makes any sense - people at these things want to be able to dance with whoever they wish, and want other people to do that too, and nobody is bothered by anybody swapping roles. If you can do both well, you're a kid in a sweetshop. [Update: I'm informed that the new encuentro in Sweden this year had segregated seating. I personally would never apply to one that I knew for sure was going to do this, as I have tried it and think it kills the concept and the party. But you should consult only your own preference - after asking the question, as they don't always warn us. Update 2 (three years later): Now that I lead a lot, I am fairly indifferent about segregated seating. I either sit at one end and invite in both directions, or change sides from time to time. It depends on the layout of the room.]

It is not a Buenos Aires milonga and it is not an imitation of one, and nobody thinks that it is. There is an overlap, which sometimes includes a surprising number of people, but this is a distinctively European kind of party.

Getting in

Registration is normally four to six months in advance and is normally gender-balanced [edit: or, rather, role-balanced; how they ask the question varies]. Payment will be due on assignment of your place, and will confirm it. If the concept appeals to you, then I'd suggest contacting some organisers and asking if you can please be on the mailing list to be notified of the booking date for next year.

Facebook membership is useful organisationally, as there is usually an event or group where they'll publish practical information. Then do what my roommate in Paris did - book as early as possible as each of them opens, see what you get into, then book flights and accommodation as soon as you can for the cheapest deal. Free cancellation at services like booking.com often means you can reserve accommodation before you are certain of your place, if necessary. Most encuentros will suggest accommodation on the website, and there may be a discount arranged with local businesses.

There are new ones all the time. If people like the look of it and trust the organisers, they may receive at least twice as many applications as there are places, perhaps on the first day, perhaps in the first hour. Single leaders can often afford to wait a little longer, but not in all cases. How they manage the bookings varies wildly. If they don't know you, they may want to ask around to see if anyone can vouch for your competence and behaviour as a social dancer, but they do want to add new people, as it makes it more fun, so go for it. Getting into new ones is likely to be easier than getting into established ones. It's also riskier, as they may not get it right first time and you have no information from people who've been before.

Considerations about whether to try it

It's social dancing, so it matters a lot how nice you feel to dance with and how musical you are, as people will just pick you on their best estimate of that, they don't give a damn who you are otherwise.

They also won't feel obliged to accept anything they don't like the look of. So you need a reasonable skill level (within limitations is fine), but focused on a good embrace and connection with your partner, the music, and other couples on the floor. Of course it's a good idea to eliminate visually obvious problems, but you don't have to have perfect footwork or great technique or be tanned and thin. There will, of course, be people there who do have perfect footwork. In fact, there will be some dancers you'll feel very privileged to see and who are wonderful in various ways. But it's not so much what it's all about.

You can get away with just not leading any turns, especially if you're very musical and have a nice embrace, but you can't fudge by opening the embrace whenever you turn or cross to cover your poor posture, wobbly axis, and dislike of twisting in the middle. Nobody has an incentive to fall for it. If you are a woman, you'll need to be able to maintain a full-on connection as well as having your own axis and balance all the time.

They usually balance men and women, which can come as a severe shock to some people unused to level competition. For both men and women, however - imagine you were top of your school and the popular kid all the way up, and then you went to university and found that you were in the bottom third and nobody thought you were specially interesting. If your reaction to this is to be a bit miffed, you'll need to overcome that. If your reaction is to feel that a weight has been lifted from your shoulders, to breathe, to learn, and to raise your game, you'll have a ball, as I did the first time I went to Les Cigales.

The money adds up, but deals on flights and accommodation are sometimes extremely good, and entry fees are low, usually around £60 for the whole weekend. If you live near a medium-to-big European airport, you could do four to six of these for the same money as three weeks in Buenos Aires, and you'd use less holiday and make friends you can actually see sometimes.

In my opinion the only advantage to going as a couple is that you'll usually get priority booking. It saves costs to have a roommate, but I don't think it matters otherwise. Being alone means you don't have to worry about anyone, and simplifies the process of making new friends, which is a good thing for your first attempt. I'm used to being alone, though. Do what feels right for you. Sometimes it works to have a wingman.

Practical tips

As I said in a previous post, my main problem is arranging to be hungry and awake and have food in front of me all at the same time, so I can eat enough calories to dance as much as I want to. If possible, I try to sleep for four hours, get up for the hotel breakfast, eat it, and go back to bed for another four hours, then have some lunch and return to the party. Dinner may or may not happen, but I carry nuts and chocolate. Think about what works for your body. I find that sleeping for six hours, waking up hungry and having a snooze later just makes me dozy, but it might work for you.

I usually travel out on the day of the first milonga, and home on the morning after the last one. This is all about how far you have to go and how long it takes, but I recommend being relaxed and not in a hurry for the end of the last event. Goodbyes can take a lot of time. If I can, I take a recovery day afterwards. I'm more tired than I think I am.

I always do hand luggage only. I don't trust airlines with my stuff for such a short trip. Here's a post about packing light. I do notice that the fashion for many pairs of very elaborate shoes is receding, and people usually bring just two pairs in neutral or solid colours that they really, really like. I sometimes take only one pair, but two is safer. It can be hot, so take spare shirts. A fold-up shopping bag makes a good milonga bag.

