Berlin - Friday: "ART. 13", "Panoramico" and "Nou"

Panoramico, towards the "alt" room

First published 2.5.15

The ART. 13 milonga (Dresdener Strasse 11, HH, 3. OG, 10999 Berlin- Kreuzberg,) had been recommended by a friend but did not seem to be on the radar of people I spoke to locally.  I decided to have a look. It was in what I thought at first was a residential block.  ART. 13 must have been on the buzzer.  Behind that was a courtyard.  The entrance to the milonga was on the other side of this, on the right, and up some stairs. There is an explanation here about how parts of these hinterhausen are often converted into rooms for dancing.  Perhaps that is what the "HH" refers to in the address.  There may have been an area by the door to leave coats.  There was a single bathroom, shared by men and women.   It had no light and had been like this for as long as the next person in line could remember.

ART. 13, practica

There was a very busy practica in progress with mostly young, new dancers.  I think a guided practica is one where teachers help people individually or as couples.  I think a taught practica (basically a class) is where the teacher demonstrates something to the group and they practice it. What I saw was the taught version.  The session ran over into the milonga by twenty minutes.  Perhaps Berliners don't mind this as many do not come out until after 2200 anyway.  I got chatting to a guy who was waiting for his friend who was doing the class.  He was very courteous. I also spoke to the polite and candid DJ, (Joerg - sp?) who played a good Donato tanda, a good D'Agostino, a mixed vals and then something alternative/nuevo. His plan was for a 60/40 split of trad/alt music. I danced with my new acquaintance and with his friend for the two trad tandas. The beginner was very tall, a nice guy who trod accidentally but excruciatingly on my toe.  His friend had mentioned earlier that the Panoramico milonga might have better dancing.  I was happy to forego ART.13.  In any case the alternative tanda was about to begin and they had turned the lights right down once the milonga had started.  I saw only one couple dancing anything like musically (to the alternative track).  They were also the only couple in the embrace.  The people from the practica were doing class-style movements more or less independently of the music and in open hold.  The more experienced dancer said as we left that ART. 13 is becoming a unique scene with some good dancers arriving later from the local area who only dance here. If they dance with the new dancers this will bring on the beginners no end.  That is the advantage of a practica followed by a milonga.  Apparently we passed some of these dancers on the stairs and they were also young.

Panoramico, at the top

I had heard about Panoramico  (Tanzsuite im Haus Berlin, Strausberger Platz 1) previously only by word of mouth. I was glad I was accompanied because I am not sure I would have found it otherwise. It is about thirteen floors up. There was a good area to to change shoes and leave coats.

The bar was busy and in the strange, coloured glow of the place there was a good vibe.  I ordered wine.  Here you pay the barman the entrance fee. Age was mixed, mostly heading towards middle-aged. We bumped into the very charming and sociable DJ for the alternative/nuevo room and chatted briefly.  His larger room was packed with dancers.  There is a much smaller, thin room for trad music.  Shortly after arriving I headed here.  It has glass sides and lacked atmosphere or at least it felt a bit like being in a goldfish bowl.  The DJ was friendly and accommodating when I asked about the music.  The space was poorly attended but picked up a bit in the forty minutes or so that I stayed.  In that time there were two great instrumental tracks: Unión Cívica ('38) and Retintín ('36).  The latter I find so good it is like feeling music in the blood, but they were squashed in bizarrely with the 1958 Nada más with Jorge Valdéz.  If it had been 1938 version with Alberto Echagüe I wouldn't have minded the mix of instrumental with songs, although there is an embarrassment of great d'Arienzo instrumentals from 1935-39.  It was an interesting venue but I can't see that I would go back.  I thanked my new friend, and said I wanted to go on to Nou.  He was going to stay so we parted.  I wanted good trad music and good dancing and I knew from conversation that the "in" crowd followed those things and that they would be at Nou.  It was after midnight, starting to rain and the street was large and empty, dominated by buildings of intimidating architecture. The U-bahn, if I ever found it, would take 40 minutes. I hailed a cab to get there quickly. 

Entrance to Nou, on the right

Nou (Chausseestraße 102 2. Obergeschoß, vorderer Eingang, 10115 Berlin, U6 Naturkundemuseum).  It was with relief that I heard Pensalo Bien playing as I arrived.   There is an area to leave coats outside the salon.  By the time I walked in, I heard playing the great De Angelis vals, No vuelvas María. It felt like a balm.  The DJ was Francesco who I had heard the night before at Loca. The music was just distractingly good.  In my relief and desire to dance the music, it was not until after I left the place I realised that with no one and no honesty box on the door (both of these I find often in the UK) I had not paid the barman the entrance fee!  When I return I will pay my  forgotten dues.  I recognised people there from Milonga Popular and Alma.  The venue had lighting you could see by and was of a good size for invitation by look though there was little in the way of tables.  If you want to have somewhere to put your drink I guess you stand by the bar.  Many guys did.  

I danced that tanda and then the lady I had met at Roter Salon came to say hello and we danced one or two tandas.  I thought she was brave coming to this place with the cool crowd, mostly young, but I saw her dancing. I danced with a visitor I had danced with the night before at Loca and it was nice.  None of the local guys I could see were inviting but I didn't mind because the music was good and it was nice to watch couples who I did not know.

I remember talking to Francesco about a d'Agostino tanda and that he played the popular Palais de Glace.  There was the good d'Arienzo vals Amor y celos.   I was glad to hear the 1941 Rodriguez milonga  Chunga que si, Chunga que no.  I had come across this a few weeks before, randomly on Spotify and put it on my "review" list but could not remember hearing it in a milonga.  I give tracks I have not heard or not heard often in the milongas a very long incubation, months at least, before considering playing them.  Most, over time, fall by my mental wayside as being of not sufficiently good quality for dancing. I am curious to know if this track is played elsewhere.

The guy I had danced with at Roter Salon and Loca arrived very late and we danced for a while.  Then there was some Varela including Qué tarde que has venido  which isn't me at all and a very strong late D'Arienzo including the 1967 version of Canaro en Paris.  I think that is a good piece but I don't generally like dancing that kind of music.  Some tandas can be so contrasting that the cortina just isn't enough to change the mood.  I was happy to end with the great Laurenz  tanda that he played penultimately.  There was  Recién, Todo, Garúa and I forget the other.  These are all lovely, lovely tracks, some of my favourites.   Overall, I liked the music.