Tango: my life as a not-so-good leader

The end

2007-03-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Well it had to end one day...One reason is a technical one: blogger.com tm forces me to "upgrade" if I want to keep posting.But the main reason is simpler: after four years I don't qualify any more as a beginner. Today I'm just another leader, rather worse than the average. There won't be major discoveries for me now. No hidden maestro, style, composer or Bs-As barrio to unveil. Tango is a

Keeping the dance-floor free of tourists, part two

2007-02-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

This time we invaded Los Mareados, a brand-new milonga in Junin street. Small place, and we easily outnumbered the locals. Once the demos and the traseo ended, the host used three additional tricks to keep us at range. First, the never-ending speech, thanking just everyone he could think of ("And the pictures on the wall are by my great friend X..."). Then, a couple of feliz cumpleanos. Now, the

Too much show kills the show

2007-02-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

Here I am again, duly spending my pesos in Bs-As, as part of a 32-people group. Talk about a huge group. I am the 32nd by the way, having been sollicited by an organizer worried about his odd, unbalanced group of 31 dancers.Tanguedios was the milonga we invaded yesterday. The relief when we left, at about 2:00, was perceptible and while going down the stairs to the exit we could hear a joyful

Who cares about level.

2007-02-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

Friday, still training for the forthcoming trip, I went to a small and crowded milonga where my tuesday partner usually goes, and we played Bs-As. The patterns weren't especially ambitious or sharp, but the "I take care of my follower" part went reasonably well.In any case it was a better training session than two days before, in another place and with another partner, who is not used to dancing

Preparing for Bs-As

2007-01-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

Grrr my CITA group collapsed and there is no time to find another. Instead I signed for a non-CITA tour. I'm trying to fill every free slot with extra private classes of course, butnevertheless I think it will be a low-expectations, easy-going trip. Only twelve classes are scheduled in as many days, and it won't be sharp classes either, more along the lines of "revisiting the basics". Well, I'll

Time for bed grandpa, and take your pills

2007-01-23T02:09:00.000-08:00

Near the second third of the AT class my partner gently told me "Maybe it's time for a pause, Pablo. Have a seat for a few minutes. D'you want a glass of water?". The pause was only intended for me of course. While I was recovering my stamina, my fifteen years younger partner took advantage of the floor, the mirror, and the lack of a leader to rehearse her salsa shines.Not sure I've understood

Whosaidit?

2007-01-16T06:45:00.000-08:00

An easy little quiz; Here are words that I heard during one class or another. A famous teacher is talking to (or about) his partner.the line-up: Carlos Gavito, Osvaldo Zotto, Sebastian Arce, Gustavo Naveira.Who said what?"They're pupils, they have the right to make mistakes. But you, I pay you to dance well."[leaving a message on the cell phone] "Ok I don't know where you are or what you're

Transparent

2006-12-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

"Thank you", the teachers said when we paid them at the end of the class. And this was the only word they ever told us in the whole 90 minutes we spent with them. My partner felt a bit angry for not getting any attention. Four other couples of pupils were there and they got their share of corrections, hints, help; the guys had a chance to lead the female teacher, and the male one checked the

The ego

2006-12-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

Do you know what the ego is? The ego is the little argentine who lives inside of us.

Tango is just another word for math

2006-12-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

Knowing that:my Monday partner is half swede and half korean, and that she attends one class out of three,my Tuesday partner is half argentine and half local, and attends every second class,my Wednesday partner is a local and attends every second class,my Thursday partner is italian and attends two classes out of three,do I get more local tango than if instead of my four partners I had only one

I forgot the counter

2006-12-04T03:32:00.000-08:00

349:625(185)

My CITA 2007 schedule

2006-12-04T03:05:00.000-08:00

Aha, 15 classes, all nuevo-oriented. Not that I'm feeling any better and ready for nuevo this year, but the teachers themselves have had time enough now to know how to teach the elements (volcadas, colgadas...), it's not research-tango any more, it has become common stuff, they'll know how to explain us how it works.As I've signed for many advanced classes, and as I don't want to ruin the

A counter

2006-11-20T06:50:00.000-08:00

When I took up A.T and went to my first practicas and milongas I also began to count the number of dances I had, vaguely expecting that once some big, round number would be achieved (say, 1000 tandas) then I would know for sure that my days in beginner's hell are over.After a while I stopped adding numbers, because there was nothing much to add. As a matter of fact I had forgotten the file until

