Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Sueño Porteño - At other places!.

I really liked this milonga! We came early and had time to look around in the the old venue and watch when dancers arrived and filled the dance floor. One who came even earlier was the lady in red on the pista with only a few persons on the floor and please check her feet still moving smoothly, beautifully after more then 70 years on the pistas in the video!

For this night the DJ was female; noticed by the DJ lady of our little group.

I asked the organizer if it was ok with ladies leading and she strongly approved that. She tries to change the traditions and has occasionally ladies invitation for some parts of evenings.

Because it is still quite unusual the followers are not monitoring invitations from women but I managed to catch the attention of a friendly, well dancing lady from Uruguay. She gave me a nice milonga tanda for this evening!




According information this is the venue for the old milonga called Niño Bien. Featured also in the book Long After Midnight at Niño Bienat by Brian Winter -  This is the reason for the balcony scene here - some descriptions of the moments on those balconies were so vividly written in the book. I needed a touch down.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

La Glorieta - At other places!

La Glorieta is the only outdoor milonga I visited while in Buenos Aires! This place had a glorious reputation at home so I had build up a big imaginary venue. The real one was quite a lot smaler . . .
If you have not been there yet; take a look!

Here I did not spot a woman leader during the milonga but on the lesson before I noticed a femail couple taking the steps!

I visited the place with a non-dancing friend so we mostly just took pictures and then walked for a late coffee and took a bus towards Congreso.



I visited the china town earlier the same week to by some things and to see the place. I always visit the local china town if possibly. China and Japan have been my long time loves since childhood!


Saturday, December 13, 2014

Confiteria Ideal! - At other places!

My first night ever in Argentina and Buenos Aires started at Confiteria Ideal! The place I had heard so much about and was eager to see. Beautiful was it even if we only could move around at first floor only.

I spotted a woman leader during all the milonga tandas and you can watch her dancing in the last video clip among the visuals below. After seeing one more female couple on a milonga tanda I joined the dancers; me too leading! There was several persons at tables and some couples encouraging us rule breakers.




If you want to read about the history of this milonga as well as about the story of the house, please, check this blog to start : Click here and chekc!

BBC has done a program about Confiteria Ideal, tango and stuff. It is some years old but I found it still interesting. Click here to find out what do you think!

November 2014

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Repetition builds up favorites in music


According this talk the repetition gives us possibility to reorganize the already known information. There is also time to focus on new aspects in the content giving us totally new experiences.

The music we are dancing to is cleverly and skillfully build up offering us access to vast material of structures and variations. There is also a lot of repetition of the songs when you are regularly  attending a series of milongas.

After this talk I am even more bound to the idea of listening a song until I cannot put up with it anymore but if I still continue to listen I will get into a deeper level of understanding and experiencing! I get hooked to the song in a special way which gives me a deep feeling of joy when a old song is played again after many years.


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Milonga Grammofon at Pele - At other places

This time you find even me dancing on this facebook video!

Click here!


This is my Alma Mater and the owner/organizer is one of my earliest teachers. The restaurang has got a renovation uplift well needed after so many years.


An earlier video shows the break down party when we were dancing and breaking down the old floor.


Tuesday, October 21, 2014

3Esquinas - At other places!

The late afternoon milonga on Sundays is one of the most popular during Stockholm winter.

Maximo and his family is running the event since 6 years - they had a anniversary last Sunday - and when you look the crowd it will last long!


The video is purposely blurred!  so you can relax even if you spot my camera.

Adrian and Amanda Costa - Dancing 1/4 tango, argentine tango (2014-05-10...


I have really grown to appreciate their slow and musical performances!

Jorge and Marita Dispari are their teachers but it is not easy to see - their own personality is still the strongest element for us watching their dance.



Monday, October 20, 2014

Variation please!

I talked with an old leader friend yesterday evening and he is frustrated.

I our town we have several hundred tango dancers but it is not enough for him! He spots the same faces in the venues night after night. He is dreaming of to move to south and live somewhere in the region including  Copenhagen, Malmoe and Lund.

Those three places creates a busy creative community in change all the time! Travelers find their way easily to the venues and festivals announced at high speed frequency!

He wouldn't be the first one to move because of Tango!  It happens regularly now and it happened in history too!