Both men and women should avoid varying their "look" too much over the weekend. People who don't know you will get confused and forget who you are and whether they wanted to dance with you or not. The more people there are, the more of a problem this is. Keep the general appearance of your hair the same, stick to the same general look in your outfit, or at the very least wear a constant, distinctive, visible hairpiece or piece of jewellery that people can remember. If you're going to wear a suit, stick to it.

If you can't make up your mind about your outfit just before the milonga, and it's freaking you out, take the other one with you in the milonga bag. You can always change if you feel wrong.

Miscellaneous tips

If you don't know anyone, or only one or two people, just concentrate on enjoying the adventure and getting your first dance, and then one dance at a time. Avoid worrying or comparing yourself to others. Especially avoid trying to analyse and seek any logic in who dances with whom: so many things affect it, including random events, that you can never have enough information, and you'll only end up convincing yourself of things that aren't true.

I still avoid trying too hard to get any dance with anyone in particular, as I find it just confuses me and makes me miss opportunities. I chat with other women, I take and share suggestions and experiences, and I look around to see who might be interested. When I'm not dancing a tanda, I sometimes get up and wander about to keep my energy up. If you start feeling tragic, you may be a bit low on blood sugar; have a drink, eat some Emergency Chocolate, offer a piece to someone else, and start a conversation about the venue, the floor, the music, the organisation, the food, the dancing, the weather, the town, the difficulty of it all, etc. Ask questions.

Especially in Italy and France, you may find that your chances of getting a dance with a man go up dramatically if you precede your mirada with a friendly conversation with his wife on some such neutral subject, and then allow time for communication. I presume a similar method would work the other way, but I don't know.

On your first few attempts, be prepared for the first milonga to seem like hard work. It's full of people who have just got off planes and are cramped, overexcited, overtired, stressed, flustered, and desperate to fall into the arms of 20 wonderful people they haven't seen for six months. And organisers often make the error of putting their weakest DJ here, because not everyone has arrived yet, when it really needs a strong one to break the ice.

It's a good thing if you can become a safe choice for someone to get started with, but really you may as well just jump in and take whatever chances are on offer - usually a fairly safe bet, since the base level is high, unless something has gone quite wrong with the organisation. Nowadays, when I know people and they know me, I find instead that the first milonga goes well for me and it's Saturday night that feels like hard work. At some events, Saturday night will be in a different venue, and be bigger, with extra people from the local area. My favourites are the afternoons, especially the last one. Some people prefer the evenings because they like the buzz and excitement. It depends on your personality.

Assuming the DJing is all pretty good, it usually takes me until the middle of Saturday afternoon to really get into it properly, transforming my dance through tiredness. At that point, I feel like I am doing less and hearing more, I connect much more deeply, and I am sure I feel more musical to dance with. I'd like it to happen quicker, and I'm thinking about how to cultivate that.

It's a very nice place to be, and it can last a couple of weeks, or even longer, in good conditions.

Worst case

The worst-case scenario is that the DJing is weak, it's too dark for cabeceo, the floor is bad, the organisation is weak, and they've booked too many people, too few of whom dance well enough (or get the event concept well enough) so that everyone can afford to take risks. If good leaders have several bad experiences in a row, they'll shut down, they'll stop dancing with people they don't know, and the whole thing falls apart. It's absolutely crucial that people can take risks with confidence. Failures do happen.

Best case

Your feet hurting up to the knees, your open-side arm almost unable to hold itself up, your heart full of  splendid balloons, delightful new friends, and a long weekend of tango bliss.

Hedgehog's DJ Shortlist

This is purely personal and by no means exhaustive, but if I see any of the following names in the DJ lineup, I am more likely to apply: Lampis - Bernhard Gehberger - Theo 'El Greco' Chatzipetros - Céline Devèze - Enrico Malinverni. You should compile your own list over time.

Sample Video

[Update Note: The first few seconds of this video make it look like there was segregated seating. There wasn't, they just gave women priority on the front two rows all the way around to make it easier with the big floor. The men are actually sitting in the row behind, at the same tables. You can see better later in the video. There virtually never is segregated seating. I just didn't want to repeat the one in the previous post, which doesn't have this problem.]
There you go. They're all different. They're not for everyone. They might be for you. You'll probably know. Hope that helps.

Any shoes to dancing shoes

Dancing shoes are a big investment for the beginner. This post may, if you are lucky, help you postpone that investment until you are sure you want to make it.

But the reason I'm doing it now is this: nobody sells nice, women's shoes, that are good for leading. Women's tango practice shoes are designed for following, but not for wearing with a dress. Alternatives are either too delicate (ballet shoes) or just horrible (dance trainers or Greek sandals). It is possible to lead in heels, but difficult. They create mechanical issues that aren't such a problem in following, especially with the knees, and the angles between hips and shoulders.

What I ideally want for leading is a fully flat, feminine dance shoe. And there aren't any. I'm not exactly sure why not, but none of the brands has come anywhere close to acknowledging the possibility of a woman dancing in flat shoes; although women very commonly lead some of the time, socially and in classes*.

These, however, are nearly perfect. They're extremely comfortable, with flexible soles and a not-too-tight elastic band holding them onto the foot. They look nice and are very reasonably priced, too, from Clarks. You can get this style for under £30 in the sale, if you're lucky, and there are several colours and variations.

Lovely soft flexible shoe, well held on the foot

The only problem is the soles. They are rubber, which is far too grippy for dancing. Try to dance tango in these, lead or follow, and you'll do some damage to your knees or ankles very quickly. This is the problem with most sporty shoes.