Too many left-foot shoes

2006-11-13T02:55:00.000-08:00

There are things that your hands can do on their own, without any help by the brain, which allows your mind to wander around. For instance, letting your hands drive your Hummer while your brain tries to figure whether you have enough beer left in the fridge.And so, five minutes before the tango class, my hands were busy, managing my feet and entering them in my tango shoes while my mind was

Hop hop

2006-11-06T04:11:00.000-08:00

I hopped from milonga to milonga yesterday, attending three on the same evening. Not because I'm suddenly liking milongas but by sense of duty.The first one was given to help a couple of old teachers (See the post) who are having a hard time now as he never really recovered and can't teach any more. I duly paid and left after 20 minutes. Unknown faces, older people, messy dance-floor,

A theme is a theme is a theme

2006-10-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

The teacher had decided that the private would focus on listening and musicality. So she played a few pieces, La Yumba, El Choclo, Recuerdo, while I was listening silently. Then she began to talk about how one tango piece was divided into melodically coherent parts of 16, 24, 32 beats, named themes. The same theme could come several times in the same piece, she continued, and usually with a

One more reason to like the Bs-As taxi dancers

2006-10-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

This season, to avoid the issue of going to a class and having to leave because the partner whowas supposed to come didn't - issue being, I figured, partly my own fault for maybe selecting a class/style/teacher/place that did not suit my partner, who thus was reluctant to attend - this season I let my five partners choose the classes. This way, I would be their partner rather than the opposite

Searching for a class on Mondays

2006-10-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Searching for a class on Mondays (I found some for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and a practise on Fridays), I ventured into a student campus where an argentine couple were giving two consecutive classes, one for beginners then one for intermediate-advanced. Being brave I chose the latter, and came in when the beginners class was finishing.Plenty of students here, maybe 30 of them. Not A.T

Damn tango moment

2006-09-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

I saw this in the A.T. section from a dance forum:As I danced, I got tired, and basically took one of my regular partners, and just "Walked" to Vuelo al Sur. Lo and behold... It turned out to be one of the most beautiful dances I have ever done!!!It was nothing fancy, no complicated footwork, no sacadas, no molinetes, no ganchos, no ochos... just walks. The connection was warm, firm and for the

Question with a parameter.

2006-09-07T04:07:00.000-07:00

Here is an equation with a parameter:x2 + nx + 1 = 0n is a parameter. When it changes, the answer to the question "Is it possible to solve this?" changes too.If n=0 or 1, there is no solution.If n=2 there is one solution.If n=3 n=4... there are two solutions.And here is a tango question with a parameter:Follower, just after the tanda: "And how long have you been learning tango?"Me: "n years."

Half-time partner

2006-09-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

Midnight was coming soon, and my partner was worried because after my leaving she wanted to keep dancing but she was fearing a shortage of leaders. So just before wandering back in the night to the metro station I introduced her to a former tango classmate who had the opposite problem, having come without a partner, not knowing anybody and feeling unsure about making random invites.We had talked

End of summer... end of milongas

2006-09-01T03:45:00.000-07:00

Soon I'll be back to my beloved classes. I think I've found something for Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, still trying to fill the other evenings.But yesterday, Summer was still on and I kept exploring milongas. Snapshots:-) I forgot my book (2001 nights, not tango-related ) so all I had to read were the many flyers available at the entrance, announcing workshops and classes.-) I took my dance

Ambush

2006-08-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should have taken the train after all. I had thought that my partner's friends were not dancers; I was wrong. I found myself in a group of salseros, discussing steps, teachers, festivals, respective merits of cuban vs Puerto-rican salsa. They played salsa music, to me it looked like the ambience music you can hear in elevators, just some pleasant noise so you're not afraid by the

Not good for improv

2006-08-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

About two months ago my partner #3 scheduled a party for her birthday; it will take place next Saturday and many friends of hers, all non-dancers, are invited. Oh and yes, I'm invited too. I like things like this, planned a long while in advance. By the way I'm making plans for the next CITA festival in March 2007.And here is a mail from partner #2, received today:"Wanna go to <400-mile-away town

Damn tuesday

2006-08-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Found an ad:"Follow in search of a partner for the September advanced class by on Tuesdays, and practise time in my own studio the other days. "Just what I needed! I know her, she's not the pupil next door but a tango teacher as well, even if tango is not her "major". I took a private with her two years ago. Not a pleasant memory. Old, assertive, prompt to find out and expose her partner's

Are you a teacher?

