Tango Mujer's Milonga

Report by Robert Abrams
March 30, 2003

Tango Mujer hosted their first milonga yesterday night at the Purple Door (140 West 24th Street between 6th and 7th avenues in NYC). The space was small, but had a lot of character with soft, colored theatrical lighting and original paintings on the walls. Many people attended. So much so that the dance floor was always packed, so brush up on your boleos and ochos. Tango Mujer is a five woman Tango performance group. They gave the attendees three short performances later in the evening. They danced with great sensuality, and interesting choreography which often made use of asymmetric threesomes such that you could never be quite sure who was leading. The theatrical lighting instruments available in the space ensured that the performance actually looked like a performance. Many of these middle of the dance party performances occur in spaces that don't have lighting systems designed for the task, so Tango Mujer is to be commended for choosing a space that does have proper theatrical lighting.

A variety of beverages were served at reasonable prices. The milonga itself was $10 per person. They did have some potato chips available for free, but I would suggest that they would do well to add some food to their offerings. Even a few Harvest bars might help. I think that people who dance are generally responsible about not overdoing the drinking, but anything we can do to make it easier to help people avoid drinking on an empty stomach is a good thing.

Tango Mujer is planning on hosting one milonga per month, probably on the last Saturday of the month. Call 212-358-8857 for more information. Tango Mujer and their milonga are definitely worth a second look.