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957 days ago
By my 4th visit to BsAs, I don't start shooting my eyes around the salon for a cabeceo invitation as soon as I sit down in a milonga. Must say it's a bit of a dilemma - you're new to the scene, people want to see how you dance before inviting you, you want the same but you have nobody to dance with in order to be seen! On the other hand, it's also unwise to jump straight into a dance without scanning the floor and the dancers first for you never know what you'd get. Going with male friends who dance well can often "jump start" my chances on the dance floor. But if they are not available, I have no choice but to start the evening with people watching while sipping cafe con leche at my table. Occasionally I'd dash a gleam at a few men who happen to be in my line of sight. To survive in the strictly coded tango world in BsAs, a woman (esp. one who's a visitor) needs guts. You can write a bible on this subject. Conquer the fear of looking people in the eye if you want to ...
961 days ago
... look at my whole body!" says Javier Rodriguez in a class I attended in Buenos Aires 3 years ago. I couldn't help but giggled at a corner, trying to cover my own and everyone else's embarrassment as our eyes peeled from the master's legs. "Dancing is not in the feet, it's the whole body - it's all of you!". Such were the words of wisdom from a teacher who wanted you to understand the soul of the Tango. Javier is one classy dancer who makes his partner look (and feel) like the most beautiful woman in the world, albeit it's only for 3 mintues! When you watch him dance, he doesn't seem to do much. His movements are subtle but his partner shines like the brightest star in the night. I think the late maestro Carlos Gavito once commented that a great dancer (leader) was one who made his partner, not himself, look good on the dance floor! Javier is definitely a master in this art! I don't remember any of the steps Javeir taught in class, but I remember how he ...
962 days ago
There are loads of useful information on the web about how to DJ (check out my links), there's no need for me to write about it. Who am I to tell people how to DJ anyway. I'm still a learner myself. Yes, a DJ should be knowledgeable about tango music and its history. I've still got a long way to go. Real time counts, you just can't get away with not enough listening time. Of course there are factors such as personal style and technicalities - how to put together a tanda, vocals or instrumentals, should you use a cortina, when to slip in an electronic/salsa/whatever tanda, what's danceable and what's not... and the list goes on. But the most important thing for me is that a DJ should play for the crowd and play with heart. I've gone thru periods when I thought a particular piece of muisc was interesting and wanted people to hear it. In other words, the song was played for myself. The result was probably not disastrous, most people might not even have noticed, but I felt ...
963 days ago
It was an unforgetable experience for Ignacio to be in the presence of all the big maestros when they first met to discuss Project Escuela De Tango. I can imagine how overwhelming that could be. Of the dozen maestros featured in Caroline Neal's documentary 'Si Sus Brujo", 2 have already passed away in the last few years (Julian Plaza and Jose "Pepe" Libertella"). There might have been more that I'm not aware of. Emilio Balcarce, the orchestra leader, is losing his hearing. The rest are aging quickly. For Orquesta Escuela De Tango and Ignacio Varchausky, it's a worrying thought. For us casual dancers and tango music lovers, it's a sad one. How do you catch up on the preservation project before the maestros are gone forever? One of Ignacio's missions is to codify the styles in written form so the information can live on. Yet it's a formidable task. When the maestros came in to share the tricks of the orchestra styles, it was difficult for them to explain ...
