tangopilgrim.com

is the new home of my blog. Please update your link to www.tangopilgrim.com.

The past weekend was tango inspiring. Some tango friends were in town. So I got to dance three nights of good tango in a row. I had experienced tango high again. Thank tango god. :-) I had some tango conversations/debates over dinner. I got the chance to practice following for a couple of hours. And of course NOW I am having quite a few thoughts that I want to share.

But first I have to sort out some technical matters with the new site.

Thank you all for reading my little blog for the past two and half years. You might no agree with some of the posts I wrote but I appreciate your candid comments. I have met dancers around the world who told me they liked (or loved) my blog. And I am sure there are readers out there who are sneering at what I've posted. The great thing about tango is that it is multilayered.

So here is my last post on blogger, just about two years from my first trip to Buenos Aires. In retrospect, I feel blessed in my tango journey. I've changed some, but my idea of tango is still the same:

Tango is a feeling in the music, the embrace and the sound of breaths.

Tango Music Collection

(imagine from Montreal et aileurs)

I am sorting out my music library and putting it on this blog by orchestra under label "tango music collection", with reference links to eng.tango.info and todotango.com.

Music has always been my inspiration to dance tango. Even though I've been dancing much less these days, the love for the music still keeps me here.

I am expanding my library on the weekly basis. So check back from time to time. I will try to post some of my favorite tandas under individual orchestras as well.

La tupungatina

This is one of my favorite Pugliese instrumentale. Interestingly, there are two different versions of this song, learned first from Royce. You can read here.

The shorter version is 3.55 minutes long, I think, which could be found on BTAC Collecion Revista Vol. 01. - Osvaldo Pugliese y su orquesta - Años '52 / '53. The more commonly available version is 4.06 minutes long from Reliquias' Cantan Alberto Morán y Roberto Chanel.

I like Fabian Peralta y Virginia Pandolfi's performance the best. I like Peralta's recent performance seen on youtube. There is more subtlety in his movement and less flashy. I really enjoy the musicality these two have expressed. And how they walked to the music.



Perfect example of how Pugliese is danced in the milonga setting. Simple, smooth yet musical. Less is more, and it seems so effortless.



Both of them are amazing dancers. I love the way Tate dancing socially in the milonga. Here, however, since they are not regular partners, the performance lacks of chemistry, despite occasional demonstration of individual brilliance.



Pay attention the pauses in all these performances in didactic context. It is interesting to see how each selected which phrases to dance and where in the music to pause. For me, the first two performances,even while the dancers were pausing, the intention still carried the music. So the both performances felt uninterrupted, smooth and flowing to the music. The third one, the pauses interrupted the flow of the whole dance, therefore the music choppy.

Tango is internal.

I used to be puzzled yet at the same time fascinated by some of my close tanguera friends' tango experiences. How certain men would make them feel...using their own words: "opening up like a flower", "that he knows every inch of my body"... or simply "orgasmic". I felt jealous when I listened to these tales.

Just about one year after I started dancing in the milongas, I had already received compliments. Women told me sincerely how beautiful my various partners and I looked together. Some men, who had danced for a longer time, pat me on the shoulder and said that they were going to steal a few moves from me. I knew that I could make women look beautiful dancing with me and make most of them dreaming in my embrace. Everyone told me I was a good dancer, but I wanted to be the best.

When I was not dancing in the milonga, I liked to just sit and observe. I paid attention to how people move and what expressions they wore on their face. And I observed a couple of said men dancing. At first, I felt unjustified.

There was this man, who a friend of mine said that she would go to a milonga just to hope to have a tanda with him. I looked at him barely dancing and questioned " his movement doesn't have music. "

"Oh... he is so musical."

I don't understand women... I have twice better posture and movement than this guy. My walk is much more elegant. I definitely dance better than this guy. Hmmm!!!

There is this instructor from BsAs. The first time I saw him dancing. I thought to myself " What's the deal?"

He didn't move much. The woman in his embrace wasn't what you would call dancing either, movement was sporadic. Yet the expression of the woman's face was intriguing: eyes closed, small beads of sweat falling through their pink cheeks. A lot of women were thrilled to dance with him. According to some, dancing with him was a tangasmic experience.

I believed the first hand accounts of my friends. But I didn't understand or start to understand till this post.

Shortly after, one summer night, I was at this outdoor milonga. The night was beautiful. The music was alternative, a beautiful guitar piece by Chris Spheeris. I took this tanguera friend's hand and embraced her. She was on her platform sandal, and I my flip flop. The floor was uneven wood plank. We didn't dance the way we used to dance. I didn't even lead ocho. We just embraced and breathed together. Walked slowly, one step then another...

She told me after that she hadn't felt this way for a long time.

Me neither... I finally start to get it:

Tango is internal.

We really don't need to do all these movement to connect with the other. Sacada, volcada, boleo, open embrace, fluid embrace...etc these are all external, like how many different positions does a couple have to do in order to achieve orgasm? Or does one have to do a series of movements in order to reach the deepest and most tranquil state in meditation?