2006-08-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wanted to go to a class but couldn't make it on time, so as a plan B I went instead to another unknown milonga. The place though was familiar to me from my ballroom years. It's still a ballroom place, where once a week they have a milonga. A versatile place. The level was not that great, I figured the people here were versatile too, coming here to dance swing on Mondays, ballroom

close

2006-08-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

(exploring unknown tango places, the sequel)I can't say I went to a milonga tonight, but I came close. I went to the place, equipped with all the necessary gear:- a book so I have someting to do (I can't be drinking beer all the time).- tango shoes, breathmints, a 2nd (and even 3rd) shirt, all this in case a lady invites me by lack of a better plan.I went to the place, could hear the music coming

Fantastic dancer

2006-08-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

Went to a new, unknown to me, twice-a-month milonga, to see how it looked like. It looked nice. Space, good floor, about 25 seats (more than enough). Candles on the tables. Mp3 tandas of Di Sarli, D'arienzo, De Angelis, four pieces then a country-western cortina. More men. Two couples of men dancing between themselves, much better than the "regular" couples by the way.After an hour it became

Turn-over

2006-08-04T03:12:00.000-07:00

Summer is also the season to reconsider partnerships. This lady who was a beginner in September, is now much better than me. She will probably break it up and look for an advanced leader. That one, who was *slightly* overweighted one year ago and since then gained a dozen additional pounds, while my own strength and muscles lost their past efficiency (age, you know...), will I still be able to

Class hopping

2006-08-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

At the end of the day I can't force my nature. Whatever my intentions were about going to milongas during this period of the year where my regular teachers are away, I didn't go anywhere.Instead I'm class hopping, taking one lesson here, one lesson there with teachers unknown to me, considering the time I need to go there, the place, the floor, the sound system, the attendance, the male/female

The verdict

2006-07-06T02:57:00.000-07:00

It was the last class of the month, but not only. It was the last class of the season, but not only. It was the last class of the highest level given by these teachers. So there won't be a new season with them next autumn. It was the last class.Near the end the teacher spontaneously came to us. "You're fitting well together, in a way. You [to my partner] anticipate the sequence and don't wait for

Mannschaft

2006-06-30T00:33:00.000-07:00

Among the A.T. teachers in a festival, take the argentine couples. What is their common passion, what is the one thing that can make them forget any commitment, spit on any signed contract? The soccer of course! They all cancelled the classes they were supposed to give this afternoon to watch the Argentina-Germany match. So only the wise pupils who signed up with local teachers will have their

Tango gear: the shoes

2006-06-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

Of course a tango panoply is nothing without shoes, so this BsAs trip has also been the occasion to get my... well maybe 6th pair of dance shoes.It was not hand-made like my suit, the people in the shop did not take the measurement of my foot or anything, but I could choose between the shapes, the heels and the colors that they had, and combine them. So it's a exclusive model, there is no other

Tango gear: the suit

2006-06-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Having the watch, I decided, the clothes being significantly cheaper in BsAs, and the town having tailors specialized in stuff for dancers, to treat myself with a hand-made dance suit. When I was presented all the possible stuffs and colors, I tried to choose a blue color similar to my watch, but obviously I went wrong somewhere; it looks black more than dark blue. The pair of trousers is really

Tango gear: the watch

2006-06-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the first really AT-dedicated thing I got, a watch bought last year in the street (Corrientes) for three pesos. I'm wearing it only when I'm going to a tango class, a milonga or... to Buenos-Aires. Call me a fetichist!

Did you gain weight?

2006-06-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

"Did you gain weight in May ?" is the first question I asked to my regular, local class partner. She didn't, and seemed half puzzled/half offended. But I did not want to be mean, I really felt I had in my arms somebody heavy and difficult to move, and I did not have this feeling before.But then, for one month I've been practising only with young, light professional dancers...

Damn boleo

2006-05-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

I was practising the daily sequence with Lorena, when she suddenly froze (which is a premiere, she would usually tell me to go on when a mistake of mines happens). I had just led a back boleo the way everybody in the world does, by pivoting the lady then stepping around the other way."- This is not the way we're teaching boleos. Who taught you this boleo?"Before I opened the mouth, the assistant,

Dance Of The Vampires

2006-05-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

Went to the milonga La Baldosa, where one of the many preliminary selections for the IVth metropolitan tango championship was taking place. Not that I suddenly developped an interest for milongas; but one of my taxi-partners was competing, and as the public can vote too she asked me to be there. One vote is one vote.Apart from her, all the competitors were unknown to me. Until I noticed that

Damn violin

2006-05-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

"This sequence", Gustavo said during his class, "needs 16 beats [and given the complexity of each step, 8-beat sequences would be more than enough for me. ] and because of its dynamic character can't really be broken, so you'll have to place it at the beginning of a clear, reliable musical phrase. Wait for a good, solid bandoneon. Forget the violin. They're all talking about dancing on the violin

