We went to the show/dinner at El Viejo Almacen and were impressed all the way around. Food, venue and show were outstanding and not outlandishly priced (perhaps $70 US total).

We also went to Salon Canning and enjoyed that very much, for different reasons. Going to a milonga isn't the same as going to a tango show.

I apologize - I forgot to subscribe to this thread so only now saw the response to my question - thank you NYCtango.

I'm seriously considering taking a few tango lessons in NYC before heading down to BsAs. I don't learn fast enough to feel comfortable with a single free lesson at a Milonga - I'll just be pissed off at myself for tripping over my feet. Tango friends recommended Empire Studio and Robin Thomas.

I could go to a Milonga in BsAs on Sat, Sun or Mon nights - any recommendations either in NYC or in Buenos Aires?

Thank you for you input, NYCtango.

How about milango in Manhattan? We love to dance and love Manhattan.

We are just beginning to learn Argentine Tango, and, after years of ballroom, are having to unlearn a lot before we get comfortable with learning Argentine. We struggle but were thrilled last night when our instructor told us at the end of the class that we were actually looking pretty good. For those of you who have not done this, it is very hard to learn, but incredibly sexy, challenging and beautiful.

We are frantically trying to prepare ourselves for August 10th, when we attend a Tango Caberet here in Seattle. It will be dinner and a tango show with Eva Lucero and Patricio Touceda, before they head off for a long tour in China. Tango in China--whodathunk? Following the show there will be dancing .

When we go to BA we really want to go to a milango where we can dance. Dinner and a little wine would be even more wonderful, but dancing is our main goal. Maybe you or that devilishly handsome Gaucho can make suggestions.

Dancing in Manhattan: there are places to go every night but each is different depending on whether you are a couple or single, dance traditional or "alternative". and each night they may be different styles or crowds. Please feel free to email me on any particular night for ideas.

this is a useful link ( this is not my website) it is by a fellow Tango dancer in NYC.
http://www.newyorktango.com/

Ballroom to Argentine Tango... as you are finding out are totally different and many have same problem unlearning things like posture, embrace etc but don't give up it is real fun when you get it.

B.A like manhattan different places on different days and night, except many more choices. email is best I hate to make general statements except Nino Bien on thursdays, Canning on Tues/Fri and El beso or down the block Porteno Ballarin usually are good and for a very traditional night I always say Sunderland ( a large old Gym) should be experienced on Sat.

see this link and at the bottom can click on photos of Sunderland and other milongas in BsAs
http://www.torito.nl/tango/fotos/bue...and/index.html


BTW don't be suprised about Tango in China,,, it is growing all over the world. The above link by Torito from the Netherlands also connects to his world wide Tango map and it shows Tango in Bejing and Hong Kong. We have danced in Japan, Italy, France, Holland, Germany,Istanbul, Moscow, Australia,Stockholm therefore the need for FT, and since it is very early I think I am leaving some places out.

Just don't give up however you might find it an addiction and "ballroom friends" might try an intervention.

While searching for the Portland Tago Festivals I made the delightful discovery that the New York Festival is the first weekend in October. That is the weekend that we had already planned to be in NYC to see our daughter perform at the Gramercy Theater.

Do you think that two more months of lessons will get us to the point where we can take the "Advanced Beginner" classes listed in the program? Our instructor is so amazing that it is a bit intimidating, even though she is very encouraging. I can barely believe how she can balance so perfectly on 6" heels and reach so far behind her. Of course she has been dancing tango for 11 years and is also a yoga instructor.

I wouldn't worry too much about our ballroom friends commencing an intervention. While we were traveling to D.C. this weekend, they were attending an all night milonga in Seattle.

Go for it.. and attend at least one milonga..

Here is a very interesting thread with some reviews on many of the Tango shows available in Buenos Aires.

Please see:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._District.html

I am currently in BsAs and made reservations through the Marriott Plaza to see the Michelangelo Tango Show. The reservations were made for 4 people for the VIP service. We were picked up at the hotel in a new model Mercedes at 830pm and brought directly to the hotel. Upon arrival, we were escorted to a special VIP room that was very private. Champagne was poured and a tray of very delicious appetizers was brought in. We were left alone to talk, laugh, and enjoy the beginning of our evening.
About 20 minutes later, we were escorted to our table which was located directly in front of the stage on the far left. The location was absolutely perfect. We were asked if we wished to continue drinking Champagne, which we answered in the affirmative and continued to drink 2 bottles dry. :-)
The menus were brought out. Now, if there is anything negative to say about Michelangelo, it would be the menu. The menus from online are NOT what they have when you arrive. This is not to say they are worse or bad or anything at all like that. Just that they change the menu from time to time, but don't update the website. The downside was that the VIP menu didn't contain a beef selection. This is Argentina for Pete's sake!! They had lamb, salmon, and chicken, but no BEEF! We asked our waitress (who was consistent throughout the entire evening. She started with us in the VIP room and stayed with us the entire night. She certainly earned her tip and then some.^^^) She said that we could select the steak from the Executive menu (which is a cheaper seating option), but could order the first course and dessert from the VIP menu. This was fine with us. We all ordered the same thing, ironically : prawns mixed with avocado, purple onion, and coriander to start, steak served with potato pancakes, and 2 had the dulce de leche flan while 1 had the chocolate fudge cake and another had semifreddo made from honey and green apples. Starting with the main course's delivery, we switched to a very nice Malbec (Adagio was the brand) and were very pleased with it. Another 2 bottles of that went dry too! The first course was excellent. Very good. The beef was a little bland. Not bad, not great. Just kinda forgettable. The desserts were divine. Absolutely divine.
The show as spectacular. There is a fair amount of singing in this show. There were 8 dancers and 2 singers. One member of our group is from Argentina and started singing along. I thought at one point he was going to jump up on stage and start to tango, even though he swears he doesn't know how to dance at all. The musicians were very very good and very entertaining.
I would give the show 10 out of 10. Very nicely done. The dancing was just fantastic. The singing was unique. A nice blend of the two.
The food, I would give a 7 out of 10. C'mon. This IS Argentina. Do your beef very very well, or don't do it at all.
For the drink, 9 out of 10. I am sure Gaucho100K can tell us there is a better wine out there than what we were served. So, I dinged it a point just for that.
Service I would give 10 out of 10. Our waitress spoke excellent English, served us with her best attention, and kept all glasses (wine and water) filled.
The driver was a handsome young man who almost killed us 12 or 13 times. Or maybe this is how everyone in BsAs drives. I will give him the benefit of the doubt. The building is extremely beautiful and historic. It adds a very authentic character to the dinner and show. This is a perfect spot for some romance and a lovely evening. I recommend it with ^ !

