Augusto Balizano is telling us that in Buenos Aires in the 90s, they didn’t talk about leader and follower yet. You did the man, or you did the woman, and occasionally a school was willing to teach a man to dance as a woman, but you couldn’t do it in a milonga.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
He confirms that women dancing together was more acceptable “because there aren’t enough men,” but because they’re attracted to women wasn’t acceptable. Some milongas allowed women to dance together at the end of the night, but not during the mainstream hours.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
Around 1997, Augusto was asked to start teaching a group of gay folks to dance tango on Sunday afternoons.
Eventually, they wanted to have a milonga, not just classes. In 2002, he started LaMarsháll for a queer milonga. It closed for a bit when he moved to Europe, but upon return he ran ads in local tango magazines.
Twenty people showed up! It’s a success!
Also: shoutout to Mariana Docampo.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
Augusto says there was a point where he would go to mainstream and dance with his partner, without being kicked out, but as they’d dance past the table of milongueros, they’d make snide comments like “tango is for machos!”
I’ve definitely gotten some LOOKS 👀 when leading a man past the table of professional dancers visiting from Argentina. (Because me leading, him following = breaking gender norms.)
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
Now Astrid Weiske is talking about tango in Berlin. She wasn’t comfortable going to a straight space, but then a “tango for women” class started. Role-switching wasn’t a thing yet, so as a butch, knowing the image of the typical follower, she chose to lead.
She says cabeceoing women in straight milongas was tough, but some women went along with it, and the men always left her alone, no comments.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
A queer tango festival started in Germany in the early 2000s, and they caravanned from Berlin. She says it was mostly women because men’s queer tango was just getting started in Germany, and it wasn’t yet advertising to and pulling from other countries in Europe.
In 2005, she started teaching queer tango in Berlin. In 2010 she decided to start a festival in Berlin.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
Astrid says growing a queer tango community takes a while, but Berlin’s queer tango community is now somewhere around 150 people. ‼️
In @dcqueertango, I think we’re currently about 15.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
Now Rodrigo is talking about the queer tango festival in Mexico. He had lived in Italy for a while and then moved back to Mexico when Mexico got marriage equality in 2010.
He ran a festival there for 10 years where instead of organizing special events, the local milongas to *became* queer milongas for the nights of the festival, resulting in all Mexican tangueros being familiar with queer tango.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Fabian Kipp says when he started dancing tango in Germany, tango felt backwards because ballroom dance already accepted same gender dancing.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Around 2007, Augusto decided to create an open role tango championship, in contrast to the preexisting World Cup of Tango. He got judges from the big tango schools to give it some prestige.
It stopped after 5 years when the original changed to allow same gender couples.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
I just raised my hand as one who, as Karen noted, nowadays we have people who are starting in queer tango, not starting in mainstream tango then finding or forming queer tango communities.
Two years ago a TikTok friend mentioned that queer tango existed, and I went looking for it in my city. The first time I ever saw people dancing tango, it was a queer tango performance: Diana Suárez & Phi Lee Pham.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
José talked about the magic of discovering *queer* tango after years of dancing and trying to build community through @dcqueertango — which is where I came in.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Queer tango has restarted in Portland, OR. Sandy isn’t advertising to the existing tango community at all.
I told her last night that I’m taking flyers to queer bars bc converting queer people to tango is easier than converting tango people to queerness.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Barbara from Buffalo didn’t know that you couldn’t learn to lead and follow at the same time, so she just did. The workshop needs another leader? Ok, she’s leading tonight.
She says she remembers being at a milonga and seeing a man who danced beautifully who she wanted to dance with. He said that he wouldn’t dance with her because he had seen her leading.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
(Personally, as soon as I started leading in milongas, not just classes, it got harder to get men to dance with me. I had to individually explain to some that I do both roles. I’ve heard plenty of skepticism about learning both simultaneously.)
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerDance #tangoDobleRol
Alex Pacheco is talking about as a teenager being told that they and their girlfriend needed to dance together less because they’re in public, and there are children present! (And if you want to hold hands or kiss, do it in the bathroom.)
