Seoul: SC Convention Gangnam

Grand Milonga,  DJ: Anthony (Sydney)

This is the main milonga, the most expencive and spaceous one during the festival. There was a proper buffet too to start the evening with. I can tell you it was delicious!

At the table we were very talkative, chatting away a great part of the night: Three from Finland, one from Malaysia and a Korean leader. What a conversations we created! The dancing was thou not so succesfull and for my concern there will not be so much dancing. I have not managed to catch my dance feeling it seems to be somewhere else.

The main event for the night were the performances of all the masters. They were very beautifull, all of them were beautifull. This year Javier Rodrigues came alone and his first dance was with Maria Dispari. She did an different kind of dance with Javier, playing with music and feet in a new way! Nice to se! (all the performances are loaded at organizers youtube account)

The Korean/Asian crowd is the best one in the whole world to show their appreciation. They start cheering when the couple walks to the pista, next ovations come when they hear what song will be danced. At the end they are cheering, waiving their arms in a way I never heard or seen before! It must be wonderful to be performing here! Listen to the wery end of the perfomances to get an impression!

This kind of atmosphere gets us to relax and invites us to open up our minds for playing, having fun! The teachers are not made of stone so this appreciation and playfullness will even make them to enjoy their job, performig and afterwards to dance socialy.

This night we had also a Korean live orchester lead by the bandoneon player Sangji Koh. You find her orchestra and us dancing in the video below!

If you want to know more about Sangji and her life you get quite a lot information here to start with! Burning For Tango Koh, Sangji : http://foundmag.net/51455


But we others continue with a tango!  

The evening get even better when I got my shoes back! They were found at Lime studio and taken to the yesterdays milonga by the owner! Thanks, thanks a lot. I am happy again!

Seoul: Lime Dance Studio

Welcome Milonga,  DJ: Xiao Bai (Shanghai)

This Thursday evening was the first festival night and we celebrated it at the Lime Dance Studio. There had been a late change of place because this event had grown in popularity and a bigger place was needed and still it was crowded, very crowded! This number of people at an encuentro is maybe not an issue but here where people are mostly dancing tango salon it is difficult - the dancing is more dynamic, outgoing, with figures and playfulness. I got a boleo which did actually not hit me but the circular movement was driving around in my cloths and she needed a moment to get out!    :)


  


I had some dances with visiting milongueras who knew how to take the steps on a small space. Lucky me!

                      

 

It was allso wonderful to reconnect with the teachers I have been taking lessons for several years!

I was so unfocused in the end of the evening that my shoes were left behind. My favorites with the sole for every floor, How will my life be without you?


Seoul tango festival 2015
http://www.seoultangofestival.com/2014/11/2015-seoul-tango-festival-april-30-may-1.html

Seoul: Royal Tango House

Singles Milonga,  DJ: Yojine (Seoul)

I set off to this milonga with a plan not to dance at all but take some pictures and then leave the place early. I kept the first part of my plan but I stayed nearly to the very end. The athmosphere was that nice!

I still cannot figure out what makes a venue more attractive and keeps me back there the whole night while others are more easy for an early departure. This evening made me hang around for a long time!

To give you an impression about the dencity on the pista check these images. The space to next couple is just not so much here!

This event was also the first time in my tangolife where I have seen a natural mix of teachers dancing with each others, with other dancers or together just for fun!

Seoul: Tango O'Nada

Warm-up Milonga, DJ: Benjamin (Seoul)

It was easy to find to Tango O'Nada just following the instructions on the site - you find the URL below - and it was generous too with the payment. No one at the door collecting the fees but a bowl on the bar table. When you pay your 10.000W you get a drink and I choosed to have a bottle with a cap to take with me when it was time to go home!

The crowd was young and very skilled dancing tango salon. They were musical, placing the feet exactly and not shoveling around at all. Many dancers were expressing the music in the body, dissociating beautifully, lowering and raising the body softly to the music.