Rubber soles are too grippy for dancing

Here is the solution. A roll of stick-on fabric bandage, and a small pair of scissors. What kind of bandage you use, is not that crucial - a flesh colour would be better than white, but I couldn't find any. You don't want any padding, though, just a plain fabric bandage.

Stretch very gently, stick, and cut roughly

Cover the soles at the front with the bandage. If it is elastic, stretch it very slightly, as it will stick better that way. But not too much, or it will come off at the edges. You will probably need two bands, and I find it works better if I make the edges meet, rather than overlapping them. Cut it roughly first, then carefully fold it back and trim around the edges of the sole. There's no need to do the heel, unless you want to, as you'll lift it off the floor when you turn anyway.

Trimming in progress

Rub the bandage well into the sole. You end up with a sole that's a bit less grippy than a new suede one, but will wear to about the same grip as a somewhat worn leather one. Just replace the bandage if it comes unstuck or you're no longer happy with the grip. This stuff comes in 5-metre rolls.

The new surface

While I'm about it, I'll point out that it's totally possible to follow in these. When I do, I take care to get my heels down. Men who follow well never mince about on tiptoes. Like leading in heels, I think it's harder, it's tricky to maintain the right sort of forward energy, but that's all.

Of course, you can also do this with heeled shoes. If you have a pair of flexible, comfortable, well-balanced heels that would be perfect if they weren't too grippy, you can adapt them for dancing in the same way.

Conversely, if you want to wear your beautiful dancing shoes to a party, the same trick works in reverse and protects their soles against the floor. Within reason.

Thanks to Blaz and Samar for teaching me this tip!

----
*  As an aside, although it's much less usual for men to follow socially, men's dance shoes are available with disguised heels well into the range of what is comfortable for following. But I don't know whether anyone chooses that kind and wears them for that purpose.

Fans for men and women

Fans. In Italy and in the south of France, men seem to use them almost as commonly as women; I've even seen an Italian man include one in his Facebook profile picture. The highly efficient, plain-coloured cloth and paper ones are popular; so are the smooth wooden kind, sometimes with broadly or finely painted flowers.

I can only think of one regular partner here who normally uses one. I don't know why they aren't more popular with men. They are an excellent means of cooling down, and the men wear more clothes and get hotter than we do.

I think the Argentinians feel it's a bit effeminate or affected. But the Italians think it's cool.

They are beautiful. I have a really classy Spanish painted one for special occasions, and a very effective, cheerful plastic one with lace and a rose print that was a present from an admirer, which I use a lot. It has so many colours, it goes with everything I wear.

At festivals there is a bonus; if you have a distinctive one, and you use it all weekend, it helps potential partners keep track of who you are and identify you with confidence when you are sitting down. They can also tell their friends: descriptions of humans tend to be vague and emotional, but a description of a fan can be rather specific. (Obviously, this is only a bonus if you dance well. If being mistaken for other people is a plus for you, then you're better off working on the dancing).

I went to a festival in Barcelona last year. The organisers had bought a job lot in assorted colours of the kind of cheap, plain, brightly coloured wooden fans sold everywhere in Spain, they'd written the event's name on each of them in gold pen, added a healthy amount to the price, and put them on sale as souvenirs.

Packing Light

(For a reader who wants to suss this)

Milonga plan:
Friday: Reddish skirt, black top, silver jewellery to brighten it, shawl.
Saturday (day): trousers (also streetwear), reddish top. Wash or steam top on return to hotel. Shawl.
Saturday (night): Black dress. Red jewellery. Shawl.
Sunday (day): Skirt again, this time with the other top. Shawl.
Shoes: only one pair is necessary for this set of outfits. But eventually, I put in another, extra-low, second-hand pair because I know some of the floors are very hard. I don't want to be dancing less than I wish because my feet hurt.
Fan.
Emergency Chocolate for eating at 02:30.
Foldable shopping bag to do duty as milonga bag and street bag.

Other necessaries:
Underwear for all the above
Silk nightwear(packs to nothing).
Makeup, toothbrush, comb. Hair thingies. Contact lenses.
Thingie for plugging ipod into other thing, in case that's possible in the hotel [it wasn't], so I can do some exercise.
Camera, fully charged.

Streetwear and warmth:
Travel in jeans, t-shirt, cardigan, and shawl worn as scarf, coat, street shoes.
Street-to-dance trousers are already in.
2 pairs minisocks.
2 Clean t-shirts.

Spa visit:
Swimsuit. (Everything else will be hired).

Logistics (in top or outer pocket of bag):
Airport Security bag with shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, Savlon, deodorant, mascara
Purse of UK currency + debit card. Purse of Euros.
Fully charged mobile (it's only a weekend, it's not a smartphone, I don't need the charger).
Passport.
Boarding card from online check-in.
Directions.
Schedule and orientation sheet.
Notebook and pen.

Easy.

My basic formula:

Devise an overall colour scheme for the whole weekend; for example blue/green/silver, or black/crimson/beige, or blue/purple/black/silver. Imagine you're thinking up the heroine's dresses in a really cheap romantic novel - you probably know the way they do it.
This colour scheme should result in a maximum of two pairs of shoes. If more are taken, it should be for other reasons of necessity like floor conditions and hours of dancing or your personal tendency to get blisters or the possibility of breakage.
One formal skirt or pair of trousers.
Two different tops that both go with the above, at least one of which should be washable and quick-drying, and at least one of which should be suitable for a daytime milonga as well as evening.
One formal one-piece.
One less formal skirt or pair of trousers for day milongas, that should double as streetwear and also go with at least one of the tops, preferably both.