Same person organized a queer tango festival a year later. “It’s not about you; I have queer friends!” (Our gasts are collectively flabbered.)
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Alex is also noting how the younger generation experienced a brief window of being able to just *be* out without necessarily even needing to *come* out because acceptance was so great.
They note that generation’s absence.
And that things are moving backwards to a world those kids never grew up having to protect themselves against.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Alex mentioned an anonymous FB group where people often say “why does queer tango even still exist? They’re welcome in normal milongas now.”
Ray Sullivan says tomorrow’s chat will start with discussing those people and how to respond to them.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Karen is talking about the tendency for more privileged queer folks to throw less privileged ones under the bus, rationalizing it as saving some of us at the cost of others, and the importance of resisting that and maintaining solidarity within the community.
Karen calls out Durham as a great community.
Ray doubles down on supporting the trans & genderqueer members of our community.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
José says we need to make sure the kids know that sure, the rights the government is attacking are attached to the government, but we got them because we, the community, united and fought for them, and we will do that again.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
At dinner I’m getting details from Emily from Durham about what she said about scholarships and handling costs to make it more accessible.
She says they do sliding scale, sometimes providing info on how much the event is costing the group, with a suggested donation, but nobody is turned away for not paying.
In Queer Tango Durham, after paying expenses, half of what’s left goes to mutual aid, and the other half goes to scholarships for people to be able to go to other tango events.
At Conexión Queer Tango Festival, today’s round table discussion continues from yesterday’s, looking to the future.
At Jose’s suggestion, Ray is starting with talking about the different generations’ experiences. He’s talking about joining ACT UP, who looked for under-18s because they couldn’t be arrested when doing active resistance.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
Ray says this festival can only exist in Florida because it’s private, not legally a non-profit. Non-profit groups can’t say so many words in their grants, while we have paid sponsorships.
But of course, it’s still tenuous. Things could change. Sponsorship money could dry up.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance
The question is how we are being affected and how it affects our need to dance and need for queer spaces.
Mikael referenced Dan Savage’s quote:
During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced all night. The dance kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Mikael also notes the uncertainty of being able to return to the US after going to a tango festival in Europe, as a non-citizen.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Karen says that international attendees for La Nuestra Tango’s queer tango camp in May because they’re afraid to come to the US.
She’s talking about how to make networks of people who have citizen privilege to accompany and show up and assert rights if needed when people travel to the US for our events.
Ray said there’s a 40% drop off in registrations.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Astrid (from Germany) asks if it’s really the political situation reducing attendance or if it’s like in Europe where there are now SO many queer tango options that the community is being spread thin.
Ray confirms it is completely separate. The phone calls and messages specify it.
Astrid says the Berlin queer tango festival’s attendance is down 30%.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Andrés doesn’t think having lots of events subtracts. He thinks people at one event hear about and get excited to attend the next event, so they add to each other.
He and Astrid agree that there’s an economic barrier for many queer people to attend many events.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Barbara says not to infantilize the kids regarding resistance & activism because while they may have experienced a period of queer enlightenment, they have been activists regarding gun violence and immigration.
She suggests we look more to coalition building.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Karen returns to what Mikael said about Matías’ practica where the day after the election there was a sort of pause for catharsis/debrief.
Karen’s wands to know what communities are out there and how we’re thinking about this.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Salem pushes back again against Astrid’s “is it really political?” & talks about a non-binary friend’s experience with European airport security.
Salem also asks about defining “queer,” not just as a way to be vague, noting the importance of recognizing that we *do* have different experiences within the community.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray says he thinks we shy away from defining queer to avoid confining people. Karen says different queer tango communities have different definitions, with how much focus on the queer community vs just open role.
