My Tango Diaries

Chango Spasiuk "Mi Pueblo, Mi Casa, La Soledad" My Town, My House, the Solitude I so needed to come across this first thing on a Monday morning. Dragging myself into work, after a weekend of bad news - nothing brings me back to life than this music. Here's yet another CD I need to add to my wishlist. :-) "Mr. Spasiuk is an Argentine accordionist, the grandson of Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on chamamé, a style from the red-dirt region where Argentina borders Brazil and Paraguay. In its down-home form, chamamé has a vigorous 6/8 beat and merges elements of African, Indian, Spanish and other European and Eastern European music; the accordion itself arrived from Europe." Read Jon Pareles New York Time Review here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/arts/music/30chan.html?ref=music

It's that time again! Love and tango are in the air! If you haven't visited already, check out the web pages here: Austin Spring Tango Festival: http://www.austinspringtango.com/ Austin Spring Tango Festival on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austins-Spring-Tango-Festival/38741617400 Locations: - Workshop and Friday Milonga at Dancer’s Workshop , 11150 Research Blvd. #205, Austin, TX 78759 - Saturday milonga with performances held at Go Dance 2525 W. Anderson Ln. in North Cross Mall - Sunday milonga with potluck dinner at Esquina Tango , 209 Pedernales St. (@ 3rd St.), Austin, Texas The guest teachers (and their respective websites) this year are: * Somer Surgit (Chicago) - TangoReaction.com * Cecilia Gonzalez (BsAs) - TangoMotion.com * Donato Juarez (Mar del Plata) * Florencia Taccetti (BsAs/Minneapolis) - Her bio on TejasTango.com * Federico Naveira (BsAs) - Federico Naveira & Inés Muzzopappa Blog * Inés Muzzopappa (BsAs) - Federico Naveira & Inés Muzzopap...

A small portion of Slow Tango has stayed with me all day . . . by Silvia Antonia Brandon Pérez inside me someone waited for a sign for the opening of the door for the practiced tango step today i will learn but one new tango step Read the rest by clicking on the author's name above.

That snarky title is for the benefit an Englishman currently living in New Jersey. At some point he's promised to come visit and learn a bit of tango with me. To get him started, I've pulled together a few of my favorite video resources from YouTube (of course) just for him. First there are two videos from James and Joanna of JamesandJoanna.com : The first video, which covers the basic eight, windmill and forward ochos is below. They have a second video that demonstrates the back ochos, basic stops, pushes, sandwiches and a few decorations. The next set of videos is from Happyseaurchin , who not only gives fantastic advice on tango, he shows a real passion and connection in his views on the subject. The very first video on Posture and Balance helped me so much - and that's just the first one! It only gets better from there. The Tango series is shown below:

Music choice came up on AmpsterTango's blog and it got me thinking about which pieces of music I use for what - and how that's changed over time. My first exposure to tango music was the Nuevo Tango of Piazzolla . It expressed things for me that at the time I had no outlet for. I didn't dance to it, though I saw others dance. It resonated with me. It reminded me of particular people and times. Then I heard tango music on a few soundtracks and compilations that combined Piazzolla's music with more traditional pieces - like the soundtrack for " The Tango Lesson ." It not only had beautiful Piazzolla music, but more traditional pieces by Carlos Gardel (Mi Buenos Aires Querido), Juan d'Arienzo (Flete), Osvaldo Pugliese (Zum). That soundtrack was played frequently at the store I worked in, and I loved it. It made me want to move - need to move. But I still didn't have the nerve to learn tango. Early this year, or maybe late last year, I came across Gotan...

Or, the hows and whys I became an a tango advocate . . . “When someone begins he can be dazzled by things that are external; the things of Tango are internal… A dancer arrives at the roots of the Tango when he falls in love…” - Eduardo Arquimba For those of you who already tango, I'm pretty sure this will be "preaching to the choir". For others who have not yet started tango, this is a bit about my journey and a bit more about what others are doing and saying about tango and pain management. Since I started this blog, I've had a dilemma. How much do I share of what is most personal about tango in my life. How much will my readers even care to know? After some discussion with a couple people in the tango community I've decided to share some of my personal experience as well as a few resources regarding how tango can have the power to change lives in one very specific way - in the management of chronic pain. Dance and music have always played a large role in my life...

I dreamt of these shoes. I cradled them in my arms as I ran down a tarmac to catch an airplane. (It was a strange dream.) Too bad I didn't actually get to dance in them.