If it's the kind of festival where there are more than four milongas in total (say, up to seven over a long weekend - F1 F2 Sa1 Sa2 Su1 Su2 M), then it makes sense to add another another skirt or pair of trousers some more tops. I may make space by leaving out the one-piece so that I have more outfits for the same amount of clothes, at least if some of it is washable. Then I try to make sure that everything, or almost everything, will go with at least two other things and produce a satisfactory outfit.

If you prefer to wear dresses rather than tops-and-bottoms, then that's a different situation. As long as they are not too bulky, you just take enough, and the only problem is whether they go with your shoes.

I think it's pretty easy for a woman to do a European-style 'encuentro' and comfortably fit inside the Ryanair hand luggage allowance. You just need a well-tried working wardrobe and confidence in your own style. It's not a good idea to vary your look much; if you take one dress in a totally different style, shape or colour scheme, all it does is confuse people about which person is you, waste time and cause you to miss dances. I've made this mistake a couple of times.

If I was staying in a hostel rather than a hotel, I might need to take my own towel, which would mean a slightly bigger bag. In winter, I use the bigger bag and I take thin layers.

But maybe the important part of my packing technique is a truculent, selection-committee attitude to my wardrobe. I try to get out of the frame of mind in which I want to take all sorts of things that I like, and get into one in which every piece has to justify its place by teamwork in pursuit of a plan.

Considering Hair

The rather hypermasculine style of long hair for men, worn completely unbound - or 'naked hair', as Melina vividly calls it - is hardly ever worn for dancing, probably because of its impracticality if you're trying to dance with someone. It's far more common in specialised IT trades, and for scientists (see: Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists), engineers, and people who work in TV and radio studios. It tickles your partner's face, and they might blow in your ear.

Women tend to confine their hair at least in some sort of hairband or decorative headdress, men at least in a ponytail.

So, do I put my arm under, or over, the ponytail? Hair can be rather slippery, and I might accidentally pull it. But putting the arm underneath means excessive handling, which might be going a bit too far; and the whole process might have to be done again if we adjust our embrace during the dance. So I usually put my arm on top and let him worry about it, he can flip it out himself if he wants to. Or I put my hand lower, below the end.

The ponytail, to any length between shoulderblade and waist (depends on your genes), could - I think, wrongly - be perceived as the tango equivalent of the "Hair Explosion" affected by some holders of university professorships, perhaps to give an impression of genius, or perhaps to help their students remember who they are, or perhaps because to them it is the epitome of normal.

In my view, the true tango equivalent of the Hair Explosion is not the ponytail, but the Latin Mullet. I have never forgotten a deep-black and exceedingly glossy Latin Mullet that I encountered early in my tango career - I wouldn't have laughed at all if he hadn't also chosen deep-black patent leather shoes with a precisely equal gloss.

If people are not too flustered or absentminded, they sometimes flip it forward over the shoulder to keep it out of the way, as part of their routine going into the embrace. I think that's sweet, I really like it, and I try to remember to do it on the few occasions I dance with my hair down. Lifting it up so I can put my arm underneath is perhaps just a bit flirtatious ... but as long as you're going to maintain the embrace, I don't have a problem with it.

L'Oréal Double Extension Beauty Tubes - good performance

Pretty satisfactory product, suitable for tango use.
Picture from L'Oreal.

Update in my search for a satisfactory mascara. This one worked pretty well. It's double-ended  - two bottles with a double-ended brush between them. One end is a clear undercoat, then you screw that brush back in, turn it round and apply the black from the other end. The bottle is red and white, and it's mid-priced, £11.29 at Superdrug.

This is now my regular mascara, as it sticks to its post  very well. The left eye's mascara stays in place. The right eye's has consistently survived tandas pressed up against both smooth and fuzzy faces, with minimal flaking onto my cheek* and no smearing at all. It does seem to thin out a bit, but inspection by friends confirms that it doesn't look unbalanced and it doesn't spread itself offensively over my face. The few flakes (more if I overapply it, or let the undercoat dry too much) can be brushed away.

There's a bit of a trick to application. Apply the white undercoat, then pinch off any globby bits (or use an eyelash comb) and apply the black promptly, before the undercoat dries. It works much better this way and doesn't stick the lashes together much. If I let the undercoat dry, I get horrible clumps, and it doesn't stay on as well.

You remove it by holding a warm wet cloth or sponge over it for half a minute or so - then it wipes or rinses off cleanly in little tubes.

There may be better ones out there, but this did a good job for the price on a very tough task.

*If I'm honest about it, I actually quite like the idea of it ending up on someone else's face, I just feel I oughtn't to! Anyway, I couldn't see it on theirs.

Packing again

There's a problem with having a tango festival in the wilds of south-west England in early May: the weather. You just don't know what it's going to do. What do I pack? I have more stuff in my suitcase than I'd need for 2 weeks in the south of France, and I'll probably still be too hot or too cold, or both within five minutes of each other.

To be fair, the same would probably be true at any other time of year, so there is no point in complaining.

At least the dancing part is relatively straightforward, although I'm not convinced I have what I need even for that. My basic approach is to start with a maximum of two pairs of shoes, and have a mostly consistent colour theme. I'm also taking my running shoes, which are very bulky (Melina seems to manage, so I have no excuse not to).