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Tangueramos?

Or something similar - my spanish is not up to date . . .

But anyhow a new word for dancing tango has been included to Diccionario de la lengua española
















If you click the picture below it will be shown as a larger copy.






http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=tanguear

A practica in Stockholm with a feet quiz

The practica presented here was run in March this year. I filmed quite late in the evening, just before the La Cumparcita, after having danced off my own feet!

If you have visited us at that time you maybe recognize the feet of these three couples presented in the middle of the video

A.  The relatively new feet on tango pista

B.  The most rhythmical feet in out community

C.  The playful feet on that evening




As you see we have divided the space in two parts: the part near the scene is for dancing with continuous flow, mostly for the experienced dancers. If you want to train your steps and discuss the solutions instead you can do that at the far end of the pista on the other side of the row of chairs.

Welcome to your Wednesday practica some day in Stockholm!

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Plaza Bohemia - At other places!

Milonga Plaza Bohemia is one of the most strict seating and cabeceo milongas in Europe! I have learned to like it. One of the reasons is the venue having a small corridor area with followers and leaders facing each others - easy to see and nod.

Here, at this end of the corridor we have a round pista and at the other end are the tables for families and couples.


Plaza Bohemia in Stockholm - 2014.10.04

Friday, October 3, 2014

ROST - At other places!

Yesterday was my first time at Rost this autumn - a wonderful cafe with great atmosphere! The owner is passionate collector of things and tasty recipes.

Every other Thursday a part of the floor is cleared for dancing and the other tables and corners are filled in with non dancing visitors. The new thing for this year was that the space had been increased by pushing the wall further in to the garage, where the motorcycles and things are fully visible behind the glass doors!





This video is from last season but it still gives you a good picture of the place!



Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Dispari workshop

It is autumn again and for the third time I participated in a Disparis workshop! This time the organizers were in Uppsala, Sweden, easily reached by a commuter train from here!
















Photo Bengt Backlund/EB

The sad news was that Marita is using wheelchair because of a knee injury. We miss her dancing but her voice and laughter were definitely there! During the workshop she generously gave feedback to everyone coming to her. The couple traveling with them assisted during the lessons. Friendly persons and when I danced with Alessia she could explain the issues in good english! I feel inspired!

My companion for the two earlier workshops had not possibility to follow me this year so I had two new followers. This motivated me to rehears the earlier content in my notes and video library. Some material was run together with the followers. These preparations made our life easier during the weekend.

I am a slow learner but during the workshop I managed to lift a lot of the earlier material from training stuff to dancing level, ready for a milonga evening.

Organizers:  http://tangoamigazo.com/index.html


Saturday, September 27, 2014

The ronda stoppers

There is a limit of pausing/giroing I cope with today and if one leader keeps going on at a spot until 1/3 of the ronda in front of him is empty and the 2/3 behind him is crowded that is just too much. It happens here and one leader can change the flow on entire pista.

Most of us leaders are focusing the attention only on forward movement. That is the skill level among us navigators. We have been trained to monitor forward and our attention is as a car headlight, we are aware of 2-4 couples ahead, and we adapt mainly forward.

If my attention was equally for the couples behind me I could notice when they start dance at a spot and ....I could do the same... start to dance at a spot and the density of our ronda could be maintained. 

Today it is a risky solution because if I stay with the couple behind me the new opening in front of me will attract the most notorious line cruisers.

I remember one class with Argentine teachers where we were supposed to change lines when changing from the advancing mode to spot dancing mode. Outer line was dedicated for advancers and the more center areas for those who got  serious, continuous enrosque attacks. Quite a good routine but applied too seldom!


Thursday, September 25, 2014

Tango - an unequal dance

Tango is an unequal dance because the followers chances to a deep dance are much bigger compared to the leaders. When a leader has a good technical level and navigation skills the followers can feel safe, relax, enjoy the music and reach the deepest levels within her. Sometimes down to a meditative state.

For me the situation is more demanding. To get towards that meditative dance a leader needs a safe, predictable pista and to get there we are depending on all the other leaders. When the pista is working fine the navigation requires hardly any of my capacity and I can also get a deeper dance then.