I like what maestro Juan Carlos Copes said:

Lo más difícil del tango es hacerlo fáci
Lo más difícil del tango es caminarlo.
Lo más difícil del tango es sentirlo y demostrar lo que se siente.
Algo muy distinto que bailar para los demás.
El tango se lo baila para uno…
(first read it here)

although it took a few years for me to understand.

Open or Close?

I was djing at this milonga and playing a nice tanda of Calo con Beron. One of the guys who has been dancing for a couple of years asked one of the local teachers to dance. She was a dynamic dancer who has danced and performed with some of the biggest names in Tango. She gracefully accepted the invitation and embraced him. This guy, whom I know, danced decently. He walked with the music and did slow giros. Slowly the teacher closed her eyes...

All of sudden, he decided to open up the embrace and started performing some forever tango stunts, which was clearly beyond his physical capability. Looking at the expression of her stern face, trying to dance to his lead, I shook my head: this guys hadn't figured it out yet. He hadn't found his tango.

A couple of weeks later, at the same milonga I was dancing with a beautiful young woman from out of town. She had a decent embrace, dancing quite nicely. Our cheeks were touched. I was breathing smoothly, and I could hear her breathing. A moment of tranquility...

That lasted only less than two minutes, she went in and out and danced close to open afterward. The whole tanda, except the first two minutes, I had to figure how to dance with her. It was like trying to sleep, but constantly being waken up. I hadn't asked her to dance again, although she was very beautiful young woman.

I have paid attention to how good teachers, dancers and performers dancing socially in the milongas. Most of them don't break the embrace and do the amazing things that they do in the performances. Most of them dance very calmly, one step at a time. The ones who are moving like chicken without a head, showing everything they have learned yet mastered on the floor are the clueless wannabes.

There are nothing, in my opinion, that one wants to express in the music or communicate with partner, that one couldn't do it within the embrace. You could, however, find a lot of things missing in the open embrace.

Don't follow me

I said to a young woman, whom had danced only six months but seemed to be a natural tanguera with warm embrace, at a practica.

"I don't follow you?" She was surprised, not surprisingly from anyone whom had been taught to follow the "leader"/men from the first class.

"Follow the music and your own body." I smiled, hoping that she would somehow catch the idea, not turning into one of the many women whom just try to follow the movements of the men. I then showed her what I meant, briefly.

It could be overwhelming, this information. It took me almost two years, from Javier's lesson of "being selfish" to my turning point discovery of "the most important dance...", to start dancing without first thinking about how to lead.

Tango is not about leading and following.

If you think of tango as a conversation between the two, then leading and following is like reading from the script. If you think of tango as a dance of improvisation, then leading and following is like choreographed. If you think of tango as man showing the beauty of the woman, then the woman has to know how to shine when the opportunity arises.

The experience of dancing with a woman whom just follow, regardless how impeccable her technique is, is utterly uninspiring. And vice versa (Marite's response at the end of the post).

Giving and receiving

Simba's post "important difference" echoed a sentiment that I've been having: I like to receive as much as I give in tango.

According to my tanguera friend, whom had a few conversations with our teacher at Tangocamp and in BsAs, his philosophy is to give love to all regardless if you expect it to be returned or not. you are there to please the other person. I like that idea, and always follow it reasonably well. And on the blogsphere, there are good amount of posts about how a man should take good care of woman and give a good time to the woman in the dance.

But how about us, the man? What gives us the pleasure of tango? What kind of woman gives us the "ah..." at the end of song, the heart rate that equals to 30 minutes on the treadmill, or in my case, an tangorgasmic experience that I had to hold my tears?

I had a few conversations with my fellow tangueros (the ones whom are popular in the milongas). Yes, men talk too. :-) The most we talk about: a woman's embrace...

The first time I came back from Buenos Aires, I ranted about the change of embrace on this side of the world; distant, somewhat cold (or nervous) and unnatural as oppose to warm and comfy. It has been close to two years since my first trip back and I have been dancing with hundreds of different women. The more I dance, the more I realize that embrace is as much about technique as attitude; much less to do with experience. Tina has this post that has been always inspiring.

Some of the warmest and most comfy embrace I have experienced were from women had danced just a few months to less than three years. And it is not about particular group of women. The Asian, European and North American can embrace just as well as the Portenas. Some portena's embrace can feel cold and stiff. Again, part technique, mostly attitude.

The attitude of giving. The attitude of pleasing the other person.

Sometimes one has to give in order to receive.

Royce's tango music posts

Thanks to Royce's recent music posts, my check amounting balance has just decreased triple digits. But seriously, anyone serious about tango music should check out her latest posts.

Here is her blog. Enjoy, and watch your wallet. :-)

BTW. The joy of listening to good tango music is... PRICELESS.

La Melodia del Corazon

La Melodia del Corazon, the tango derivative of Etude by Chopin, by Donato con Gavio and Canaro con Amor. The Donato version is mostly played during performance. I am not a huge fan of Canaro, except his milongas. I did make a Canaro Con Amor tanda with this song as the last one and played it last week at a practica. It was quite nice actually.






A more modern rendition, they were like two butterflies floating on the floor.

Crash

The unpleasant aftereffect of an orgasmic tango experience is the inevitable crash, the emptiness that follows as hollow as black hole. After having that experience every night for four night straight, dancing till exhaustion, one could only imagine the severity of the crash.

