Cortina, cabeceo, etc.

So, I am in a traditional milonga where music is played in tandas with cortinas in between. The way I understand it, the purpose of a cortina is for the dancers to leave the dance floor and, when the new tanda starts, using cabeceo, to find partners to dance with if they choose to dance at all.

So, the tanda ends, I  return to my seat and wait for the new tanda to start to see whether or not the music inspires me to dance. In the same time, during the cortina I scan around looking for potential dance partners so that when the tanda does start, if I want to dance at all, I already know where to direct my cabeceo invitation.

So, I try looking around but can not see anyone because there is this couple standing right in front of me during the cortina, engaged in a conversation, ready to dance as soon as the music starts.

Please, pretty please, dear fellow tango dancers, do not stand on the dance floor during the cortina. I do understand your desire to just continue dancing with your current partner, but it is really rude to prevent others from finding dance partners by obstructing their view. If you wish to dance with the same partner as in the just finished tanda, please, step aside and continue your interaction with your partner off the dance floor. Thank you.

Tango and Sumo

Since some time ago I have become a fan of sumo. One of the features of sumo that attracts me to it is the depth to which it is rooted in the Japanese culture. And that makes it similar to tango (need I say "argentine tango"?). Just like in tango, there are traditions and innovations and there are those who are sticklers to the traditions and those who break out of it.

Recently, there was an incident at a sumo event where a traditional procedure (some would call it a rule) was broken and "all hell broke loose". What is interesting about it to me is the comments that can clearly be grouped into the "tradition must be preserved" and "tradition is a living thing and therefore it evolves" groups--just like in tango.

One or many teachers

Some days ago a borderline heated exchange of opinions took place: should a beginning tango student take lessons from just one or from many teachers. My opinion:

It is my deep belief that for a person who wants to learn how to dance tango socially (not for a show or just with a single partner) and is new to tango, the best solution is to attend a substantial seminar for beginners lead by a reputable organization and taught by a single teacher or a group of teachers subscribing to the same philosophy of dancing and teaching and following the same program.

Substantial seminar means to me a seminar over perhaps 30 to 40 hours that focuses on understanding the structure of the dance, understanding and sufficiently commanding the basic technical skills (walk, turn, balance, communication), understanding and appreciating the music, and understanding and participating in and contributing to the culture of a milonga.

When a tango student acquires those fundamental skills, studying with other teachers can be useful and even recommended in order to discover new ideas and perhaps even altogether new approach to learning and dancing tango. But, before the basic set of skills is acquired, one is not yet qualified to study with a different teacher and to be able to pick and choose what works for them or not and why.

Figures or no figures, that is the question

 

Let's face it, the great majority of those who want to learn to dance tango are inspired by what they see on their TVs or computer screens. They see a spectacular performance by a beautiful, often young, couple oozing with passion. They are attracted by a visual and they project emotions onto it. Yet, they know nothing of the true emotions felt by tango dancers because they are seeing a performance, a show.

Then they sign up for tango classes and demand to learn what they saw. Too many tango instructors are eager to offer that to their clientele by teaching them the figures for which they know, or should know, that the students are not capable of executing. The students get frustrated and often leave unsatisfied, mostly with themselves, for not being able to learn to dance tango, they think.

But did they study tango or sequences some would call "tango figures"?

 

I lead a praktika (argentine practice sessions) here in Dubrovnik last evening. I was asked to help dancers practice certain material (figures) taught at a workshop not too long ago by another teacher. I did that with some, as the time permitted, additional technical details needed to execute the said figures. Everyone wanted to dance the figures taught at the workshop since that was what the praktika was supposed to be about and, to my knowledge, few understood why they had hard time with them.

One person, though, stated quite strongly that I should, rather than reviewing another teacher's material, lead or teach my own stuff. If I had done that, I would have, among other things, insisted on practicing walking, keeping balance, pivoting, communicating, listening to the music and dancing it, learning and applying the basic structure of a giro, etc. Maybe out of ignorance, the group wanted to practice the figures and not the technical stuff. Perhaps I should have not acquiesced.

Next time I teach the beginning classes I will not succumb to teaching the figures but will teach elements, techniques, concepts, and ideas that express the feelings, letting the "figures" just happen--or not, but the feelings will be expressed, shared and will persist, which is what tango is about. We dance the Argentine tango not for the spectators but for ourselves.

