Re: [Tango-L] Tango on the Internet
Hi Gregory and others, I know about four free tango radio stations. 1. Radio Batanga - Tango - North Carolina - USA 2. LA 2x4 - Buenos Aires 3. AM 1110 - Buenos Aires 4. Radio Tango Argentina - USA Below are the details. “Station” mentions the URL of the website on which you can find this station. "Play" mentions the URL to start the station via your browser. “Stream” mentions the URL to start the station directly from your favorite player, typically via Ctrl-U or Ctrl-O. 1. *Radio Batanga - Tango* >From Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. All day fine tango music plus some ads for the station itself. Station: http://www.batanga.com Play: http://radio.batanga.com/sp/LaunchPlaylistEM.asp?StationID=17&Format=wm&Speed=1 Stream: http://wm.batanga.com/BATANGA_Tango_117 Be patient. The stream commences after almost two minutes. 2. *LA 2x4* La radio de Tango de Buenos Aires. Un Clásico - Tango FM 92.7, Live 24 hours. Now and then also salsa and some talking. Station: http://www.la2x4.com.ar/ Stream: mms://2x4.telecomdatacenter.com.ar/2x4 3. *AM 1110* La Once Diez - La Radio de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. La Porteña, LS1, Live 24 hours. Now and then news and stuff. Also quite a lot non-tango and folksmusic. Station: http://www.oncediez.gov.ar/ Guide: http://www.radiodelaciudad.gov.ar/programacionAM_ Stream: mms://radiociudad.telecomdatacenter.com.ar/radiociudad 4. *Radio Tango Argentina* Radio Cubik Network - USA - Online and in style 24/7. Experience the Passion of Buenos Aires. Sometimes the station is out of the air. Station: http://www.radiotango.com/ Mission: http://www.radiotango.com/mission_2.asp Stream: http://streamstation.radiocubik.com:8000 In addition there are *Live365 stations*, produced by private persons. Listening to them is free. If you are a (paying) member the stations will be without commercials, with a larger choice of stations and with CD quality. Currently there are over 4.000 stations in 263 genres. Via http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?genre=tango&access=PUBLIC you will find all (currently 4) free public Live365 stations with "tango" as one of the tags. Via http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?searchdesc=tango&access=PUBLIC you will find all (currently 212) free public stations with "tango" found anywhere in the description. Have fun, Koos de Wit Original message Onderwerp: [Tango-L] Tango on the Internet Datum: Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:57:38 -0500 Van: gltango <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Aan: tango-l@mit.edu > Hi, > Can anyone provide me with the web address of tango internet radio stations? > Thanks > Gregory ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Tango Books
Yes, Charles, I would like very much to know about your expanded list of tango titles in Spanish. I enjoyed your earlier post that recommended the Canaro memoir, etc. I would love to have a list of a whole range of such books to pore through. I looked for the Canaro memoir. Supposedly you can get a used one from Amazon for about 50 bucks. I saw an Argentine ad for a bookstore in Buenos Aires that had it for 50 pesos. I don't know if they ship it or not. Do you have suggestions for hunting these titles down? I mean, other than the obvious one of browsing in bookstores on Corrientes? I just don't have that option at this time. Thanks, Fan On Dec 3, 2007 6:06 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A few suggestions for historical/cultural tango books: > > Tango! by Simon Collier, Artemis Cooper, Maria Susanna Azzi and Richard > Martin. A nice coffee-table book with lots of pictures, in four parts, one > by each > author. Published by Thames and Hudson, NY. > It is still in print (paperback). > > Tango, The Art History of Love by Robert Farris Thompson. An excellent > book > on the history, with an emphasis on the African influence in early tango. > > Tango and the Political Economy of Passion by Marta E. Savigliano. As > the > title implies, this is heavy on capitalist theory, anthropology, feminist > theory, etc. so it is more like a doctoral thesis than a book about the > history > of the music and the dance. Actually rather boring, depending on what you > are > looking for, but it should satisfy your need for intellectual musings. > > There are other good ones, but they are in Spanish. If interested, email > me > for those titles. > > cheers, > Charles > > > ** > Check out AOL's list of 2007's > hottest products. > > (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop000301) > ___ > Tango-L mailing list > Tango-L@mit.edu > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l > ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Tango Books
Hi everybody,
I´d like to recommend Gustavo Benzecry Saba´s "La Pista del Abrazo".