I wonder when can we get a pista where all we leaders are working together for this enjoyable goal: a safe, predictable but fun pista? Sometimes when I look the crowd I nearly loose my hope of getting there in my lifetime.

This one is a positive exception!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Encuentro Kehl 2014, some visuals

A short playlist with dancing feet!  I get more and more exited about these short videos and they have a direct impact on my dance also! The musicality of some feet and the care they take the steps and I want to follow those paths!






If you have your FB open you get access to some of the digital paintings from the very same place!

Just click on this line!


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

an Ice cube in tea!

When we foreigners are flooding over the tango countries to for a visit or for a longer stay I wonder what is happening.

 Are we diluting the original tango? Changing it? Like when an ice cube is added to a hot tea cup.

Should there be some entry restrictions as there is for the Moss Garden in Kyoto Japan?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saih%C5%8D-ji_(Kyoto)

or

Should we appreciate this change which will create a tango for total globe?

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

You can control the SPEED in youtube

One of the most valuable option in youtube of today is the speed control: You can decide if it goes slower than normal or speed up your video. 

Here you have the control button:




If this option is not available at your youtube window you maybe are missing the add-on called HTML5 . All things remain the same on your youtube window but you just get the control button!

Place your cursor on the youtube window and RIGHT click. This click brings up a list of options and you take the HTML line. 




I use the slower options when I need to check details but the fast variants are really useful for speeches - at 1.5 you still understand the words but get through a 15 mins speech in 10 mins - GREAT  i think!

(I am updating all my channels with this info - sorry if you are hit by this several times. . .)

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

A one night tanda

At my home pista I am actually not interested about a one night tanda. I am much more interested about long term dance relationships.

Sometimes it takes many months to establish a new relationship because there is several things we need to know about each others before coming to a mutual understanding and dancing. Does she have her own musicality?  Do we share the same musicality? Are we dancing well together? Can we talk about other things than tango? Her boyfriend, does he accept me?  and so on. . . .

So sometimes I just sit and watch the dancers even when the music is wonderful!




Monday, September 1, 2014

Dance as no one is watching

*Dance as no one is watching!* has been going around at net as a mantra for spiritual dancing.

I would like to change it a little bit: Check every now and then who is watching your dance!

I learned to monitor the onlookers because I needed to know who among the followers could accept an invitation from a woman leader. A smiling face or an eye steadily staying in contact was quite sure signs of interest for a tanda with me.

Today I appreciate also the eye contact with the leaders because it creates a nice atmosphere on the pista. A friendly eye on my feet during a fierce milonga can give me a feeling of being on the right road and I can happily continue to develop in that direction.


Sunday, August 31, 2014

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.



Saturday, August 30, 2014

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.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

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. :(


Saturday, August 16, 2014

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!


Sunday, August 10, 2014

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!


Saturday, August 9, 2014

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




Thursday, August 7, 2014

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!         


Tuesday, August 5, 2014

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 



Saturday, August 2, 2014

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!


Friday, August 1, 2014

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.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Notes or flow?

I am deeply worried about the counting based training for musicality. The only way offered to students.

To count the music is as rigid way to learn musicality as the salida-based training was for movements.

I prefere to develop and strengthen the emotions which are carried to you by the composer, singer and the orchestra.

You can also develop the listening ability so you can hear and be aware of more about the things going on in the music! Even this is teasing the brain and should NOT be done so much!


Wednesday, July 30, 2014

My timetable for the weekend!

This is my timetable for the weekend I have been seeing forward to since March when it was booked! This Encuentro is one of the strongest cabeceo holds in Europe so it will be interesting to find out how we two go together deep in to the nights! 
























The only thing making some worries is this:

It will be HOT hot HOT!



Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A summer milonga

This is our summer venue and this summer we have regular milongas there on Tuesdays. Additional milongas can be arranged every now and then!

Last Saturday a new team, Kim and Jessica, organized a milonga on this warm night!

We had a short break when the King's sheeps were passing by on their way to the night stable. Take a look how the sheep dogs are working to keep the group together!


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The #5 - a generation divider

When we were working with some of my friends I said - Take the #5! and he just looked at me and said: WHAT's that?

