BTF: Sunday salon @ Vaudeville

“Surprise and Impro” was the name of the Sunday milonga of the festival. The biggest surprise, and unfortunately a very unpleasant one, is that we were not allowed to take any videos or pictures during the improvisations. One of the most exciting parts of the festival has been lost for eternity. Personally, I think this is a pity. Last year’s videos of the impros were very popular on Youtube and showed clearly why the festival is worth visiting.

Earlier in the evening there was a performance by Jorge Dispari & La Turca, a well-known couple of Argentinian tangueros.


After that, there were the improvisations, which for reasons cited above, can only be described in words:

1. The first two names were both men (by mistake, we guess): Oliver and Adrian. In the true spirit of improvisation, they danced with each other, changing leader/follower roles all the time. Somewhere between a tango and a wrestling match, it was fun to watch.
2. Then Vincent got to dance with Cecilia, but only after a while, as she let him chase her in the beginning. Hard to get, maybe, but he got her all right and they showed some spectacular tango in the process.
3. Damian danced with Alejandra, and they both seemed to enjoy it a lot, because they danced together repeatedly after the improvisations too.
4. Marisa had no idea what kind of trouble she was getting into when Horacio was chosen to dance with her. He pretended he was cripple and danced in a way that was virtually impossible to follow. It might have been funny for the first 30 seconds, but after that it was just a clown making it hard for his follower to do anything esthetic.
5. Then Maria Belen & Pablo danced milonga. Since they’re both great dancers, and she is particularly beautiful, it was a dance that should not have stopped.
6. Which left El Pajaro with 3 women: Maryline, Noelia and Celine. This might have been a challenge for any other man, but not for El Pajaro. He danced cumbia with each separately, then with two and three at the same time, and kept the speedy embellishments coming all the time. An impressive finale!

Then of course there was plenty of dancing. DJ Tomaso was excellent, as ever, the venue was pretty like a fairy tale and the bar was easy to reach. By far the best venue of the festival!

All pictures can be found in the Brussels Tango Festival album.