I am not alone. A buddy of mine has been disinterested of dancing since he came back from a trip a couple of months ago. He hasn't gone out as often lately. Whenever he was at the milonga, he hung out most of the time. We have mutual sympathy for each other.

I don't know how long this will last. It is not a plateau or a slump. I am still improving technically. I have been trying to go out and dance. I have had some good tango experience.

But good isn't good enough.

Some asked: " Don't you wish that you haven't had that experience? "
" Better missing it than never had experienced it. " I answered.

Que Falta Que Me Haces

Love Calo con Podesta, but haven't danced to this song for while.

J&G



S&R



O&S



S&A

Dance with the stars

So I was at this milonga and witnessed a theatrical scene... to say the least.

One of the local tangueras went to a well known tango "star" and commanded for a dance. After being turned down, according to "first hand" recounting, she threw a fit and berated him with names and something like " you are in my country. You will do what I told you...". Then she slapped him and was countered. She went to ground... and all hell broke loose. She subsequently threw a glass of RED wine to him and a few people sitting with him got some of that... including a teacher I have respect for.

I was dancing a milonga set with a friend of mine on the floor. I passed by the spot, annoyed by the commotion. What I saw was that the woman on the ground, then got up and went after the "star"; the star was refrained by his friends to execute a front kick, no mistakenly a trained martial arts move. I danced away immediately from that spot and only stopped when the commotion grew wilder at another corner.

Well, this post is not about who's right or who's wrong. Nor about discussion of public opinions of this sort of things. So I would delete any comments in that nature. And of course, no names will be revealed publicly, although I suspect the gossip will spread around if it hadn't already.

The post is about dancing with the "stars".

First of all, let me make my position clear: I don't believe in calling or labeling anyone "star" or "deity", let alone "god or goddess.". They are just normal human beings who happen to excel in their profession.

Secondly, it is delusional to think that just because one has danced with and being seen dancing with a "star", that one's tango status has immediately elevated. A "star" dances with regular dancers for many reasons: y0u are a student or a target student, you are the DJ or the organizer, you are an acquaintance or a friend, you are deliciously gorgeous and in a sexy outfit, or in few cases that you are really good dancer...

Thirdly, your "deities" are also human beings. They could get tired, impatient or drunk. Sometimes milonga is the place they relax after a long day of teaching and performing. They surely don't the obligation to dance with anyone whom they don't feel like dancing.

I have been to four festivals this summer and all these festivals were stuffed with who is who in the tango world. Some of the female "stars" were generous to dance with common folks. Yet few of these common folks were really into the dance itself. They rather took the opportunities as a chance to show off their ridiculously shabby skills, pretending to be another "superstar", dragging and flinging the women around. I felt sorry for the "star" whom, sometimes being dragged on the floor, had to endure the torture and couldn't get off the floor quick enough once the music stopped.

I once asked a performer whom happened to be an acquaintance and sometimes would ask me for a dance in local milongas, at a festival milonga. She just performed that night with a well known tango "god". She first told me that she was bit drunk and would like to dance later. I pressured her because a few people (among, one of the godesses in tango world, if you will) were around and my pride got better of my sense. She got up and danced with me. We didn't connect, despite my favorite orchestra was on with my favorite songs. I tried, but she was not there. She could be tired and bit tipsy, or just dance with me because I insisted. Technically, we danced well. But I didn't enjoy it, nor could I imagine she did.

At another festival milonga in a faraway country, I was standing there looking for a partner to dance the Tanturi con Campos tanda. There came a woman standing next to me, coffee in her hand and singing along with song in Spanish. Although I don't often invite woman whom I haven't seen dancing before, I figured if she could sing along, she couldn't be a bad dancer. I caught her eyes and invited her. She was a bit surprised but told me that she could dance with me after she finished the coffee. A guy came by, greeted her and then asked her for a dance. She hesitated for a moment and explained to him that she promised to dance with me. (in Spanish they spoke). The guy apparently insisted so they went to the floor. I found out later that he was the organizer and she was one of the big "stars" who dances with the biggest name in nuevo world. I could have asked her for a dance again in the coming nights, but I didn't. Instead I danced with the regular dancers whom embraced me and gave me a hell of experience that I had never felt before.

I still look to dance with the "stars", not because they are the "stars". It is because some of them are amazing tangueras. I want to dance with them when they truly like to dance with me, that we could mutually enjoy the dance. Just like they enjoy dancing with some of their fellow "stars". (I have also seen them dancing with the fellow "stars" for the sake of just to dance with an acquaitance.)

In the end, for me the ultimate tango experience does not depend on with WHOM I dance. The ultimate tango experience occurs when two open their hearts, embrace each other and share the moments.

Non-Argentine Tango Salon Champ.

The tango blog topic of the week is probably a Japanese couple won the Tango Salon category. I didn't follow this year's competition on youtube. I was busy dancing my heart out. Nonetheless it was quite a news that for the first time in the history, a non-Argentine couple won the Salon category.

And it is interesting to know that Yamao scored top position at Rondas Clasifications, and second place at Semifinales. There wasn't a surprise that they won the final, because they were the only couple in top 5 position in both rounds. They had been consistent with their performance.