What is tango?

A friend asked a question some time ago "What is tango?" and I keep thinking about it. Here's what surfaced in my consciousness:

"Tango is a culture captured in poetry, music, dance, dance and socializing events, tango personalities and legends, stories, paintings, theater/TV/radio shows, movies, architecture, climate, food, fashion, almacens, cabarets, dance halls, friendships, courtships, love-making, love-losing, cuisine, sentimiento, language, street noise .... in other words all that makes up life of and around those affected by it. It is almost a self-referencing definition, but it would not be just to take any of those out, and you can probably add some to it. Alas, but you can not really capture it at all since it is a moving target, continuously morfing in multiple directions at once, like wine spilled on the glass-top table, so close yet untouchable and uncontrollable."

Gustavo y Giselle Anne

Yep. There are dancers and teachers and then there are Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne. I can not find words to describe the feeling I get when I see them dance. I sense in their dance a mix of love, fun, beauty, respect, honor and all that added to an incredible technique and innovation they both bring to it. Tango world is better with them in it.

Watch them dance Donato: El Adiós.
  

Fuga y Misterio

Astor Piazzolla. When his name is mentioned in the tango universe, varied responses arise. In my world, he was a genius who brought tango music into the world of the classics. I never tire of listening to the many interpretations of his creations.

Perhaps the most intriguing one is "Fuga y Misterio." Not being versed in the ins and outs of classical music I can not discuss its musical value, but as a feeling person who is moved by tango music, I testify to its never dying inspirational power. I can not sit still when it is played.

Here it is interpreted by "Beltango Symphonico" -- a marriage of Beltango quintet from Belgrade, Serbia and Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra out of Novi Sad, Serbia. It is a beauty.

Fuga y Misterio

Done with Facebook

Since a few years ago until a week or so ago I had been using Facebook as one of the ways to keep in touch with the world out there. I was able and willing to wade through a lot of FB junk to get what I wanted and to say a few words of my own as well. However, the fact that I did use FB has negatively impacted my private life in ways I do not wish to share. So, I decided to quit Facebook -- and I do not miss it.

I am convinced that I will be able to keep in touch with my true friends (not 650+ FB friends) in other, more direct ways. And I will limit my Internet writing to my weblogs. Look out! Life is more peaceful this way.

eternal music

Some time ago I met two wonderful elders, parents of a good friend. Knowing they like tango, I made a CD with some of my favs and gave it to them.

My friend's father passed on today and I am listening to the music that I imagine he listened to as well. I play it and listen to it in his honor and good memory - he's done good.

Lagrimas y sonrisas, Rodolfo Biagi

Melodia De Arrabal, Carlos Gardél

Criolla Linda (Tango), Francisco Lomuto Y Su Orquesta Típica

Milonga con Variaciones, Donato Racciatti

El Adios De Gabino Ezeiza, Nelly Omar

Catamarca (Tango), Francisco Lomuto Y Su Orquesta Típica

La Revoltosa (Tango), Francisco Lomuto Y Su Orquesta Típica

El entrerriano, Donato Racciatti

Desde El Alma, Nelly Omar

Mascarita, Pedro Laurenz

Tristezas de La Calle Corrientes, Miguel Calo - Raúl Berón

Un Crimen, Miguel Calo - Raúl Berón

Toda mi vida, Anibal Troilo

Parque Patricios, Francisco Canaro

Balada Para Un Loco, Roberto Goyeneche,Astor Piazzolla Y Su Quinteto

Ah, there is one more, he loved "Los Ejes De Mi Carreta" 

Dear friend, may your journey be light, may your destination be eternal love!

teaching during a milonga

Most of us are aware of the no-no habit of some of us to teach as the dance goes on during a milonga. I absolutely distaste it and would not do it even if my dance partner asks for it. I am there to dance, not to teach. On top of that, I am aware of the disturbance such behavior may create for other dancers.

Well, this past Saturday, at the milonga I and "team Pavadita" host in Gainesville, i observed a flagrant violation of this code. A man, known to like to be "helpful" to his partner by offering an advice while dancing, stopped right in front of me (I was DJ-ing) for a lengthy period of time (it seemed like forever, but was probably something like 20 seconds) explaining something about a giro. The two stood apart and he was explaining, she was listening, others were either waiting or trying to squeeze by. I was about to intervene as they moved on and I felt relieved since I really did not want to create a scene.

