Wanna Dance?

When I was growing up in Sta. Ana, I heard old folks talk about the Sta. Ana Cabaret.

During the American occupation, Sta. Ana Cabaret used to be THE place where generals and politicos whiled the night away. Then the Japs came and the cabaret became a Japanese garrison.

After WWII, the cabaret operated again, but this time, it slowly became a sleazy joint. It was dubbed "kabaret," where bellas came from far flung provinces and the patrons ranged from the moneyed class to the lower ranks, even jeepney drivers trekked there on weekends.

Gone were the uniformed men and scholars.

Finally, Typhoon Yoling tore away the place in 1970. And during the Marcos era, Madame Imelda built a Bliss Housing at the site of the cabaret.

Such a waste! This grand old place could have been preserved.

These days, if one wants to go dancing (the elegant dances such as rumba, tango, cha cha, waltz, etc), one has few options to consider. At Conway in Shangri La, the serious dancers have to settle in between the sets of the band to dance Manila swing, rumba and the other steps. Bykes, the other place where ballroom dancing used to be alive, and Club Filipino, I think, have become ghost towns as far as dancing is concerned.

In Toronto, when one wants to go dancing, there are quite a few but very elegant places to unwind and show what one has learned from the dance classes. And the people who go there are mostly dressed to the nines.

I miss dancing and dressing for the dance.

Let's Dance

The joy of dancing is an acquired feeling. It is like a taste for some food or cuisine, as in acquired taste for sushi, Pad Thai, or Mediterranean couscous.

I would venture an assumption and say that we, Filipinos resort to dancing, not because we love to dance, but because it is a way for us to acquire friends, and to expand our social horizon. And then in the process, we'd discover the fun and real joy of dancing.

Back in Manila during my elementary years, part of the school's curriculum included a yearly "field day." Field Day was a full day of programs centering mostly on song and dance. Whole classes prepared for this field day for weeks and presented song and dance renditions, and special numbers by talented students who'd been handpicked and trained to star in special song and dance, skits and drama. So, this became the first exposure to dancing during my youth.

During the early 60's when the Beatles and other mop-head bands became popular, local neighbourhood "kombos," also became a craze. I was a bit young during those years, but I recall that my older sisters belonged to a social club which held regular dances during summer and weekends.

So, we young ones were relegated outside the fence or got crammed in windows, watching the neighbourhood girls and guys danced to the local "kombo's" rendition of "When She Was Just Seventeen, A Hard Day's Night or I Saw Her Standing there" in some rich people's gardens or lawns.

Years before, local bands such as Electro Maniacs ruled the airwaves, and faint memories of tagging along with my siblings on weekend evenings to watch live performances of similar bands come to mind.

Years later, television shows such as Night Owl Dance Party and Dance O'Rama would be born.

Then in high school, soiree became the thing to be in during weekends. And a nightly dance show featuring caged dancers in mini skirts and Twiggy looks dominated six o'clock TV.

The disco era started in the 80's. Gloria Gaynor became the queen of disco songs. Penthouse Live with Archie Lacson at the dance helm became a top ranking show.

But what type of dancing took place during those varied years?

In the late 50's, during Elvis Presley's popularity, boogie was the sensation. Boogie was really a take off from the Swing (Ballroom dance). The 50's dances also featured the cha cha.

Swing was really a music genre, and later became a dance. It was popular during the Big Band era of the 30's and 40's, of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.

Much later on, dances would include the twist, jerk, mash potato, boogalo and the maski pops , or the whatever dance popular at discos.

But especially during the disco era, these dances required no fancy training, except for cha cha, perhaps.

Ballroom dancing made a comeback in the 90's. Ballroom dancing was first popular during the Roaring 20's, then the 30's and the 40's.

There are two forms of ballroom dancing. One, the American ballroom and the other, the International ballroom, also roughly called sport dancing.

Ballroom dancing requires special training. But even then, Filipinos took to ballroom dancing instantly. As there were no dance schools at the onset, DI's or dance instructors became a new job in the Philippines. And Manila swing became a new dance.