Most of the leaders managed a quite dynamic dance in a space usually llocated by the crowded pista. Only one younger Asian leader and a long legged foreigner clearly needed a double space at the ronda.

There was even a very skilled female leader and you can spot her here in a white shirt, black trousers and a scarf around the neck as an alternative tie.

                     

And here some feet!
You can even see how beautifully the outer line is formed!
        


Tango O'Nada in Seoul: the link below gives you the map as well as the instructions how to get there!
http://www.milonga.kr/xe/map

http://milonga.kr/xe/index.php?mid=map

On this page you find several more addresses to Korea milongas.
Before your trip try to contact the organizer via the email addresses provided. Sometimes the venue addresses and times are changed.

http://milongas-in.com/milongas-in-asia.php?c=Korea&city=Seoul#Seoul

Seoul tango festival - some Facts and opinions!

You find all the information about this festival on their home page! 
http://www.seoultangofestival.com/2014/11/2015-seoul-tango-festival-april-30-may-1.html

The videos posted by the organizer at El Bulin channel!
https://www.youtube.com/user/florenciatango/videos

Here you find the opinions of some other Finish visitors on their blog! (2011)
https://movementinvitesmovement.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/we-heart-the-seoul-tango-festival/

My postings can be found by a search with a lable KOREA on this blog and videos in Youtube!
https://www.youtube.com/user/LeenaTango/videos

Tango for the brave - Saxtas

I like the sound here!  And the dancing!

       

Tango and Parkinson's desease

Here you have the conclusions for the study how Argentine tango effects on persons with Parkinson's disease:

Conclusion

Argentine tango can improve balance, and functional mobility, and may have modest benefits upon cognition and fatigue in Parkinson’s disease. These findings must be confirmed in longer-term trials explicitly powered for cognition and fatigue.

“Tango for treatment of motor and non-motor manifestations in Parkinson’s disease: A randomized control study” by Silvia Rios Romenets, Julius Anang, Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad, Amelie Pelletier, and Ronald Postuma in Complementary Therapies in Medicine. Published online February 9 2015 doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2015.01.015

The following link gives you a some lengthier text:  http://neurosciencenews.com/parkinsons-tango-dancing-neurology-1948/

[In the end of this URL they have numbers 1948. I assume it is not the year when this study was done. . . . . ]

Tango took me to the stage!

One of my long time tango friends produced a play for a private theater in town. I was asked to join the team to produce and run the visuals for this play and my wild mind said Thank You and I will fix that!

It was ok to produce the videos and prepare the existing for better quality but I did not have a clue how to show them professionally! I got a phone number to a person who is working with media production and the hard message was that he had not been able to find any reliable tool for a PC. He was using Mac.

His advice was to use VLC player and extended screen on computer. This advice did put me on a reasonable track and after some training at home with a smal Pico projector I completed my part of the production.

The team was wonderful and the performance was great so we are now preparing an extra perfomance within some weeks!

                                    The story of the couple dance!     

(PS.  I was dancing too!  A part of an candombe and then later some bad steps :)  )

Heads on top, please

No we are not ballroom dancers and the Throwaway Oversway is not on our training list! Maybe some quebradas. Men anyhow we also bend the head forward and so we are rocking the same boat! Risky for our neck!

             

The whole story you find by cklicking here, this very line!


http://www.delta.dance/2015/03/the-biggest-mistake-dancers-make/

Happy birthday!

A new trend is growing - this is not the first invitation!  :)

Saturday, January 16, 2016 is my birthday.
I will have a small event of some sort, wil arrange it after xx and I has arrived to Buenos Aires on Monday 11/1

So ... you're invited to come and celebrate with me

            

Well done Sebastian and Roxana!

Performing is not necessarily so glamorous and you do not necessarily know how the pista for your performance will look like or how the scene is prepared for you. Still I was surprised finding this!

Roxana is even smiling - real professionals they are!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH2FpSE_utc

DJs on Youtube: Passiontango1

On this Youtube account you find a large amount different tandas you can  combine to a whole dance evening!