Half way

2006-05-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

My main teacher decided that our private would be a check-up of all the elements she had been showing to me up to now. Barridas, ochos, boleos, embrace, musicality, giros, rythm, walk.My ochos/boleos/giros were more or less ok, and my barridas/embrace mejor (read still not good but a bit less worse than they used to be). My musicality though turned out to be non-existent. While I understand and

A great suggestion

2006-05-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Besides the twice-a-week classes with living legends, I'm also having daily privates with an unknown teacher from Corrientes street. Up to now we're revisiting the basics. Walk, barridas, rythm, embrace, giros... No sequence or anything. This suits me fine. Just, the defaults she corrects on some day are supposed to be history on the day after. And are still here actually, most of the time. Maybe

The most beautiful girl in the world...

2006-05-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

... can only give what she has (Russian proverb).And so however lovely she may be my taxi dancer can´t make me a better leader. A side effect of her beauty though is that in a group class the teacher is likely to come and see us more often than the other couples. Yesterday, as I was struggling with the sequence, she finally told me"- Look, you're not getting it. Why don't we just ask Gustavo ?"

Broomstick (a.k.a Bs-As, day... well I stopped counting)

2006-05-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

From Bolivar station, the subte (line E) will bring you to Boedo station, which is the nearest to Zotto's dance studio. Except when line E decides without notice to go out of order. Then a taxi will bring you to the same place, but it will take both more money and more time. That's how I began my classes: 15 minutes late.The logistics is impressive. For your money you get Osvaldo, Lorena, a

There is a lady here... (a.k.a Bs-As, day four)

2006-05-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

The bacan/otario paid even more than he had thought, the back-home taxi (which drived home the partner, the tour-organizers, and their friends) being all paid by him (11 pesos).Near the middle of the milonga (Gricel), my taxi-dancer, a quite pretty creature, -imagine a very young Sophia Loren- told me with a soft voice that"There is a lady here who wants to dance with you".Three times I asked her

Buenos Aires, day three

2006-05-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Bacan: rich guy who pays again and again, for parties, for girls...Otario: gullible guy.Tonight I'll be bacan and otario, paying milonga entrance, taxis, drinks to no less than five people. The taxi dancer, the tour organizers who found the taxi dancer, and two friends of them who haven't done anything for me but were added at the last minute. I'm supposed to phone them today to know the place

Buenos Aires, day 2

2006-04-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sure I'm definitely not planning to post every day; the thing is that today I'm still having plenty of time as no class is scheduled. On the other side there is not much to tell about... Sunny but windy weather, trees losing their leaves...I bought as little radio but then realized that I did not know the frequency, as usually I'm getting it via their web stream. Here like in a dream I heard a

Buenos Aires, day 1

2006-04-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

So here I am, after an uneventful flight. Still got to get used to the Palermo area (The only little area I'm familiar with is between Zhivals and La Ideal). Also got to get used to these damn argentine keyboards! Well I've found the nearest subte, and also the nearest locutorio so it sounds good up to now.It happens that my three teachers have their studios in different (and distant...) areas of

Where is tango learned?

2006-04-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

I just finished arranging my Bs-As fothcoming agenda. Of course, reality over there may be quite different, teachers may cancel, taxi dancers may not show up, milongas may be closed, but at least I'll try. Discussing yesterday with my local (but Argentina-born) teacher, I horrified him by explaining what I had scheduled, namely:46 classes20 practicas2 milongas"But tango is learned in the milongas

Enough

2006-04-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday. My partner mailed me she would not come to the class.Monday. We ended up with 10 guys for 4 ladies, so the teachers had to pick 2 ladies from the previous class (initiation) and ask them to stay; of course the teachers had then to lower the lesson's level.Tuesday. My partner did not show up so I left the class after the warm-up.Wednesday. See Monday.Saturday, Sunday. Nothing as the

Another Pablo

2006-03-01T05:09:00.000-08:00

So here I was, sipping my cherry tea (No, I'm not always on a beer), inviting in turn my two partners. Watching the dance floor becoming more and more crowded, and with a percentage of teachers in constant raise, I was calculating how much time I would stay at the milonga before becoming an inappropriate, unwanted guest.Here Fran came closer and whispered "Look who's just here....", while

Gustavo and me

2006-02-02T03:23:00.000-08:00

One of my dreams as a A.T. student (not only mine, I bet) is to take classes with Gustavo Naveira, the man who, together with Fabian, re-invented the teaching of A.T.Bad luck has it that he stopped touring abroad after 2003, which is more or less when I became interested in the dance. Since then, his web site keeps displaying a deceptive note, with only the years changed every January.This was