Today, ballroom dancing in Manila has somewhat plateaued; the remaining loyals trek to places such as the Bykes and Club Filipino.

Last week at the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day in Malacanang Palace, a Rigodon de Honor was held, and I assume there was ballroom dancing after that.

In North America, and here in Canada, ballroom dancing has enjoyed a re-birth, and has never been as popular as before. I suspect this is because there are more and more baby boomers entering retirement.

And again, because there are more and more ethnics migrating to both US and Canada, and they bring with them, especially the Europeans (Eastern Europeans) and Asians ( Filipinos, Chinese, and Indians) the zest for dancing.

In Toronto, ballroom dancing lessons are being offered at the local board of education. They offer classes in ballroom, strictly Latin, swing, Argentine tango and lately, line dancing. They even offer belly dancing, salsa and club dancing. For a nine-week class, 18-hour course, you pay about $140.

There are also the more expensive one-on-one courses being offered by professional dancers and dancing champions. These are usually held within ballroom clubs and dance hall, and the charge is per hour.

Let's Tango!

Now, that we got started with Latin music, let's segue into the Latin dances that've been created out of them. There are many. There's the tango of Argentina, habanera/bolero of Cuba, mariachi of Mexico, samba and bossa nova of Brazil, and of course, the other dances also considered Latin, namely, cha cha, rumba and merengue.

Let's tango, then, for starters.

Tango is the national dance of Argentina, thus the name, Argentine tango. It has been a favorite dance of both professional dancers and of those, well, who just want to dance. Tango is so sensuous; so ethereal, so closely-danced or danced-apart.

The Free Encyclopedia, Wikipedia tells us the following about this dance:

" Argentine tango is a social dance and a musical genre, that originated in Argentina, and moved to Uruguay and to the rest of the world later on. In the US, it is commonly confused with ballroom tango, though this is a later derivation."

It further says, " As most dances have a rational-pattern which can be predicted by the follower, the ballast of previous perceptions about strict rules has to be thrown overboard and replaced by a real communication contact, creating a direct non-verbal dialogue. A tango is a living act in the moment as it happens."

I remember my mother telling us when we were kids, that when they were young girls, they were wary of dancing the tango, lest they got tricked into the famous "tango dip." I did not understand any of those, of course.

The country of tango, Argentina, is immortalized in so many ways. First, by its national dance; second by the famous widow of Juan Domingo Peron, Evita ( Don't cry for me, Argentina); and third, the issue that the country could have sheltered some Nazis who fled Europe after the fall of Hitler's Third Reich.

The dance has also been the subject in many films, such as:

• Adiós Buenos Aires (1938)


• The Tango Bar (1988), starring Raúl Julia


• The Tango Lesson (1997), starring Sally Potter and Pablo Verón, directed by Sally Potter


• Tango (1998), starring Cecilia Narova and Mía Maestro, directed by Carlos Saur


• Assassination Tango (2002), starring Robert Duvall, Luciana Pedraza, Rubén Blades and Kathy Baker, directed by Robert Duvall


• Orquesta Tipica (2005), documentary film about typical orchestra Fernandez Fierro, directed by Nicolas Entel


• 12 Tangos - Adios Buenos Aires (2005), directed by Arne Birkenstock; and


• El Ultimo Bandoneon (2006), directed by Alejandro Saderman

Geographically, Argentina is located in the southern hemisphere, so if you live in North America, the seasons are reversed. If it's winter time in Canada, it would be summer time in Argentina. So, if you're planning to travel in Argentina, the hottest months will be around New Year's and the coldest will be around mid-year.

Of course, as with any endeavor, learning tango or travelling to any country, requires careful planning. One has to find the time and enroll in a class, or for travel, schedule a time off from work, take stock of previous travel/social/business engagements, or even planned health interventions. That's today's living, anyways, multi-tasked.

But anything is doable. Tango. Argentine tango. Possible.