Milonga 100 - 100 Years of Tango in Australia

Champagne Tango Perth has joined hands with other organisers Australia-wide to celebrate a century of tango dancing in Australia. This gorgeous special event will celebrate the arrival of tango in Australia. MILONGA 100 will be held at our heritage St Aidans’ Church  on Saturday 26th October 2013. A display of images on a big screen is being prepared for the night together with our trademark supper, fabulous DJing, personalised hosting and some surprises on the night.

Tango was not easily accepted in respectable society in the early days. It only received credibility and hence respectability when Parisian high society deemed it fashionable and chic in the early 1920s. With its highs and lows over the ensuing decades, till its resurgence in the late 1980s, tango has now not only earned the respect it rightly deserves (a national cultural heritage as proclaimed by UNESCO in 2000), but has become a worldwide phenomenon depicted in many recent movies and books.

Below is an excerpt from historian Manning Clark’s, “A History of Australia,” explaining the radical fear of tango in 1913:

“In December 1913 an entrepreneur who had guessed correctly the direction of the winds of change, announced that he had built a Palais de Danse at St Kilda and the management announced  that the tango would be introduced in Melbourne. The Argus [a newspaper of the day] warned its readers that dancing the tango was a prelude to sexual licence and depravity. On the night the Palais de Danse threw open its doors to let a breath of air from the healing waters of Port Phillip blow over the people of Melbourne, who had been taught by parsons and priests to think of the body as evil, the Reverend Mr McNab ground on to an overflow meeting of nearly 1000 who had gathered to hear the warning that two human bodies moving in harmony over a polished floor could only lead to”chambering and wantoness”. Despite all such prophecies, crowds flocked to the Palais. There in the dim light a searchlight swept the dancers, accentuating the beautiful curves the men wanted to draw near. There after the wild ecstasy of the tango drew them closer, man to woman and woman to man, partners drew even closer as the saxophones of the Palais dance band played on. Seeing the radiance in the eyes of the dancers, some asked who would want to keep those bodies apart? Why did such pleasures make some people very angry?” 

Aren’t we glad that Tango is no longer perceived in this way!  

We will be celebrating our anniversary by showcasing Perth Tango dancers from the various Tango organisations.