My Tango Diaries

  Di Sarli, Biagi, D'Arienzo, Troilo, Pugliese and Piazzolla I'm slowly working through tango composers and bandleaders - 6 so far! Di Sarli, Biagi, D'Arienzo, Troilo, Pugliese, and Piazzolla! A few made it into the 2025 Tango Calendar - an Art Only one HERE and an Art/Quotes/Birthdays version HERE , but it will be likely late next year before I finish enough for an entire a calendar. The individual art portraits are available on Redbubble , Society6 , Zazzle , and Fine Art America , with the largest selection of art and products on Redbubble. But all four sites have frequent sales in November and December, so they're all worth checking out to get the best prices. Remember that it can take a 1-3 weeks to get items printed, so order early if you need to get things delivered by Christmas.  Starting November 1st, my art posts will slow down a little bit while I switch to NaNoWriMo writing mode until December. I'll still be doing a few updates here and there, but at...

I forgot to post about the original 2025 Tango Calendar! It has the same tango art as the "Art Only" Calendar, but also has monthly tango quotes and tango birthdays of composers and band leaders. I took feedback from the last calendar and took the birthdays out of the grid and listed them next to the art so that the squares are free for notes. The new calendar is available on Zazzle here: https://www.zazzle.com/two_page_medium_only_2025_tango_art_and_quotes_calendar-256292986066986842    

 When I first starting creating tango themed art, it was mostly on my phone and meant primarily for social media. Memes, quick paints I could do on my phone while waiting in line, that sort of thing. When people asked me to start making stickers, posters and other printable products, I just transferred those designs to the various platforms.  At that time I was using vintage textures and brushes because I thought they fit well with tango photography and artwork - which was fine for social media. It wasn't fine on printed media. Some artworks did ok on some products and not others. Then I started working with SVGs (vector art) and I was able to create very clean lines in any size I needed and they printed so beautifully! And that led to the big question. Do I redo my old artwork? Slowly, but surely, the answer is yes. I've taken down the artwork that doesn't print well - or the specific products it doesn't print well on. And I've started redoing my more popular art f...

    One thing that increases my anxiety about returning to tango (online and in person) is the fraught debates over what constitutes unwanted, or "bad ",  behavior in milongas/practicas/classes. I won't wade into the specifics because I think those arguments risk missing the larger points. No matter how we decide to frame our community rules, or guidelines, for safe dance spaces - there are things we all need to remember, and work on. TL;DR: Humans are messy. Human interactions are messy.  We make mistakes. We're not as good as we think we are at reading other people, or at communicating our intentions. And alcohol makes us even worse. I took a "Dealing with Difficult People" training course when I worked at the University of Texas a few years ago. The first thing our instructor told us:   Someone out there thinks you're the *sshole.   Of course all of us had entered the classroom thinking we were learning how to deal with that other person, yo...

It looks like I will finally be able to rejoin the tango community and start going to milongas again. Hubby has informed me that I'm getting grumpy with all this isolation and it's time to be social again.  Masking will still be mandatory for me since I'm a caregiver, though masks seem to have fallen out of favor in my local milongas. We do have vaccinated-only events and I'll probably stick to those.  Hopefully my nerves won't get the better of me. I haven't danced in so long. I stopped dancing due to illness more than a year before COVID hit. I'm out of practice and not as steady as I once was. I've started up solo practice again and I'll probably start out by going to practicas rather than milongas. Just to get my tango-legs, as it were. I'm hopeful. It's been a long few years. I lost my mother, her mother and then her father. I've lost three tango friends, including my best friend in tango. I think losing my friend Renee delayed me ev...

(picture from Morguefile.com . Used with permission.) "Leap and the net will appear." - Zen Saying When he walked in to the milonga, no one I was sitting with knew who he was. I was tired, so sore, and apprehensive. I tell people, and write in this blog, how important it is to give first, trust first . . . to risk first . But not that night. It was probably selfish, and certainly antisocial, but I kept my distance. I didn't introduce myself and welcome this new dancer to our community like I usually try to do. Since so many others were doing so, I let them make the first move. I just waited. I danced with safe friends that I knew would look out for me to try to shake off the bad feelings I had come in with - both physical and mental. Finally, I saw him dance with La Milonguera. She looked radiant and deeply happy in his arms. Dancing with her, he looked like such a calm dancer - the eye of the occasionally whirling storm around him. I coul...

