A little Christmas story about Tango and…
Dear Tango friends
I am sure you will like this little Christmas movie
Probably from your own Tango life you are familiar with some of the situations in the movie.
At this point however I am not going to give away more.
Be in for a surprise…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSI8docYcfA
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Wolfgang
Actually Tango shoes are one of the most discussed things among Tango dancers.
About the "right" choice of Tango shoes. Tango shoes are one of the most discussed things among Tango dancers. Some dancers can spend days talking about all aspects of Tango shoes.
Specially women (YES!:-) can be seen at every bigger milonga, looking through sortiments of Tango shoes talking about design, colours, comfort and all thinkable aspects of the Tango shoes displayed.
Okay, the choice of Tango shoes for women is bigger by far and with the choice comes the embarrassment of riches.
The choice of Tango shoes for men is small in comparison.
I have to admit that I like to take a look at shoes as well and I like nicely crafted, elegant shoes. Not only Tango shoes. Actually I like to spend a lot of time in shoe shops.
I spite of this I do not buy lots of Tango shoes, for two reasons.
Reason number one: I don´t know why but the Tango shoes I like always seem to have the highest price tags.
Reason number two: I have big feet and many Tango shoes I like are not available in my seize (Which probably is a good thing in the end, thinking about the price tags).
Anyway, for me a Tango shoe in first line should be comfortable and support your foot.
Elegance of course is nice but doesn´t help if Tango shoes are not comfortable andTango shoes which are too small can be hell.
I like it, when the leather of my Tango shoes is soft because it gives me the feeling of having a better contact with the floor and makes it easier for me to perform elegant steps (As I am not elegant by nature, I have to use every trick:-).
About the soles of Tango shoes.
Also the soles of Tango shoes are something strongly discussed. I know dancers who can talk for hours which sole of which Tango shoe fits which floor. Glazed leather, suede, polished leather…
So, which sole is right for your Tango shoes?
My answer to this is, I really don´t care so much.
When I go to an open air milonga with rough stone pavement or a dance floor made of wooden planks I tend to wear some older Tango shoes to avoid spoiling my new ones.
On a VERY slippery floor it may happen that I take off my Tango shoes and get back to my normal street shoes with rubber soles if they are sufficiently elegant.
I found that normally I get along well with whatever shoes I wear.
I think, in most cases choosing the “right” Tango shoes is rather a question of your attitude than a real necessity.
Look, in the beginnings of Tango there were not to be found many high class parquet dance floors in the quarters where Tango was born.
People danced in the streets, in backyards, in inns with rough wooden floors.
There were dancers who had no shoes at all, let alone elegantly crafted Tango shoes for the only purpose of dancing.
Tango in those days was pretty much down to earth, many of the elegant, sophisticated movements we connect today with Tango didn´t exist back then.
Turns and pivots for example you can dance only on smooth floors, came much later when Tango had conquered all parts of Argentine society and became a mass movement, with big dance halls.
So maybe we shouldn´t think so much about the right choice of our Tango shoes but more how we can adapt our way of dancing to the reality of the dance floor we find.
Enjoy a Tango workshop and Tango holiday with Siobhan Richards and Michael Lavocah at Villa La Rogaia
If you have been dancing Tango for a while you certainly have realised one important thing.
Taking your tango dancing to the next level is not a matter of which or how many figures you dance than rather how you dance.
In this Tango workshop with Siobhan and Michael you will discover how you can improve your quality of movement and expression.
You will deepen and refine your connection with your partner and with the music. You will increase your pleasure in dancing Tango.
Siobhan and Michael have prepared for their Tango workshop a special Tango training program which consists of two parts.
During the morning lessons of the Tango workshop they will focus on the fundamentals of dancing Tango together:
Body awareness, balance, grounding, posture, the embrace, and the ‘how’ of creating elegant and fluid movements without stiffness or tension.
During the afternoon lessons of the Tango workshop Siobhan and Michael will help you to get a profound understanding of an often neglected but very interesting genre of Argentine Tango – the Milonga.
They will build up each lesson step by step from the absolute basics to more complex traspie combinations in an effective, self-contained course.