Final adjustments in progress ...

iTunes Smart Playlists for music education

Here's a quick computer-use tutorial for some of my mates. If you already know how to use iTunes Smart Playlists and why you might want to, and you already have an opinion about Di Sarli with Rufino versus Di Sarli with Duran, you can probably skip this post.

The task: A friend was annoyed, some weeks ago, when somebody played a mixed tanda of Di Sarli with Rufino and Di Sarli with Durán. I hadn't noticed, but it makes him feel jarred, as though he had to stop, change all his settings, and screw his head back on again. I asked why, and he explained that it's not so much about the singer sounding different, although they do, it's that they worked with Di Sarli's orchestra at different times and there's a big difference of style. So although he likes both, he doesn't like getting up for a tanda of one and then finding himself dancing with the other half way through.

To find out whether I agreed with him or not, I had to listen to a string of Di Sarli/Rufino and a string of Di Sarli/Duran and think about the difference. A good time to do the listening is on my commute, but I don't want to be fiddling with my ipod all the way, peering at the tiny screen, so I want a playlist of each, as long as I have available.

The solution: This is obviously a job for the computer. Finding all the tracks I own with a specific combination of orchestra and singer is the kind of thing they can do quicker than us. iTunes is in many ways annoying, but the easy-to-miss 'smart playlist' feature does this job quite well.

Go up to the top menu and go File --> New Smart Playlist, or on Windows you can do Ctrl+Alt+N. Now this appears, and I put a singer's name in it:

I'm telling iTunes to find me everything with the words "Roberto Rufino" anywhere in the Artist box. The playlist should be of unlimited length - I want to hear everything - and "Live updating" means I want it to update automatically whenever I add more of this artist's music to the collection. (All I have to do is read the album track lists carefully - sometimes they identify the singer for each track somewhere at the bottom in small print - and make sure I put the names in the boxes. "Album Artist" is for whatever it says on the cover - in "Artist" I just identify the artists for that track).

If a singer appears in my collection with more than one orchestra, I could, if I wanted, add another rule by clicking the + sign to the right. So in the smart playlist below, I'm saying I only want Podestá with Di Sarli, and not, for example, Podestá with Pedro Laurenz.

The + is also very handy if you've used more than one spelling of a name, say you've sometimes written "R. Rufino" because that's what it said on the CD insert. I tend to write exactly what it says, and not assume that two non-identical forms of a name are the same person without good evidence like seeing both forms on the same CD, in which case I write the full version throughout. That way I don't lose information, and I don't risk accidentally generating false information through my own ignorance. There's no real need to standardise, as it's so easy to use multiple forms in a smart playlist and have the computer search for all of them.

You can name the playlists and arrange them in folders.

I have playlists for milongas and valses (I use the 'grouping' field) and for various combinations of values in "Artist", which gives me playlists by orchestra and by singer.

So, what was the answer?

There really is a big difference of style, which was obvious once I separated them out and listened to them in bulk on the way to work. The ones with Rufino are warmer, darker and more flowing. They seem sort of earthier to me. Di Sarli / Durán I can only describe as stately and glamorous, but with less forward drive. And with heavily-signalled, squishy endings. They make me think a bit of a Hollywood set for an early-colour musical. Durán's voice is more towards a trumpet sound than a clarinet, and the arrangements are quite different. I know that all sounds like wine talk, or like people saying Pugliese is purple, so if you want to figure it out you'll probably have to listen and come up with a description yourself.

My friend's dance is very expressive of those kinds of variations, especially the differences in drive and flow and swooshiness, and although he would probably be equally happy dancing to either Rufino or Durán, I can see why the change in dynamics would really wind him up in the middle of a tanda.

If I add "Year" to the columns displayed then I find that the ones with Durán are later, so this seems to be a change in Di Sarli's style over time. The ones with Podestá sound sort of in-between in style, so is this also true of the years, I wonder? Mostly, it seems so.

L'Oreal Extra-Volume Collage Waterproof - Nope.

Fail.

£11.29, or £7.50 in the 2-for-1 offer.

Clumping, flaking and smearing on BOTH eyes - definitely not suitable for the hammering of Proper Tango, not really much use for anything else, on me anyway.

I'm wondering if waterproof is the wrong approach, because the problem we're dealing with here is contact with warm skin, and that probably adds up to a fairly good oil-based remover. The best result I've had so far (new bottle to be tried next weekend) were with a non-waterproof kind that had an undercoat. Further experiments to come, but I think £15 is too much for mascara.

Argh!

This mascara is a disaster! I look like a Goth chick!

myface.cosmetics - not suitable for close embrace in a warm room. No memory of where or why I thought buying it was a good idea

Ella Sharp - Todo Trajeado

The Rail

Ella Sharp designs and makes clothes for dancing tango and for all occasions. Her clothes are all brilliantly coloured - it's a non-negotiable artistic boundary that you can have almost any colour from time to time, as long as it's not black. They're made of beautiful fabrics and are full of fascinating little details of construction.

Most of her designs aren't quite my personal style, with their relatively formal structure and visible complexity, but they are varied. A couple of weeks after the show in the pictures I called back to see if she still had a brilliantly-conceived skirt that moves in a satisfying way when I dance and had been priced at 30% off. I bought it and I've worn it abroad. [Disclosure: there was no request to write anything but Ella knows perfectly well this is me and knew that perfectly well before fixing the price. It was in the sale because it had been a sample for a while. As far as I can tell it's perfect. I probably would have bought it on the day, and maybe at full price, if I hadn't been worried about work.]

