Tango y Cultura Popular ® English Edition TyCP Special | Page 62

Tribute to Nuovo Cinema Paradiso from
TANGO ARGENTINO @ TU WIEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUKZYsIpLBY
Tango in Vienna’s imperial palace
Everybody has heard about the glorious Viennese waltz, but
how does it work? Are there events like milongas in Vienna
to practice and dance the waltz? Well, the answer is yes and
no ... there are no milongas but there are balls... but what is
a ball?
Each year more than four hundred traditional Viennese balls
take place in the capital of Austria. To properly grasp the
idea of such a ball, we need to go back to the 18th century.
Indeed, the origin of many traditional Viennese balls is
linked to professional corporations. Medical doctors, lawyers,
pharmacists and other corporate entities started to organize
a ball to celebrate their respective profession. This tradition
has survived until today and everybody can purchase a ticket
to attend, for instance, the Ball of Pharmacy (19th January),
the Medical Doctors’ Ball (26th January) but also more
extravagant balls such as the Flower Ball (18th January), the
Rudolfina masked Ball (4th Ma