A new split of tango types

During my years in tango I have learned different types of categories. The first one was how the music was divided to tango, vals and milonga. It followed by the splits to tango salon and milonguero as well as to open and close embrace.

I am today adding to my personal sets two new categories: a meditative style and dynamic style.

The former style has as a goal to create a flow where the dancers' level in steps and musicality guarantee effortless movement and musical accuracy. I think the biggest scene for these dancers are the encuentros.

The dynamic dance is more focused on movements and a powerful and skilful performance of them.

When I became aware of these possibilities I started to spot information about them in tango texts.

A Personal invitation

I feel honored to have been personally invited to my next encuentro.

 It is a step forward for woman leaders!

The picture is taken at Stockholm Encuentro in August by Cristina Campagna.

A Finnish type of tango night - Arja, Darya & Moonlight orchestra

This is an event in Sweden where they have a cult kind of reltation to Finnish tango! Whole night menu for this kind of nigts - only the initiating visit to sauna is missing here. :(

The Tivoli Milonga in Summer

This is the most popular summer milonga on Fridays!  It is a kind of melting pot where the during winter separated groups come together. It usually activates also the old milongeros and milongeras who have not been dancing for a while. With other words there is many rejunions!





It is the cheapest one too! A card for period May-September costs about 25 € and you can dance the other days too. The concerts are included as well.
http://www.gronalund.com/sv/konserter-underhallning/dans/salsa/

Group process of an Encuentro

During the first day of the encuentro I was upset - no feeling of enjoyment, not even feeling of dancing! A question, if this is the best way to spend a weekend, went through my mind.

I mentioned it to my German friend who is a more experienced visitor of these dance events and his response was to calm me down. The group has not found itself yet! People are coming from different tango cultures, different individuals need to find each others and it takes time to melt all this together.

It was also true that not even I myself was concentrating on the music, partner and dance but the location, scanning the participators, get the rules work for me and that took quite a lot of my mental capacity usually engaged in the dance.

The first night one of my usual partners complained too about how the visitors were just dancing with their friends without giving an eye to the local dancers. And Yes I was doing the same - I danced with the persons I already knew and just following the visitors with my eyes during pauses.

The second day it changed and the visitors started to dance with us.

On the third day the dance was beautiful and the lines were visibly and mostly nicely formed. The group had found the way to be together in Stockholm and new friendships were started and growing with hope to meet again somewhere else!

The advantage of dripping sweat

During the last dancing weekend we had a heat burst in town and all the dancers were dripping of sweat. It happens to each and everyone so it is socially ok, we really don't mind anymore. Somewhere during the weekend I stopped to mind about myself too; I stopped to monitor how the drops were advancing along my neck, my back. I just focused on music and my partner.

During the weekend I woke up without any stiffness or pain in my body. I reflected it but became aware of the difference after the first ordinary milonga. The next morning I could not just jump out of the bed but carefully went up and with slight stretching get the body going and start the day. It was as usual again.

Those hot milongas kept me painless!

Digital paintings from an Encuentro

Here you get a slideshow of my digital paintings from Encuentro Stockholm. Compared with photos from the same event you get more a feeling of the place, atmosphere of the event as I was experiencing it. If you check the photos in the search link below you may find the difference!

When watching the slideshow on a computer please try different angles for the monitor because it changes the intensity of the colors and view - find your personal favorite angle!

I have personally preferred the more faded colors because it gives me a nearly cathedral kind of feeling for some pictures.

Videolink!

Facebook ww links of photos
https://www.facebook.com/stephen.c.wade.1/media_set?set=a.10204431688902567.1073741827.1541662962&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/jerzygeorge.dzieciaszek/media_set?set=a.10204685237120759.1073741841.1531006249&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/jerzygeorge.dzieciaszek/media_set?set=a.10204685342843402.1073741842.1531006249&type=1

Purposely blurred

I have experimented with different methods to make dancers musicality visibly but still let they have a reasonable amount of privacy.

I have been working with these blurred videos about 6 months now and noticed that my brain is responding in an interesting way. When the usual details are deprived the brain starts to find other things to focus on. Anyhow my brain started to follow the whole bodies, mostly shoulders moving in music. Today some of these videos, especially vals, are sending waves of pleasure along my spine!  

There is a clear space traveling around to have some additional stimulation/variation.


Click here!

Dancing at Encuentro Stockholm

In the beginning of this video you find two small stories. One of the followers explains how hot it is in the room and a leader clears the way for his follower! and then the dancing starts.

I will try to link the video to this page but it was not available now!

Click here instead!         

Dancing feet at Encuentro Stockholm 2014

Please note that these video clips are not with selected dancers but some of the participants on Stockholm Encuentro; they just passed my camera during the song.

The video below starts in mute mode - you can not hear the music. Please let it run so and check the delicate speed changes these feet are doing! Silence reveals these small but skillful changes better!





Here a playlist for the other ones - totally there is 6 small clip!

Playlist 

Dancing shoulders in Stockholm

Here you get the first impressions from the Stockholm Encuentro, which started yesterday. The day milonga was more lively than I expected but this song is one of the calm ones.

Leaders feet are like a production center, an engine hammering down the dance which will be visibly in the shoulders!

Updated:20140806  I reedited the video and the result is above! the old one below.

Youtube is not cooperating. Click this line and I will take you there instead!

How about shaving the head and face!

Some leaders attend the milonga without shaving their head or face leaving the follower to rub against a bed of tiny nails. Not appreciated by all the followers!

An unhappy meeting!

My foot and a kitchen chair had a private, unhappy encuentro yesterday eveving.
Heading for 9 + 9 + 6  hours of dancing with this toe. Poor toe, bad luck, ... I ... will be dancing.