The tango face

The tango face comes late in the tango development, I'll try to characterise it.

The talk with the mouth phase
Tango is little more than a dialogue between two partners. Absolute beginners take this very literally and it's a common feature to hear them exchanging views on what they do for a living, where they live or where they are from. It's a mixed face of relaxation and not really understanding what they got themselves into, typical of someone giving their date a lift one day after getting the driving license (ie danger on the road/dancefloor)

The feet attraction phase
When a tanguero starts, it's almost 100% sure that he will be trying to walk looking to the partner's feet. It makes absolute sense for the beginner, he doesn't want to step on the partner because he wants the partner to dance with him again. It's just tango survival at a beginner level! However, the crude harsh reality is that looking to the partner's feet is a big mistake and worse than closing your eyes. You get all confused by the fact that your partner is doing the complete opposite of you're doing. But when you're a beginner, it is not that obvious.

The sorry phase
Sorry phase starts right at the beginning. But if in the beginning this is obscured by obvious reasons to ask for forgiveness, now it is just annoying. Looking to the brighter side, the tanguero is actually admitting that he is wrong, which demonstrates at least some sort of "looking-into-the-mirror-and-seeing-what-is-there" attitude. Or not.

The scrunchy face phase
After some practice, lots of being told off by teachers about this feet obsession, the tanguero starts to let his eyes actually look into the dance floor. But this tanguero is still in a learning phase. Concilliating movement, coordination with navigational skills is very very difficult and as a results he/she starts making funny faces everytime a more daring move is made. Biting the tongue is a very common feature but scrunching the forehead, opening mouth or adding sound effects to the move are other features that are quite common.

The limbo phase
(also called the growing pains)
The tanguero has done the beginner, improver and intermediate modules and has (in his mind) depleted all movements. Until this point that tanguero could see his progress week by week but now that the standard "moves" have gone, he feels he is learning nothing. This is the fase where the tango face starts to blossom. But like everything in nature, it needs the appropriate conditions to do so. Good teaching, good attitude and realisation that instead of learning moves every week the tanguero has to work on his technique are indispensable requirements.

The Nirvana phase
This accomplished tanguero has learnt how to control his body and his partner's in favour of the music. He dominates the moves very well and is keen on going back to the basics. When dancing he evokes a face that seems to be many millions of light years away from the dance floor. The tanguero has learnt to focus on the dance. He may look very serious but in fact, he is enjoying every little bit of the dance. Occasionally, this tanguero may disguise a smile when something goes unexpectedly right or wrong but that will be coated by a glow of serenity and control. This is the tanguero that everyone wants to dance with. Not the end product but close to it.

The local heroes

I would like to praise the real tango heroes that are most of the times forgotten in blogs and conversations. I would like a word of praise to those local people who put an incredible effort to organise and teach tango, sometimes puting their own money forward, squeezing their time and neglecting their jobs in order to make the local community grow.
It's only due to there people that tango stars can be invited to teach outside their original country. It's only because of them that we are here discussing tango in blogs.

DISCLAIMER: I'm a tango part-time organiser. This post is not written because I want to be pampered or praised. It's for all of those who probably are the people that made it possible for you to be reading this.

Tango is serious

One of my beginner students was telling me. "Tango is serious, salsa is all about messing around, but in tango you have to stay within limits". Those might not have been the exact words (I wasn't recording what she said) but definitely she was touching a subject that I think is very stereotypical and not truth to reality, that tango is all about seriousness.
Tango looks quite daunting. For a lay person, it's a very intricate dance, with apparently little space to put your feet on, and with lots complicated moves that seem just impossible for the common mortal to do. The music doesn't help that perception either. Dozens of instruments playing sometimes very melodramatic melodies with romantic voices and lyrics...
But tango is FUN! Even in those Pugliese or Di Sarli tracks, where the waves of music are as big as it can get, you can always dance with fun. It may be within limits, but it's all about fun. The day that I am not having fun while dancing, I'll stop.

Tango is only serious when you make it serious.

Neotango rant (III)

Nowadays, most people spend far too much energy on the war between traditionalist and nuevo. The problem is not the styles themselves. The problem is that everybody believes that they are right, when probably, nobody is.

Women leading (II)

I have said it before, I love comparing the way how women and men lead in tango. I do think that there are characteristic features. Women tend to be more careful with their partners (mostly because they have probably experienced the opposite treatment from not-so-good leaders), tend to do more roundy figures and to give more space and time to their partners.
Hormones do leave their mark!
So, if you don't know this one you should definitely have a look. Ariadna Naveira has a pedigree, daughter of the all-mighty Gustavo Naveira and of the much revered Olga Besio, she has a wicked sense of musicality and a technique above what is usually found in maestros. Bear in mind she is still a teenager (or came off teens recently). The future looks bright!