Don't say you're sorry

2006-01-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

"Stop saying all the time you're sorry", my partner said.It was not a milonga. It was this moment at the end of the class, when the teachers say Ok, here's some music, dance as you wish and try to include today's pattern. So I thought that it was ok to talk, and to apologize when needed."Stop saying you're sorry, it only highlights and emphazises your mistake, it prevents me from pretending I

2005-12-26T02:22:00.000-08:00

Once in the metro, I kept guesstimating my chances to meet the ponytail girl, while my classmate remained silent. Then he changed the subject."- Yunno, I'm not sure I'll stick with tango. Maybe I'll try something else".What to reply? To my eyes he had always seemed aware of his limitations, but dedicated. He had travelled abroad to attend workshops with masters like Geraldine. Even for this

Doomed

2005-11-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

I entered the milonga and immediately noticed this tall, thin brunette with a ponytail. Dressed in black. Not the gothic black, more along the lines of latex black. Skin-tight trousers, and a laced top. Supple, prompt to react, smiling easily. A girl, not a lady. Attractive. And the ponytail...mmmm...I've always liked girls with ponytails.Typically the kind of follower whom I'd never dare invite.

I attended a group class

2005-11-16T02:44:00.000-08:00

Finally.This happened tuesday. I went there, and my partner duly came, as did the teachers.So the streak of missed classes is broken. It had reached seven consecutive misses. The last miss was saturday, when to my e-mailed offer to attend a workshop the intended partner repliedI'm in the other Hemishere til January lol. We'll sure go to the milonga when I'll be back.(Notice: "We"ll go to the

Guinness book of records

2005-11-08T00:50:00.000-08:00

Monday I experimented another variation on the theme "the missing partner". My partner duly came....and left the class after ten minutes, without a word. Afterwards she explained me that she had felt hungry and gone to a restaurant she knows from the times she was leaving in the neighbourhood. I suspect the real reason is that she disliked the class. The theme was the axis/the walk, and we were

Nihil

2005-11-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Tuesday. Went to my weekly tuesday class. The other pupils were already there, warming up on d'Arienzo. I put on my shoes, waiting for my partner. Then swallowed a breathmint, waiting for my partner. Then watched people dancing, waiting for my partner. Then the teachers stopped the music, and everybody gathered around them, while I was putting off my shoes and sneaking out unnoticed . Partner had

the Artist

2005-10-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

He came in town from his distant homeland, intending to stay here for a year, to make a living from tango lessons, and hopefully to find a wife. He came surrounded by an aura of mystery. All we knew (we = the bunch of intermediate dancers who constitute 80% of the people in milongas), all we knew was that one of our most successful leader here (successful = he's almost always dancing with young

a mess

2005-10-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

Things are not going according to plan at all. It's October now and nothing began really. It reminds me of a When everything goes wrong with your computer booklet: "Constants aren't; variables won't", it said. Here it's 'Teachers aren't; partners won't'.Two couples of teachers whom I knew from having attended their workshops, and with whom I intended to take regular weekly classes, found

Hopeless?

2005-09-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

With almost all classes in town having a break from the end of June to mid-September, a single five-day festival has been my only AT time in the summer. Classes on the afternoon, milongas in the evening. While the former were undoubtedly interesting, and ruined only by my partner's poor health, the milongas had an horrible taste of déja vu. Comparing with the same milongas in the same festival

Choreography workshop #2

2005-09-06T04:12:00.000-07:00

Things are becoming to repeat in this blog, and I'm not sure I'm liking this. So after "CITA #2", now comesa second report about the annual choreography workshop which closes the tango classes. This time, I somehow tried to prepare (unlike last year), as there is some competition between pupils, andthis is more or less the occasion to see who is the better couple among the students. So,

Versatile partner (aka women, you know...)

2005-07-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

I went to a week-end workshop about tango nuevo saturday, having beforehand arranged things with a class partner so that she comes with me to this workshop. Well, I thought things were arranged. Because I went there, but my partner didn't. Afterwards I phoned her, she apologized and said she would come for the sunday session. Sunday, no partner once again. On my answering machine I found a

a musicality workshop that never was

2005-07-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

Among the various workshops I attended, and that were labelled musicality, most of them were just about double-time steps. But here, the teachers had carefully prepared a CD of their own, a mix of various A.T orchestras, and intended to show us how one same sequence of steps could (and had to) look very different if both dancers were listening to the music.Unfortunately, the studio CD player

Schizophrenic ducks

2005-06-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

End of June, and end of the tango season as well. For the last but one class, our teacher explained that this time it would not be a "do what I do" thing. He and his partner wouldn't show any sequence. Instead, he asked us to improvise on a given theme: barrida after a sacada.He let us improvise for a while, then whispered something like "Oh, my God", looked at the ceiling and stopped the music."