He is my junior in tango and has been learning in a different way. Me and my peers started with SALIDA, 8-Step Basic where the leader's steps are

1. Right back
2. Left side
3. Right forward
4. Left forward

5. Collect the right and change weight while the follower does the cross

6. Left forward
7. Right side step
8. Collect the left


So the issue on our training session was the cross for her and collecting & shifting weight for the leader. Most often I use the #5 term when I want the follower go to cross!

I belong to the SALIDA-generation and he & Co do not. Some of them I think can not do the salida at all. 







Sunday, July 13, 2014

Clear and basic - Figures with Diego and Ana

When I need to know about a basic performance for a figure one of the places I look is the Diegos and Anas playlist for Argentine tango.  I thought that it maybe could be helpful for you too! This is for sacada my favorite figure this summer!


Link to the playlist!                 
(There is difficulties with videos so you get only a link.)     

Here you find a copy of the playlist window. You see that they have 47 items on the list! :)




http://youtu.be/zsiG6syustM?list=PL29FA8532E914DD98

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Outdoors in Stockholm






Outdoors every Wednesday in July 
@ Årstaliden


The kicks in the Golden Age

In her book Christine Denniston writes that most of the advanced moves we use today were actively used even during the Golden Ages.

"Modern Tango dancers are sometimes surprised to find that the social dancers in Buenos Aires in the Golden Age danced these same kicks and flicks on the social dance floor."

I am reading the words - on the social dance floor - again and again.
Who did start the talk about to exclude these moves from social dance floors?

 Christine Denniston: the meaning of TANGO, The Story of the Argentinian Dance
 (p. 152)

Dancing during the war

A copy of a friends FB status at Tel Aviv, Israel

Life during the war. DJing at almost empty practica.

You know, dear people, it's Ok to feel fear.
Believe me, I know, I've been there.
I was afraid almost of everything.
Mice, darkness, water, high places, performance...

No, I mean, really afraid.
Up to the point of fainting.
But I never - and I mean never - allowed this fear to rule my actions, to decide what I will or will not do.

And this is the difference between a person who is afraid - and a coward.

What happened to us?
People used to dance under a real - and I mean, real - bombing.
What happened to us?
Are we too safe in our usual life?

There is further comments on this status I appreciated. Check here:
https://www.facebook.com/xenia.mikhailov/posts/10152596188572952



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The local or worldwide barrio?

In the old days the dance styles evolved in the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires & Co. The main  feature keeping the group together was the geographical aspect; the people, dancers near you will develope the same way of dancing. People met weekly and watched how the skilled peers were dancing, get inspired and let their own dance change to that direction

In the worldwide barrio the teachers have become the central feature for a community. The peers in the community around a teacher will travel to the workshops, watch the videos and communicate in the net with others and develop their movements in that teachers style.

I suppose a person belongs to different barrios. 

What are your local barrios and the characteristics there?
Are you a member of a worldwide barrio, following a teacher and a style?



Teachers or Youtube?

Today we are living in the expert world so we don't believe on our own ability to see, understand and apply our own ideas on our dance. We want quite exact guidance from a teacher and we want to get forward at racer speed. This gives us a very strong from outside to inside learning and we create a more homogeneous pista, less variation on a figure.

In the old world the dancers were watching the skilled local dancers and then tried to do something similar. The learning was from outside to inside but I think that the results were more or less individual.

There are also stories how a dancer wanted to go around and found a way to do so. All the results were different creating a jungle of movements and an utterly diversified pista.The learning was from inside to outside.

To learn from youtube is a kind of modern variation of this old type of learning!


Monday, July 7, 2014

Shoulders or Feet?

I think one of the biggest differences between the dancers of earlier days and the ones today is the place, where people primarily focus the dance. The old milongueros told that they looked at the shoulders, the upper part of the body to find the DANCE. 

Today the the attention is mainly focused on feet. This phenomenon you can easily discover on youtube! If the person behind the camera cannot get the whole image in same window they will move downward and show you the feet. The same on workshops where people will eagerly learn the consecutive steps and only after that pay attention to the movement of torso.

I think this shift of primary focus has an impact on our dance and dance experience!


Sunday, July 6, 2014

The lost cravings for tango

After all these years of dancing 4-5 nights per week or whole weekends with short moments of sleep I do not go out anymore. Or more correct I go out but the process to get out is a risky one with many moments for failure. I do not have any desire to dance, I have no cravings today.

