My Tango Diaries

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...

(As usual, what follows is only my opinion and should in no way be construed as expert advice on anything.) There's been some teacher bashing happening on a few of the tango forums lately. Not particular teachers (thankfully) but of the practice of teaching tango to begin with. - http://tangoconnections.ning.com/forum/topics/abrazo-apilado?x=1&id=2259628%3ATopic%3A38885&page=5#comments ; - http://www.dance-forums.com/showpost.php?p=756595&postcount=15 ; - http://pythia.uoregon.edu/~llynch/Tango-L/2006/msg12104.html From Chris_UK, on Tangoconnections ( http://tangoconnections.ning.com/ ): " . . . From this POV classes are a massive success. No matter that the 1-yr drop-out rate amongst their students is around 90%. Amongst instructors it's nearer 10%, because giving classes very much works for them. Further, a large proportion of students that do graduate do so not to the milonga but back to the classroom, as the next layer of instructors in the pyramid schem...

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...

Full disclosure: I can't name the orchestra when a tango comes on. I can, however, hear the differences between versions of a song - particularly one that I like a great deal. If I had a better music vocabulary, I think I might have an easier time remembering the names because I could attribute certain characteristics between version and orchestras. As it is, I have my own little internal dialogue that goes something like, "oh this is the version that's slower in the beginning then speeds up." Or, "this is the one that stays slow and melodic, but ends really abruptly." While I was trying to explain the importance of listening to several versions of songs to get an idea of the range of the music, I thought of an example that seemed to almost make my point for me. So to the tanguero who asked, this is why I think the orchestra is important. . . Here is Eric Clapton (Cream) song Layla (1983) with Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page: And, here is Clapton and Mark...

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...

Some fellow tanguera-bloggers and I have been having a wonderful online "conversation" via blogs, Twitter, Facebook and email - about the importance of sisterhood and solidarity. You can find Stephanie's post, here and her follow up here , and then Tangocorazon's here . I was so bouyed by the idea of women bonding, helping and supporting each other that I took some things for granted. I took for granted that it would always be easy, enlightened as I am /*cough*/ to be the sort of consistently nurturing and helpful tanguera that I am (in my head) . The truth? Where the rubber met the road (or rather when the discomfort hit the milonga), I wasn't. Here's a little background that gave me a better perspective on the events at the New Year's Eve milonga. These guidelines appear under the heading " Behavior at the Milonga " on Vancouver Island Tango: " . . . The smaller the tango population, the more 'effort' required from each one of th...

I needed some cheering up . . . "At the age of 11 months standing and cruising around the room by holding onto furniture keeps your little one very busy. (Crusing around the room yes, but I draw the line at holding on to furniture.) Baby may even take a few steps on her own. Some babies like standing so much they refuse to sit down! This will wear off eventually. (About the time feet start hurting . . .) Some of the major milestones for the 11-month-old include the following: - Standing by herself for a moment or two, and maybe walking if her hand is held. (Yes, please hold my hand, I still get lost trying to find my table. You should walk me there anyway since that's probably where you put down your eye glasses.) - Waving and turning around without falling. (We'll see about that.) - Using one word to mean a whole thought, and using the word "no," even when meaning yes. ("No, really, I'm done dancing. See my shoes are off and everything! Okay, just one m...