Link of Interest for Tango fans....

http://www.cafedelosangelitos.com/

As an amateur in the tango business I hestiate to throw in a comment but we were in Rojo Tango at the Faena + Universe this week. There are two or three observations that come to mind:
A. We paid through the Park Hyatt $170USD each for the package that included private car transport to/from the show, the dinner and the show, all beverages and tips. It's not "cheap."
B. The music seemed "raw" to me in the sense that either the sound system was absolutely awful (a real possibility) or the musicians themselves were ...um...awful. The music bore no relation to any tango music I've ever heard with a complete lack of crisp notes, the transitions were poor and the entire effect of the music on our night was LOUD without being particularly effective or adding to the mood. The only word that comes to mind is "raw" as to the music and I like tango music. I've never heard any tango music the way it was played at Rojo Tango. Which may entirely be a comment on me rather than them.
C. The venue is small, and the floor upon which the dancers dance cannot be easily seen except from the few tables facing the floor or (maybe) from the tables at the very back of the room (if then--we did not sit there nor see the view from there) because they are elevated. Part of the pleasure of watching tango is to be able to see the footwork. We were unable to see anything below mid-thigh. That was very disappointing.
The food was good (but not great by any means) and the price for the dinner works out to about $45 and the show works out to about $US126. One or the other includes the transport. Our understanding is that you cannot buy the show or the dinner separately and no one would want to buy the dinner separately at that price.
Our driver came to the hotel 20 minutes early which can contribute to a sense of being rushed. We are not sure whether that was the fault of the hotel mistaking the pickup time or the tango program driver in arriving too early.

Mrs. Info requests that I report she liked it very much. I thought not being able to see the footwork (and I am over six feet tall so it wasn't that I am short) and what I viewed as "terrible" music or a terrible sound system significantly diminished the experience.

I would recommend Bar Sur in San Telmo as a great place to go for a dinner tango show. While it was a little pricey, the food was nice and the atmosphere and the performers were great. It is a fairly intimate venue and would be great for a romantic evening. There is a wide variety of performers and they strike a good balance of trying to involve audience members at some times.

I really appreciate this thead. It is still 5 months until we visit, but as Gaucho100K points out, most visitors will want to see a tango show. For us, it is likely to be once in a lifetime. Mrs BamaVol is a former ballerina and I'd love to learn and dance with her, but I have no dance aptitude whatsoever. So we will go and watch. I'd feel more comfortable at a "show" than a milonga. I would really appreciate it if each poster mentioned price, since $600 for one night's entertainment is more than the budget will bear. I'd love to find the best deal - highest quality for most reasonable price out there. I'd like to be pampered too, but have a feeling the Mercedes ride puts that one over the top.

In a different thread, I posted the names of a few discount outlets that sell BA tango show tickets:

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....postcount=1982

I would strongly recommend that anyone interested in seeing a tango show use one of these services, or otherwise find discounted tickets (like in a hotel package). The "list prices" on the tango show websites that I have seen are very inflated.

Tango show tickets are one of the most "intermediated" (is that a word? ***) products/services in Buenos Aires. The problem is that while the rack-rates are inflated (to include commisions to guides, drivers, etc.), its highly unlikely that a tourist that goes directly to the box office will get a discount.

The only way to get a break in price is to go through one of these third parties that get commision, and negotiate with them to share their cut. It does add another issue to the planning, but as Ive said its highly unlikely that the box office will give you a break, unless you are purchasing a very large group of tickets.

*** what I mean by this is that there are various middle-men in the sales process

without going into the entire post,,, I found this disturbing and outrageous. 340usd for a couple to go to a fake "tango show" is larceny.

I know that most people including those who claim that they dont want to do tourist things are opposed to the 'milongas" in and around BsAs. and think that if they go to a dinner show that they seeing tango,.. they are not.

Last night we were at Canning on Scalabrini ortiz, there were some tourist there some of whom even took the free lesson.. Some if not most stayed until around 1:30am and there was a full 12 piece orchestra, Las Reyes de Tango, a real authentic orchestra playing tangos, and a performance of two great real tango couples. each danced 2 songs. One was a young couple who won this years world championships. In addition you can watch tango danced as it is meant to be. I know the issues, It is not fancy tango for export, no one has a rose in their teeth, and you have to be prepared to stay late as the activity doesnt get going until after 1am,,to 3-4.

the entire cost is 15 pesos per person.. Agreed. no fancy dinner and not Faena hotel. but $10 usd per couple rather than 340. Drinks, empenadas etc are also avail and dont cost much at all.
there are milongas like this all around Bs As every night.. they change and performances change but they are there if you take the time and ask.