The milonga – a tango party – is from 8-11 p.m. in the Sacred Space of Numen Lumen Pavilion and part of O'Briant Developing Professor and Assistant Professor of History Yidi Wu’s Winter Term course, Argentine Tango.
The community is invited to Elon’s second Winter Term tango party Friday, Jan. 17, in the Sacred Space of Numen Lumen Pavilion.
The event, a “milonga,” runs from 8-11 p.m. and is part of O’Briant Developing Professor and Assistant Professor of History Yidi Wu’s Winter Term Argentine Tango course. Don’t know how to dance? No problem: Beginner lessons in the folk dance chacarera as well as the structure of a milonga, will be offered from 7-8 p.m. by Wu and guest instructor Aidan Huene, a talented Durham, North Carolina-based dancer who visited Elon last fall for Latinx Heritage month.
The milonga will feature music by the Avalos Solera Duo, two bandoneon players known for their virtuosic classical playing, and DJ Mitch Lee. Food will be provided by Ines Bakery, of neighboring Gibsonville, North Carolina, which specializes in Argentinian cuisine.
The bandoneon, an instrument similar to an accordion, is vital to Argentine Tango and quite difficult to play. Earlier in the day Friday, ethnomusicologist Heyni Solera will give a talk to Wu’s class about women in tango music and her experience as a female bandoneon player in a historically and predominantly male space. She will discuss how female musicians are asserting themselves in the tango genre.
Wu says the milonga is an important part of her course on the history and culture around Argentine tango because the tango is a partner dance meant to be enjoyed in a social setting. She first taught the course and held a milonga in Winter Term 2024.
“Tango is a way to communicate by listening to the music and your dance partner,” Wu said. “That’s what draws me to it. It’s completely improvisational and you constantly switch partners. You don’t necessarily know who you’re dancing with, but because you speak the same language of tango you can dance together.”
The event is funded by grants from the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and the Dean’s Office of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. It is also sponsored by the Department of History and Geography and the International and Global Studies Program.