I also noted that a Russian couple scored the second at Rondas Clasifications and seven at Semi. Out of the top 15 at Semi there were six international couples, four representing Japan, one Russia and another Chile. 40% non Argentine...Bravo to that!!!

A few months ago, I posted a few clips of Asian tanguero(a)s dancing on my private blog. I commented that traditional Salon Tango was very popular in Asia; judged from the teachers whom were invited to their festivals and workshops, the posture and walk and of course the embrace that dancers showed. I've danced with quite a few good to great Asian tangueras. I was impressed by their clean footwork, good energy and nice embrace. Most of them had spent months in BsAs, learning and dancing. Although in Asia, Tango has the shortest history, Yamao's winning of Salon proved that whoever said only Argentine knew how to dance tango was shortsighted.

Hard work, dedication and smartness can make up the shortcoming of language and culture difference. And I am not surprised that the Russian will win one in the future.

Lovely milonga

I like and respect this couple more and more. Took their workshop at Baltimore Tango Element. Watched their performances at Moscow Milonguero Nights. Impressed by their professionalism and brilliance.

Hope you enjoy the above milonga as much as I did.

Amazing...

If there were a tango nirvana in this world, I am sure I had been in it the last four days. Packed in some sightseeing around Moscow during daytime, I had been in the milonga till 6am every day except the first night. Body is tired, limps are sore, neck stiff... but my spirit is still high. The whole festival was full of new discovery, new friendship and new high of tango experience.

Quite a few tandas that I had danced, I'd experienced this indescribable, unprecedented and overwhelmingly strong sensation that I wanted to cry and scream. Two nights in a row, I had four tandas with two great dancers in the beginning of the night. After those four tandas, I was so physically and emotionally drained that I didn't get a second wind till 2 hours later.

I had certain expectation when I left for the festival. What I had experienced was ten times better. Some moments were really magical and unforgettable.

That's it, the highlight of my summer of tango, the festival of all festivals.

What's next, I wonder...

Summer of 2009

Turns out to be a summer of tango festival for me. The next one, most likely the last one for the summer, Moscow Milonguero night is only six days away.

I am truly enjoying all the festivals I've gone to so far. A few reasons:

1) The festivals that I chose had great lineup of teachers, which attracted good attendances.

2) The places that the festivals were held were cities that I'd not visited, except Baltimore. I enjoyed visiting Roma as a tourist and spending half day at the Taste of Chicago at Millennium Park in Chicago.

3) I felt I was benefited from the workshops that I attended with all the masters. There was truly something to learn from everyone. I've been focusing on improving my milonga. The workshops with Julio y Corina and Sebastian y Mariana had opened my eyes. I am sure whatever I've taken in would help me down the road, in a few months from now. Just like things I'd learned over a year ago, they are much more clearer to me now.

4) Part of the fun of going to festival is to make friends, whom share the same addiction; and to see old friends. It was always a pleasant surprise to see some one you know showing up at the same festival. A big and long hug, kisses on the cheeks, it warmed the hearts. And it was nice to dance with them and feel the difference after all these times, most of them had improved and the dance experiences were felt much better. Tango people are mostly NOT CLIQUE. If you open yourself up and try to make friends, you will see that this is a big happy family...

Traveling around the world dancing tango is quite a tough job. And I am serious!!! The jet lag, the long line and the run around at the airports, the change of diet, the lack of sleep, the never waning anxiety, and on the top of them, five to eight hours dancing a day... it is quite physically challenging and it takes toll on the body.

That's why I am recuperating from the Baltimore Tango Element, which by the way was very good. Try to recondition my body, stretching, light exercising, good diet... After all, it is going to be four incredible days, probably the highlight of the summer, the festival of all festivals that I've gone to.

And my dance card is filling up quickly even before the festival (thanks to facebook)... I will let you know how it goes. I can't tell you how excited I am, how much I look forward to it.

The summer of 2009 turns out to be the second highlight on my tango journey, other than my trips to the Mecca.

Stop dancing with them

Ms. Hedgehog's recent post inspired me to repost this with a few changes:

I was at this practica DJing. There went this old guy and a young beginner, dancing right in front of me. The guy was 6' tall and over 200 lbs; and the poor girl was like 5"6 with heels on, no more than 110 lbs. Beauty and the beast at the first sight.

What went on made me frowned: he was throwing her around, taking her off balance and forcing different nuevo/stage moves which clearly beyond the physical capabilities of both. (Why a sixty year old, who has no apparent dance background or the physicality of a fit man, would practice off axis volcada lead or anything that is off axis, is beyond my comprehension, although none of my business.) A few times, I thought the girl was about to twist her ankles or have a broken arm.

Yet the girl went on to dance two tandas with the old man. I was amazed... at her ability of enduring such a torture for over twenty minutes. Maybe it didn't hurt or feel uncomfortable as much as it appeared to me.

A couple of nights after, I was at my regular milonga dancing. All of sudden, there was this commotion that made everyone stop dancing. Some one was on the floor. Men were arguing. Instantly I knew whose fault it was.