Dancing Milonga is real fun and after this workshop you will never again feel insecure dancing Milonga let alone feeling you have to leave the dance floor cause you don´t know how to dance it.
Siobhan and Michael give regularly Tango workshops at Argentine Tango events across the UK and Europe. They’re known for their gentle, humorous, patient approach to their students and they are at their best with this type of concentrated, intimate teaching in a small group.
Their aim at their Tango workshop at Villa La Rogaia, is to help you to develop your dancing in a relaxing, supportive environment.
They both firmly believe that the more you can relax and enjoy your dancing the better it gets.
Last not least Michael is also a Tango DJ.
He knows Tango music inside out and brings this depth of knowledge with humour, passion and clarity into his Tango lessons. For you this means you will receive a deeper understanding of Tango music in this Tango workshop.
P.S. From the United Kingdom there are several convenient flights to Perugia, Umbria. not far from Villa La Rogaia. So it is very easy and affordable to attend the Tango workshop if you come from the UK.
P.P.S. Here you can watch a video with Siobhan and Michael dancing at a Tango workshop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7wjB7hour0
One of the important Tango lessons. Dancing Tango is much easier when we are laughing while we are dancing.
I noticed that I am dancing Tango much better when I laugh or at least have a smile on my lips.
I´m a curious guy.
So of course I asked myself, why does this happen, why do I dance Tango better when I laugh?
Well, and I found the answer isn´t really difficult.
Laughing is good and relaxing. And when we are relaxed and in a good mood of course we also move with ease.
Everything gets easier.
This is true also for dancing Tango.
But there is another reason why laughing helps us to improve when we are dancing Tango.
This has to do with the posture we need for dancing Tango.
Plant yourself firmly on the floor, head beetween your shoulders.
Hunch your shoulders and duck your head as if to protect it from a blow. Do all this nicely tense.
If you prefer to do so you can also droop your head, like someone who is exhausted or deeply depressed.
Okay, and now try to laugh, while keeping this position. Not just a tired chucle, but a roaring laughter, loud, cheerful, happy…
I don’t know about you, but I can’t do it.
After few moments I think it´s so absurd, so ridiculous, I start to laugh about myself.
But not with my head ducked between my shoulders.
I can´t help, I have to straighten up for laughing, head high, taking a deep breath, throwing my arms up.
When I finally stop laughing, gasping for breath, relaxed but with my body still upright, I notice I´m standing there with a good relaxed posture, ready for dancing Tango.
Head and body drawn up to full height, shoulders relaxed, still laughing internally and ready for the embrace.
Since I have found out this I use the “trick” with the laughing actively while I am dancing Tango.
Of course it happens also to me that my head and body start to sink down, when I´m dancing Tango with a lady smaller than me (or with an exciting perfume:-) or when I am concentrating strongly on the music.
When I find myself doing this I switch on deliberately my internal laugh.
And behold!
My head moves up. My body moves up. I am in a good posture for dancing Tango again.
Try it! Most likely, it will help you dance better.
Argentine Tango Intensive Workshop with FabIàn Salas and Lola Díaz, June 9 to June 16, 2012
La Rogaia Tango lessons. Join the Tango workshop with Fabiàn Salas and Lola Díaz at La Rogaia
How you will improve your understanding of Argentine Tango and bring your dancing and teaching to a superior level within one week.
For a long time Fabiàn Salas didn´t make any teaching tours outside of Argentina and has been missed badly by his fans and students in Europe
Finally he´s back again, together with his new dance partner Lola Diaz.
La Rogaia is one of the few places in Europe, where he will give a workshop in 2012.
About Fabiàn Salas:
Sometimes when you speak about one of the great masters of Argentine Tango, you take it for granted, that everybody already knows everything about them.
Maybe though it does make sense to tell alittle about Fabiàn Salas.
During the Golden Age of Tango, Tango had been danced everywhere in Buenos Aires und you learned to dance Tango watching your parents or other dancers from your town quarter.
This happened completely naturally. Everybody watched and imitated the good dancers …and practiced. Oppurtunities to do so you found everywhere. Nobody had to think about teaching methods or didactics.
Fast forward to the 80ies. After the end of military dictatorship in Argentina the Tango scene has changed completely. Only a few dancers remain who have lived in the Golden Age and can pass on their knowledge. Most of them are excellent dancers, but have never wasted a thought on how to teach Tango efficiently.
