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Poor people are not always unhappy. Often, those in the poorest circumstances find joy in the simplest pleasures. Such is certainly the case with the Milonga. In the 1880, in the poorer sections of Buenos Aires, the lower classes celebrated their lives in dance. The Milonga has been called the Happy Face of Tango, because of its light-hearted spirit and quick tempo. Although originally frowned upon as disreputable, as nearly all dances were when first introduced throughout history, the Milonga became socially acceptable by the year 1915.

The Milonga has since become so synonymous with dance that the word is more commonly understood today to mean a party where couples dance the Tango or Waltz. People go to a Milonga to dance the Milonga (or a number of other dances). Songs are played in tandas, or what we in America would call a medley. The orchestra plays a series of three or four songs in a row before the cortina signals the end of the dance. If you agree to dance at the beginning of a tanda, you are generally obligated to remain until the cortina, so choose your partners wisely and dont start if you cant finish.

The Milonga began in Argentina as a folk song that was popular in the countryside outside Buenos Aires. The Payadores were travelling minstrels who made up songs about life and the news of the day. As a minstrel form of song, the words were the focus, supported by the rhythm and cords of the music. Although such music might not seem a likely inspiration for dance, this was one of the most popular forms of music in Buenos Aires at the time. People would travel to a Milonga to hear the Payadores sing and play music. It was more this festive setting that gave rise to the Milonga as a dance, and explains why both the dance and the gathering have such an intertwined meaning. Of course, such a gathering was a great place to meet a member of the opposite sex, and with no Superbowl or World Series to watch on television and no Internet chat rooms to find dates, those who could not afford higher forms of entertainment were not about to let such an opportunity go to waste. The Milonga was the joyful celebration of life and opportunity.

Of course, the Milonga continued to develop, as all dances do, and in 1932, the Milonga was further defined. Composer Sebastian Piana had teamed up with lyricist Homero Manzi to write many popular Tangos. Manzi decided he wanted to write the definite lyrics for the Milonga ” one that would do it justice. Piana was uninterested in the idea. Since the Milonga was an established musical form, so there seemed nothing he could contribute to the project. Given their history of writing together, however, Piana agreed that Manzi could write the lyrics, but only if he would be allowed to improvise and add his own touch to the music. The result was the Milonga Sentimental, and it was a big hit with the Argentines. As one might expect, the team happily cranked out more versions, experimenting with their new musical art form. By the end of the 1930s , Pianas music had supplanted the words as the focus and for the first time, the Milonga was played solely as an instrumental.

Of course, the Milonga was not long contained to the poorer sections of town. As the upper classes discovered and enjoyed it, the dance spread in popularity around the world. Now everyone of all classes can celebrate!

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The most romantic images are conjured up in ones mind whenever someone mentions the Waltz. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and countless others offered their renditions of this supremely elegant expression of dance. Today, we refer to that eminent expression of romance as the slow Waltz. Yet in the beginning, this sentimental dance of the heart was roundly condemned as scandalous due to the closed position of the dancers, the rapid pace and the incessant twirling. Women had heretofore been kept at arms length ” literally!

The Viennese Waltz began in the early 1800s, and after an original round of condemnation by other countries, gradually became accepted as royalty and the upper crust of high society embraced it. It was the English that in 1921 gave us the more genteel version known as the Slow Waltz. Influenced in part by the Foxtrot, the Slow Waltz made its way to the United States. With a new basic step, including various turns, under the arm movements and hesitations, it was a graceful as it was romantic. Although still a Waltz, there was very little left of the mad twirling that once characterized the dance of its Viennese roots.

In 1921, the English held a Great Conference, which determined the official rules for various dances. For the Slow Waltz, the closed pose was to be used, with the right and left turns and basic steps established. To distinguish it from the popular Foxtrot, passing changes were forbidden in the Slow Waltz. These changes necessitated a wider area of available dance space for turns, which is one reason why you always see Fred and Ginger moving in unison around a wide, empty floor. Although it seems a bit odd for a popular dance to be codified by a board of dance bureaucrats, no one can argue with the beauty of the results. In 1929, the form of the Slow Waltz was finalized. The original Viennese Waltz was not even under consideration, as it had died out everywhere in the world other than in Austria during World War I (although it would rise again after the end of World War II).

At the time, the English were looked upon as leaders in the world of dance. One of the great English authorities on the Slow Waltz (also called the English Waltz) was Victor Silvester, who taught the Germans how to dance. By the 1930s, all matters pertaining to the Slow Waltz were properly referred to the English masters of the dance for a final decision. The Waltz, albeit in its slower, adapted form, had come a long way in England and in the rest of the world from its original condemnation as a vulgar display.

The Waltz that is referred to as one of the five standard International Style ballroom dances is the Slow Waltz. It has been danced by emperors and kings, presidents and royalty alike. Yet no one can forget the ultimate grace and charm of a tail-coated Fred Astaire polishing the floor with the epitome of beauty and grace, Ginger Rogers.

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