This means that I must do the preparations more carefully today. I need to have all the clothing ironed and ready that afternoon. The food needs to be planned and ready to cook after I have taken the shower. In that order! If the meal comes first there is enough time to get relaxed and I will stay at home on the sofa! It has happened.

If my friends are traveling I will stay at home - the promise to them is motivating.

I am thinking of this quite a lot.

Earlier the clothing was not a problem. I ate what I found and had time to. There was always people to dance with if my favorites were on vacation. I walked to the bus stop at an hour of my usual bedtime - not a slightest problem!

I am happy to say that WHEN I get to the milonga the dancing can be as joyful happening as ever! Greatful for that!

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Get a personal Tango Doctor!

Every now and then a follower comes to me at a milonga and asks for a recovery dance. Her body is out of order after a dance with a nice but unskilled leader who is shaking her body to chaos. During our tanda she recovers and can go home with memories of a nice milonga.

When I was still following I had a similar problem caused by rough words from some leaders. During that period I had a tango friend who was an easygoing, experienced dancer. His dance was not demanding but still spiced up with some moves and he could have some small talk going on even during a song. When my world was smashed down by someone I went to him and asked for a tanda. This playful dance let me recover and go home glad for the nice parts of the evening. I called him for my Tango Doctor in my mind.

Please take this advice and get your own Tango Doctor, a man or a woman! Your milongas will become a much better place in that way. Become friend with someone who has a healing effect on you. Become aware of this effect and keep this friend!



Who could be your doctor?






Friday, July 4, 2014

Tango moves on wikipedia

This site is a good place to start when looking for a correct name for a tango move. You find here the names in English and Spanish and quite explanatory pictures as well.

Figures of Argentine tango









Tango Lesson seems to be involved here because most of the figures are shown by Cristina and Homer Ladas.

I suppose you can find some videos at their channel on several of these figures.














http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figures_of_Argentine_tango




Thursday, June 12, 2014

Eye contact!

I have had a few encouraging memories from other leaders, who caught my eyes and improved the contact by a light smile on his lips. There was a short moment of understanding between us until the music put us to next whirling turns in different directions. In May I got this gift from a guy in Athens and another in Stockholm, both unknown leaders to me. Those short eye contacts made my milonga, they made my night!

For some reason these instant contacts to another leader have had a deep positive impact on me and they have created long term memories, gems, for me! 


Monday, June 9, 2014

Run or Grow?

If you are learning new things continuously you are gaining area; you know more and more about this dance. You will learn more and more steps as well as names for those steps. Your knowledge base is growing.

But every now and then you should take a pause and just dance. During that period the information, all your knowledge is integrated to your personal platform in tango! Your knowledge is transformed to skill and depth.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Music for a private workshop

Here are the songs we were working with on the musicality section. You find the music and one or two couples dancing the same song.
The range of emotions here are all the way from a sad song to a musical joke!

Viento Norte 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EweUUTfkEaQ





Derecho Viejo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYG5mAi4O5s



This song has been around for a while and *some* years ago it looked like this!



El Espiante
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmQ6ItX33Rs

A playful musical joke on the pista!




Thursday, May 29, 2014

The Addams Family Masochism Tango

Year 2000 (about) this was quite ok as a part of a tanda in our community. Only one leader had problems to dance it because of the serious laugh attacks putting him bend over knees!  Others were just dancing.

If you have had it in a tanda lately, please tell how it was going on! I am badly curious!!






Here you have the creator Tom Lehrer at piano - The Masochism Tango



You find some more information and the text for this song in the end of wikipedia article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Evening_Wasted_with_Tom_Lehrer


Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The singer changes it and the follower liked it!

During many pauses at late milonga backstage I have heard frustrated dancers to burst out: The dj has SINGERS all the time!! I can not take it anymore this night!!

Many of them were too frustrated to be able to tell why; others told me about the disturbing issues, but I never really understood what the problem was. I found my way through the songs without problems, I was listening the music in a different way I thought.