This guy has been dancing for a long time, longer than I have. I had seen him dancing. He could dance nicely. Somehow he choosed to open up and do crazy stuffs all the time, crowded floor or not. I was following him one tanda. His movement was big and unpredictable. I had to be on constant alert. At one time, I elbowed him lightly when he almost backstepped into me. Enough was enough.

I was told later that the woman was tripped by this guy's partner. He must lead her doing some crazy stage/nuevo moves, as usual.

That got me thinking: so many women complaining men/bad dancers, yet these men are still getting dances from women. What's wrong with this picture? If you don't enjoy dancing with certain people, while keep dancing with them. Have you learned how to spot a bad dancer on the floor?

Do women get so desperate that they jump at every invitation that goes their way? I don't get it...

I don't invite women whom were seen dancing with bad dancers* frequently. And most of the time, these women get stuck with the same type of dancers. Bad by association. Good dancers look for good dancers to dance with. Besides, if you constantly dance with dancers whom have bad postures and inferior techniques, you develop bad habits unconsciously.

I was going to ask the aforementioned beginner to practice walking, show her how to embrace. But after one tanda and she still stayed with the old guy, I lost my interest and enthusiasm. She needed to learn by herself, how to say no, how to look for good dancers, sometimes the hard way.

I like to help beginner, intermediate or even some advanced dancers to improve or correct certain things in their dance. I don't do it actively unless I am asked. I rarely offer advices voluntarily unless I know the person very well. There are a lot of ego and self esteem among. For those who are eager to learn and to improve, I do like to offer them my hands without reservation.

Beginner and intermediate dancers have to make choice between not dancing and dancing with bad dancers. Remember: bad dancers are around because they are dancing. Some one is dancing with them. If you are that someone, then you shouldn't be complaining...

(* Bad dancers= those who have been dancers for years yet have no idea of how to navigate the floor, how to dance small and dance for each other and how to follow the line of dance...)

Simple, Elegant and Musical

"The most important dance is...

... the one that happens inside us."

I stole this title from a lovely and beautiful tango friend of mine. I've meant to write something about this for a long time. Words had escaped me.

A few months ago, I was in my worst tango slump. My favorite music didn't inspire me. I was on auto pilot most of the time, doing just steps. I felt I was repeating the same steps/sequences over and over again, and with the same partner. The energy was flat and I rushed to chase the music. I felt bored of myself for not being creative. I thought I didn't know how to dance any more. Some told me that I'd reached a plateau. I felt I was regressing.

I went for a private lesson with my first tango teacher.

"There is nothing wrong with your dance. Your technique is good, walk is nice, embrace is comfortable, and very musical..." She said to me, after danced a song or two. " What's wrong is up here. " She pointed to my head, jokingly.

"I had been there before. I understand. You need to forget about having the perfect technique, posture and steps. Try to find the tango within when you dance..." Break the mode. "and take your time, like tasting wine, sip it...like tasting chocolate, let it melting in your mouth."

Find the tango within...I chewed on it.

The next few weeks, every time I stepped onto the piso, I took a moment and looked inside. It was like a self meditation (or inner gaze). What moved me? Was it the woman whom I was about to embrace, the music or the energy of the place? I tried to find my own presence before I embraced the woman.

Then something magical and powerful happened. The connection was amazing. When I danced with beginner/intermediate level women, I felt that they were calm and following well. With good dancers, I felt like I was into their minds (hypnotized them) and their feet doing what I suggested. When I had the pleasure to dance with great women, I felt completely free, like they say, one body four feet.

I didn't think about how to move or what steps to take any more. Like Pedro said, just listen to the music, it tells you how to dance. I let the music and the woman inspire me. From time to time, I was pleasantly surprised by myself from the move or steps I did with music, sometimes things that I had never done before...

These days, I dance much less, two or three tandas a night, once or twice a week. If I don't find an inspiring partner in the milonga, I just sit and listen to the music. When I do dance, I rarely feel unsatisfied afterward.


"I am more interested in what moves people, than how they move." Pina Bausch

(posted by my first teacher when Ms.Bausch passed away not long ago)

Being turned down.

There are so many reasons for a woman to turn down an invitation. I used to ponder and speculate them after being turned down. Then I realized I was wasting my time and energy.

What's the big deal? Look for those whom are looking for you. Go find the woman whom is willing to be in my embrace rather than wonder why this one doesn't want to. And these days, I rarely get turned down because:

a.) I adhere to cabeceo when I am in a festival.
b.) I am contented to have a great tanda a night, rather than take a risk to have ten mediocre ones.
c.) I am an excellent social dancer. Shameless brag yet it is true... haha.

Still, I get ticked off by this rejection: a woman turns me down by saying that she is tired and needs a rest. OK, fine and understandable. But the next song, she gets up right in front of my face and accepts an invitation from another man.

This, in my book of tango etiquette, is the biggest offender.

For sure, she will not be getting another look from me as long as I remember this episode. Not that she cares, Nor I.

The music is same old...

I often hear people complaining about hearing the same music over and over again. They get bored.

I have been listening to the same old music over and over again for the past three years; more so recently as I started DJing. Sometimes I could listen to the same song over ten times a day. I never get bored, on the contrary I find something interesting and different each time I listen to the same song.

Then it occurs to me that the music isn't boring, just that people who complain never really listen.