During the same song, I saw them stop at the other end of the floor, apparently involved in the same sort of activity. I decided I, as a host, had to intervene. So, I waited for the end of tanda and for the couple to separate and go back to their seats before I approached our man and told him to please not teach during the dance since it disturbs the flow of traffic. He did not take this well.

An hour or so later, I approached him again while he was at his table, suggesting to him that my intervention was not a personal matter but a matter of a host making sure that the dancers have a comfortable environment to dance in. He continued arguing how I was wrong, etc.....

The whole incident was quite unfortunate, but I feel I have to intervene in the interest of the whole group.

new and improved

Had a great dinner/evening with my friends Mimi, Wanda, and Gordon last evening -- Mimi had just arrived from her Europe tour of teaching tango earlier in the day. And, of course, things tango were the major conversation. Mimi, being her usual self, never ending to seek and produce more and more ways to bring her experience as a teacher and dancer close to us tango lovers, introduced yet another way of deconstructing the embrace, the central element of the dance.

I tried her suggestions and experienced the "aha!" moment. Unbelievable! Quite a simple concept or realigning various components of the embrace (hands, arms, shoulders, torso, head) in a particular way. You have to see it to believe it. I immediately felt the improvement. Of course, I will now have to play with it and practice until I am completely comfortable so that it enters my subconsciousness and provides a qualitative jump in my dance experience and, hopefully, of that of my partner.

Looking forward to these 10 days with Mimi around (workshops in Tallahassee this weekend and in Gainesville the next). How lucky we are to have two master teachers come teach in the "provinces" - Mimi, the absolute authority on the posture, and Jorge Torres, the pivot and dissasociation guru - thanks to my friend Gordon.

Pavadita Tango Regional Workshops w/ Victoria y Federico June 25/26

We at Club Pavadita in Gainesville are hosting a tango weekend of fun, learning, socializing, dancing, etc. with our good friends Victoria and Federico conducting wonderful workshops on Saturday and Sunday, June 25/26.

Review our program and if you decide to preregister (before June 25), use the convenient payment/registration via PayPal (you do not need a PayPal account).

(Since this is a past event, no registration for it is available.)

tango "rules"

There has been a considerable discussion recently on Tango-L e-mail list about the line of dance (LOD) rules. Of course, that discussion is nothing new, it comes and goes periodically. At some point, I made the following comment (in part):

When people know how to dance, strictly following line of dance rule is meaningless, because you end up dancing with other pairs on the floor co-creating a symbiotic dance of the whole group - that's when the whole new horizon of dancing opens up.

And then someone replied with (notice the sarcasm):

Yep, just like the hoons and smart-arses that grace our motorways. They all know how to drive. They think they know how to drive better than everybody else on the motorway. They're much too skilled to have to obey road rules. They're just exceptional people. Weaving in and out demonstrates their free spirit and their command of space and time. Oh, the sheer joy of sharing a motorway with them. The peace it brings to body and mind. It's a privilege to be in their company. Seems they can't understand that driving a vehicle and driving a vehicle on a motorway are entirely different. Being skilled at one doesn't mean skilled at the other. I suggest cautious driving allows one to enjoy the beauty of the scenery.

I was seriously tempted to reply to the reply, but then thought better and decided to leave it alone.

Here is an interesting twist, though. I noticed that in all Latin-american countries I visited (Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brasil, Argentina) rules of driving, especially in the cities, are not strictly adhered to. For example, it is very common in Buenos Aires to see 5 or even 6 lanes of traffic on the street marked for just four. And those lanes dynamically change. People shift in and out all the time and all is well - I have not seen a single accident.

The issue is, I observed, that drivers are fully aware of all other participants and drive defensively but decisively. I have not seen anger displayed as it is often the case on our streets and highways where everyone follows the rules.

I wonder if there is a lesson hidden in there somewhere.

tango "follower"

Recently someone on an e-mail list pondered (again) the role of the follower in tango. A very illuminating discussion ensued. I quote excerpts here.

