Why do days only have 24 hours?

Sorry for those of you, regular tangologuers who have had nothing to read in the last week. My exams are coming at an extraordinary pace and the tango event I am organising is consuming all my remaining time! Well, now that I mentioned it, for those of you who live in this side of the Ocean, check it out, it may interest you! ;o)


TANGO SPA
Warwickshire Tango Festival v1.0
Royal Leamington Spa
20th-22nd June 2008

Soak yourself in tango!

private scenarios

Let's think about the following scenario.

A woman goes in a practice studio. The setting is empty, the floor is wooden and shiny, there is a huge mirror covering one wall and there are holding poles around the room. A very fit Young Woman is standing at the far corner, changing shoes. Woman A approaches Young Woman, in a scouting manner, looking around slowly and with embarrashment. There is awkwardness in the air, the two women look at each other, they measure each other's presence in the room. Woman A is off base. Young Woman asks the question:
"What do you want to learn today?"

****

The scenario could go on and on and a great story could be written, but I'd rather stop here: at the moment before the beginning of a private class. It's the moment when a feel like a rookie again. Standing next to a good dancer, whose technique and movement I've been admiring, I suddenly feel too small and inexperienced. In a moment's time, in my head, I question my skill and my ability and I'm at a loss: What can she teach me today? Which moves, which decorations, what secrets, what movement? There is a sea of knowledge out there and I have to narrow it down to one thing. What can be taught in an hour?

I want to say - "take my body and transform my movement. I want to move like you for just one hour." (I don't want to freak Young Woman out - I don't say this out loud).

Of course, soon after a decision is made; Woman A replies "I have trouble doing this feagure" or "I love the way you do boleos, please tell me what's wrong with mine" or "show me how to do A or B". For me what is practiced is not as much as practicing next to a dancer whose style I admire, seeing how she moves and learning from that.

Yesterday I had a private class with Nayla Vacca at the event we organised at the Uni of Birmingham. I could spend 3 hours talking about all the new things I learnt in an hour with her. But what counts more, for me, is that after the class, when I started dancing in the milonga, I felt more plastic, like there was no tension in my body obscuring my movement. In the milonga I didn't practice what we did in class, yet my dancing has been affected already.

What do you get out of private classes?

Good teaching

Leandro Palou and Romina Godoy

I took a workshop with them last December in Bailongo! and the only thing I knew about Leandro was that he had been a partner of Andrea Missé and that he was the dancer in the Haagen Dazs Dolce de Leche advert. I knew nothing about Romina.
It took me only a few minutes to become a fan of these two. They're precision with technique allied to a fabulous musicality and search for perfection was evident from the first minute and I bonded with their teaching style right from the start.
Hopefully, I'll have more classes with them very soon. For those of you who are kicking around London and are looking for good tuition they are in central London (but beware as they will be touring - again - with tangox2).
Here it is a video that Supantheress shot after one of the workshops when they did a completely improvised demonstration (he wanted to put another music to do the demo but couldn't find it) of what they taught us (the movement is the one from 0:50 to 1:05, with variations). The orchestra is "Enrique Rodriguez" and the title of the music is "No te quiero mas"

The wrong message

This is probably true to most people reading this but I feel really really uncomfortable when I am dancing with someone and I feel that she is not enjoying the dance. It happened to me this sunday. From the start of the tanda, I felt she was bored, unchallenged, waiting for the end of the tanda, just wishing it ended. Needless to say that I went back to my seat (after escorting her to her seat) with a low moral... The milonga went past and I was just dragging myself on the dancefloor. Then I had a dance with someone I love to dance with and my energy came back to me - we danced three tandas. I had a few more dances that brought my self confidence up. Towards the very end of the milonga, when there were only a handful of people on the floor she was seating and I gathered courage and thought, "I'm going to make up for it". I cabeceoed her. When I went to meet her she told me "I thought you would never ask me for another tanda! The previous one was great!"
Does this happen to you very often?

MOVES

"Moves"
a.k.a. It-Which-Must-Not-Be-Encouraged

The thing that tango intellects & enthusiasts seem to despise talking about.

What is it that this word repels many of us?

> You are right, I would rather dance with people who have connection with me than with those who just want to try reckless moves.

> You are right, I would rather dance with people who have musicality than with those who just want to try reckless moves.

