MILONGUEANDO / La Academia / Tango Milonguero

Below you’ll find detailed information about the events that will take place during the week of Milongueando outside the classes – some of which are open to the public. Bookmark this page, as we’ll be updating it regularly with venue locations and confirmed times. Professional translators will be used wherever necessary. We look forward to seeing you there!

Registration and opening PARTICIPANTS ONLY Date: Monday 9 August, 10am–12pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo Collection of your registration pack, a chance to meet fellow participants, speeches from your hosts.
Homage to Carlos Gavito: Book launch! OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH BOOKING Date: Monday 9 August, 3-4.30pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo A very special occasion during which we’ll show a newly released video about Carlos Gavito and we’ll launch the English edition of the Ricardo Plazaola authorized biography of Gavito, I Wanted to Dance, released in Spanish two years ago and since sold out. An occasion not to be missed!
Opening milonga OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Date: Monday 9 August, 10.30pm till the early hours Address: Region Leonesa, Humberto Primo 1462 Orchestra: Sexteto Milonguero DJ: Lucía Plazaola Reservations: from 6-9pm every night, until 9pm on 9 August at 15-4945-1971 Your seat will be reserved until 11.15pm. A traditional Buenos Aires milonga with a fantastic live orchestra to get our event off to an energetic start! Sexteto Milonguero are fast becoming one of the most well known young orchestras, travelling internationally for 3 years now with enormous success and an enthusiastic following. In addition we'll have one of Buenos Aires’ top DJs – Lucía Plazaola – playing the best music for dancing to. Bookings are essential for the general public; participants, please advise if you will NOT be attending.
Práctica OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH DOOR ENTRY FEE Date: Tuesday 10 August, 3–4.30pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo AR$10 for non festival participants A chance to practise new techniques learned in class, to dance with your teachers, and to get to know your fellow participants better. Teachers who will be present at this practica to be advised.
Talk: History of the milonga rhythm by Hugo Samek OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH DOOR ENTRY FEE Date: Wednesday 11 August, 3-4.30pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo AR$50 for non participants Talk on the origins of milonga “This unprecedented and solitary man Vicente Rossi will be discovered some day, to the discredit of his contemporaries and offering scandalous proof of our blindness.” This prediction was so confidently made by Jorge Luis Borges, in objection to the silent indifference that the first edition of Vicente Rossi’s book received. Cosas de negros: Los origenes del tango y otros aportes al folklore rioplatense. Rectificaciones historicas, printed privately by the author in 1926, is an indispensable work about the origins and characteristics of black culture in the River Plate region. The role of candombe as precursor to milonga and the appraisal of tango as one of the fundamental expressions of the River Plate public and individual sensibility are amongst the themes of this unique book, which, confirming Borgesian intuition, continues to be relevant today. (Publisher’s blurb) Were it published in English the title would be something like Black Issues: The origins of tango and other contributions to the folklore of the River Plate. Historical recitifications. Taking as its point of reference the illuminating work of Vicente Rossi alongside foremost historical sources, this talk proposes to summarize a period commencing mid-nineteenth-century through to the first years of the twentieth century. The elements that converge with the birth of milonga and tango, the principal influences to be found in their origins, from the point of view of the music as well as the dance, make up the central theme of this discussion. Various musical examples will accompany historical descriptions, highlighting aspects linked to the African cultural heritage of the River Plate region.
Práctica OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH DOOR ENTRY FEE Date: Thursday 12 August, 3–4.30pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo AR$10 for non participants A chance to practise new techniques learned in class, to dance with your teachers, and to get to know your fellow participants better. Teachers who will be present at this practica to be advised.
Dinner out! "Lalo de Buenos Aires" PARTICIPANTS AND MAESTROS ONLY Date: Wednesday 11 August, 8.30pm Address: Montevideo 353, Congreso A traditional Argentine dinner for participants and maestros in a restaurant that has long been a favourite of city-centre tangueros. The food is wonderful and we'll take the opportunity to chat with our maestros in an informal atmosphere.
Práctica OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH DOOR ENTRY FEE Date: Saturday 14 August, 3–4.30pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo AR$10 for non participants A chance to practise new techniques learned in class, to dance with your teachers, and to get to know your fellow participants better. Teachers who will be present at this practica to be advised.
Talk: panel of milongueras OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH DOOR ENTRY FEE Date: Sunday 15 August, 3–4.30pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo AR$50 for non participants Due to the language barrier or just because we don’t get the chance to meet them during brief holidays in Buenos Aires, it’s rare that foreigners have an opportunity to talk to elderly local milongueros. The Milongueando concept is all about exactly that, and we’ve had the good fortune to learn the techniques and hear some of the stories of wonderful elderly men. But what about the grand old dames of tango? What stories might they have to tell? Here’s a chance to ask the questions you’ve had in mind about the life of the lady tango dancer in times gone by, about tango traditions and the changes that have taken place over the years, and anything else you might think appropriate for the occasion. We’ll have a professional translator to aide the conversation, so prepare your questions! The panel of ladies to be advised.
Closing event PARTICIPANTS ONLY Date: Sunday 15 August, 7-8.30pm Address: Mansión Dandi Royal, Piedras 936, San Telmo
Closing milonga OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Date: Sunday 15 August, 10.30pm till the early hours Address: Region Leonesa, Humberto Primo 1462 Orchestra: Orquesta Sans Souci, with El Chino Laborde DJ: TBC Reservations: from 6-9pm every night, until 9pm on 15 August at 15-4945-1971 Your seat will be reserved until 11.15pm. A traditional Buenos Aires milonga with Orquesta San Souci playing live accompanied by El Chino Laborde, and one of Buenos Aires’ top DJs playing the best music for dancing to. A night out in Buenos Aires that is not to be missed! Bookings are essential for the general public; participants, please advise if you will not be attending.