Finnish Tango is the Dance Therapy for the Soul

You may be surprised that in my view, out of all the Nordic people, we Finns are the most passionate.  That strong emotion is a Finnish national characteristic may be a little known fact also because, as a people, we are most apt at hiding our passion – until we hear a tango piece.

If you’re in a dance restaurant, or at a summer dance in Finland, you’ll notice that the floor will be empty until the first tango is played. We Finns love moving along to this slow, staccato beat. With serious, concentrated faces, you’ll see the couples move swiftly, and expertly, along the floor. The Finnish tango is danced with close contact in the pelvis, upper thighs, and the upper body, with frequent dips and rotations. In the Finnish tango feet stay close to the floor, with no kicks as in the Argentine tango. The lyrics in the Finnish tango are important, as is the accordion, which has a prominent place in the score.

The Finnish Tango emerged at the same time as the country gained its independence. Nobody seems to know who brought the first tango music into the country around 1910, but by the 1930’s Finnish musicians started writing their own tango pieces, and after the Second World War, tango became the most popular form of music in the country.

Perhaps it’s the slow, but persistent, rhythm in a tango, which appeals to the Finnish sense of deep melancholy. This basic sense of drama is also reflected in the lyrics of the tangos. The most popular themes are love and sorrow, or longing for something unattainable, such as a warm, far-flung country, or one’s homestead – a distant land of happiness. Tango is not a light-hearted business in Finland.

One of the most revered Finnish tangos, and the one I remember from my childhood is Finnish classic is Satumaa; (Wonderland), sung by Reijo Taipale. This is a tale about a paradise far away, so unattainable that the singer feels he’s a bird with clipped wings. Another tango, Metsäkukkia (Forest flowers) sung by Olavi Virta, is a song about a lost summer and lost love, rediscovered in the spring. Whereas Kotkan Ruusu (Rose of Kotka), sang by Eino Gron, tells the tale of a woman of the night, told with the most passionate words allowable in the 1950’s, when the song was written. Its beat is such that I’d defy anyone listening to it, not to immediately want to get up and dance – or at least tap a foot.

Although the most popular tangos were written in the 1950’s, they were constantly played on the radio when I was growing up in central Finland. As a child, I’d watch my parents and other grown-ups crowd the dance floor when a popular Finnish tango was played at family parties.  My first boyfriend was a passionate tango dancer and taught me the steps, although I think you’d be pressed to find a Finn even today who doesn’t know how to dance a tango.

Many of the tango songs have also been re-recorded many times, and new tangos have been written. Some, such as Kotkan Ruusu, or Suyyspihlajan Alla (Under the Mountain Ash tree) sung by Arja Saijonmaa, became popular in Sweden amongst the large Finnish ex-pat population in the 1970’s and 80’s.

Even today, the Finnish tango, as popular music and dance, is thriving, although it’s no longer the chart-topping music of the post-war era. There’s a hugely popular competition, Tangomarkkinat (Tango Market), started in the mid-eighties and held in the central town of Seinäjoki, where a Tango Queen and King are crowned each summer. The 2015 Tango Market is a five-day affair on 8-12 July, with tango lessons, tango karaoke, concerts and most important of all the tango competition final.

The event attracts more than 100,000 visitors (out of 5 million residents) and the winners of the song competition become instant celebrities in Finland, and often have successful long-term careers in the music business.

So, if you’re near a dance floor in Finland this summer, have a go and get some therapy for the soul!

Information on the Seinäjoki Tango Market can be found at www.tangomarkkinat.fi

This article will also appear in the Summer 2015 edition of the CoScan Magazine.

Finnish Music Video

Daughter showed me this when I was talking about a Finnish singer called Danny this morning. (Like you do). I laughed so hard that I very nearly peed my pants.



'See what I saved you from,' said the Englishman.

To be fair this video is from a 1970's TV show (I think and hope!) and Danny was never my favourite…sorry my fellow Finns, but this is truly funny.

Paul Simon in Hyde Park

When, a couple of months ago, The Englishman, as part of my birthday gift, presented me these tickets for a summer concert in the park, I was thrilled. In fact, I might have shed a tear or two. The concert was part of the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon's controversial and hugely popular Graceland album tour, and this was the music that framed my first pregnancy. In 1986 as I drove for an hour and a half each way from our flat in Southsea to my job at the BBC in Reading, the Graceland tape was nearly worn out, I played it so much. The Englishman also knew I've been a Paul Simon fan for a long time - ever since I heard Bridge Over Troubled Water when growing up in Finland.