> You are right, I would rather dance with people who put emotion into their dance than with those who just want to try reckless moves.

> You are right, I would rather dance with people who have the right techniques and do what they know properly than with those who just want to try reckless moves.

But I want MORE! I want to have dynamic fun!

Is there anything wrong with wanting to dance with those who try moves that are new, adventurous, ambitious, creative and playful (of course they have to be considerate of their surrounding and safety)?

Is there anything wrong in wanting to learn "moves" for a change? To pursue those quirky yet elegant "moves"? Are techniques, musicality and connection the only things I am allowed to cultivate?

Am I greedy?

Am I shallow?

Am I not a proper tanguera?

Should I be condemned, persecuted and exiled to the planet of exhibitionists, salseros and acrobatics?

Give me your verdict.

Tango, Porto de Honra

Why is Port called Port? Supposedly, Port can only be called to the fortified wine whose grapes have been grown in the Douro Valley (in the northwest of Portugal) and whose wines have been stored in Porto, the city at the end of the river Douro.
Anyway, I have wrote a wee chronicle about SOME of the tango that goes on over there. But we all might be glad to know that that there is real tango being danced there.
Porto de Honra means Port of honour, and when in a group people raise their glasses to drink they drink to their honour.
Today it's the start of a wonderful chapter in Porto (and northern Portugal's) tango scene. I just thought I could drop a line here, just in case you're around the area...

The healing powers of tango help Parkinson sufferers!

It's not an anecdotal report, it's not a beautiful life story, it's pure science, but it's music to my ears!
According to a study published in a scientific journal, tango improved balanced, mobility and obvioulsy, quality of life in Parkinson's disease sufferers.
The authors compared the effects of Argentine tango dance classes to exercise classes on functional mobility in 19 patients with Parkinson's disease. The participants in the dance program showed significant improvement in several standard tests for patients with Parkinson's disease - the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UP-DRS) and the Berg Balance Scale.
The study is going to be continued for further assessments and, if it proves that tango is better than standard exercises it's another challenge for tango teachers. Only they MUST be prepared!

Thanks to Fishnets and Fedoras for bringing this report to my attention

Argentine Milonga - The New Salsa

I am not claiming it, it's written in this dance school's website! Some people shouldn't be allowed a computer in front of them!
To teach tango, first, understand what tango is. Then perfect. Then devise a way of teaching it. Then teach it. Some people forget to do the first. What happens? Tango Lego happens.

Tango Spell

I was in the big hall with my partner waiting for them to come. I was talking to my good friend who was organising the event but the anticipation was too great. Suddently, she walks in. Much prettier than I thought she was in the thousands of videos I had seen her dancing in. Dressed in black with heavy leather boots. She said "Hola!" and ice was broken, I was just about to have a private class with Natacha Poberaj, if you haven't heard of her then you should really review what you've been doing in youtube all these years.
Eduardo "El gaucho" Villegas was very concentrated making his coffee but had to hurry into the class. A shirt stating "De Puta Madre" and a very amicable smile. we can't forget the tango dancer.
Shoes on, black Matrix cape off, hair loose, she asked me to lead her. Chest to chest, no tango embrace. She corrected me here and there, told me to stretch my legs. We started again. I could only smile to her "Esso! Esso!".
Natacha reminded me of something that I hadn't been paying attention for years. Breathing. It's amazing how a deep breath can add SO much to your tango. The intention becomes bigger, the suspense immense and the momentum sky rockets into another galaxy. But what made me happy for the rest of the day was something that she told me in my ear while we were dancing , "Your embrace is beautiful. Don't lose it!". I will never forget this class.

Tango game

Artur is probably one of the only few people from my hometown that has surrendered to Argentinian Tango. He writes in a really nice blog, Tango Atlântico, which is written in Portuguese and as such, inaccessible to most of you. I have the pleasure of having him as a guest tangologuer. I hope you like it!