Someone said:

I begin by stating that I am new to Argentine Tango(3+ yrs). My first instructor made the statement that a follower must bring something to the dance an not expect to be pushed and pulled around the floor like a puppet.

Then someone else replied:

I believe that your instructor was trying to convey that women must be active in the dance, not passive. She must not be a piece of furniture on wheels that the men push around.

Finally, and very nicely, another person wrote:

Yes. In fact, many Argentine instructors insist that the primary responsibility for keeping the beat, in the mind at least (even though each beat probably won't be explicitly stepped on, of course), belongs to the follower.

The responsibility of the leader is to lead in a fashion clearly inviting her to step on a particular beat when that's what he wants her to do. He doesn't concentrate on landing his own foot on the beat in question--that will take care of itself if he is musically inclined--but rather on inducing *her* foot to do it.

If she is not musically inclined enough (or experienced with the tango repertoire enough) to feel the music in her blood as any good tanguero or tanguera must, and to seize upon the leader's invitation to step on a particular beat with her own aggressive gusto, then she will feel heavy to the leader and he will feel as though he has to drag her around the floor.

This is particularly true when the leader may not be stepping at all, such as standing on one foot while leading a molinete.

You can see the whole thread here.

When I Dance with You

when I dance with you ...
I dance
I sing
I live

when I dance with you ...
time stops
world spins
earth floats

when I dance with you ...
love is my guide
you are my focus
music is my inspiration

when I dance with you ...
I feel your beating heart
I sense your pulsing body
I hear your dashing breaths

when I dance with you ...
angels and cupids rejoice
gods and goddesses are happy
birds and heavenly choirs sing

... and all that because I dance with you!

Ney Melo and Jeniffer Bratt

This past Fri-Sun was a delicious tango weekend in Gainesville with Ney and Jeniffer.



A pair of nice young people, great dancers, enthusiastic teachers, and very, very friendly and approachable, they represent a very nice blend of classic and modern tango. The most noticeable feature is the posture they promote. I recognize it with many dancers today, most notably Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa.



That posture is where the torso is slightly bent forward with the weight straight on top of the middle of the feet with straight legs, for the most part. It allows for a great degree of freedom of movement between the two dancers while maintaining close connection and an illusion of leaning. One must be careful, though, not to bend lower back forward which may result in an injury.

It was really a very nice weekend tango escape with a great group of friends from Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa area and anywhere in between.

Why BA?

As it is usually the case with e-mailing lists, topics occasionally reoccur for the benefit of the new members. And so it was recently with Tango-L, a list "for discussion of any aspect of the Argentine Tango." Discussion about what is and what is not tango, or tango nuevo, or alternative milongas and all that raised its head once more.

Then a related topic was touched briefly about the evolving art of tango and what is so special about the relationship between Buenos Aires and tango. One post caught my attention. It was by Dierdre N. Black I reproduce it here with Dierdre's permission.

Well, let's see....where to begin? First of all, as a professional ballet/contemporary dancer, for a large portion of my life, I appreciate that dance needs to be a "lively art" and therefore, continually evolving, changing and reflecting, to a large extent, cultural/era specificities(such as: "cargo pants" vs "tango suits", etc.).....I'm definitely down with that concept! Yet, today, we are still able to enjoy the great, classical ballets, frozen in time, as well as the most contemporary and avant garde ones and they are all called "ballet". Supposedly, the Finnish tango is "frozen" in the tango of the twenties and they have no interest in evolving their style. Is this a more "real tango" because it hasn't changed, for almost 100 years? Or is "it" more from contemporary pilgrims/portenos, living in BA, evolving the dance, daily; sometimes(depending), dancing tango in cargo pants, flip flops and to Elvis Presley, others, in the little black dress, high heels and to Troilo? Who's to say? Both of these views of tango(plus the entire continuum between)are valid, here and worth considering, in this discussion, I feel.