The same piece of tango music has always been here, interpreted by different orchestras, sung by different singers and danced by thousands of dancers from various backgrounds in numerous ways. How could it be boring if there are thousands of different interpretations?

"Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music."

Why People Quit Tango?

Who cares!

The mentioned survey was circulating on FB a while ago. I took a glimpse and decided to skip it. What's the point? I have heard enough whining and bitching for the past three years, nothing new, and it is not going to change.

People quit everything: jobs, relationships/love, hobbies and sometimes their own lives. Things don't work out? Quit. Easiest solution. In this culture, few people seem to understand "no pain, no gain.".

Tango bliss doesn't come like a snap of fingers. Just because once out of blue moon, some dreamy dancer comes from other planet dances a blissful tanda with you by accident, then you are entitled to that blissful moment every time you dance? Wake up, people.

People demand a lot before they pay their own dues. Have you learned to stand on your own foot without losing balance? Have you learned how to embrace a person? Have you learned how to walk grounded without your partner feeling like hitting a pothole every step of the way?

The thing is that in order to truly enjoy tango, one has to invest a lot of time, mind, energy and money. You want to dance the top level in three years, you better have a athletic body, decent musicality, learn astutely from a few excellent teachers and dance four times a week, 52 weeks a year.

Otherwise, just accept the fact that you would be dancing with the rest of the people in the milongas, at your level. If you think that dancing with the others at your own level is a torture, an unpleasant experience, then strive to be a better dancer and work harder and smarter to get to the next level where dance experience is better. Too much work and not worth it? Then quit.

You are not going to be missed by anyone.

Cruelty? Yes, but also reality. Or maybe it is a blessing in disguise. You stop wasting your life on some hobby that you are not cut out for. There are more important and meaningful things in life than a stupid dance, right?

Listen to the music, it tells you how to dance.

I was playing a tanda of De Caro in the milonga. The music started and she looked at me and said: " I am not sure I like this music." I smiled and said: " Let's give it a try." At the end of the tanda, I asked her how it was. She replied: " very interesting."

I used to stay away from the 50s or the early 30s songs, too orchestral or too simple. Lately I enjoy dancing wider range of music. Maybe it was the result of constantly listening tango music a couple of hours a day, seven days a week for the past three years. The once strange and hard to dance ones become interesting and inspiring. Or maybe I finally learn to listen to the music and look for what moves me in the music.

"Those who dance, are considered crazy by those who can't hear the music."

Chicago Tango Week 2009 Recap

Just got back from Chicago Tango Week, all in all I had a pretty good time. Although the hotel is bit far in the suburb, I guess that it kept the cost down. One note for future reference, to save 28 bucks from the airport, take the Blue line to loop (stop Jackson) and transfer to Red line (Howard), at the end of Red line, take Yellow line and call the hotel for a shuttle pick up at the end of Yellow line. The whole trip takes about hour and half to two hours and the cost is only $2.50.

Class

The lineup of teachers was great, good balance of traditional and nuevo. I took two classes of Julio y Corina: milonga and vals. Their classes were fun to be in. I thought I learned more from the milonga class than the vals class. Maybe it was because I loved milonga but didn't like vals in general. In the milonga class, Julio y Corina had explained the principle of dancing milonga and then worked on a sequence excercise which later was demoed with different flavors and varieties. In vals, we mainly worked on two sequence, that required adjusting my embrace. I sat most of time just listening and watching.

Milonga

The Friday night milonga included live music by Otra Aires. The first part of the night was held up on the top floor. The ambiance was very nice and classy. I would have enjoyed it if it weren't because:

• I started my dance with an almost beginner who was uncomfortable with embrace.
  
• It got very crowded later when Otra Aires started playing and it was impossible to enjoy dancing on the floor. Besides, most of the pieces they played were probably more suitable for listening than dancing.
  
• I was tired and cranky and didn't get into the rhythm.
  

The second part of the night was moved down to a big ballroom at the bottom floor. It was a nicer space for dancing. It was around 3:00am in the morning. I left soon after I had a nice tanda with an acquaintance. For Friday night, I had three tandas, went from bad ,to decent, to good.

Saturday night was a night of great dances. I had a very good time at the afternoon practilonga and continued the good fortunate into the night. Every single tanda I had danced was very good, except one being just decent (from someone I met in the practilonga who asked me for a dance).

Sunday night was slow, while a lot of people had gone home. I should have saved a night of hotel and left on Sunday. I enjoyed more watching all the masetros dancing socially. I had a few decent tandas and went upstairs packing for the early AM flight back home.

DJ

I thought all DJs had gone a very good job. Friday night, Adam was consistently good. Saturday night, Horacio was bit funky, just like the way I had experienced at La Viruta. He played 5 tangos and 4 milongas very often. The selection of songs was sometimes surprisingly good. The mixing of alternative, traditional and modern orchestras was smooth. And it was a good party all night long. Sunday night, Pablo Inza played cortina only occasionally, and within hour and half I had heard Pugliese played twice. But there wasn't a moment that I felt disliking the music. The energy was well controlled throughout the time I was at the milonga.

Next one on the agenda: Tango element in Baltimore and then Moscow Tango Festival in Moscow Russia.

