Come have coffee with me in Buenos Aires...

Come have coffee with me in Buenos Aires...

Kalispell Performance

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On Saturday 9/16 I performed at a very cool fundraiser in Kalispell.

The idea behind it was Dancing with the Stars. In the tv show, a celebrity, who is a beginner at dance, pairs up with a professional ball room dancer, and competes. In this local version, sometimes a local 'celebrity', ( a community member, perhaps with a well known business in town,) will either pair up w/ their romantic partner (both beginners) or a local dancer. For the Kalispell version, both partners were beginners. This was *such* a great fundraiser idea, because it was so endearing to see these cute couples dance. Especially, when they were putting their 'soles' (and souls) on the line, for such a great cause.

The night earned around $78,000 for the Warming Center, a very important resource for the homeless, especially during the harsh Montana winters. I appreciated the individual stories of people they benefited, during the silent auction. You saw how theses challenges are often down to just luck. And I appreciated how the homeless were referred to as our community members and friends through out the night.

The silent auction had a delicious spread, and fun performances in the lobby, like aeralists and drummers. Such a clever way to keep the crowd engaged, and keep the arts going all night long.

Rob and I were part of the dance showcase in the end. We danced to Milonga del Ayer by Craig Einhorn, one of my favorites. It was such great experience to dance in front of so many people. Made me work with my nerves, as well as taje *big* steps to cover the stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIy7afIh7jk Listen to the Music here

Thankful for this opportunity to contribute to a great cause.


Montana Tango Festival

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A Tangupdate!

I'm not a big FB person, so sometimes forget to post what I've been doing, but you may have noticed I 'have recentlyl been forwarding many posts from the Montana Tango Festival. Well, ***drum roll please***, I am actually one of the founding members, and have been working behind the scenes all year! (All while simultaneously bringing new leaders to the Montana tango scene.)

I am the person behind the marketing campaign, I hope you've enjoyed the Montana cartoons and humor. I was really happy to promote the artists; we wanted to create this fun atmosphere, where we celebrated and learned from unique voices of tango, and so I was happy to get the word out about all of our amazing guests.

As a New York transplant, now a Montanan, I too was amazed at the friendliness of this festival, as I have been heartened and amazed at the amazing sense of community since I arrived here. Was so glad to share that over the festival, to give that back, to friends old and new.

Some festival highlights for me: Taking my Dad out to Potomac, introducing him to so many tango friends new and old, having him see what I do. Private lessons with Adam and Marina - getting amazing milonga steps, and Hugo and Celina - you showed me not to be scared to show my passion on stage. I highly recommend private lessons as a way to learn. You get immediate feedback on your body, your issues; it is so worth the money!

Also, just all the hustle and bustle behind the scenes, from last minute grocery runs,, to trips to the airport, to frantic website work -- it makes you feel part of something, and then seeing the tango friendships blossom made it all worth while.

I hosted the Mixer on Friday night - informal tango games helped our guests to meet new people, so that those cabaceos aren't so intimidating at the milongas.

Friday night, The native Blackfeet Grassdance by Teague was so cool, and his flute music hauntingly beautiful, it was such a blessing to see and hear, thank you for providing a window into the original Montana culture.

Saturday morning - Meet the DJ event - Success! I had invisioned this event as a musical panel with muffins, and I was pleased to learn so many new things about tango music from our panel of 7 (seven!) unique experts. The performances on Saturday night were thrilling.

But best of all, was embracing some great old friends, in my new hometown, Dan and Giselle it was so great to see you!

And of course, showing off some of the newest montana tangueros....

Dad and me

Dan and me

Diego, giselle, ricardo, lindsey, celina, hugo, marina, adam, me, rob montango

hosting the mixer

with Charles and nora from the committee

I was emcee at the friday night milonga

Shoes! I came to the right place

with giselle bobolis, me, diego santana, and Ron Montango

World Tango Champions 2022 - Campeones Mundiales 2022

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As I continue my belated roundup of tango news of 2022:

Congratulations!

to the winners Constanza Vieyto and Ricardo Astrada (stage or escenario category) and Cynthia Palacios and Sebastian Bolivar (salon category).

