Embelishments

I'm sure that the comparison has probably been made. So there you go:

Embelishments (or adornos in Castellano) are like icing on the cake.
- No icing, the cake can still be excellent, depending on the quality.
- Too much icing and the cake become sickly and unpalatable, even if the core is excellent.

Think about this when you set your feet in the dancefloor.

Wow (II)!

"Sent to Coventry" is a popular expression in the UK for a punishment. It probably has something to so with the ugly post-war architecture (Coventry was completely bombed in the second world war) or maybe with the deep social problems. But who invented this expression didn't take into account the wonderful Warwick Arts Centre, which hosted another tango-related event, this sunday.
Tango Siempre, a band based in Bristol got together with bandoneonist Paolo Russo and gave a gig. I must say that I wasn't expecting much before the concert. But, oh boy, I enjoyed every single note of it! Their spirit is that of following Piazzolla's seminal idea - fusing tango with other music genres, which they did very well, combining jazz and tango with a hint of classical here and there. But unlike most fusion bands that I hear, these guys actually got the quantities right! And the bandoneonist... My god, what a pleasure to see him playing only a few yards from me! I was in the first row and I could hear the flaps of the bandoneon snapping when he closed it or the sound of the keys being pressed. His passion for the music was pulsating to the whole room and adding quite a lot of colour to the good job made by the rest of the gang.
I have to say that being from Bristol, they had to try and mix one of Bristol's music hallmark's, trip hop, which they did in one track. It actually came out really well. If only Beth Gibbons was there lending her sweet voice to the orchestra...

Raising the bar

I have heard a lot about Steve Morrall. I've heard good things about his dancing, teaching methods and about his bandoneon playing skills. Unfortunately, I have never met him but given that he is not that far from me, I soon will.
I didn't write this post to talk about Steve but to praise him for the latest of his actions. His well known Tango Tangk events are aimed at intermediate/advanced dancers and once every often he invites a couple of professional teachers to share their tango knowledge. As it happens everywhere, there are always those people that think they are 10x times better than they really are. And those people ruin workshops because the minority of people that SHOULD be in that class end up by having yet another improver class, as the teachers soon realise that they have to lower the level in order to get anywhere.
So Steve announced that he will not accept inscriptions from people that are not up to the level. He did it in a very curious way, and I will transcribe the words from his site:

"A dear friend and music maestro once told me "people seem to have forgotten how to humble themselves to a learning process". I have been reminded of his comments as we implement a specific level of technique for dancers wanting to attend a Tango Tangk.
Most dancers accept and trust our decision about their ability, but some react as though we have insulted or humiliated them. Humility and effective learning go hand in hand, and sadly, dancers who have not yet made this connection compromise their ability to improve their dance."

So, Steve, if you read this, well done! I am sure Jenny and Ricardo will thank you endlessly!

Wow!

I just arrived home from a Daniel Melingo's show. Wow is all I can say. What a character!
If you don't know Melingo's music you should. In Argentina people say he is the the rightful heir of the great Edmundo Rivero. The joyful milonguish rhythm of the music contrasts with his low resonant voice, making it one in a trillion. As if this wasn't enough his theatrical but not over the top interpretation of the music grips everyone's attention.
He got two full standing ovations and twice he came back on stage. First with his bandmates, and then alone, unplugged, with a microphone and a guitar.
I remember Melingo as one of the first artists that stood out when I started doing tango. I always thought how his live show would be. I can tell you now. It's fantastic.
If you have the opportunity, go and see it!

Backwards

Something really weird happened yesterday. I was Djing in a milonga and everything seemed to be absolutely fine. I had over 80% of people on the dance floor, people were not dancing to cortinas (Yay!), and I had a few people coming to ask me who was playing the last tanda, always I sign that they are enjoying the music. And then it happened.
As a DJ I always make sure I dance a few tandas. Not because I want to dance (although that counts) but because, as I DJ without pre-made playlists, I need to feel the dancefloor more closely, and nothing better to do that than dance. As I started dancing with my partner, it felt awkward. I wasn't getting the rhythm of Demare's tracks, and I stepped a couple of times on my partner, somthing that rarely happens these days. By the end of the first dance i was asked a "Are you OK?" - something was going wrong, definitely and it was not just me. "You're dancing like you used to do a few years ago!" Oops, that couldn't be good at all! I danced a second track and I couldn't stop notice, my shoulders stiff as hell, my feet picking off the floor, my balance even worse than it is normally... I got scared and went to the safety of the DJing table.
I do now know what happened yesterday but despite all my efforts I my dancing was poor and I left the milonga moody and frustrated. Hopefully it was just yesterday.

Bloody immigration rules!

To be very honest, I did not know that Murat and Michelle were just about to come for the first time to the UK to teach some workshops. If I knew I would have forgotten that I actually do not have money and booked a few workshops. You got to sort out your priorities!
But the British Government decided to present us with yet another bureaucracy jewel. Despite being trying to get a visa for 3 months, the Home Office was unable to issue them and therefore, Murat and Michelle cannot come to the UK. I am aware that the current climate in the UK is quite tense but the only thing that MyM would terrorise would be the great deal of self-called teachers that pretend they teach tango in some parts of the UK.
At least the organisers managed to find worthy replacements. Jenny and Ricardo will lead the workshops. I wish I had booked it anyway!

Educated (?) absolute beginners

Yesterday we started a new cohort of future tangueros. One thing I always do is, before teaching them anything at all, ask them to just walk to the music. No technique, just walk as they would walk in the street, but trying to feel the rhythm of the music. Of course, it helps if I put something quite rhythmic such as D'Arienzo (I find Biagi a bit to fast for beginners).
Usually you get people going everywhere, crossing across the dance floor, zig zagging... Yesterday, the whole of the crowd went on dacing anticlockwise, nobody in the middle, everyone waiting if the next person would stop (I asked them to stop if they felt like interpreting the music that way).
Has this ever happened to you? I asked them if they had done it before and they just said no, so I just kept on with the class. Unsurprisingly they were really good by the end of it. I have good prospects for these guys!

The best comment

Coming from a person that has twice as many years of tango as I do (and a gorgeous dancer), it made me go red.
"I can never guess what's coming up when I'm dancing with you but I always know what to do."
I am sure that she was being very kind but, I'll take those words and keep them in my mind. A good incentive for times when you need it!

Damian Essell y Nancy Louzan

They were one of the couples that went to the Edinburgh International Festival in May. Until then I didn't know them. I had heard of them, but never seen them dancing. I have posted here a video clip of them, when Nancy was dancing in full swing 8 months pregnant at Practica X in Buenos Aires. It was an improvised dance, with as much simplicity as feeling, especially with Di Sarli/Podesta's "Tu... El cielo y tu" (you... Heaven and you) on the background.
Today I found this one on youtube. I'm not a fan of tango-acrobatics and neither are Damian or Nancy. But what they do here flows so well with the music that I love it! Hope you love it too!



There is another version of this choreography in Moskow. If you like Nancy's bottom that is the one to see. Otherwise I think this one is better. ;o)