Poema

The first time I felt the woman's heart beat, I was dancing to Poema. I haven't danced or listened to it for a long long time. Although I have three tandas of Canaro con Maida, Poema isn't in any. It was like some old memory, being put aside and forgotten. Alex's recent post about eleven performances of this particular song brought it back. When some one from tango-l claimed that it was too precious to be interpreted by Carlos Copello and LunaPalacios, I laughed.

It was just a song. As a matter of fact, I know someone whom grew up listening to tango music dislikes it. I don't dislike it, but it isn't my favorite any more. It doesn't have the same effect to me as that time I danced to it and felt the woman's heart beat.

Maybe it was because I had felt many heartbeats since, or even better I felt the woman melting in my chest and I was out of this world dancing to different songs. Or maybe Roberto Maida's voice is less appealing to me, the music itself isn't that romantic. Or maybe it is so overhyped that turns me off. Whatever reason it might be, it is just another song, which doesn't even make into my tandas.

It is funny how things have changed as I progress. The once favorited and loved are no longer the favorited and loved. The once mattered is no longer mattered. As long as I am connected with the woman, any song sounds just like Poema, as I first felt the heartbeat of the woman.

Pugliese

A lot of people dance Pugliese like stage performance on the milonga floor. Because the music is very powerful, average dancers will try to dance every beat. Pay attention to the floor next time you are in a milonga and not dancing to the tanda, and see how many of them dance frenzily.

The key is to control yourself and ride on top of the music, not just follow the music. Breathe along the music, use small adornment and movement to express the music. Take the time to dance, to talk to and feel the partner. Dance it like tasting a fine aged wine.

I don't normally dance Pugliese, hard to find the right partner. But when I do, it's often the best tanda of the night.

I always learn something when I watch them dancing.

Embrace

I was at Javier and Stella's advanced class on Saturday morning at Tangocamp Roma. There was this young chica, slim and pretty, waiting for the class to begin by the door. Judged from her wristband, she was at the intermediate/advanced group. Apparently she was one of those Javier followers (such as myself :P) who tried to take every class with Javier.

The first half an hour, we did nothing but walking individually forward and back, up and down the classroom. Then we did a lapiz on free leg, walked a step; lapiz on the other free leg and walked another step... so on and so forth.

After twenty minutes Javier explained embrace, and asked us to pair up. This young chica paired up with me. Javier showed us the exercise: just put our arms around each other and walk.

I opened my arms and she put hers around me and embraced me. I could feel that she was tense, holding her breathe and nervous. Yet, there was something different, something that I felt I rarely experienced. She embraced me with feeling and emotion.

Stella stopped us at one point, corrected her posture and the way of her walking. Then we changed partners. The moment the other woman embraced me, I instantly missed her embrace. We partnered up again after two more changes till the end of the class.

We did nothing but walking in embrace. I was in a state that I was only aware of my own breathe, the music and her being. I could almost feel the emotion going through her body. And it was powerful.

After ten fifteen minutes, Javier stopped us and then put on a Pugliese. I turned around to her and we embraced again. All of sudden she loosed the embrace, mumbled something and gave me a little kiss on the cheek. I was a little surprised. She turned me around: Javier and Stella were doing a demo for us at the end of the class...

I had never had the chance to dance with her again, in the milonga. She was dancing with this guy for hours two night in a roll. I was too proud to walk over and asked her, although a few times I almost did.

I watched them dancing on the floor, amidst the frenzies of the crowd. They were just embracing each other; her eyes closed, his half open, her posture slightly awkward, foot lifted in the air from time to time, his moves far from grounded, but they were in their own world.

I danced till Monday morning and went back to my room to pack. I went out to the bar and tried to get some coffee before leaving for the airport and saw her at the reception with her luggage.

We smiled and waved at each other and I kept on walking. Half way back to my room, I couldn't help it but turned around and walked up to her.

"Are you leaving?" I asked.
"Yes" She looked at me.
"eh...I think you are going to be great. Keep dancing the way you do. You dance with such emotion..." I pointed to my heart.
"You too, with great emotion" She said sincerely and a bit excited.

We embraced each other for a long moment, one more time...

On my way back to my room, I realized that we didn't exchange any information, no names, no e-mails, nor facebook info. Somehow I felt that I would see her again somewhere, in one of the big festivals in Europe or a small milonga in BsAs. Next time when I dance with her, she would be great. She already had the most important quality. Technique is not important (as Javier told me), it would come as long as one works on it...

But "nobody can teach you the feeling..." as Gavito said.

Tangocamp Roma 2009 Recap

This was my first Tangocamp experience and my first time dancing in Europe. I'd wanted to attend Tangocamp since 2007 and put off due to various reasons. Although I am not a big fan of tango festival, I took the trip as a vacation of visiting Rome and my friends in Umbria with tango as a side trip.

I had a very good time at the Tangocamp Roma, met some old friends (it is truly a small world) and got to know some new friends. It was more of a social event for me.

Class

I was a little disappointed that our group (advanced 3-5 yrs) did not include any Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne class. I had to take a drop in with them. I skipped three of my group classes and instead took one advanced extra with Damian Esell & Nancy Louzan and a intermediate/advanced with Javier Rodriguez and Stella Misse. Together with the class of Pable Inza and Eugenia Parilla, I had learned more ganchos and volcada in three days than in the last three years.