What women want

2005-06-07T02:35:00.000-07:00

A tango e-zine from Gainesville (the U.S.A, Florida) lists all the requirements needed for "tango males" [their words]. It takes them no less than 19 paragraphs, and it's so long that one e-zine is not enough, they had to split it in two issues:http://www.gainesvilletango.org/Ezine-May-2005.htmhttp://www.gainesvilletango.org/Ezine-June-2005.htmOut of these 19 commandments, one is about technique

Skilful DJ-ing

2005-05-31T02:03:00.000-07:00

Cortina time, before a Pugliese tanda. The DJ played the first minute of a cumbia. I sat back. Well, ok, I was seated already. Unexpectedly, some people began dancing on the cumbia. Or, more precisely, to move their bodies to the music, sort of. The DJ noticed, returned back to his laptop and played the whole cumbia. By then, almost one third of the people here had gathered on the dance floor for

Can you feel the warmth ?

2005-05-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

The exercise was to lead without any contact. The arms around the partner, abrazo-alike.After a while my follower called the teacher:"How can I follow, if he's not touching me?"The old argentine maestro asked her to close her eyes. Then he raised his hand, placing the palmvery near to her cheek."I'm not touching you. But you feel the warmth of my hand, don't you?. Now I'm moving my hand." The

czego chce kobieta, tego i Bóg chce

2005-05-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a typical e-mail exchange between the sensible me and my womanish class partner for the tuesday A.T. group class. Or so-called class partner, as she has missed quite a few classes this year."Hi Pablo,About tomorrow's class, I'm afraid I can't make it. Sorry. I'll mail you when I'll know for next week's class. There is a milonga monday. We'll go there, won't we?Have a nice week. Kisses.""

The first digit is four

2005-04-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

Half past midnight. Dilemma. Leaving right now the all-night milonga and getting today's last metro, or staying up to 5 a.m and getting tomorrow's first metro? Usually it's not a dilemma at all. I feel uncomfortable in milongas and I'm happy to leave early. Basically I'm not ready yet for milongas. Indeed, I only go when I'm asked to by some tango classmate.And here, the person who asked me to

grounded

2005-04-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

The male teacher came to me:"Your relationship with the ground has improved."Minutes later, passing by near me, the female teacher observed:"You're better grounded; see how it makes things easier?"It made my day.

Comforting words

2005-04-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

So here I was, sat in an armchair in the tango school lobby, reading fashion magazines while waiting for my class to begin. One of the directors, a lady who was an advanced dancer ten years ago (and still is), was chatting with two beginners. Real beginners, who had just taken up A.T. One of the two guys said something like he liked to dance in the milongas, but feared that women were not

CITA snapshots

2005-04-14T04:19:00.000-07:00

I did not like it when Gavito cancelled his participation, not because of illness as I thought, but just to enjoy a little longer a russian tango festival. Next time he cancels a class I booked, he'd better have a good reason. Like being dead.I liked it when after their class Nito and Elba made an improvised demo, Nito dancing a whole tango blindfold with a black handkerchief on his eyes.I did

Fake

2005-04-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

Most teachers at the CITA had assistants to help them dealing with the numerous students (sometimes 40 people) and to be partners of lone people, in case the class was gender-unbalanced.I have only good things to say about them, (they were nice, patient, competent -well, except for foreign languages maybe- helpful...), so I'd rather relate what a fellow from my CITA group told to me during the

Ground Zero

2005-04-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

I went to the CITA desk and asked for a taxi-dancer (taxi-mujer, in this case) for four classes where I did not want to see all the nice teaching ruined by an american partner (typically a fat, unskilled, assertive lady who came to Buenos-Aires and booked an advanced class because her neighbour in Fifth Avenue, NYC, did so last year and she felt jealous). Well, no, the real reason is I felt

Bad behaviour

2005-03-29T01:49:00.000-08:00

Being a bad dancer doesn't mean being also a disrespectful one, but on the other wayI think a good dancer should have an extra good behaviour.Example of a bad dancer (me) behaving correctly: first night during last CITA, two women from my group are sitting, I invite one, she declines. I went back to my seat and waited for the next song to invite the second one. Inviting the second one

