My Tango Diaries

When people ask me why I haven't returned to tango, I answer that I've been too tired, and I've been in a lot of pain -- both of which are completely true. And yet those reasons tell the smallest part of the story. It's not just physical, but the rest is so hard to explain that I don't know where to start.  This is my attempt to try . . . For those of you for whom this is tl;dr - I do plan on returning to tango. It's just taking more time than I thought it would. Warning 1 : This is ridiculously long. See above. Warning 2: What I get from tango, what I look for, what I enjoy -- is personal to me. I'm not making any claim that it's the Holy Grail/authentic/One True Tango experience. It's what I, and a few others I've found, enjoy about the culture and the dance. That's the beauty and diversity of tango - it offers many different experiences for different people. As always, your mileage may vary. The Journey So Fa...

It's been so long, I hardly know where to begin. I organized a regular practica, and then gave it up - not even a full year later. Not only was the practica not breaking even, but I'd have to be in bed the next day to recover from it. I'm still selling custom Mr. Tango Shoes (Jorge Nel), and selling tango clothes from the US and Argentina.  I still dance. Sort of. Sometimes. Rarely, if I'm honest. Once a week if I'm lucky. Twice a month is getting to be more common. A couple of tandas and I'm done. I have choices to make. If I go to a milonga across town and I have a flare-up - I'm trapped. I don't drive, so I'm stuck until the dancer who brought me is ready to go home. I can make the best of it but since the cabeceo is a tradition largely ignored here, it means verbal decline after verbal decline - or running away to the loo, or outside, or to get a drink. All I really want to do is sit - not run around avoiding getting asked...

Backstory:  I have a frustrating problem with some tango songs. I love them so much, and feel so strongly about how I want to express them, that I am frustrated at my body's inability to express it the way I feel it.  Laurenz' "Alma de Bohemio" is one of those songs.  Even though I love this song so much, I know it causes some dancers just a small amount of anxiety. The vocalist, Alberto Podestá, carries one soulful note for so long, almost 12 seconds, it can feel like tan eternity between beats. For one long moment, there is no beat, just that strong, clear voice.  What do you do with that? You can try to hold the position you're in, if you managed to be ready and stable when the note started - - otherwise you are forced take a step, mid-note, where there is no beat. It used to feel absolutely maddening to me - moving during the note didn't feel right, but neither did simply stopping.  And my breath always catches while he sings that note, ...

Take a minute to watch this (sorry I could not embed here.) Tango, a Message from the Concrete Jungle It's a beautiful video that I can't stop watching. It takes me back to Buenos Aires, if only for a few minutes. Cab rides, wandering the city with friends, having cafe con leche *everywhere*. Dancing, watching dancing, dreaming about dancing . . . Every time I drift away and think I'll never make it back . . I'm back in its orbit . . . Tango "Tango Always ending, Always reviving." About the video: This poetry video is an elegant dance between the city of Buenos Aires and the Tango. The poem is written by Andres Bosso and the music composed by the poets brother, Jorge Bosso. The city of Buenos Aires, the poem and this intimate partner dancing inspired us to shoot this video.

Courtesy of Morguefile.com - btw, if I had a jar like that, it would have to be much bigger. And full of paper money. And I would have to go to the ATM. Warning : This is not a tango-related post. Well, not directly. Kind of. I don't know, really. It's been so long since I've updated, and I tell myself (and everyone else) it's because I'm so busy. "Busy" sounds so much better than "hiding". It also has the benefit of being mostly true. I have 4 part-time jobs - ghostwriter/content producer, shoe sales and leather restoration, web traffic data analyst, and certified personal trainer for dancers. (According to one of my online Argentinian friends, the fact that I've got several jobs and am working in leather, makes me an honorary Argentinian. I think that's good, right? Does that come with a lifetime supply of empanadas?)  I'm also still a student working on my next certification. Pretty impressive, right? I can revel in ...

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 ...