Modern Tango World N° 6 (Montreal, Quebec) | Page 6

photo by Claude Dumas

Taxis are trustworthy and easy to find. This accessibility is the icing on the cake for world-travelling tanguero
Klaus, fact places the city in his top three worldwide.
He says:
Montréal is one of the best tango hosts in North
America and in Accessing tango events via the Metro
system is a huge bonus.
Visiting dancers also pointed how affordable tango in
Montréal is. Admission to most regular milongas is about
$10. And remember, this is Canadian dollars. Regular visitors from smaller cities in Quebec, Ontario and upstate
New York and Vermont just adore Montréal. More than
a few dancers make a two-hour commutes almost
every weekend to dance at their favourite Montréal
milongas. Katie says:
It’s great that Montréal has a reputation as a tango
destination in North America – it attracts good dancers from other cities and so there’s usually a good mix
of local and visiting dancers.
Aleksis, Katie, Klaus and others have noted that the one
big negative about Montréal is the roadwork. During
the summer season, there are many street closures, detours, heavy traffic and difficult parking that can cause
much delay and frustration for drivers. Once you’ve arrived in Montreal, it would be a good idea to leave the
car somewhere and take advantage of that accessible
public transit system.

How Montréal Ranks
The quantity of tango in Montréal is by no means
lacking, but how about the quality? Travelling dancers were almost unanimous in ranking Montréal as
number one in Canada, with most saying it is the
best or among the best cities in North America and
more than two thirds even considering it among
the best worldwide. More than half of respondents
to our survey ranked Montréal in their top three
tango cities in the world, listed alongside such places as Buenos Aires, Berlin and Paris. The quality of
the venues themselves stands out for both local
and visiting dancers. Montréal’s milonga organizers
obviously pay attention to detail, from attractive
decor to quality flooring and sound.
When it comes to the skill level, it is recognized
that there are many high-level dancers, among both
leaders and followers. Paris dancer Émélie visits
Montréal specifically because one of her favourite
partners lives there and San Francisco tanguero
Stuart chose Montréal as a tango destination after having met two excellent Montréal tangueras in
Buenos Aires.
In terms of leaders and followers, several people
said they appreciate the increasing number of
dancers who dance both roles, and indeed a few
respondents to our survey identified themselves as
both leader and follower.

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