A group of young dancers around Fabiàn Salas and Gustavo Naveira now tries to figure out, how the old milongueros danced. They try to get a profound understanding how the movements and dynamics of the dance work and develop for the first time a didactically based teaching method. This method until today has a big impact on all Tango dancers, no matter whether they dance traditional Tango or Tango Nuevo.
But they do not stop at that point. With their profound knowledge of the dynamics of Tango they break with old, sometimes rigid conventions and develop a new way of dancing Tango, more open, more fluent. And they start to dance to music, which hasn´t been considered danceable until then, for example the music of Astor Piazzola.
Fabiàn Salas becomes world famous as one of the main characters of Sally Potter´s world famous Tango movie “The Tango Lesson” , together with Gustavo Naveira and Pablo Veron.
To learn from Fabiàn Salas and Lola Diaz in a small, intimate group with a maximum of eight couples is more than simply taking Tango lessons. It is a unique opportunity you are not offered very often.
Do you want to take your Tango dancing to a superior level?
Do you want to improve your teaching methods to give your students the best teaching and so become a really sought after Tango teacher yourself?
Do you want to learn Tango almost like in a private class, but paying only a fraction of the price.
Do you want to work close up with Fabiàn Salas and Lola Díaz almost one on one, instead of merely seeing them from afar in one of the big festivals
Then this workshop for advanced dancers with Fabián and Lola is a must for you.
This is a unique opportunity to learn Tango Nuevo from Fabiàn Salas one of its founders. Places are limited to only nine couples. Do not hesitate with your reservation.
Here a video with Ricky and Laura from Firenze Tango Festival.
It is always an experience, when Ricky and Laura dance Milonga. Everybody can see the fun they are having. But to see them dance live, from close up is really unforgettable.
Watch the video with Ricky and Laura now.
You have the chance to see Ricky and Laura at Villa La Rogaia from May 12 to May 19 holding their Tango class.
Tango with Ricky Barrios and Laura Melo. Dance Tango with fun and a laugh. photo: rogaia
Maybe, but not all the time…
That was in a restaurant in the country side a little bit outside of Perugia at the fairwell milonga of a Tango workshop.
Many Perugian Tango dancers had told me already, that Ricky and Laura were very spezial Tango dancers and Tango teachers.
So of course I was curious to see them dance.
I have to admit though that I didn´t have to big expectations, given that I had seen already a lot of Tango shows with excellent dancers.
What I was allowed to experience then however really blew me away and changed drastically my way to see and dance Tango.
It was clear from the very first moment. Ricky and Laura had incredible fun dancing doing their little Tango show.
Both stepped on the dance floor, started dancing, laughing, literally beaming with joy.
That laugh, that joy was intoxicating, infectious and it was real not played, no professional laugh just for the show. Pure pristine happiness. “Tango, a sad thought…” By no means.
Already after the first Tango the complete audience was excited. Me too.
What happened to me then? I don´t know how to say it.
Even before that day I hadn´t been a particularly sad or melancholic person.
But Ricky´s and Laura´s laughter, their happiness while dancing, their ease changed something inside of me, had something incredibly liberating.
The quality of my Tango dancing was catapulted at least one level higher
That same night I started to dance tango better than ever. Only by watching, by feeling the positive energy that emanated from Ricky and Laura.
And no, that was not simply my subjective feeling, no conceit.
All the ladies I danced with that night and most of them I knew for a while, were pleasantly surprised noticing that I danced all at a sudden even more laid back and with more ease.
I´ve been often thinking about what happened to me that night watching Ricky and Laura.
Today I´d say I got a decent push by their positive energy and perceived with more clarity the importance of dancing Tango in a playful way and of making happiness and laughing very conscientously a part of my dance.
As I said before I have never been one of those do-or-die, melancholic Tango dancers.
But what I experienced that night was a completely new dimension of joy in Tango.
I learned something from everybody of them and from some I learned a lot.
One of the Tango teachers who left a really strong impression on me was the late Eduardo Aquirre.
I remember Eduardo not so much as a teacher who explained things very theoretically.
