Stagnation

Is it all good?

“When you started the blog… Did you know that you will have so many things to write about?” she asked me between songs. “No!” I answered and actually, I told her that there was once a period (when I was still posting these texts only to Facebook) when I decided to stop posting. I posted a text with a Cumparsita signalling the end of my posts. Months later I found myself having so much to write about and deciding to restart. Back then, I wrote that I couldn’t promise to keep a schedule. It was mostly a text that was meant to take the load from my shoulders that I needed to post something daily. Well, as you know so far it has been about 2 years of almost consistent weekly posts.

I also added that I could constantly find and write about new topics because of the feedback I was getting from people either through comments or through discussions in the milonga between tandas. So Yes. I wasn’t expecting it to get so far, and I didn’t expect to still be able to find topics to write about… but here I am… still writing.

But… is it all worth it?

The complaint

I have seen in some of Chichos interviews complaining that today Tango is stagnated. As he says he thinks that there is no real evolution in Tango and that there are many cases of copies instead of genuine new creators in the scene. I am definitely a very insignificant person in Tango to really criticize this opinion and express any opinion myself on the topic given that my knowledge of tango is very limited in order to be able and have a valid credible opinion on that. I trust however that Chicho with his experience and knowledge has some good reasons to express this opinion.

However, the question I was asked the other day together with some other videos and ideas on slightly different topics, made me think that this stagnation might not be a sign of our time and might not be as bad as you think if you handle it correctly. This post therefore will just try to reflect on those ideas and what can we possibly learn from them.

The creator’s life

Recently, there was a wave of some YouTubers who announced that they quit or slow down their productions. Some others also decided to change their channel subjects and move into other domains too. The common denominator in their explanations was that when they started their channels all this creative process was quite fun and enjoyable for them but as it scaled up it became a regular job and in many cases a whole enterprise with companies and employees for writing scripts, editing videos etc. The more teams were scaling up and production requirements increased the more the fun of the creative process was running out the window. After some time, the fun idea that they started with, stopped being fun and started being a stressful endless chase of numbers and management of people. And this led to many of them taking the decision to hit the breaks.

In one video of a Greek stand-up comedian where he was discussing this exact issue, he mentioned also the audience and platforms’ expectations. The algorithms of YouTube and similar platforms promote channels and creators with steady and frequent production and will “hide” others with a very unsteady and low production rate. This in turn leads to audiences that expect their new content every day or week demanding new material, and moving from creator to creator when someone fails to deliver to their demand. Many of them don’t realize the amount of effort behind producing such content and they don’t realize that creation is not something that runs forever and at a steady pace. On the contrary. Creation needs breaks. Creation needs pauses!

In an example mentioned by the same comedian, he compared the pace of work of a traditional movie actor or director in Hollywood to what happens today with YouTube creators. The traditional model for such jobs would be to work on a movie or two maximum per season. This allowed for periods of breaks between the periods of work on different projects. These breaks are essential for artists in order to explore themselves, discover what they want to communicate next, widen their stimuli and input and combine ideas, thoughts and concepts to create something new.

In a world which runs at the speed of light, people who do some kind of creative job, find it even more difficult to find such periods of break. The system has trapped them in a constant battle for visibility that seems to not let you pause, reflect and regroup for your next project.

Demanding audiences

Professional Tango dancers are creators too. In many cases, they are also teachers and quite often they need to spend a considerable amount of time in travels for festivals, shows, classes etc all over the world. The audience… we… always wait for something new. A new class, a new move, a new idea to learn from them. This (I believe) creates pretty much the same problem in the Tango scene. Creators constantly strive for visibility not being able to take a break, slow down, pause, explore, reflect and evolve by creating something new.

Even in this little blog. I often find myself being pressed to release the next post on Monday night even if sometimes I feel the text is not really the best. A friend of mine once checked up to see if I was ok because I didn’t post one Monday night! Although I can’t say I don’t enjoy the attention and the communication, there are periods when I would like to take a pause, reflect and decide how to move forward.

Let’s Co-Create

Give it some time

As dancers, we are creators ourselves too. Of course, we are not faced with the same demand of audiences around the world but you may find yourself in times of burnout. Hit the pause button. Don’t take your dance shoes on your next trip (that’s what I do on my summer vacation)… don’t visit a milonga for a couple of weeks. When you get back you will probably see things differently. You may find small pockets of creativity to fill in your need for having fun and not getting bored.

As dancers, we are also an audience and as such there is only one piece of advice. Respect the time and effort of the creators you admire and let the pressure off. Accept that they might take a break… don’t be so demanding… don’t have such high expectations… just let them do their job and you will see… great things will come out from them.

Of course, there is a ton of other advice for creators, organizers, audiences etc. but I will probably come back to them in other posts.

The Future of Goodnight Tango

As I wrote already, I also find myself sometimes in times of stagnation and questioning the quality of what I put out there. In the past, I also wrote that your participation and feedback with comments and discussions on my posts feeds me with new ideas so your role in this process is not negligible. Keep it coming.

However, I recently opened another front as a creative outlet and sometimes (like this week) I feel more like preparing stuff for that part of Goodnight Tango. Yes… I am talking about the short video project (YouTube, Instagram and Facebook). So, this post comes both as a warning and as a kind request.

The warming: From now on… I might not be posting every week. I will try to keep the posts coming on Monday nights, but if you see I am taking a break don’t worry. I did not forget you… I will come back. The best way to not lose track is to simply subscribe so that you will get an email for every new post.

The kind request: I like very much to give a bit more of a voice to all of you. After all, I don’t feel I am some kind of special dancer. I am just one of you who just happened to write and publish his thoughts. The projects with the short milonga videos and your stories depend very much on your input. Don’t forget them… Share your stories… Share your milonga moments and let’s create together something we are proud of.

Tonight’s Goodnight Tango

Tonight’s Goodnight Tango is once again a Cumparsita. This Cumparsita however is different. It is more subtle, sentimental and creative dare I say. This time, it is not signalling the end of the blog posts. It is merely signalling the end of a simple one-man show blog and the beginning of a hopefully nice and fruitful new adventure with many more creative adventures. Join the Goodnight Tango community and contribute in any way shape or form you find comfortable for you. Things will probably get even more interesting in the coming weeks. See you there!

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