❤️👠😻🎇🎉👠🎼✨🎉🎶🎞️✨👠🎉🎵✨🎟️🎆🎟️🎞️👠

Read more: https://yen.com.gh/world/216618-argentine-dancers-crowned-world-champions-tango/

a new take on tango; performance in Oregon

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https://www.salemreporter.com/2023/01/24/salem-symphonic-winds-and-rainbow-dance-theatre-partner-for-stunning-colorful-tango/

Salem Symphonic Winds and Rainbow Dance Theatre partner for stunning, colorful tango

by Abbey McDonald on January 24, 2023

Would love to have seen and heard this!

Ah, more about tango shoes...

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Yay! As always I could go on and on about tango shoes.

This article shares some good tips: https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2022/09/19/the-tango-shoes-that-give-dancers-licence-to-fly/28910 The tango shoes that give dancers ‘licence to fly’, Malay Mail

Includes how Comme Il Faut got founded, and some great quotes from dancers.

‘According to tango instructor Moira Castellano, “the heels can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy.”’

One of the dancers, Mariela Sametband, wrote: “The shoes are to tango what a guitar is to a guitarist, a broom to a street sweeper or a knife to a chef.”

“The shoes are like a licence to fly on earth. They have to mold to the foot, and one feels that they caress and are caressed at the same time.” Maria Teresa Schuster, Cardiologist and Pianist, 72



Buffalo Tango Orkestra

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Fun Review of tango concert and dance performance in Buffalo, New York:

https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/international-dancers-pianist-join-buffalo-tango-orkestra-for-memorable-performance/article_700f89b6-4e35-11ed-ac78-c36851ec9d44.html

As I continue my roundup of tango news from the year, its better late then never! I love watching Guillermina Quiroga perform, and have immensely enjoyed her workshops too. Best of luck to the performers in 2023 as well.

Tango Traffic Jams! - September 24th Class in Helena

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Hi Tango Friends!

I’ve been busy teaching tango in Montana, and thought I’d share some of the highlights with you here.

On September 24th, I taught a fun workshop with Jeff Blend, on Tango Transitions, at TangoHelena! Check out more Helena tango events here: https://tangohelena.com/

The purpose of this class was avoiding “traffic jams” on the dance floor. Sometimes these occur, due to poor floor craft, and we wanted to give some methods on dealing with the situation.

But first, you don’t want to cause the traffic jam! For that, here are some etiquette guidelines, or ‘codigos’:

  • When entering the dance floor, the leader entering should nod towards the leader he/she is cutting in front of

  • Only pass on the left! Like in real traffic

  • Don’t be the one stuck in the middle doing something flashy. Respect the other dances, and flow of dance

Move 1 - Vaivens!

  • Vaivens are a fun move, with a lilting quality, that fits in great with waltz’s 3 time.

  • The benefit is that you can progress slightly forward, but also do a larger step diagonally, so you don’t run into the person in front of you.

  • The musical benefit is that the larger step is on the stronger beat of the waltz (vals)

  • The term comes from the Spanish, ‘to go and to come’

  • A great move for the followers to practice in a workshop too, since they can practice their listening skills: how big of a step is the leader taking, on each part of the sequence?

  • Leaders increease their skills by experimenting with different energy levels, step sizes, etc.

Move 2 - Ocho Cortado and Media Vuelta

  • This sequence is perfect for traffic jams, because its fun and intricate, while moving around each other, more than moving a great distance

Move 3 - Walking to Close the Gap

  • Now sometimes, instead of a jam in front of you, you will suddenly have a large distance to cover

  • This is a great time for some large, dramatic tango steps

  • A great skill to practice in a workshop; the partners both have to have good listening skills, and match each others’ bodies and energies, to not step on each others’ toes or get separated

I hope these ideas will help for your next tango traffic jam! Feel free to use these ideas for your next workshop.