Follow the link to the site by cklicking this line!

and you will land on site as below. 

          

Or you prefere to follow an orchestra? On the page below you can find long playlists organized by orchestras and for example you will find a lot of play-ready tandas for d'Arienzo. There is clear risk that your feet are off beforen the playlist has finnished!

This takes you to the page!

        

It will be nice with 43 vals tandas too or what would you prefere? I appreciate the names of the song in the winndow.


https://www.youtube.com/user/passiontango1/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/passiontango1/playlists

Missing the valses!

Performers don't do valses anymore! or more precicely there is only few who do valses.

I have had this feeling for some time and it went down for counting at Forstbite festival in the end of February. There were three performers dancing three songs each with an extra song and this makes the number to 12 performances totally. Not even one vals was included.

It was a week or two afterwards I noticed this fact - so it means that I am not anymore even expecting to hear all three music types during performances.

That is the reason for me to share with you the all time high vals from years back!

According to information on video text this was filmed 2005. I am not sure if this is the original link but this song and performance had a total spell on me. It carried me far a way and still does. At that time Chicho was dancing so differently from other couples, he had such a musicality and as you hear he was appreciated by the crowd!

There is good vals performers but they are not so many. I will come back with my favorites some day!

A musicality that hits my core!

Adrian and Amanda Costa mede it again!  The way they do relate to the music  - I am just dreaming of it!

I can every now and then spot the patterns their teachers - Jorge and Maria Dispari - use but Adrian and Amanda have integrated those steps totally to their OWN dance; they are not puting up some copies.

Please enjoy!  Start by clicking here to a facebook link.

Encuentros milongueros addresses

Here you have some more addresses to find interesting encuentros! CLICK the link and make your choices!

http://www.gatomilongueiro.com/encuentros2/default2.asp

Frostbite 2015: Javier Rodriguez & Noelia Barsi

I have followed Javiers path since 2004 when he was dancing with Ceraldine Rojas.

He has an ability to cooperate with his partners and create an elegant atmosphere and dance. So also with Noelia!





I had some problems with audience geting in a prominent position, therefore I have used this oval framing. I appologize if you can't follow some interesting movements which are happening behind the frame!

DJs on Youtube: Xenia

This late I realized the possibility to listen a milonga evening or part of it on youtube!

Here  you have Xenia!

A capricious joy

The joy of dancing is a capricious companion nowadays!

Earlier it was enough to enter to a tango venue and I was lifted from my daily hassles. I got a clear feeling of dancing, a connection to the music and to my partner for the tanda. It is not so anymore.

During many years I never checked who of my friends was going out to a specific place. I just went there and find my partners there or made new aquintances. Today I don't go if my favorit partners decide to stay at home.

Venues which have put me in the mood for years don't have that power anymore. I do not know why the change is taking place now but I am curious where this new track is going to take me!

One old place is still on top: Pele!

For some reason it has always had a vivid attraction to the crowds here. During long times the only place where we could get some food, drinks and a place to sit down for a talk. It is a family own place and one of the sons is running it now. But his mother is still participating - sitting on the wheelchair and though she doesn't recognize us anymore we chat with her for a while between dances.

Frostbite 2015: Horacio & Magdalena and Solo Tango

I start this short playlist with the 4th song!

In the beginning Horacio is instructing the Solo tango orchestra from Moscow as a reincarnation of d'Arienzo!  Enjoy!

During this weekend I became aware of Magdalenas beautiful walk in ipsilateral way - as opposite for the usual dissociated walk. Just watch her backwards walk in the very beginning of the 4th song! The whole left side is moving and then the right side with the foot, right hip and right shoulder simultaneusly back!

She is using the technique during every song and doing it beautifully!

Frostbite 2015:Pablo Rodriguez & Corina Herrera

This was my first occasion to meet Pablo and Corina and they were great!

The dances were wonderful and they were dancing beautifully together. One central detail not realy visible on videos is Pablos enormous concentration during the dance - I think it was on music but it could be on the dance itself or on something else.