I believe there are more blacks and whites on the rules in the milonga rather than grays. I do have a lot of sympathy for women who walk alone in milonga and patiently wait to be invited to dance. Lets be clear in this game that the role of the leader is easier, by the simple fact he dances whenever he wants. If followers are available he always dances his favorite music. For women this is not exactly true. Men normally find that a good milonga it is a milonga where the number of women it is higher than men. Leaders like to choose and followers like to be chosen. Women have to play the game of making the men invite her to dance. The women have to be shown for the first time to be invited again. For women, high mood and great self-esteem helps a lot, as weel as being sighted in a visible position in the room. Especially in US and Europe, no one gets upset if women go and ask the men to dance. Cabeceo is something that it is only fully understood after being in Buenos Aires. Just in a few milongas in France/Spain, the cabeceo is done, but nothing like in Buenos Aires. If you go with your partner, you have to step-away from your partner if both of you want to dance with others. Never dance more than one tanda in a row (or 3 tangos) with you partner. Then step aside, go to fetch a drink, go to toilet or invite immediately after other partner. If you stay chatting no one comes to interrupt your conversation if you are in an alien place. I do this with my wife and it works. Both of us dance, and normally she dances more than me.

He is alive!

Podestá is a tango singer who worked with two of my ever favourite maestros, Di Sarli and Laurenz (he worked with many others as well). I worship the magnific voice of Podestá (I have mentioned it before) as much as I admire the innovative spirit of De Caro, the courage of Piazzolla or the technique of Javier. I thought that he had died, given that I have recordings of him singing to Laurenz as early as 1942 but today I heard that he is still alive! Not only is he alive but also he performs 3 or 4 times per week!

His interpretation of "Alma de Bohemio" is one of the finest examples of sung tango. Actually, up until 2 minutes ago (when writing this post) I didn't know of the fuss that this version created at the time as said by the own Podestá
"«Uno de los más grandes personajes que conocí en el mundo del tango fue Pedro Laurenz. Era todo un cajetilla. Se podía decir que era uno de los directores de orquesta más elegantes que había. Cuando me llamó a cantar con él, luego de arreglar, pregunté donde se hacía la ropa la orquesta, cuando me dijeron que era en Spiro y Demetrio casi me caigo, era una de las sastrerías más caras de Buenos Aires. Con Laurenz uno debía llevar toda la ropa al tono: cCamisas, medias, corbatas y pañuelos. Con él viví lindos momentos y con él, el público me identificó por un tema "Alma de bohemio", que todavía hoy es mi caballito de batalla."
Here it is the version with Laurenz, one of my favourite tangos!

I copied this from the website

Admission is 50 pesos (16 dollars), two people get a battle of wine, the typical Buenos Aires' sandwiches "de miga", and pan dulce. At La Cumparsita, the staff is courteous, they want people to have a good time. A couple dancers also perform, and then invite members of the audience to dance with them.

The atmosphere is not glitzy, it is real and personal. It is easy to talk with the artists because the place is small, and they are sitting next to you as they wait for their turn to sing; also, they love to talk about what they do.

La Cumparsita welcomes locals as well as tourists, most of whom were from Latin America; for some reason American visitors do not get there. Usually the audience gets very emotional when Podestá sings, for he gives his heart out in every song he performs.

I know where I have to go when I go to BsAs!

I am SO happy!

The fight of the intellectual alter-egos

In the group Tango-UK there is fruitfull discussion about tango and neo tango. Amongst some precious gems (as in someone stating that someone else said very concisively THE truth, therefore creating a solution for all those philosophers that have long been searching THE truth but never found it) you cannot stop noticing how they try to demonstrate how knowlegeable by adding the exact details of a version of their favourite music in the end of the post... It really looks like a Cockerel fight!
Now that we mention cockerel fights maybe I should add (and show off a little bit my 10p worth of tango knowledge ;o) that this was the inspiring idea for the known tango "Gallo Ciego", literally meaning Blind Cockerel. Roosters cannot co-exist, there can only be one and when two are put together there can only be one standing. The first thing rooster do is to try to beak the opponent's eye. Hence the name of the track. And it really sounds like a rooster fight! So I'll leave you in the company of Mr Rodriguez and Ms Rojas, exemplifying how beautiful a Cockerel fight can be!

Horacio Godoy, Cecilia García and a funny? milonga

Horacio y Cecilia
And my question is what do you think of THIS?