With the weather this summer, however, we weren't quite sure up till the last minute that the concert would actually go ahead. We're also not particularly seasoned festival goers, and felt there was a huge lack of information on the timings. Obviously Paul Simon himself would be last to appear. We also knew from the Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen fiasco on the previous night's concert when the organisers turned the sound off mid-performance (unbelievable??), that the music would definitely stop playing at 11 pm. But the tickets said doors opened at noon, with the event starting at 2 pm. And you weren't allowed to bring any chairs, food hampers, cool bags or alcohol. And apart from the VIP lounge there would be nowhere to sit. Call me a sissy (not old!), but I didn't think I would want to stand around (possibly in pouring rain) for a whole day, however much I loved Paul Simon.

So we made an informed decision to leave home at four pm, but when we arrived on the site at around quarter to five, we knew we were far too early. The place was about one tenth full of people making the best of the expensive bar and the manure smelling wood chip floor. Because after the unprecedentedly rainy summer we've had here in London, to prevent a mud bath at the Hard Rock Calling festival, the organisers had covered the whole of the area with wood chip. I reckon they'd got it from a farm somewhere because I was reminded of our old place in the country: I'd not smelled such musty scents since leaving the sticks. Come to think of it, to be spared this smell was part of the reason we came to London - or it was for me at least. (Oh, I am so shallow and have such a sensitive nose!)

'Let's have a beer,' said The Englishman and I agreed; when in Rome…we found a free spot on the wood chip and settled down on our coats and cashmere jumpers (thank goodness for my poncho - it's even perfect as a blanket). And then something wonderful happened: the sun came out!

The beer - it was cold at least...

The bar reminded me of a feeding trough and certainly smelled like one.

We were far too early - what amateurs!

Chilling and waiting for Paul Simon - it was at times sunny, honest!

And there at last was Paul Simon! 

After a couple of hours of warming acts, the stage began to fill with various instruments. When I heard an acoustic guitar being sound-tested I knew it was nearly time. The crowds were warming up too, everyone got up and began to pack in tightly around us.

Paul Simon last night. Picture Standard.co.uk

I have to admit to another tearful moment when Paul Simon entered the stage. As his first number he performed one of my all time favourites, Kodachrome. Thank goodness I could hide my tears behind my sunglasses. I was straight back in my bedroom in Stockholm, where we then lived, and to my small portable record player which had been my 10th birthday present. After all these years, I was watching Paul Simon play live! I can't describe the overwhelming feeling of joy I felt.

Paul Simon looked so good and sounded just like he did on my old record player and on my cassette in the car. And some! There was the addition of that little magic that a live performance always gives the listener; you know nothing can have been doctored with; even if you your idol is but a small dot in the distance, you know the screens around are of that person in the centre of the stage, performing just then, and there.

The rest of the crowd, a mixture of ages seemed to enjoy his performance too. When we left, a little early, we were surprised how many people were behind us.

So would I go to a concert like this again? Yes, but only if I can afford to shell out for the VIP seats - I think I might just be too old for the crowds and the hard wood chip floor...

First day of the Crouch End Festival

In pictures:

Festival beer and scotch eggs at The Maynard Arms

Guerilla Bunting gang had been at A Special Interest, one of the Barboot locations.

Sold!

Me with Wendy Saunders whose wonderful paintingsN adorned the walls of Oddbins.

Barboot at The Haberdashery 

It's all in the detail: the light switch at Haberdashery Cafe loos

The nibbles kept the Englishman happy.

Live music

Next stop: Down for the Count at The Music Palace

This group of revellers showed us you're never too old to party. These OAP's (aged from 67 to 71!!!) treated us all to several professional sets of swing dancing. 

From left: Keith Madden, Anthony (who was recovering from a hip and back operation) and Linda Dalton and Marilyn Madden. 

Towards eleven o'clock the dance floor became crowded.

I am so tired from last night and suffering a little from my bad shoulder, so it's a mainly visual post today. Enough to say I thoroughly enjoyed the first night of the festival and cannot wait to see and do more over the weekend. With most events being free (The Music Palace charged us £4 each which was the only entrance fee we paid last night), this is truly recession busting fun.

Details of all Crouch End Festival events online here.