From street to stage

A street dancer creates rather than copies and improvises with the music without rehearsal or choreography. A street dancer dances in the moment and derives inspiration from the music.
Ricardo Vidort talked about tango as a street dance that was practiced on the corner or in the park between boys who knew nothing about dance technique. There were no dance teachers when they were learning tango in the 1930s and 40s. Feeling was their only technique. They developed their own personal styles. They were creating their styles in those days that we see today in the milongas of Buenos Aires. Today we can find all types of dances being taught in studios. Street dancing (hip hop, funk, etc.) originated in the streets of the ghettos just like tango did in Buenos Aires. Contemporary street dance is so popular today that it is taught in dance academies and certified teacher training programs. Professional instruction washes out all the creativity of a pure form. Tango originated a street dance. Boys practiced together in order to dance well enough to invite girls at the dances. Tango was danced in its purest form. Watch the milongueros viejos in the milongas, and what you'll see is pure feeling and simplicity. They created their
personal styles at an early age and then danced every night of the week in the downtown confiterias, cabarets and salons. Today, the younger generation of dancers is studying tango, perfecting their technique and preparing choreographies to perform for exhibition and stage. They are trained, but they lack the essence of tango. They practice choreography hours each day for performance. their goal
is technical perfection, but they have no feeling. What will the milongas be like when all the milongueros viejos are gone?

by jantango

http://jantango.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/from-street-to-stage/