Like many of the Argentine Milongueros he belonged to those who rather demonstrated you something and then let you repeat and practise.
Explaining the theory Eduardo rather left to his partner Yvonne. At least that was always my impression.
What was much more important for me, was Eduardo´s feeling for the music. He knew almost every Tango song by heart and could fill entire evenings singing Tangos.
And he knew everything about the different rhythms of Tango.
The late Eduardo Aquirre, Tango dancer and Tango techer, was living and breathing Tango. "Ritmo! Ritmo! Ritmo!", For me these were clearly Eduardo´s favourite word in every Tango lesson.
I will never forget one particular word, Eduardo used in the Tango lessons all the time, always in a pack of three.
“Ritmo! Ritmo! Ritmo!”
So he spurred us, the participants of his class, friendly but with decision when we were moving over the dance floor to sedately for his taste, dancing to music of d´Arienzo or other more rhythm oriented Tango orchestras.
When we had finally woken up and started to dance at least passably with the music, Eduardo smiled benevolently and was visibly pleased with us.
Until the next “Ritmo! Ritmo! Ritmo!”
I took me some time to get the idea with the rhythm right and to put in into practise on the dance floor.
Okay now you know a little more about what is important in Argentine Tango.
When you dance Tango the next time remember this: “Ritmo! Ritmo! Ritmo!”
A nice option for Tango clothing: Dress at knee-lenght combined with leggings. Ready for the Tango lesson
So what would I tell you?
Ladies dancing Tango use to be dressed very nicely and I certainly know less about Tango fashion than most of them. So I will limit myself to give some more technical counsels about the right clothing for dancing Tango.
Many tango ladies today wear long wide trousers with slits and/or trousers with ribbons swinging around the ankles. This looks nice but time and again creates problems while dancing Tango because they get easily caught in their own heels. Especially when the heels are high.
Actually I see it happen almost every time I go out dancing Tango.
Same thing is valid for very long dresses or skirts. You can get your feet trapped fairly easily (Unless you dance Tango really slow).
Apart of this it may happen that other dancers step on your dress while you are dancing Tango in a milonga. Something you definitely don´t want to happen.
I certainly would lie if I told you that I don´t like the sight of women in tightly fitting stretch dresses or tight mini skirts.
Yet I do not recommend that kind of clothing for dancing Tango, because they block your freedom to move unless they are extremely short.
Any clothing that doesn´t give you freedom to move comfortably is not really fit for dancing Tango.
Better are wider skirts or dresses at about knee-length that swing freely or tight classic Tango dresses with the famous Tango slit which are probably the most elegant for dancing Tango.
Another option of course are leggings plain or with lace which can be combined with short but not to tight dresses or skirts.
Last not least any trousers made from soft falling fabric are fine as long as they are comfortable and do not block your movement.
Tango clothing. Excellent for dancing Tango, the classical Tango dress with the famous Tango slit
Often when I watch dancers at a milonga I notice many of them working wildly on the dance floor, performing more or less skillfully all kinds of figures, they obviously have learned in some course or workshop.
What hits me most is the big majority of those dancers doesn´t seem to enjoy their dance. Instead they seem to be under high pressure to do the steps right and to do many different sequences of steps.
Indeed many dancers seem to be fairly unhappy while working hard on the dance floor.
Men with heads beetween their shoulders, grinding their teeth looking down to earth like slaves pushing a heavy weight…
Wow! looks like real fun!
It´s not that I object to figures totally. Some can be fun and some can help you to check whether your posture and your contact with your partner are right.
Yet in Argentine Tango it is not important to dance figures. And on the crowded floor you cannot do prefabricated figures anyway. Not without disturbing the other couples.
So don´t fall into the figure trap!
Relax instead. – Keep your posture. – Raise your head. – Listen to the music.
Feel your dance partner.
Be aware of the other couples on the dance floor.
And keep your dance simple.
You are not obliged to perform all the figures you have learned somewhere.
No guards with whips controlling you.
Slow down.
Listen to the music again.
Once in a while, when you and your partner feel comfortable try out some of the new things you have learned.
If it works, fine. If not, don´t force it. There will be another opportunity.
Relax.
Don´t toil and suffer!
Dance!