How the shortcut can be the longuest way

I'm going to tell you the story of Mr and Ms Innocent.
Mr and Ms Innocent were a young couple that started tango roughly at the same time. They had been dancing mainly within their community and, grapevine says, they were fairly good at it, good enough to be allowed to do advanced workshops.
The Innocents saw an international festival which starred one of the Innocent's favourite dancers, at the time. When considering the level, they thought "let's go for the advanced level, after all, we're allowed into advanced classes in our tango hometown".
The class finally came and the Innocent's were getting butterflies in their bellies. The maestro came in, put some music on and asked them to dance. By the end of the dance he seemed to be very pissed off, much more than he was when he came in (probably as a result of a very bad hangover). I am sure that most teachers would just lower the level so that students could get it but Mr tangomaster taught them a double lesson. He kept on with his level and did very complicated moves, difficult challenging and when made by him, very graceful. Mr and Mrs Innocent managed to skim the surface of what he taught but they felt they didn't get half as much as they should have got. When looking around, with the exception of a few couples, all the other couples were having the same or even more difficulties. The truth haunted their minds - they just weren't good enough for that level.
By the end of the festival, much of what had been taught in the workshop had gone. Not because Mr and Mrs Innocent were having amnesia or neurological problems but because there was so much information that they could only skim the surface that in the end it evaporated away before they could mull it over. This left the Innocents a few euro poorer but also with their confidence a bit dented, after all, they were not as advanced as they thought they were. Last but not least, they could have visited less hurriedly the limestone plazas and cafés of the sunny destination where the festival was being held, certainly, something that would have brought much more satisfaction.

A few years down the line, the Innocents learnt how to be more humble. They learnt that you are not an advanced taguero because you attend advanced workshops. They understood that they are advanced tangueros because they know what level they are within the "tango food chain".


This tango fable shows that if you want more out of your hard worked munny you should choose an appropriate level for you. This means looking into a mirror and trying to see what's in the other side, as opposed to see what you wished would be on the other side. If you can't see past your imagination ask your teacher for advise.
Doing workshops above your level will not only give you less than you're paying for but also by not doing appropriate level workshops you'll be missing important concepts that are needed in order to progress to the next level. And without those, you'll allways be a pseudo-advanced dancer (or maybe not even that).

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)

Overtaking

It has happened a billion of times. You want to go forward but there is someone in front of you. What do you do? You overtake. And then? You go to the middle and get evicted from the line of dance. In the centre (also called the snake pit or penalty box) you see only two kinds of people - the ones that are really good and for a few moments go there to do a few wider movements or the ones that have no clue about how to dance tango socially. It tends to be more of the second genre.
So, the secret is not to overtake! If someone in front of you is doing stuff in the same place, do so yourself as well! Overtake only when the couple in front of you has a good and unused space in front of them, which means that they probably don't move forward that much, and that tells you as well about their knowledge of social tango.
Overtaking but how? If you have space, overtake by the left. Be quick. Overtaking by the right, in principle, should not be possible. If you are dancing outside the line of dance there won't be space for anyone to overtake you by the right. If someone does overtake you by the right maybe you should look to where you are and think if it's really the other person's fault!

Tango goes to my hometown

Otango, choreographed and directed by Adrian Veredice and Alejandra Hobert is coming to my hometown. I take tango shows very carefully. I usually have a lot to criticise because they always put a lot of tango acrobatics that I am not so keen on. Hopefully that won't be the case. i respect Adrian and Alejandra so I hope this is worth it.

The theatre itself (Theatro Circo) means a lot to me as I have worked there for plays and as I was a frequent goer when I used to live there... Every time I go back to a show I'm always spotting for the familiar spots, where I twisted my ankle, where I used to go and have my lunch...
Once i dreamt that i was performing on the main stage of that theatre. Who knows...

Some photos of the theatre.


the Salão Nobre, wouldn't it be a nice milonga?



view to the stage...


or to the ceiling!

Tango and Yoga

It's been a while since I am getting that will to try other things that will improve my dance. I don't mean that I want to leave tango, it still grips me as much as it did since the first day I came across it, but I mean that I want to develop my body and mind a little bit more.
I have never tried yoga before, but people that have done tell me that it is a great way of getting to know your inner self and to reach an equilibrium that you rarely do in the "waking life". So tango and yoga sound like the perfect thing.
There is a problem, though. 500 miles. That's the distance that separates my place from Edinburgh. But if you're lucky enough to be in Auld Reeky, give it a try, it's probably going to help your tango a lot!!!

Going back home

I was back home during August. In early September I went back home again, but not to the same one, I went to my tango home - Edinburgh. Luckily for me, Edinburgh was hosting the Orquesta Típica Imperial, Alejandro y Marisol (we filmed them so I'll post them on youtube, they're worth it!) and a ball to go with it!
As soon as we stepped in the room where the dance was going around, I saw my tango-infancy friends, those with who I learnt with, all coming back with smiles, hugs and fantastic dances.
I was in that hall for over 4 hours and I didn't seat even once. Apart from the time when Alejandro y Marisol were doing their performance, I danced all night with those people who I danced so many times and with who I learnt so much. But after 1 year of not having contact with them they were SO different! Their moves much more elegant, their energy much more subtle, their musicality so much improved... I'm sure that Orquesta Típica Imperial helped to my enjoyment but, I had a tango night as I haven't had since... last time I was in Edinburgh!
For following week I couldn't dance. I don't know why but I had no will to dance. I just wanted to perpetuate the feeling of tango happiness as long as I could.

Lesson learnt

Is good when you see people that not long ago just wanted to learn volcadas and colgadas while finishing their first module of beginner's tango, now turning to me and telling me that the most important thing is the walk and how you dance to the music. It's just a small thing but it sometimes makes me think that I am not talking to the walls... And it really pays off all the effort of starting a tango community from scratch!