My Tango Diaries

I'm doing market research on the tango shoes that are most needed in Central Texas/Austin community.  What I have been hearing lately at practica and in my classes/consultations, is that dancers around town would like to see some more choices in: 1. Low-heeled ladies tango shoes 2. Ladies practice shoes 3. Men's shoes 4. Men's practice shoes. 5. Wide and narrow widths 6. Shoes with more padding 7. Ladies shoes with strappy toe box to accommodate various foot issues. In an effort to see how feasible bringing more shoes of the above variety into town, I am collecting data on what dancers wear, and what they like. Please feel free to comment here or send me an email at infinitetango(at)gmail(dot)com. Meanwhile here are the two surveys: Tangueros: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ s/T8M8CKS Tangueras: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ s/R6JSM5C If you're having trouble finding tango shoes in Central Texas - take the survey and let me know what you...

Join the Academy of Tango-Texas in celebrating the third annual “Day of Tango” Festival in Texas! Featuring: Performances, Live Music, Workshops, Dancing & more! The Day of Tango has been celebrated in Argentina every year on December 11 since 1965 to honor the birth dates of two men responsible for the worldwide promotion of the Tango: Carlos Gardel and Julio De Caro. With the approval of La Academia Nacional del Tango de la Republica Argentina, The Academy of Tango-Texas is proud to bring this momentous celebration to Austin! December 6-8, 2013 For more information please visit: www.dayoftango.org Or call: (512) 695-1024 Schedule of Events: Friday, December 6th @ Ben Hur Hall Workshop 6:15 - 7:45 PM Fabian & Roxana Workshop 8:00 - 9:30 PM Patricio & Eva Milonga 9:30 - 12:30 AM Saturday, December 7th @ Ben Hur Hall Workshop 11:00 - 12:30 PM Fabian & Roxana Workshop 12:45 - 2:15 PM Fabian & Roxana Workshop 2:30 - 4:00 PM Patricio ...

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt “Isn't it kind of silly to think that tearing someone else down builds you up?” ― Sean Covey, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens   I posted this one Facebook in response to a link share, but I think it needs to go here on the blog as well. The original link on Facebook was to Paul Yang's post on "In Search of Tango", titled, "Why People Quit Tango."   It was shared by several people, but Shellie Hubbard's comment summed it up beautifully: "Very short and to the point. A good read for all, but I want to take a moment to address a very small, yet very destructive, segment of our tango society. So, to you select ladies... Enough with the, "I didn't feel your lead" followed by instruction on the floor garbage. Also, stop leaving the new men to twist on their own while yo...

Another Tango Practica de la Leona - August 11th! When: Sunday, August 11th (NO CLASS THIS WEEK) PRACTICA DE LA LEONA: from 12:00pm-3:00pm Where: 8650 Spicewood Springs Rd #104 Austin, TX 78759 (Austin Bellydance Studio) Cost: by donation. Donation is not required to participate. DJ: Patrick Stallings (On the opposite end of the shopping center from Big Lots - near Cupprimo and Liberty Pharmacy.) A map can be found on Bahaia's "Instruction" page here . ) Description: The next Practica de la Leona will be Sunday, July 28th from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm at Austin Bellydance Studio. Come practice what our wonderful visiting instructors have been teaching us with wonderful friends on a great floor! Bottled water will be provided along with snacks. Feel free to bring treats to enjoy or share, but please understand that the owner of the studio would prefer that we keep food, and non-water beverages away from the dance floor and enjoy them instead in...

A theory . . . some "woo woo" ramblings on organizing practicas and milongas . . . What makes a milonga successful? Or a practica?  Any individual factor can be bad enough to break it - if the floor is truly awful, many people won't risk injury to dance on it. It will be tough to reach "critical mass" attendance. If there is no parking, again, reaching critical mass will be tough. It can be done, but it will be that much harder. It's easy (for me anyway) to rattle off the qualities I like to see in a milonga/practica space - but there is one factor that's much harder to quantify. With this one factor, I will dance on a bad floor, happily pay a parking fee, go to another city to dance etc.  What's the factor? Is the space loved? Not loved just by the owner of the space (though that is incredibly important) - but does the organizer feel strongly about the space itself?  Not its floor, or parking, or lighting or sound system ind...

Guest post from Jane Prusakova “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha  (Epigraph borrowed from Zen Habits - Guide to Achieving Flow and Happiness in Your Work ) Flow is a state of being when a person is fully focused on a task at hand, feels happy and in control, is creative and productive.  The time and space (environment) outside of the task cease to exist, past and future drop off the horizon.  There is only a happy, glorious, challenging NOW.   Tango is ultimate flow-producing activity – the music and interaction within the couple (and with the rest of the floor) require complete concentration, the challenge and creativity are infinite, and dancers are fully in control.  All of which leads to a fairly easy conclusion that tango equals happiness.   Except it does ...

Add to your Google calendar: When: Sunday, June 30th, SPECIAL FREE CLASS 12:00-12:30pm: Foot Technique and Care for a more graceful, grounded, and comfortable lifetime of dancing! (for men and women!) Practica de la Leona: from 12:30pm-3:00pm Where: 8650 Spicewood Springs Rd #104 Austin, TX 78759 (Austin Bellydance Studio) Cost: by donation DJ: Juan Marcos (On the opposite end of the shopping center from Big Lots - near Cupprimo and Liberty Pharmacy.) A map can be found on Bahaia's "Instruction" page . Description: The next Practica de la Leona will be Sunday, June 30th from 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm at Austin Bellydance Studio. Come practice what our wonderful visiting instructors have been teaching us with wonderful friends on a great floor! There will be a FREE CLASS from 12:00-12:30pm: Foot Technique and Care for a more graceful, grounded, and comfortable lifetime of dancing! (For men and women!) Then later, let's see everyone at Tap...