Bustle bustle

The skirt fit me perfectly without alteration, but Ella also makes to order, and having something made to fit you that you really, really like is fabulous. I haven't had it done very often, I had a dress made once and someone's working on a suit for me, but when you can afford it, it's extremely worthwhile, especially for anything structured. And Ella's prices are very reasonable for the quality; you get something that you're likely to wear a lot, and I've certainly paid more for less where shoes are concerned.

If you ever perform as a dancer, then I would definitely suggest looking into it, as I think Ella's design talents lie that way. Especially if you're going for more of a grown-up look. Plus, if it fits properly then embarrassing wardrobe errors with bits falling off, or out, are much less likely. I think tango performances look much better in slightly heightened versions of normal clothing, rather than trashy stagey lycra tat, and some of Ella's one-offs are extremely fluid as well as colourful, perfect for the job. And only think, you could get it to match your favourite shoes.

Flyer

I'm posting this because I feel that it's also very nice to get this kind of thing from a small business you can have a personal relationship with, when you have the opportunity and you happen to like the product.

It's classy. Ella brings her stock and holds sales at milongas from time to time, often together with Coleccion La Recoleta. You can also visit, view, try on, and buy at studio events in various London locations, and they're lovely, with tea, cakes, lots of chat and no feeling of pressure. Find sales and events at http://todotrajeado.blogspot.com/ or join the Facebook group. The flyer on the right is for Saturday, 11th December, and clicking the link should take you to details.

iTunes AArgh

Not only do you have to tell it to use "Artist" instead of "Album Artist" - but also, you have to go through the tracks one by one - this doesn't seem to be available when you select more than one - and un-tick the thing that says "part of a compilation". Because what that actually means is "hide this artist from all the menus".

This is a pain when the ticky thing has attached itself capriciously to about half of a 10-CD set with nearly 200 tracks of tango music. Why would someone think that was a good idea? Maybe, like me, they just didn't know.

Still at least I've now worked out why I couldn't see half this stuff. And now I can - mostly - see them.

Practice playlist bug-fixes in progress.

Practice Playlist for the boys

Playlist for a practice session, reposted for the other attendees. We're not trying to DJ here, just practice to a variety of good music. Because if we try to make an effort with the music, we will presumably dance better, and if we arrange it in an orderly, pleasant way we will learn it more easily. And if we don't spend time in our practice session faffing about with CDs, we can use the room hire better. I cut the playlist to a pair of CDs and stuck them in the machine.

If you have a tanda you like to practice to, share it with the world by sticking it in the comments. If you mention the album, people will know what to buy.

Notes: I didn't worry too much about the exact contents or order, beyond trying to avoid anything obviously jarring within the tandas and trying to have at least some variety of style between them. I didn't worry about trying to cover ground, either; I simply chose some artists whose music I own and like and who came to hand before bedtime on the evening I took to prepare. My collection is curiosity level, not expert or DJ level. But I only buy dance music, except by mistake, I'm not really interested in tango for listening except at a live concert.

I made relaxing cortinas in Audacity by chopping up the 'bell song' from Lakmé, leaving out the loud high notes, because they can scare people. It has a handy feature to find the silences for you, for your given threshold of 'silence'.

Title	Type	Artist
Milongueando en el 40	Tango	Aníbal Troilo
Uno	Tango	Aníbal Troilo
La Maleva	Tango	Anibal Troilo
Toda Mi Vida	Tango	Aníbal Troilo; Francisco Fiorentino
Ah! Ou va la jeune Indoue?	Curtain	Joan Sutherland
El Tío Soltero*	Tango	Roberto Firpo y su cuarteto
El Apronte*	Tango	Roberto Firpo y su cuarteto
Estoy Penando*	Tango	Roberto Firpo y su cuarteto
El Moro*	Tango	Roberto Firpo y su cuarteto
Ah! Ou va (Instrumental)	Curtain	Joan Sutherland
El Jagüel	Tango	Carlos Di Sarli Y Su Orquesta Típica
Shusheta	Tango	Carlos Di Sarli Y Su Orquesta Típica
El Paladin	Tango	Carlos Di Sarli Y Su Orquesta Típica
Bahia Blanca	Tango	Carlos Di Sarli Y Su Orquesta Típica
Choses	Curtain	Joan Sutherland
El Lloron	Milonga	Francisco Canaro
Milonga sentimental - Ernesto Fama y Angel Ramos – 1933*	Milonga	Francisco Canaro
Milonga brava	Milonga	Francisco Canaro
il faudra	Curtain	Joan Sutherland
Yo Te Amo	Tango; Female Vocal; Duet; Male Vocal	Edgardo Donato
Sinfonía De Arrabal	Tango; Female Vocal; Duet; Male Vocal	Edgardo Donato
Un Libro	Tango; Male Vocal	Edgardo Donato
Carnaval De Mi Barrio	Tango; Female Vocal; Duet; Male Vocal	Edgardo Donato
Clochette	Curtain	Joan Sutherland
El Flete	Tango	Juan D'Arienzo
La Payanca	Tango	Juan D'Arienzo
Jueves	Tango	Juan D'Arienzo
Loca	Tango	Juan D'Arienzo
Il rougira	Curtain	Joan Sutherland
Rondando Tu Esquina	Tango	Osvaldo Pugliese
Emancipación	Tango	Osvaldo Pugliese
Recuerdo	Tango	Osvaldo Pugliese
La Yumba	Tango	Osvaldo Pugliese
finale	Curtain	Joan Sutherland
La Tapera (Vals)	Vals	Edgardo Donato
Quién Será (Vals)	Vals	Edgardo Donato
Estrellita Mía (Vals)	Vals	Edgardo Donato

