Things to do in Chicago: Milonga at Barba Yanni

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Tango in Chicago, check! Must repeat, check!……………absolutely LOVED it!!

I recently attended a milonga at Barba Yanni restaurant, the venue for the regular Wednesday night dance. The host was quite charming, the people were so unpretentious, and the dancers were pleasantly spry, despite the wide age range. This is contrary to what I had experienced in New York. Now I must admit that being a ‘’big city,’’ I had anticipated that the Chicago crowd would be just as pernickety as the folks in NYC, but it was a pleasant surprise to learn that they were not only amiable, but also a good percent of them were high-level dancers.

In comparison, the New York crowd is ostensibly haughty; in other words, their dance skills cannot justify the nose-in-the-air attitude. I will admit that in making this statement about the Chicago dancers, I refer mainly to the leads, as I did not spend enough time observing the women; however, what was interesting, is that there were many women leaders, and they were superb – they led even better than men I’ve danced with in other locales…..fellows, no intention to offend, but let’s keep it real.

Another surprise was that no one tried to pick me up! And instead of the usual hateful glares from the females, many of them were quite complimentary and friendly – Oh! Such a refreshing change of pace……Chicago is, indeed, my kind of town! I was quite pleased with this experience, and will definitely recommend it. So to all you tangueros y tangueras: aqui es donde usted debe ser por el tango! In short, grab those dancing shoes and a sexy frock (well, not the fellows) and head over to Barba Yanni….pronto! And don’t forget the $10 – la entrada. Well, I said they were nice, I didn’t say they were free.