It is also available in German ("Auf der Spur der Umarmung"), French
(Sur la piste de l'etreinte") and English ("Embracing Tango").
It is available from http://www.abrazosbooks.com
The book is concerned with more or less all aspects of tango, is great
to browse through occasionally even after you´ve read through it and
provides great food for thought.
Oh, and in this case the author can actually really dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=103PUuMB8Wo
Regards,
Andreas
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[Tango-L] Spanish tango books
As per some requests, here is a list of a few books in Spanish about tango that I bought in Buenos Aires and others that I got here along with my own personal comments. I don't know where to find these now, other than checking on the internet or in Hispanic bookstores. I don't have Spanish figures on my keyboard so some names are missing tildes and accent marks. Francisco Canaro: Mis Memorias, Mis Bodas de Oro Con el Tango newly published by Ediciones Corregidor, Bs, As. corregidor.com My Memories, My Golden Anniversary with Tango. An autobiography, with a mishmash of personal remembrances and lists of famous people he knew. Not great writing and a little vainglorious at times but an invaluable source of historical information and tidbits (with photographs). For example, Roberto Firpo wore a rug. :-) Canaro was a giant of tango and knew literally everyone so this is a good addition to any tango library. Luis Adolfo Sierra: Historia de la Orquesta Tipica, Evolucion instrumental del tango also published by Corregidor. This is an excellent book and deals with the evolution of the tango orchestra from the early days of small combos of violin, flute, tuba and guitar (and even the harp and cornet) how they evolved into the orquesta tipica with acoustic bass (replacing the tuba) and piano (replacing the guitar), etc., and espe cially the influence of the bandoneon. With pictures of some of the famous orchestras. Luis Labrana y Ana Sebastian: Tango, Una Historia Corregidor A history of tango with references to the influences of immigration and the social milieu that created it. Good historical photographs of musicians and famous tango people from the so-called "Golden Age." Maria Susana Azzi: Antropologia del tango published by Ediciones de Olavarria As it says, it is more of an anthropological approach to tango but in the form of short reminiscences by famous tango personages. No pictures. Article in Todo es Historia magazine: Una Historia del Bandoneon by Miguel Angel Scenna, from August 1974, issue no. 87 Excellent article about the history of the bandoneon. This might be hard to find. I found it in a used book store in Buenos Aires. Cool picture of D'Arienzo conducting his orchestra. Also a couple of tango picture books: Adriana Groisman: Tango, Nunca antes de la medianoche Ediciones Lariviere All B&W photos of well-known milongas in Bs. As. with some famous dancers and milongueros. Isabel Munoz & Evelyne Pieller: Tango , published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang, NY Mostly corny, B&W photos of dancers legs with lingerie and fishnets, etc. (I got this as a gift) but each photo is accompanied by a partial lyric from some famous tango song. Good luck with the search, Charles ** Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products. (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop000301) ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Spanish tango books
My favorites tango books in spanish come as a two volume set... /Inventario del Tango/ by Horacio Ferrer and Oscar Del Priore, covering the period from 1849 thru 1998. Ferrer & Del Priore are maestro's in their own right and these volumes I find invaluable, especially if you are interested in the music. published by the Fondo Nacional de Las Artes. Loads of fantastic photos, lyrics, important dates, anecdotes...a treasure... Ilene [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >As per some requests, here is a list of a few books in Spanish about tango >that I bought in Buenos Aires and others that I got here along with my own >personal comments. I don't know where to find these now, other than checking >on the >internet or in Hispanic bookstores. >I don't have Spanish figures on my keyboard so some names are missing tildes >and accent marks. > >Francisco Canaro: Mis Memorias, Mis Bodas de Oro Con el Tango newly >published by Ediciones Corregidor, Bs, As. corregidor.com > >My Memories, My Golden Anniversary with Tango. An autobiography, with a >mishmash of personal remembrances and lists of famous people he knew. Not >great >writing and a little vainglorious at times but an invaluable source of >historical >information and tidbits (with photographs). For example, Roberto Firpo wore a >rug. :-) Canaro was a giant of tango and knew literally everyone so this >is a good addition to any tango library. > >Luis Adolfo Sierra: Historia de la Orquesta Tipica, Evolucion instrumental >del tango also published by Corregidor. >This is an excellent book and deals with the evolution of the tango orchestra >from the early days of small combos of violin, flute, tuba and guitar (and >even the harp and cornet) how they evolved into the orquesta tipica with >acoustic bass (replacing the tuba) and piano (replacing the guitar), etc., and >espe >cially the influence of the bandoneon. With pictures of some of the famous >orchestras. > > >Luis Labrana y Ana Sebastian: Tango, Una Historia Corregidor > >A history of tango with references to the influences of immigration and the >social milieu that created >it. Good historical photographs of musicians and famous tango people from the >so-called "Golden Age." > >Maria Susana Azzi: Antropologia del tango published by Ediciones de >Olavarria >As it says, it is more of an anthropological approach to tango but in the >form of short reminiscences by famous tango personages. No pictures. > >Article in Todo es Historia magazine: Una Historia del Bandoneon by Miguel >Angel Scenna, from August 1974, issue no. 87 >Excellent article about the history of the bandoneon. This might be hard to >find. I found it in a used book store in Buenos Aires. Cool picture of >D'Arienzo conducting his orchestra. > >Also a couple of tango picture books: > >Adriana Groisman: Tango, Nunca antes de la medianoche Ediciones Lariviere >All B&W photos of well-known milongas in Bs. As. with some famous dancers and >milongueros. > >Isabel Munoz & Evelyne Pieller: Tango , published by Stewart, Tabori and >Chang, NY >Mostly corny, B&W photos of dancers legs with lingerie and fishnets, etc. (I >got this as a gift) but each photo is accompanied by a partial lyric from some >famous tango song. > >Good luck with the search, >Charles > > >** >Check out AOL's list of 2007's >hottest products. > >(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop000301) >___ >Tango-L mailing list >Tango-L@mit.edu >http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l > > > ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Structure vs. technique (formerly I wanna buy a tango book)
Hi Victor, I'm curious as to whether the book you recommend talks about the structure of the steps as opposed to tango technique. Most books or websites deal with the former and not the latter. I think this difference is where many of us have issues. When I think of tango technique, I think of the quality of movement. There is so many layers to this, I don't think it's possible to write a book to do it justice. I have to agree with Krasimir's review of the instuctor in question. I only saw the first video, but he wasn't using his whole body as one unit to produce elegance and grace. This is what I look for in studying technique. But I'm sure he doesn't present himself as the know-all of tango technique but is merely sharing his love and knowledge of the dance. Which leave us with the question of what exactly does the original poster want - structure or technique? Trini --- Victor Bennetts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Krasimir, I don't find your response rude because it is > not a personal attack. So far as I am concerned, > criticism is fine and helpful, just so long as it is > directed to the post and not the person. > > I agree with everything you say, but don't think this > means the book is worthless. I just said the book had > some good stuff in it IMHO, nothing about the author's > videos or if he can dance. If you look on the amazon > listing it is recommended by at least one well known US > dancer who can dance really well and it was on the > strength of that recommendation that I bought it. The > book covers all the common figures like ochos, giros, > boleos, ganchos so would be a good reference just to give > you a catalogue of what is generally considered to be the > tango repertoire. And I liked the guy's attitude, saying > things like the 8 step basic wont teach you how to dance > tango. I don't see why a bad dancer (if he is bad, I > don't know) can't write a good book. You can be an > armchair general and write a great biography of Napoleon > without actually commanding an army in the field can't > you? > PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburghs most popular social dance! http://patangos.home.comcast.net/ Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
[Tango-L] Buenos Aires Mystery
Hi everybody, this is my first post, though I've been reading the list for several months. I've really enjoyed the wealth of information and experience here...as well as all the drama surrounding it! I'm a relative newbie (dancing for about 1 ½ years) and recently returned from my first trip to Buenos Aires. I had a wonderful time, but one thing happened that mystified me, and I'm hoping you can shed some light. I had been to a few milongas in town already, danced my little heart out, and found everything to more or less fit my expectations. Then one night, I went to Salon Canning. I was with a friend I had met in Buenos Aires, not a local but a Mexican man who spends a month of every year there working on his technique, knows a lot of people and is a very good dancer. My friend had reserved a table, and we were seated at the outer edge, next to an adorable local couple who'd been married over 50 years and had gone there to hear a little music. It was around midnight, and the live music hadn't started yet. The floor was fairly full but not crowded yet. My friend went to change his shoes and pay his respects to various important people, and other than chatting with the nice older couple, I was careful not to make eye contact with