Passive leading

We're coming into a tricky business. The laws of tango say that leader leads and follower follows. Surely, in (proper) tango, at any time, the leader should be the one that ultimately decides what to do with the movement. Not only the embrace is structured in a way that the leader has that power (the right arm below the follower's left axilla, to ensure the most efficient energy transfer) but also the leader has an angle of vision that the follower doesn't. These and other make the role of leading very clear.
But like many civil laws, there is a loophole in the law of leading. Nothing stops the follower to suggest the leader a certain movement, provided that (1) the follower can actually be subtle enough to do so, (2) the leader has the receptivity to it and (3) that the follower has strong navigational cues and knows where the movement is going.
This has been taught to me since I became a post-intermediate by my teachers in Edinburgh, Ricardo Oria and Jenny Frances (they did teach me this since the beginning, but they waited until I matured enough to actively make me do it). But the moment when it clicked was when I had my first workshop with the great Rodolfo y Gloria Dinzel. Rodolfo has an incredible charisma and Gloria has an aura of glow that you will attract you like a magnet. What they say sticks to your mind, whether you like them or not (I learnt that they elicit as much passion as hate). The idea is that if tango wants to be a true communication between partners, then the message should go both ways. The connection between the follower and the leader should be the one that, provided that the three criteria above mentioned are fullfiled, it allows both partners to have an active role.
Let's imagine a simple situation illustrated by mshedgehog that tells us about the simplest form of passive leading. The guy is going to step back, the lady sees somebody stepping into the place he is going to step and exerts a small pressure on his back. This should tell the leader that he should not take that step. But if the follower is quite good at passive leading, she might even lead him to do another step, maybe a giro or a walk forwards, avoiding the disruption of the sudden change of movement. From here onwards, the concept of passive leading can extend to the point that the whole dance is a constant flow and backflow of leading and following. Both partners become leaders and both become followers... Instead of the unilateral dialogue with the pauses so that the other partner can finish the sentence, a dialogue in which the words travel smoothly from mouth to mouth.

Life is not black and white. And neither is tango!

I have seen far too many posts of women complaining that some man only (or mostly) invite single women to dance. The first assumption is that those men simply want a bit more than a dance, they want a fling, a one night stand, something along those lines...
While I am absolutely certain that in lots of occasions that is the case I would like to point out that some men don't feel confident to ask women around when they have a partner. It happened to me many times. A good follower comes around, I want to ask her to dance but she is dancing with her partner and in the few moments they are not dancing they are observing or talking to each other. Hey, I can't explain it, but it's definitely easier to invite a girl that is alone (and had no one to dance anyway) than someone who comes "sheltered" by a pair.
I have also noticed that it has happened to my partner as well. We go to an unknown milonga and she gets much less dances than when she goes on her own. It is certainly not because the lack of abilities as I find that she is usually well above the average wherever she goes. We don't give any particular signs that we do not want people to come and ask for a dance.
I don't really know how to circumvent this problem. What I want the general female public to be aware is that we man have to do quite a hard task, to take initiative and ask for a dance. Shades of grey do exist in the tango world.

floorcraft - the last pre-requisite for advanced dancers

Let's start with an analogy. When you're driving a car you make sure that you're not going to bang it against the car in front of you right? Indeed, you try and drive in a way that your hot date, just sitting on your side, feels safe, right? You watch over when you change lanes, you stop on the red light. You may drive fast or slow but in the end of the day, you want to get wherever you're going without crashing your car against whatever comes across your way. Tango requires the same skill.
A few examples for the leader:
- You should make sure that you don't stick your partner's stilletos down someone's heel because you weren't looking who was in front of you. It doesn't look good on you and definitely it doesn't feel good to the person that was stabbed. Accidents happen, but with care, they happen rarely.
- Do not lead a voleo when there is someone in front of you. That is not only bad tango, is stupidity as well. I remember when I saw Kikka Tomasi being wipped by a stilleto in an Edinburgh milonga. Her leg had a 5 cm wide cut and she was in danger of not being able to perform for the Edinburgh Festival show.
- Ever wondered why the best tango teachers ALWAYS dance in the outside of the line of dance? If you're a bit clever you probably figured out that that is the best way to circumvent the fact that you can't be Superman and look through your partner's skull (hence, look if there is someone at your right).
- Be unpredictable to your partner, not to the other dancers! The art of good dancing requires the art of being sensible and avoid the impulse of "There is an empty space, I'll go there!". Sorry, tango demands that you look at who's around and to see if a couple has already committed to go to that empty space before you did. It should be clear that you shouldn't go there. If that is not clear, stay at home.
- And please, for whoever-you-love's sake, if you're going to step back, make sure that there is nobody there! It isn't rocket science, is just common sense!
For the followers (yes, because contrarily to what popular belief is, followers also have a role in floorcraft):
- Two neurons together (and working) should be enough for you to realise that in a crowded milonga, a short and soft voleo by your leader should be corresponded with a low voleo by you. Your partner will be happy, you'll be happy, if anybody is watching they will be happy and the next couple will be eternally greatful.
- Again, when you're dancing tango in a crowded danceflor remember, you are a tango dancer not a lawn mower. Your movements should be neat and controlled, reflecting the energy that the leader puts into it. Your interpretation of the music is priceless but unless you have an eye on the back of your head, stick to what the leader tells you and build your moves on top of that.
There are more examples to quote but the aim of this post is not to list them. I hope you got the idea - the true advanced tanguero is the one who knows how to behave on a dancefloor.