April 15, 2009 Two to Tango: An Evening in Buenos Aires - Argentine Tango Lessons and Latin dance party This is not the first time "An Evening in Buenos Aires" was organized in DC. The Argentine Tango is known around the world as one of the most romantic and passionate dances of all time, and this is a rare opportunity to learn how to dance Argentine tango from an expert instructor. Following the tango lessons, MezeTango dancers will offer you a special show, high in color and elegance, commemorating the glamorous years of the 1930s. Later in the night, you’ll dance the night away to a great mix of tango and Latin music. International Club of DC's Event Details Page

Aside from the usual "oh my God, I'm back in school and it's too late to drop all these classes I'm failing - and I didn't bring my No. 2 pencil dreams" ( conveniently illustrated here ), I dream about tango a lot these days. Sometimes just pieces of music in the background, sometimes watching other people dance - less frequently the treasured dreams of myself dancing. Last night, or rather this morning, I dreamt of tango class. First I danced with teacher 'C' who has a habit of telling the leaders to attempt to "trick" their followers by constantly doing the unexpected. The idea is that this will encourage a genuine, authentic follow - not rote repetition of steps. I think I must have been very cranky in my dream. When I danced with C. he went through his usual maneuvers and I tripped up, thinking I knew what he was doing when I didn't. Of course that was the point. But as I said, I was cranky in my dream and this time I spoke up. I tol...

Me: "I'm taking tango lessons and I've already been to two milongas!" Nana: "You're taking merengue lessons? Is that like salsa?" Me: "No tango, a milonga is a party where you dance tango." Nana: "You're in Texas, why don't you do line dancing? Or country and western dancing?" Me: "Because I like tango music more." Nana: "You should learn waltz. Why not take waltz?" Me: "There are more opportunities to dance tango. It's a very social thing - I can go tango dancing almost every week." (God willing.) Nana: "You can waltz anywhere." Me: "uhm... actually, not really." I could actually dance tango anywhere though. Bus stops, intersections waiting for the light to change, my office . . . Why is that?

"We Tango Alone" - English Lyrics Na na na Give me your love Na na na Verse 1: Come and talk your world to me Cause I've been watching you get closer Come and tell me what you feel Cause every time your near its so real Come and show me what you see When you say tonight is special I just hang up on your lips And wait up on your kiss A sign of your love Chorus: Na na na We tango alone Na na na And maybe we'll take it to far And maybe we'll touch in a star Give me your love Na na na Verse 2: Come and share just one more dance And tell me who believes in romance Now is just a point in time And love is not a crime in my mind Come and dance my life away And tell it will last forever Just a second or a day As long you deplay a sign of your love (Chorus) May I have this dance Follow me Follow me You'll be mine tonight Na na na... Na na na... Give me your love Na na na... Na na na... Give me your love

These two songs are from Raising Sand - Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. The Sister Rosetta song is the result of Me-Likey-Tango's awesome music tastes. So now I'm attempting this whole mp3 embeddy thingy to see if it works, since I have a few readers who refuse to play any of the YouTube videos I embed. You know who you are. :P (NOTE - Amy Winehouse's Back to Black contains explicit lyrics .) (ps - not all of these songs are tango related, btw.)

I debated about sharing this. It's been in my drafts for quite awhile. How much personal stuff should I share in this blog? Will it make any sense to anyone else? Well, here it is anyway. At least it will be out of the drafts box. While dancing at the milonga on Saturday I had *the experience* , the liquid, floating, sublime experience of losing myself completely in the music and the leader for the entire song. I don't remember the song now. It was one I knew. It doesn't matter. When G. stopped at the end, he beamed at me and apologized for having to go answer questions now. I think I just blinked for a second before thanking him, grinning madly and drifted back to my chair. I was lightheaded. My ears were ringing before I realized what was happening. My blood sugar was dropping, and then my blood pressure. From the sudden cessation of the pain I had been in all day. Two days? Three days? Whenever the rain started, the pain in my joints came back. So whenever that was. My ...

Since I have been lacking a steady tango practice partner, I've been practicing crosses, ochos and the like on my own at the office, at home, in stairwells, at bus stops - wherever. I've actually been doing this steadily enough that I've developed preferences for certain appliances and pieces of furniture (much to the annoyance of Darling Husband and assorted pets.) The first experiment -ochos in the stairwell at work. While this is an excellent time filler at lunch, it always seems that no one enters the stairwell until I'm in there - and usually it's my director taking the stairs. Slightly awkward, but workable. The next was the refrigerator at home. About the right width, obviously a bit on the tall side, but still workable for monitoring my stability for stretching, turning etc. The cat did not approve as he got a slight shove when he came (quite stealthily) to investigate what I was doing. There was much petting and cuddling the cat afterwards to repair his dam...

My excuse of bad dancing due to inappropriate footwear will now be a thing of the past. Now my clumsiness is all me. Hopefully, though, these superior fitting shoes will help my balance and stability a bit - and they should help me be able to keep dancing longer than trying to keep up the pace in my regular 3" heels. They're not fancy in the least, but they feel amazing, and that's what really counts.

This is so beautiful that all I could do was stare. We all know how hard it is at first especially to learn tango. Imagine being blind and keeping track of your partner, the other dancers and the audience by sound and feel alone. This is a bit dated (10/2/08) and I found it on the wonderful Hybrid Tango Blog in Atlanta, GA

I had the best partners last night at tango class - gentle, helpful, patient . . . Amongst them they probably led 12 crosses... I "got" 3 of them. Of the ochos - I did "catch" most of the back ochos - and almost none of the forward ochos. My axis was wobbly. I kept forgetting to keep my knees bent. I also kept watching my leads' feet. To be fair, one of them was wearing shiny bronze shoes. I can't be responsible for staring at shiny things - it's genetic. Impssible to resist. *sigh* Sometimes I think, my God this is the greatest thing ever - I could do this for hours and hours. Other times I think, how can I suck so badly at something I like so much? ---- I'm not sure if my Note from the Universe is helpful or not... Sometimes when you're ready for a change, Mari, and you kind of know it but won't admit it, when it comes, not only are you surprised, but it hurts. Yeah, I know that doesn't help much, unless you remember the "ready...