From a previous post's comments (thank you Happyseaurchin for the post topic): "In the post, you mention the distinction between sensual and sexual. I have that distinction too, and I was wondering if you could elaborate on some future post. Many people I speak to don't seem to be aware of this, and I was wondering how that was "wired" into your being...? I presume your partner is not threatened by your tango exploits, precisely because of this distinction? Whether I have been in a relationship or single, the experience of this distinction is ever present. Your observation of your own experience in this matter would be most appreciated." This will be my fourth draft on this topic. It's such a difficult thing to write about and feel like I'm conveying what I mean to convey. I've tried twice before, here and here . And I still don't think I've done the topic justice. I have told people this frequently, but until they experience it for the...

We've danced before - though not often. He visits rarely, and I'm always a little nervous when we dance. He is one of a very few dancers I know with who grew up with tango music. He was not always a dancer - but the music is his heritage and I can feel it. On those rare occasions when he visits Austin, and asks me to dance, I silently pray to the tango gods that every song in the tanda will be one that I know well. Though I know it is the leader's job to shape the interpretation of the music, when I don't know the piece, it feels like he can tell. (Now, this little panic is entirely my own making, as he's never said or done anything to make me think he was being the least bit critical of me - exactly the opposite, in fact.) Despite my case of nerves, I was very pleased to see his cabeceo. As I accepted with a nod and stood by my table, I noticed the dance floor was so empty. I suddenly felt very visible. I was even more nervous than before. My partner for the...

I'm finally done scanning and all 150 pages are viewable on the Picasa page, linked on the image below. I've made a permanent link on the blog, below the banner -"Tango UNESCO Presentation." The pictures and historical documents are wonderful and definitely worth the look. I've also embedded the video UNESCO posted on the topic, and information about professor who donated the book to University of Texas Benson Latin Library. This book was given to Benson Latin Library by Gerard H Behague : Professor Béhague began his career in musicology in 1966 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by teaching music history, American music, and Latin American music. He gradually moved towards increased interest in ethnomusicology, eventually starting a strong program in Latin American ethnomusicology that is currently maintained there by one of his UT students, Tom Turino. About the Benson Latin Library : The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, a unit of th...

Wait... So much of my tango education has revolved around learning to wait. To wait until something is led. To wait for the music. To wait for my partner to open the space before moving into it. In my abrazo apilado class with Daniela Arcuri, she stressed the importance of followers waiting until there is a clear invitation to lean into their partner before doing so. The leader invites the follower to share her weight, often by stepping back slightly. If I lean on my partner without that invitation, I just feel heavy and off-balance to him. During the next practica, I felt for the invitation in the leaders who had taken the class with me. I knew they would be practicing it, so it wasn't a surprise to feel the tiny step back, or the slight dip in their elevation. What did surprise me is when I felt the invitation from another dancer, El León, who had not been in that class. Had he always been inviting me and I just kept closing the distance? I was so surprised, I didn...

I'm turning my blog into a Dear Tango-Abby for just a moment. This kind of question has turned up on other blogs and forums, so I thought I'd address it more thoroughly here. The usual caveat applies - what follows is my opinion from my observations, and may or may not be relevant in other tango communities. YMMV. From my email . . . "There's a leader that I really like, but he's never asked me to dance. Is it okay to ask him why?" Short answer: No. Much longer answer: There might be an opportunity to approach him in a constructive way during practica or a class that you both attend, to simply ask if you might practice sometime on whatever it is you or he is working in class/practica. And then leave it to him. You said in another part of the email that you've tried the casual small talk at the snack table and cabeceo'ing him - so beyond that, depending on the preferences in your community, I would leave it at that. If, however, it's quite common...

At practica Sunday . . . I finally fully extended into my steps, relaxed my hips and kept my rib cage tall - all at the same time. Okay it lasted about a minute - but I got it. I got what it feels like. The difference is . . . well, I wish I could describe it. I just know that I get the "why" of it now. None of the explanations of how it felt or why it was important fully conveyed to me the difference it would make. The description of "how" from Mardi and Stephen (of Georgetown Tango ) got me the closest to understanding it. Like standing at the kitchen sink, reaching up to change a light bulb above the basin. It feels like that. Except different with a person in front of you. Without my glasses, I could only make out my profile in the mirror, but that was enough. Ooooh, that's what it looks like . . . What felt to me like a deep lean, looked far more natural and fluid in the mirror. It didn't look a thing like me. Well, the me in my head, anyway. I w...