Now I have got a clue about it! I visited a milonga with live music for a part of the evening. The instrumental songs were really nice to dance to, but then the singer came in: The forward movement, which was created by the instruments, was pushed back and the voice slowed everything down, made it different. I could still dance, but I did not enjoy it. My follower heard the same but she felt that the steps became unsecure, changed to be fragile and matched the music. 

 All the songs were beautiful and beautifully performed but for me it would have been better to stop dancing, sit down and enjoy instead!

Anyhow now I have shared the experience my friends have had so many times; I understand them better now!


Monday, May 26, 2014

History impact on a tanda

In Athens:  the girl told me 
she took some steps on her own 
during our tanda.

She told it's because of her origin,
because she is from Sparta.

I did not noticed, it was ok




Wikipedia:
In ancient Sparta in contrast to Athens, the girls were reared much like boys, including physical fitness training.
 









http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_ancient_Sparta




Saturday, May 24, 2014

Military impact on Tango in Thailand

The community has changed the start to be earlier. But the content is still the same despite the military take over.

*SATURDAY MILONGA BY LYNN tomorrow, new hours due to curfew, 16:00 - 19:00 pm, Red Pepper, Rembrandt Hotel, Bangkok, Sukhumvit Soi 18, Asok station. Still includes food/bev. Bt 350. Come early to enjoy full three hours of tango!*

Facebook address to one of the organizers in Bangkok.




Friday, May 16, 2014

The different goals on one pista

It is not so easy to notice that on this very same pista people have different goals, which are driving the split of the group to different subgroups.

We could compare the possible groups in a runner's world to see the activators there and to compare those with the dancers' world. We maybe could agree about following groups: Sunday stroll, Easy training for health, to Get Good at running and the Long Distance Runners who are testing their personal edges.

Can you identify the corresponding groups in your dance community? 

I think the social aspects are strongest for the *Sunday stroll* group and least of importance for the *LongDistance* dancers. There are maybe some health aspects too but not for the Long Distance dancers who are pushing themselves through pain and injuries. The skill development must be extremly important for the LongDistance group and even for the GetGood dancers who are travelling for workshops and milongas around the world .

Which of these would be your group? 

I think your dance life will be much more pleasurable if you can identify the group which suits your interests. If you can find the other dancers with the same goals in your community, establish relationships with those dancers and you will create the most harmonious atmosphere possible for your dance life.



Thursday, May 15, 2014

A milonga with max 10 followers

If the milonga is three hours long the organizer should allow at maximum 10 followers to attend the venue. That is the only change to give a good service.

When a DJ is using medium long cortinas there will be four (4) tandas per hour. In this case I can have two rests during the night. With other words I will dance 4tandas, rest one, dance 3, rest one and then dance 3 tandas again.

This kind of small milongas would make it possible for me to offer a tanda to everyone, if they are interested. It would also be easy and natural to say hello to each and everyone. 
What a releaf for a leader!
......................          
written on a dark day      
......................          

I desperately appreciate the followers who can handle a frustrating situation, who can see the actual situation even for the leaders and who are willing to work persistent for the tandas they are longing for. You have my eye! If you are interested.




Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Café de Hansen is found by archaeologists

There is very little relicts to be found in tango history. Most of the important things of sounds, steps, atmosphere and words do dissappear when completed. Therefore this peace of archaeological excavations feels so interesting.

Café de Hansen opened the doors 1877 and were hosting the tango visitors to 1912. There is discussions about the information if people were actually dancing there or if they just listen to the music while eating and refreshing themselves.



You find a more detailed story in the Tango Chamuyo blog - better English is it too!
http://jantango.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/cafe-de-hansen/

The Spanish version here:
http://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/areas/cultura/cpphc/sitios/detalle.php?id=4


Friday, April 18, 2014

The desert flower opened


I have been longing for Alvaros music for a long time and got it at Tango Brujo tonight!
Most of the musicians and singers on the playlist were born long time after golden ages and I felt how something opened up within me, like a flower after a long dry period. A song could sound totally impossibly but was easy to dance to.

It seems that I need a wide range of variety and this is available so seldom.

Thanks!




Check what is happenig on *El Tango Brujo* : http://www.eltangobrujo.com/

This picture is from the late night, nearly at the end of the Milonga so we were only a few left.
I just couldn't take a break earlier!

A tango film about why we dance

  https://youtu.be/QFs1VGbTnls