Community building

We prioritize people over the dance. Tango is a MEANS to queer community building, not the ends.

Making it accessible to people who are not yet comfy with tango: community tandas, 2-song tandas, danceable cortinas, cross-dance socials.

Masking was a big topic.

Collaboration: a lot more queer teachers travel solo versus in pairs.

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Allyship part 2

Sometimes non-queer people come to queer spaces because they feel safer. They should work on fixing the non-queer spaces!

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Allyship

How can allies show up in queer spaces in a way that feels safe for queer people and still comfortable for them? Their presence can make our work more sustainable.

Encourage allies to actively dance with same-gender dance partners and be ready to feel uncomfortable.

Remind allies and straight people that policing códigos in our spaces is not their job.

Encourage allies to verbally ask about roles.

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Milonga structure

Is milonga “hard”? (Some DJs skip it, many dancers sit it out, others love it)

TTVTTM — has it always been that way? No, they weren’t swapping between orchestras when it was all live music.

Some milongas have different vibes.

Do we like spontaneity or to know what to expect next?

How do we decentralize power beyond DJs?

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Technique & safety

Works:
- Ronda avoiding bumper cars
- Relaxing, listening to your body

Doesn’t work:
- More advanced dancer should adapt, but what if you’re not advanced enough to have learned that yet?

What if we explicitly teach adaptability earlier?

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On invitation:

Pros:
- works in loud spaces
- polite decline
- softer rejection

Cons:
- bad vision
- other dances don’t
- eye contact problems

Ideas:
- ask
- have a “interested in dancing this tanda” section

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I’m in the community building group

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We are now moving to group chats. Here’s the agenda and the topics.

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On the topic of the codification and evolution of códigos over time in Argentina and abroad…

Book rec: Argentina Queer Tango: Dance and Sexuality Politics in Buenos Aires

By Mercedes Liska

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Ray: “my first few years of tango, 1993–1997, Augusto hadn’t done his milonga yet, so nobody was gay. I mean, everybody was gay, but nobody was gay.”

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Next is how, in late 19th century and early 20th century Buenos Aires, there were a lot of immigrants with no shared language, and some of the códigos provided a way to do nonverbal consent.

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Now we’re talking about negative sides of the códigos we’ve experienced.

“Your clothes/shoes determine your role.”

Many of the women have the “if we go to straight milongas, the men snub us because we also lead” problem.

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Just heard that the place in Buenos Aires that has a ban on same-gender dancing literally carved in stone is FINALLY changing.

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I’m at #IntimamenteQueerTango in #Philadelphia this weekend. We are now starting a discussion on the tango códigos.

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