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.