Here you have my recordings from Frostbite 2015: Pablo & Corina

Dana y Chicho en MILONGA!

Dana y Chicho en los 10 años de DNI TANGO

This is the most beautiful milonga I have seen by Chicho!
                             Oh Dana oh,oh Dana Oh Dana!
A strong follower can change the whole dance!

Javier & Noelia on Pugliese in Istanbul

They are totally beautiful in this Pugliese!

Frostbite 2015: Friday night dancing

There was a theme for this night telling us to use white clothes and a mask!

I didn't have noticed this and one of the couples was with me - the black swans!  :)





Friday nights include the most troubled moments during an event. People have not yet found their way to be together. Lots of energy is used to find friends and interesting new dance partners. It can be chaotic on the floor and you most probably have a feeling of to be unconnected to your partner and to the music. But dont worry!   it gets better tomorrow!

El Brujo: even the ghosts start dancing

Yesterday's informal tango evening started very formally but ended in a wild nuevo kind of race! I was leaving but nearly turning back, dancing with my coat on, when a new tanda was to begin . . . but I hardened my heart.

Even a ghost got down to the pista!

Tango in Sweden
http://thetangoportal.com/Calendar.aspx

El Brujo
http://www.eltangobrujo.com/milonga-tango-brujo.aspx

A bloody boleo!

Things happen on pista when too high and careless boleos are used on too crowded milonga!

Click this line to read the whole story!  2015.01.29

Pablo Rodriguez: some most loved!

Videos below are some of the most loved during Pablos career. But still I must say that the new ones from Milonga del Moran are fantastic! The best angle for the footing is for this Di Sarli!

The other songs you find on a different channel: Try Maria Marieta.
URL http://youtu.be/3-i_rW7FpxU

Pablo Rodriguez: With his own voice!

This intervjue is run 2010 - not so much fact but some fun!

This is a link to the article in el Tangauta - click this line 

and you will be beamed to the right space!

Pablo rodriguez: Early days

Thesee are the earliest videos I managed to find at Youtube! From 2006 - the year they won the championchip. If you know about some more please, contribute!

What can we say but the good ones seemsget even better by the years!


2006 Pablo and Noelia

a milonga 2006! 

2007 Pablo and Noelia

2008 Pablo and Noelia

Vincent & Maryline

My first and greatest love among tango teachers!

 I was working with them during 2003-2005 and I still, every now and then, run through some of the 155 figures we were working on at those times. Vincent and Maryline were a really popular couple here in Sweden having workshops in different places. The playfull musicality just catched my and the tango peers' hearts and souls! The way they worked together during performances was and still is unique - totally based on connection.

It was a wonderful surprice to meet her in Stockholm last weekend for a moment!






No! I did not get a dance with her - the guys were cabeceo-ing her quite energetic. But I am happy anyhow because this feels like a positive omen for my decision to start training a more dynamic dance, a dance with minimal kind of nuevo movements. Year 2015 I am ready for you!

Pablo with different followers

I have a often a clear feeling of a follower and they make me choose different steps among the all possiblies for that evening. Therefore I am curious to see if there is changes in Pablos dance with these three ladies.

Pablo Rodriguez with Corina Herrera, who is his doing the most performances with him!

And here a dance with Maria Dragone! She is one of my all time high follower. A follower who comes in to different occasions and lifted the performance always.

As the third constilation - Pablo with Natsha playing the Donato milonga El Torito!

2014 Dragone http://youtu.be/3F6WeJFgQW4
2014 Corina http://youtu.be/8poNjsUCc4o
2012 Natsha Milonga http://youtu.be/Y0U3yQbWKeg

Alexey y Irina -Tengo mil novias

A sunny easygoing performance keeping me happy!

Tango "Recuerdo". Dmitry Vasin and Esmer Omerova. Аргентинское танго. Дм...

According to the text section they are the champions. I think so too!

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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?

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. . .)

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!

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.

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.