* The Firpo tangos were an eccentric and rather unwise choice, they're so old-school, from the period where milonga and tango hadn't really seperated. They feel like milongas without quite being milongas - you could dance them as milongas, or tangos, or using some sort of canyengue-like activity, but it's a puzzle. The boys weren't sure what to do with it. I personally like them but they're not everyone's taste and they were rather a thoughtless choice for practice. Next time I think I'll bring something else instead.

Albums, and what they look like:

• Troilo and Canaro - various sources including Joaquin's music-teaching disc and El Tango (very useful and educational 10 CD set, currently in stock at Milonga.co.uk). Milonga Sentimental was given to me by someone, I'm not sure what the source is.
• Firpo - Tangos y Valsecitos
• Di Sarli - Instrumental Vol. 2
• Donato - RCA - Colección 78 RPM
• D'Arienzo - Instrumental Vol 1 'Solo Tango'
• Pugliese - Ausencia

Firpo - Tangos y Valsecitos

Di Sarli - Instrumental Vol. 2

Donato - Collección 78 RPM

D'Arienzo - Instrumental Vol. 1

Pugliese - Ausencia

El Tango - Pasión y emoción

Tanda Display Book

A DJ[dancer - see comments] in the USA called Sarah L. Rattray has a useful invention: the TangoTandas Display Book, handily announcing the orchestra and singer for the current tanda, for DJs who get tired of being asked. And since it's visible to everyone whether or not they would ever have thought of asking (and whether or not they even knew there were supposed to be tandas or that they were sets of the same type from the same orchestra with the same singer, if any) a neat way to educate the public.

I've often wished there were some sort of display that could show the CD artwork, as I can remember the look of a cover, and relate it to a sound, much more accurately than names. But this is nicer than an electronic display, and seeing it written is almost as good as a visual.

It also has a "Next Tanda" supplement consisting of some reversible flash-cards saying "TANGO", "MILONGA", "VALS", "CHACARERA", "ALTERNATIVE", and a smaller book of orchestra names to go underneath so people can know who to look for and when to hide. Only think, the truly clueless could even use it to figure out the difference between tango, milonga, and vals. She's even thought of giving the book the right sort of backing so you can write in any omissions with a dry-wipe marker. So you could announce "HIPHOP" or "RANDOM BALLS" if that's your thing, but you'd have to think about it.

It's very nicely designed and presented, and if you'd like one you can order online and pay by paypal. I think it would be a lot of work to compile your own, and certainly a lot of work to present it so nicely; but there's no copyright in an idea (although there is in a compilation), so you could perfectly well do that. The book would be a bit heavy for shipping.

I wonder if this is the same as the display that UnaMilonguera observed in Paris, also used by a lady DJ, if I have read that correctly? Or was that a simpler version, with its extra card announcing "The DJ is dancing"? Obviously a simpler and lighter customised version would be possible, perhaps with an integral stand and light, and leaving out everything you personally don't use - I'm visualising some sort of fuzzy-felt contraption with NOW and NEXT headings that fits in the big pocket of a laptop bag. Obviously there's some duplication from printing orchestra and singer on the same page, if they were seperate elements you could reduce the total bulk slightly. And if you didn't make visual distinction between now and next such a priority in the information section of the display - if you could just swap them round under two clearly-distinguished headings - it would be quicker to use.

But it's neat, classy, practical and informative. I like it.

I'm not sure how to spell Chacarera. Is that right?

Weekender Packing List - Lessons Learned

Ever been to a tango weekender? Or thought about it, and wondered what to take?

Here's what I learned from my four days in the south of France. Men might simplify things a bit by taking a suit, which would deal with all of the evening milongas, but then you have to puzzle out the shirts and ties. And for the daytime milongas people wore all sorts. Polo shirts and chinos are a pretty safe bet, but I had lovely dances with guys in cargo shorts and flipflops.

Key: Final packing list, comments on return.


The Brief: 5 nights, 4 milongas, unfamiliar Mediterranean climate. 18-22C, possibly windy. Might want to do tourist things. Actually there were 7 milongas! I hadn't understood the programme.

Dancing
Dancing Shoes 1 (pink tone) I only wore these once, with dress 1, and they're a bit tight for a long milonga. I should order a half-size up in this brand.
Dancing Shoes 2 (silver tone) Wore them all the time - these are the half size up. Winner.
Dress 1 (attention-getting and folds up to nothing) That worked.
Dress 2 (also folds up to nothing - very pretty - quieter though. Could conceivably be worn as daywear, if not too windy) That didn't work. Put it on and it just felt wrong. Something about the climate and fabric and proportions. Felt sweaty. Didn't wear it.
2-piece outfit 1 (relatively casual but bright and cheerful, super-pretty, both parts recycle as daywear) Winner, wore the sweet little Audrey-Hepburn Capri trousers for 2 milongas and as daywear for 2 days.
2-piece outfit 2 (relatively warm in case of unexpected weather, top recycles as daywear, dark colour) This took care of one of the milongas I hadn't counted in the planning. But the skirt is a bit too big and rides down - requires an anti-static slip.
2-piece outfit 3 (relatively formal - cheerful colour - top recycles as daywear) This covered for the failure of Dress 2.
Little Black Dress as backup in case I've totally missed the tone. Didn't need it, but don't grudge the space to proper risk management.
Underwear as required by above.
Knee length zip-up over-dress to wear over outfits when walking to and from the venue. Very glad I put this in at the last minute, otherwise wouldn't have worn Dress 1.