I'm back

2005-03-23T07:52:00.000-08:00

I'm back from CITA, and I'm exhausted. Quite strange, because compared with last year's CITA I attended less classes, went to less numerous milongas (not that I chose too; it's just that not all the milongas are re-opened yet; for instance, we found a closed door where there used to be La Catedral ), danced much less (something like a grand total of 15 tandas in 11 milongas), visited less places

CITA classes

2005-03-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

Next CITA, next week. 7th CITA, 2nd one for me. Last year I had signed up for 20 classes, despite the advice of experienced fellows who told me it was too much. And now I understand why it was too much. It's not because I would be tired (I wasn't). It was too much because this year I can't find enough classes to sign in! There just remains nothing, I took all the interesting classes that I

Comparison

2005-03-01T05:27:00.000-08:00

Seems just everybody's going to Buenos-Ayres these days. One (female) student just came back yesterday. Tanned, with some pesos in her pocket, and unable to make complete sentences without inserting one or two porteno words. She went there alone, but having beforehand arranged a hotel+classes+milongas package with a local organizer. So she was welcomed at the airport, they called cabs for her

Preparing for Buenos-Aires

2005-02-22T04:19:00.000-08:00

My group trip to Buenos-Ayres is coming soon now, and I figured I had to do some specific training to be, maybe not ready, but say not totally clueless when the soles of my dance shoes will meet the floors of Confiteria La Ideal, Canning, La Estrella, Sunderland, or Gricel.First step, I explored my sequences notebook and cut everything that could not be danced on a packed floor. There remained

offensive replies

2005-02-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday Milonga. I'm at the bar (where else ?) with a fellow. DJ is playing Gran Hotel Victoria. A girl comes to us." I'd like to dance this one. One of you guys to invite me ?"Fellow replies:" Certainly not. I don't dance with beginners!"I reply:" Sure I'll dance with you. I just love to dance with beginners..."Of course all this was said with tongue in cheek, we're all taking group classes with

Tango a Pugliese

2005-02-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

I recently bought the newest Color Tango offspring, a CD named Tango a Pugliese, and yesterday when the after-class practica began, I proudly showed it to my teacher, knowing that this CD was not that easy to find in my neck of the woods and that he would probably not have listened to it yet. And indeed, he immediately ejected the usual practica CD (thus freezing for a few seconds the flow of

onlooker's perspective

2005-02-03T03:38:00.000-08:00

Last sunday during the informal after-workshop all-level practise. I was at the informal bar (no real drinks, just water, fruit juice and sodas) and another pupil, from the one-level-below-mine class came by. He: "Hi, I just wanted to tell you how much I like to watch your dance, and how it's inspiring for me!" Me: "Well, thanks, I do appreciate, it's not everyday that somebody says something

Sacrifice

2005-01-26T05:26:00.000-08:00

After-class practica. The rythmic tango piece is calling for up-beat steps. But as my partner is the heavy-and-slow type, I'm finding it difficult to lead her without being too rude and without losing the beat either. While I'm keeping it simple it's more or less ok, but at some point I've exhausted all my simple sequences. It's getting clear that for the non-simple steps I'm intending I'll have

enrosque

2005-01-19T01:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's sequence was the enrosque de derecha, a kind of clockwise pivot on the left foot with the other foot circling, while the follower turns around us. I failed horribly, and blamed it on my partner, who always leans forward during the turns, thus pushing me and perturbing my axis. But after the teacher's yell, "Change partner!", my new follower, this time, was leaning backward during the

Bad excuses

2005-01-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

Here I was yesterday at the milonga, listening to the DJ's tandas and waiting for the announced orchestra. Sitting on my little chair in the middle of all these skilled social dancers, I was once again realizing that I was still very far from their level. Fortunately for me, nobody seemed to know me, so I could enjoy the music without fearing any invitation. The floor was very packed and all I

Honest

2005-01-06T01:43:00.000-08:00

I had noticed an A.T blog by a guy named Neil Liveakos (Atlanta, Georgia, United States), and had decided to ignore, reject and despise it because Neil is politically involved on the Republican side. Yet I might change my mind, as he is currently posting about his BsAs trip (Who hasn't, by the way? Even I will probably do it when I'll be back from the CITA festival, in March). And in one of his

Tango combo

2004-12-22T05:31:00.000-08:00

I just bought new A.T shoes. The ballroom shop around the corner advertised they had received some Susana Villaroel Artesanal shoes, so I went there and tried the one (!) model they had for men: the all-black-nothing-special one. As for the size, they had numbers 7, 8 and 9. My usual number is 9, but during the CITA festival in March 2004, I had bought a n°9 pair of A.T shoes at Flabella's, and

They want to dance...