Perhaps, we are asking the wrong questions. Perhaps, tango afficionados are missing the point and think they only come to BA to dance "the real, classic Argentine tango", to find that, instead, there is a lively art, here, changing with the times/fashions/artists, like any other viable art will do and maybe, looking for the "real tango", in BA, is like trying to know the sound of one hand clapping. Instead, after living here for three, amazing years, I have found that the tango is sooo much more than just a dance(or specific "style", thereof)...the actual dance appears to be merely the "tip of the tango iceberg", if you will. Instead, you will find the "real tango" in the blood of the rioplatense(Uruguayos, tambien/Montevideo)people, being expressed daily, in their attitudes, customs, desires, food, wine, humor, rhythms of life(even tho they don't dance a lick), as well as in the glorious, hothouse world of musicians, dancers, singers, composers, of the tango classico. The dance does not exist in an artistic vacuum but rather, in the context of this culture and that is what, in the end, I believe people come here, for...to "feel the tango" context, rather than determine a "perfect style". In fact the more you are here, the more open that definition becomes. If there IS any one, consistent element that continues to run through all these discussions, though, it's the "connection" of tango that people seek, within themselves and each other and BA provides that constant feeling of connection, with your family, neighbors, dance buds and "the BA life", from whence this seductive dance comes. There's nothing like "swimming in the BA soup for awhile" just to make your tango more juicy, soulful and connected, no matter what style you prefer. Also, not just attending classes and milongas, while here but going to theatre, opera, poetry readings, tango music/singer performances(no dancing), art/photog shows, will make your tango dancing better..... not necessarily more classic, flashier, better technically or even more nuevo(2-3 weeks simply isn't enough to accomplish that, even with intensives)but more importantly, you can go away with "many more miles" and a more organic center/perspective that can't be replicated anywhere else. You can experience directly, the cultural position that the dance of tango inhabits, in this warm, sensual city/country(and Uruguay, btw). Then, your personal style merely becomes the "icing on your tango cake".

Besos y abrazos, Dierdre N. Black

tango and marching

When I was 8 and a half years old (back in 1958) my father taught me to play an althorn and for the next almost ten years I played in the marching-symphonic band in my hometown, Dubrovnik. I loved it. I loved playing marching music while marching along the old city cobblestone streets (really setts)-- especially the old "Stradun" (by the way, we used to play a march which if our marching speed was just right, we'd start at one end of Stradun and finish at the other exactly - it was fun doing it that way).

Well, anyway. A few years later I was "promoted" to play the baritone horn, which gave me the chance to be a soloist during our sit-down concerts. But, it was marching while playing that got deeply embedded into me.

My father told me the stories of Italian "bersaglieri" and their marching bands, which used to come visit to Dubrovnik in the 20s and the 30s, and how he and his friends marveled at the skill of those players to play so well while kind of jogging down the street with the resulting overall adrenalin-pumping, uplifting feeling.

Now, as a consummate tango dancer, I can not help but re-live that same exquisite marching-to-the-music feeling, especially when a Donato or Biagi happy sounding tangos are played. Take "Lonjazos," for example. Can't you just see the bersaglieri band marching/jogging down the street? I can and feel. And it makes me sigh with a happy feeling.

so, what is this thing we call tango?

Take a minute and read this brilliant blog entry with the provocative title "Mi Buenos Aires, querido ..." by La Nuit Blanche. It is all about tango in its full meaning.

What a blessing that all these cultures collided and colluded in that one place resulting in great things among which tango is its beacon light. It offers a direct line to a very fundamental humanity in you if you let yourself really touch all of its secrets. This life is indeed not a rehearsal. Feel, feel, feel, .... feel its pulsating rivers within yourself, let them take you to a journey with no end. Smile and love with no limits and no reservations!

Mimi

It's almost finished, Mimi's two week visit in our neighborhood. Somehow when she teaches me to dance a better tango, I do not want her to ever stop teaching. I don't know she does it, but it must be her enormous love for tango and mountains of knowledge and experience.

Mimi definitely has strong, very strong opinions about how it's done. And it may take you a while to "see" what she is doing and why. But then, things just start clicking and then it's up to you, well me, to take all that wealth and drill the techniques. Once you really feel what is going when using (at least some of) Mimi's techniques, you will want more of the same. Well, I do anyway.

Thank you, Mimi Santapa, "La Maestra de Los Maestros" for so generously spreading your riches. I feel lucky.

And, I must say that it is all Gordon's fault - thank you Gordon. My friend Gordon encountered Mimi's teaching in France some years ago. She was then his guest in Tallytown last year - things did not quite click for me then - and than again now. She is promising to return next year.