There's 2 outfits redundancy there, but that's because I'm not familiar with the climate or the venue and I don't know exactly who's going or how they dress or whether there's aircon or fans, or whether Dress 1 might be out-of-place. Redundancy and flexibility, luckily.

Both pairs of shoes are comfortable rather than demanding; long nights. Good call. My feet hurt up to the knees at the end of day 1. Any of my other shoes would have been disastrous.

Daywear
Denim skirt Did the job well but could have either gone without it, or worn it instead of the tourist trousers and avoided the attention of security at King's Cross - I forgot that if you have visible pockets on loose garments, they always search you. Pencil skirt again next time.
Various cotton tops used one for one of the uncounted milongas and 2 things to cover the shoulders only needed the one that matches Dress 1 
Spare light hot-weather skirt, folds up to nothing. Took care of another milonga - good call.
Factor 50 sun cream essential
Belt
Beach towel didn't need it
Foldable kitbag didn't need it
Bag with all bits for doing hair, legs, face. Decanted shampoo, conditioner. Bobby pins.
Daywear flat sandals. Wore them all the time and danced in them twice.

Will wear tourist trousers on train with ankle-covering canvas shoes and socks, and hoodie; those will do for any off-road walking. Perfect - took me up the telepherique, hoodie took care of cool evenings.

Camera essential
Charger
Phone
Charger
Adapter for chargers
2x spare SD cards for camera

Document wallet with all booking references, train tickets, and passport.

Small bag with book, money, cards, and knitting.

The only thing I had to buy was sticking plasters for my feet.

Unsatisfactory product

I have 2 mascaras. One (expensive) which transfers itself to a neat little arc on my right cheek in close embrace with a man of appropriate height. And presumably on him as well, although I didn't spot it in time and there was enough fuzz for it not to show. Another (cheap, but not waterproof) which does not.

That is all.

Salon Room at 33 Portland Place

[Update 25/01/10: The milonga at this venue is cancelled, probably permanently - it's looking for a new one]
As mentioned in my previous post, the 33 Portland Place milonga, which has so many rooms, tried a bit of an experiment last week. The white room downstairs was designated 'salon style' with the rules posted on the door - like no overtaking, keep moving (just one turn!), respect the line of dance and respect the space of the couples in front and behind, no dangerous play (high kicks etc). Not in exactly those words, but more or less the gist.

It was really nice and relaxing and I could close my eyes as much as I wanted to, and my friend really did reach the end of the night without one single shoe mark on his nice clean trousers. And anyone who didn't find the idea appealing or didn't enjoy dancing to those rules could wander off and dance with the likeminded in the ballroom upstairs.

Adrian Costa DJ'd and supervised and helped people understand what to do. And it was lovely. The floor in that room is quite good, much better than upstairs. The only problem was weak sound, and I daresay that can be fixed.

They're trying it again tonight, which is Adrian and Amanda's last night here I think, and I gather that they really want to continue with it in future. I don't know how that will go, but if it's an idea you like (I like it) perhaps you might consider going along and supporting it.

Wayne Explains ...

Eyeshadow for grown-ups. And the ordinary woman who wants to make an effort, but frankly wonders what she's meant to do with all that stuff.



I can't help thinking that art students might find it interesting too. If you fast-forward to 09:20 you can see the effect, then wind back to see how it's done. Or if you want to know what your lady is doing in the bathroom, just watch the whole thing.

Going Home

A jersey dress slightly above the knee, a windy night with spots of rain, a shawl around my head, crossing the road from the last train. A shout from a car pulling up at the lights, around one a.m.

"WOOI!! NICE LEGS FOR AN OLD WOMAN!!"

What I put up with to get out and dance.

Those dry shirts really work

Those dry moisture-wicking sports shirts really work. I was dancing milonga with someone on Saturday and sweat was practically dripping from his nose, he was having to mop his face at every opportunity and I avoided head contact, but his shoulders, back and torso were absolutely dry.

I don't know what the brand name is, or if there's more than one; it might be dry-fit, I'm not sure. They tend to fit rather tightly and that might be a necessary part of how they work, but if you don't like the way that looks, you could probably wear one of the underwear styles under a normal shirt. It might even still make you feel cooler rather than hotter, because I think the way it works is to spread the sweat around and improve the way it evaporates, which how sweating cools you down in the first place. But there are also some that look like normal polo shirts. I have a dark blue Helly Hansen top for jogging (I think it must be an accidental overflow from my sister's wardrobe, as I have no memory of ever buying such a thing) which I think is in a similar fabric - it doesn't get sweaty, and washes at 60C. It says "100% polypropylene" on the label, but I think the trick is in the way it's spun and woven rather than the substance itself. It might be the same stuff as these - the 'cool' ones rather than the 'thermal'.

Anyway I was very impressed. It's a pity they don't do styles that would 'go' better.