In response to an email I received about being too sanguine at the milonga, and not doing enough to ensure others (followers) got to dance . . . I did say we should look out for one another and encourage each other, you're right. We should. But that will only go so far - the rest is up to each individual dancer. To get dances at the milonga, you have to look like you want to dance. 1. Sit as close to the dance floor as you are able. Remember Jantango's Front Row Advantage . "But my friends are sitting in the back." Then you might have to make a choice - chat or dance. This isn't Buenos Aires so you don't have to sit in one spot all night long - you can move around, chat a bit, then take a seat in the row of chairs along the floor for awhile. 2. Appear ready to dance. Your posture counts, even when you're sitting and not dancing. Feel tall, even in your chair. (I'm guilty of constantly slouching, so this is my own personal pet-peeve.) Uncross your arms...

Once again I'm inspired inspired by Stephanie over at J'ai mal aux pieds , and her article about The Myth of Women Competition ( http://jaimalauxpieds. blogspot.com/2009/12/myth-of- women-competition-or-my.html ) . I've heard similar rumors from other communities about women competing for dances, for prime tables and seating etc. etc. - an overall atmosphere that women must compete with one another for dances. "Milongas are for dancing, not socializing." "There's never enough men!" "Men always want to dance with... dancers younger than me/older than me/beginners/advanced dancers . . ." I can't tell you how grateful I am to have never encountered this attitude. I've never known so many beautifully talented, brilliant, gorgeous women as I have in tango. Women who have encouraged me to come out when I was feeling to blue, too tired, too sore - whatever. As much as I talk (well, write) about experiences dancing making my milonga - s...

The second class... I recognized a few people from the previous class as I came in. Then I noticed a few other people who seemed to be quite advanced in their dancing - at least from their warm up stretching and posture exercises. I tried to look casual. Or something that passes for casual. I was still over-dressed and I hadn't noticed right away that I still had my lanyard and badge around my neck. Nothing says sexy tango dancer like wearing your work badge and key around your neck. And I was still the oldest one in the class, but at least I'm here , I thought. I wasn't getting quite the mileage I thought I might get from telling my coworkers about my tango classes. "So how are the salsa classes?" "I'm taking tango and they're going great, thanks!" Two hours later, another coworker, "How are those samba classes going?" "Oh, I'm not taking samba, I'm taking Argentine tango - and they're going just great." Really ...

"I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on." Poet Rita Dove Intimate 1600–10; intim ( us ) a close friend (n. use of the adj.) - characterized by or involving warm friendship or a personally close or familiar association or feeling, - (of an association, knowledge, understanding, etc.) arising from close personal connection or familiar experience, - worn next to the skin, - showing a close union or combination of particles or elements: an intimate mixture, - inmost; deep within, - of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the inmost or essential nature; intrinsic, - of, pertaining to, or existing in the inmost depths of the mind, In the US, the word "intimate" is a loaded word. When I say I have close, intimate friends - the meaning could be innocent (itself a misleading, and loaded, word.) But if I say feel an intimate connection with my partner when we dance (especially when we talk about tango), sudd...

Warning : I am not a leader and I haven't been dancing very long, so this is purely opinion, based on idle observation and not a deep understanding of technique. When I first saw the video of Tim Ferriss setting the Guinness world record for number of giros in a minute (frequently labeled "world record in tango" which seems silly to me), I kept thinking that can't be very much fun. All I had to go on was my experience of how giros feel to perform. Watching Alicia Monti race around Ferriss just didn't seem elegant or graceful - just racing. The video can be found here (feel free to skip to 4:00mn so you don't have to watch the silliness that precedes it. Then last weekend I watched our guest teachers, Oliver Kolker and Silvina Valz perform a beautiful milonga at Esquina Tango. While I was reviewing the video (which is a little dark, unfortunately) I watched Oliver's feet executing his very fast giros. His steps, in comparison to Ferriss's, are fluid, mu...

And just for fun. . . Music: Flaunt by Girls Love Shoes

Silvina Valz and Oliver Kolker tango workshops and milonga at Esquina Tango. Music: El Choclo - Angel Vargas with Angel D'Agostino

Reminded of this by an advertisement from Buenos Aries " Losing by a head of a noble horse who slackens just down the stretch and when it comes back it seems to say: don't forget brother, You know, you shouldn't bet. "