Alex notes that for some of us being queer isn’t something we can separate from ourselves. It affects everything about life for some people.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Alex says that especially with the current environment (not just in the US) we need the joy and connection and safe spaces we build. They are talking about how what happens in the US affects people elsewhere, as Mexican airport security changed their treatment of them as a non-binary person.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Alex is the only person in their small queer tango community with a US visa, and they worry about not being able to connect to the wider queer tango community in person anymore as the US gets more hostile.
Mexican trans people are having trouble getting hormones due to US politics.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray asks what responsibility queer tango organizers and the wider queer tango community have to help support smaller communities. Alex says that Mexican queer tango is partially funded by Abrazo Queer Tango in California.
Barbara asks if sending visitors to those smaller communities would also be a welcome support if people can’t come here.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Emily asks about facilitating organizing larger events outside the US, because getting US visas is such a pain in the ass.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray notes the danger of Americans appropriating things or otherwise overstepping.
Riley (UK) expresses concern about how to go beyond funding parties for #queerJoy and actually move forward to progress in wider society (referring back to the Dan Savage quote).
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray says that bringing international artists to teach and perform here *is* actually politically important. It’s not just opportunities for the artist. It’s ensuring people in the US meet immigrants and other international folks and learn about their cultures and countries. It’s an anti-xenophobia practice.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray notes that these discussions at queer tango events are important for moving forward our thinking and motivation. That’s why we *don’t* only have the evening dance party.
(We do indeed talk a lot in queer tango events. Here last year was my first one. New York’s marathon had several group discussions too.)
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Andrés says we should work on creating space for conversation in the smaller scale of our local queer tango communities, not just at these big events.
He says tango is not just a dance: it’s a social event. (He has complaints about how at at many mainstream tango events, there are people who only dance and don’t socialize.)
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Salem suggests symbiotic relationships with local bars to handle the economic pressures. She says we should be more rooted in our local communities and bring more people into the dance.
She also talked about experiencing ableism here as a cane user.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray wants to return to the topic mentioned yesterday: how to respond to straight organizers who say “well, you’re welcome here, so you don’t need queer tango spaces and are actually the ones being discriminatory by making your own spaces.”
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
A professor says “there are open role spaces—“ and Ray says “that’s not the same thing, though. There’s overlap, but—“
She says she agrees, and that’s why her class continues to use the word “queer”.
Astrid says the “gay friendly” organizers who say this have been a sort of taboo subject for a while. They mean well but don’t understand our needs.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Astrid notes the economic incentive for straight organizers to welcome and allow same gender dancing (higher attendance), but in her experience they never actually hire teachers or performers who are queer, and they have no awareness.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray asks how exactly she responds.
She says: I see it a different way. We have our own particular needs. It’s not just the women’s tango classes. And it’s about owning our own events, owning our own community, not about having us dissolve into the rest of the tango community.
She uses the term “queer washing”.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Karen once heard someone answer “if we’re all equal, why do you need straight tango? Why aren’t you all coming to our events?”
Karen sums it up as “if you try hard enough to assimilate and are capable of passing, you can come to our event.” But in our events we have our own culture.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Mikael expresses the same feeling I have about dancing in a queer space: embracing someone of the same gender when you’re both queer…that’s its own feeling. It’s not the same feeling same-gender dancing with a bunch of straight people.
Emily says she asks straight people to pay more. Karen called it the Straight Tax.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Astrid wants to bring back the online round tables that happened during lockdown.
Mikael says Valencia’s queer tango community is still doing them.
(We are a half hour past the end time.)
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Ray, about the word queer: “I love that that sour milk has become the most beautiful embrace in our beautiful dance.”
He says, “you don’t need queer tango” is the same as “why don’t we have straight pride?”
“Name 68 countries where it’s illegal to be straight.”
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
Karen is lifting up the mentions of food/baking, community organizing and adding that in a bunch of queer tango local WhatsApp groups there’s birthday wishes, food talk, and “the protest is at 1 o clock.”
She also highlighted the queer tango Discord server.
#tango #tangoArgentino #ArgentineTango #tangoQueer #queerTango #queerHistory #queerDance #queer
maco
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