Confianzas, Gotan Project translation by Jose I wasn't going to post anymore music today - and I certainly meant to ease off of Gotan Project. But I love this, and it's been sitting in my favorites for ages (with so many others, unfortunately) waiting for a blog post. Sit down at the table and write "With this poem you won't take the power", it says "With these verses you won't do any revolution", it says "Nor with thousands of verses you won't do any revolution", it says And furthermore These verses won't be worth for workers Teachers and lumberjacks to live better Eat it or he himself will eat it, live better Nor to date a woman it won't be worth You won't earn money with them You won't go to the movies for free with them They won't give you clothes for them You won't get tobacco or wine for them Nor parrots, nor scarves, nor boats Nor bulls, nor umbrellas you won't get for them If it were for them, rain wo...

My darling husband... you know I said you can dance tango to all sorts of things and you just look at me with that look that's sort of "pat on the head" kind of look? Well, over at MediaMonkey their alternative tango play list has this on it: Apocalyptica's "Nothing Else Matters" - a song that you actually like and own! Woot! For those who aren't familiar with the song - here's is the ubiquitous youtube link and lyrics (not sung in Apocalyptica's version.) So close no matter how far couldn't be much more from the heart forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters never opened myself this way life is ours, we live it our way all these words I don't just say and nothing else matters trust I seek and I find in you every day for us something new open mind for a different view and nothing else matters never cared for what they do never cared for what they know but I know so close no matter how far couldn't be much more from the hea...

Just seems to fit today, I think.

was wonderful - though I spent most of the time trying to find a comfortable position for my injured toe and listening to music. It was of course the music the got me there in the first place. I did have someone come tell me that I must be "hard core" to come to a milonga mostly for the music. My journey started with one piece of tango music - what can I say but that? In my first milonga I watched gentlemen ask women to dance with merely their eyebrows. Fantastic. The language of eyebrows is fascinating. I must practice answering in my mirror ;-) The music of the evening was accompanied by something I didn't expect - the somewhat hypnotic sound of the dancers' feet sweeping the floor like soft whispering in time with the music. Next time my feet will be contributing to the whispering. I also learned to never, ever stop by your office on the way to a milonga. It's courting disaster - if not just distraction. For god's sake don't look at anything in your off...

I left the milonga too early, it seems. After I left, they played "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets" which would have been wonderful to hear in that setting. I learned one of my first belly dancing routines to Natacha Atlas's version, below: Gotan Project's version is used in the video below: Next time I have to find a way to stay 'til the end of the milonga!

From Very Shy Tanguero (from ages ago, since I'm just now finding all of these fabulous blogs): "There are two groups of people in the world: the beautiful, intelligent, perspective, funny and interesting ones and those who don't like tango."

Simply too beautiful not to share. Murat and Michelle dancing in the show, Tango Amor in Maui, August 2007. Its their favorite tango: Remolino by Francini Pontier and Raul Beron.

I had heard about this being played for tango and just had to listen for myself. It really does work - and not just because I always liked the song. I can imagine this being beautiful for tango actually.

All things considered...you've never really asked for much. Hey, what's up with that? -- The Universe (Thank you to tinatangos.com for the link !)

Every once in a while . . . oh, who am I kidding, frequently I catch myself listening to non-tango music and thinking, I could dance tango to that. The emotion, the rhythm - something in the music works in my head for that. Here's an example: I can totally see myself doing beautiful boleos during this song - if I could do beautiful boleos, I mean. Which I can't. Except in my head.

I really, really need to do something about that link list. Holy cannoli that's a seriously hard to read text monster. There will likely be some unavailability of the page while I do some re-arranging.

16mm PROJECT TANGO film by Daniel Peters starring TRIO GARUFA performing and dancing to "Gamulan" with dancer Andrea Fuchilieri. I love the man dancing with his foot in a box. Well, who wouldn't?

The milonga is in a few days. Every dress I put on makes me feel like "mutton dressed as lamb." I feel completely unprepared to actually dance. Reading leaders' posts complaining about their inept/non-musical/awkward followers fills me with dread. I want to wear my fancier shoes - but that would draw attention to my clumsy steps. At least my DH will be giving me a lift home - saving me the half an hour bus ride home in the middle of the night.

it cracks me up. I love this. I may need to watch it a couple of more times later to get through this day.

I've had a couple of people ask, so rather than try to explain - I, as usual, looked for a video to that showed it instead. This is a classic performance of Sattriya Nritya from India that demonstrates mudras used in dance. Only this dancer does it about 200 times faster than I can. PS - to D. (as opposed to drj), if you never look at the videos, you might be missing the good bits. :-)