2004-12-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

...but they don't want to learn. My tuesdays class-partner told me she wouldn't be available for the class+practica next week, and suggested that I may want to contact a girl of her friends who had told her beforehand that she would like to try this class. I duly phoned, and the aforementioned damzel answered that she would not attend the class but would gladly use me as a partner for the

Remembrance of Things Past

2004-12-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

My very first contact with A.T, about two years ago, occurred in an old mansion in the country. It was a two-day week-end beginner workshop limited to five couples. The girl whom I was trying to date had developed a growing interest for A.T but did not know where to start from, and hearing about this workshop asked me to come too. By then I had myself absolutely no interest at all for this weird

Machiavellian

2004-12-07T03:06:00.000-08:00

There is a fellow in my tango class whom I like to meet in the milongas, because with him in the place I know that I'm not the worst dancer on the dance-floor. And he likes me for the same reason. We encourage each other ("-You look too much at the floor". "- Oh yeah?; well, you're never in the beat!"), and when one is in doubt ("- I had a bad dance with this lady; could you invite her and tell

Wait and see

2004-12-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

They say that in Buenos Aires, men won't invite you (or, if you're a guy, women will ignore your invitations) until, having seen you dancing for a while, they've made up their mind about your skill. (Somehow this means you're in a quite hopeless situation if you come alone in a milonga where you don't know anybody...) Last saturday I went to a free milonga, full of people, and had a few dances

milonga teams

2004-12-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

At the end of the class, the maestros asked us to sit and emphatically said that nobody would go out until the matter would be settled. Nobody had any idea of what would follow. Without explaining what it was all about, they began to create teams. First they named six captains (the only question asked being the possession of a cell phone) , and then chose six-seven members for each team. Only

Richard Galliano

2004-11-23T03:26:00.000-08:00

One of my class partners is currently investigating the intricacies of alternative tango, neo-tango, tango nuevo, tango-fusion, electro-tango, tango-anything-you-name-it. For the moment she's mainly gathering material: CDs, articles, URLs, videos. Then she will extract the ultimate truth. And it seems she has already found a lot of it (of material, not truth...) Yesterday she proudly gave me one

Practise

2004-11-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, tonight I'll just never quit the floor. Because this is practise time, the class just finished and now we all have one hour to train, experiment and refine what we just learned. And I intend to be dancing for the full sixty minutes. The teachers are on the floor too. The maestro is inviting all the female students one after the other. He doesn't rehearse the taught patterns (shame on him...)

El Cachafaz

2004-11-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

Last Friday one of the teachers made an imitation of "El Cachafaz". I could not judge the quality of his imitation, of course, but his partner seemed to find it very convincing, and funny at the same time. Bending over a lot, with a protruding backside, he kept throwing his leg up (or tapping) during static moments, and walked heels-first in a way that was evocating a drunken man rather than a

Change partners!

2004-10-28T02:02:00.000-07:00

There were four guys more at the class yesterday. Not really a surprise for anybody, as it's usually unbalanced (always more guys) yet yesterday's shortage of followers broke the record. But, somehow to my surprise, everything went smoothly, women spontaneously leaving their current leader for another one, each time a new tango was beginning, and not coming back to their usual partner before

so sad

2004-10-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

"You look so sad. Do you want to dance with me?" Karen had crossed the milonga, from her table to the bar where I was sipping my drink, and had gently extended her little hand to reach my arm and get my attention. She was arguably the prettiest girl in the place, in any case the youngest one. She had the appropriate size, weight (a little smaller than me, light) and level (just one step above

The unattractive friend

2004-10-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

The class was ending, yet nobody was in a hurry to leave. There was no class after ours, and we all wished to stay a few more minutes in the tango atmosphere before coming back to real life. And yes, it was raining outside. A fellow was sitting on a chair, removing his dance shoes. I hadn't found time to shake hands yet so I went to him. He was considering the evening to come, the various

Partnerless

2004-10-05T04:18:00.000-07:00

During the long in-between time between the beginning of this new tango season and the end of the previous one, a handful of ladies kindly agreed to be my partner for one or the other class. (Ok, not kindly; indeed it required long negociations, that took an end only when they realized they would not find another partner.) And so, I was considering the future series of classes with a reasonable

first Intermediate class

2004-09-23T03:23:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly first. I had already attended a couple of so-called intermediate workshops given by touring teachers. But yesterday was my debut in a regular, weekly, collective, intermediate class. In front of the door, familiar faces. Students from last year. They greeted me with all the seriousness and dignity required by our new status. For a brief moment we shared a smile, remembering our