I know I am biased, but the classes with Javier and Stella were more beneficial for me. He started all the classes with half an hour walking back and forth, explained and corrected. In the advanced class, he introduced the idea of embellishment by instructing us to walk and lapiz on the free leg. In the intermediate/advanced class, we learned the exercise of giro and sacada, which I thought was helping me a lot.

Milonga

I thought the New York tango scene was pretty bad till I witnessed the festival scene. The piso was messy. Granted, it was a large milonga and had probably over three hundred people on the floor at the same time. But it was a large floor and I did see a lot of space in between couples. But it was those Gustavo/Chicho/whatever names wanna be who danced with no regards to the others. There were a lot of them.

I danced in the beginning and after 2:30am when the floor was cleared a bit. Still whenever I was on the floor, I felt the my dancing space was threaten. I got bumped into twice by the same guy from behind in one song. One guy made the effort of passing me around outside the floor and back... A lot of guys danced with their head dropped and tilt down. They led women doing all kinds of high boleos, or the women just did it by themselves. I almost laughed when I saw the seriousness of the hilarious moves.

That being said, I still enjoyed most of dances except one or two tandas. I made a rule to myself that I would not approach woman and ask for dance. If a woman doesn't understand the rule of cabaceo, she is probably not the type that I would enjoy dancing with anyway. Friday night, I had great tandas all night. Sat night the energy dip a bit, but Sunday I danced till five o'clock in the morning and went to my room packing then to the airport.

DJ

Since I am also DJing, I was paying attention to the music that was played. Although music played in all three nights was good, I found that the energy was not well controlled. And the music selections were plain, mainly on six major orchestras. For example, all three night I heard the same tandas of Tanturi con Campos: una emocion, oigo tu voz, with two more by three different DJs. And I hated mixed orchestras and four songs in a milonga tanda. But it was probably just me. :-)

All in all, I had a very good time at the festival. I was told by a woman from Rome that the level of dancing didn't reflect the actual quality of dance level in Rome. A expat friend of mine who lives in Italy told me that the level of dancing was much higher in other festivals in Italy that she had attended this year, such as the ones in Firenze and Torino. You can probably tell by the lineup of teachers at those festivals.

Now I had the experience, although very limited, of dancing in Europe. I would still come to Europe, the history and the root of tango is much longer there than in the states, but more for being tourist with tango as a bonus. For serious tango trips, I wouldn't be anywhere else but Buenos Aires.

Mozo Guapo

My favorite milonga performed by my favorite people in BsAs: Ruben y Cherie.



Don't you just feel the joy of milonga that these two radiates...

Superb Musicality

I've been watching this video over and over again. The more I watch it, the more I appreciate the musicality that they've showed in this performance. The embellishments just decorate perfectly.

Back to the public eyes again

Last Friday I was dancing at a milonga. One guy came up to me and said: " Can I ask you a question? "

"Sure."

"What happened to your blog?" he asked.

I have never publicly stated the reason of turning it private. Some speculated that I was hiding because I couldn't face the heat of debates or different opinions. My reason was simple. My blog " Buenos Aires....where my tango journey begins" had become very popular. I could no longer write my thoughts without reservation. Sometimes when I wrote about my experience at the local tango scene, people got offended or felt uncomfortable. So there you go, only a few people got to read my thoughts.

Over the past year, I often received email requests to read my blog. People still remembered and were interested in my journey and my experience. Another tango friend of mine came to me on the same night last week and asked to access my blog.

And I started reading blogs again recently and felt that the newcomers could probably compare notes with someone whom had gone through similar journey of being a beginner, crazy about tango and see how I have evolved and how I still hold certain principle since day one.

So there it is...my public blog: My tango journey continues... Hope you enjoy it.

Do it a million times...

I went to Cesar's milonga workshop yesterday. First time I took a workshop in two years. The workshop itself wasn't quite interesting, partly because of the overall level of the participants. Yet I learned something from this amazing teacher.


Cesar was a very good teacher. He stressed on fundamentals and the very core of tango. It wasn't about teaching the steps, even in the workshop environment. It was about dancing with feeling to the music, about walking with cadence.

One thing he said had particularly struck a cord. He stopped the class after watching for while and seeing most of the people were just rushing the steps. He told a story of how his father taught him dancing tango.

Cesar's father told him to just walk to the music. After a while, Cesar got bored. But his father insisted that he kept on walking. It was not till the 50,000 times that Cesar walked that he started to find cadence in walking, that he found something interesting in this seemingly boring walking. Repeat a million times, until you are bored...and you start looking for something interesting in the simplest thing... then you find tango.

Breathing exercise

I discovered a practice myself this morning while driving to work. Listening to Pugliese on the road, I suddenly found that I was breathing along with the music. I thought that this is a good exercise. Like in Yoga practice, I was always told to just enjoy the breath, pay attention to the breath and let it take me to the presence. I think it also works in dance.

Try that: find any tango music and try to breathe along the music. It is a good exercise. It helped me to be more center and relax in the dance, more submerging in the music and the embrace.