Tango lullaby / Early education

I came across a sweet lady at a milonga recently. She told me about her kids and I asked her if she ever teaches them tango. She replied, "they don't need to be taught, they already do it without instruction!" She continued by telling me that she listened to tango music throughout her pregnancy with her first child. After birth, she used to take her baby to afternoon milongas, and if the baby was crying, it'd immediately stop crying as soon as it could hear tango music!

Aahhh....

DJing tango - not just chucking your favourite music

This weekend was pretty hectic. I was DJing in Bristol on saturday and in Market Harborough (Leicestershire) on sunday. Both milongas went pretty well, I can say that most of the time two thirds of the people were up dancing and I got good feedback in the end of it.
However, these two milongas had completely different audiences and requirements. I know Bristol tango rather well, not a place for many of the most contemporary of sounds and La Rosa's Whiteladies milonga doesn't go out of that way. However, when I put Sin Rumbo from Otros Aires everybody stood up and went dancing. I decided to follow that with Mi Corazon from Bajofondo and the same. In the end, an Italian tanguera told me that she really likes this kind of music but nobody ever plays it. I got the impression that, allowing for some exceptions, this was the general feeling. Are DJs making a good job?
In Market Harborough there is an older crowd that likes their golden age tangoes. They are very English and it would be the last place that you'd think neotango would be danced to. Well, in fact, I was asked to put some and when Whatever Lola Wants (I was asked to put that, to be honest is not on my favourites to dance to) came on, everybody looked at each other and rose up to go dancing.
My point in this post is that what you like to dance is not necessarily what other people like to dance. My tango mentor, Ricardo Oria, told me once that the DJ's ego has to stay at home. In a milonga, the crowd is who is paying to dance and you have to be flexible enough to cater for the requirements.
The golden age will always be the golden age! I don't think we'll ever get a period like it. But, more importantly, tango is more than the golden age. The good DJ is the DJ that understands that.

Web 2.0 generation of tango

I remember that when I started tango the only way to see the top couples dancing was by having them to come to your place for tutoring and the occasional demo. Nowadays, full classes, demos and interviews are only a click away in Youtube or something like that.
Is this good? In a way, it allows tangoers to see more styles and more moves and it broadens their horizonts. However, it has the other side of the coin:
1 - you get more and more people trying to learn complicated steps online before they know how to walk properly, ignoring basic concepts that underlie those same steps they want to learn.
2 - you start getting Chicho's or Pablo Verón wannabes. Now, I have seen Chicho dancing in milongas and he doesn't do a 100th of the fantasia steps that he does on his demos. Wannabes do not understand this and they are the reason why some milongas get craply rated.
3 - Having seen 100 times you favourite dancer and trying to mimmick all his moves doesn't make you like him. It makes you a cheap imitation.


In conclusion, watch the videos in youtube from your idols but remember - be yourself when you dance rather than a regurgitation of somebody else.

Fernando Sanchez

He may not be a headliner of the most fashionable tango festivals (that is reserved to a restrict number of couples) and most of you may not have heard of him but Fernando Sanchez is a fantastic teacher. He teaches with Nayla Vacca and recently they moved to Leeds for a few months. I had a private lesson with him (Eleni brought him over to Birmingham) and I was very glad that he could give such a precious amount of feedback. If you want to have good tuition he is worth the trip to Leeds. I did not get the opportunity to meet Nayla but judging by the video, he is in good company.

PS - I am embedding a non-choreographed video. It looks more natural!