anybody. It was my first time there, I didn't know the crowd or the floor, and I wanted my first tanda to be with my friend. This is where the mystery began. Within a few minutes of my friend leaving me at our table, a man tapped me on my shoulder, from behind. When I looked around he asked me to dance. I was quite taken aback and explained apologetically (in my bad Spanish) that I was saving my first dance for the gentleman I had arrived with, at which point this man fell all over himself apologizing for having asked. In the 10 minutes my friend was gone, this happened twice more, each time being tapped from behind and verbally invited to dance, and each time the man was extremely apologetic, even mortified, when I declined (always by explaining I was saving the first dance for my gentleman friend). What gives? I would be tempted to write them off as clueless Americans, but they didn't appear to be such, which is to say, they were all quite charming and reserved, well groomed, wearing nice suits, and native Spanish speakers. (No offense intended to my fellow clueless Americans, but I hope you know what I mean, and of course you are not all clueless.) One of them used the word “sorry” in English but beyond that it was all Porteno-accented Spanish (as far as my untrained ear could distinguish). As I had just arrived, these men had no way of knowing whether I could dance my way out of a paper bag. Is it possible there were some other women there that these men were hoping to impress, so they were going to take any old newcomer (me) for a spin just so they could display their wares and move on to the women they wanted to win dances with? Up to this point (at the other milongas I'd already visited in town) I'd been quite charmed by the cabeceo, and felt a little thrill every time I got the nod. But this was something else entirely, and sort of put me on edge. What is the proper response (if there is one) when such a thing happens? I'd hate to step on anyone’s toes (so to speak) but I also don't want to perpetuate bad manners. Did they have bad manners? Did I have bad manners? Is it assumed that this is how one must ask foreigners (me) to dance, who might not know the customs? Even if that is the case, why would they want to dance with someone who'd just arrived (me), who might turn out to be a menace on the dance floor? I tried to discuss it with my kindly table neighbors, but either my Spanish was insufficient or they did not consider it worthy of comment, as they just rolled their eyes and waved their hands. I hope it will be found worthy of comment here, maybe with a little eye rolling and hand waving thrown in for excitement. Many thanks. Holly Rose, Berkeley **Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products. (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop000301) ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Buenos Aires Mystery
Hi Holly, What you experienced is very common: local men think that foreign women don't know the codigos (and many don't), and so approach their tables to ask them to dance. Often these men can't get local women to dance with them. Or they just hope to profit from a newby's first time at a Buenos Aires milonga. The proper response is, "no, gracias." Punto final. Please don't worry about it. You were absolutely correct by declining. No explanation necessary. http://tangocherie.blogspot.com/ ** Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products. (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop000301) ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Buenos Aires Mystery
I agree with this explanation. Probably you were invited by men that won't ever be accepted by the "Milongueras" of the place. Other possibility, if this happened to you around midnight is that those men were students coming from the previous class, which ends up about 11pm, if they are new in Tango world, probably they won't know the "Códigos", (rules of behavior at milongas). You were right by saying "no thanks", but you could have also suggested them to invite you by the "cabeceo" from a relative distance, this, just in case you'd like to dance with them. Never mindn Holly, it usually happens at several milongas, and in Buenos Aires not every one is as good as foreing people think. Warmest regards, María Olivera www.tangosalon.com.ar [EMAIL PROTECTED] escribió: Hi Holly, What you experienced is very common: local men think that foreign women don't know the codigos (and many don't), and so approach their tables to ask them to dance. Often these men can't get local women to dance with them. Or they just hope to profit from a newby's first time at a Buenos Aires milonga. The proper response is, "no, gracias." Punto final. Please don't worry about it. You were absolutely correct by declining. No explanation necessary. http://tangocherie.blogspot.com/ ** Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products. (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop000301) ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l - Tarjeta de crédito Yahoo! de Banco Supervielle.Solicitá tu nueva Tarjeta de crédito. De tu PC directo a tu casa. Visitá www.tuprimeratarjeta.com.ar ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
[Tango-L] tango movies (formerly I wanna buy a tango book)
> Incidentally, I also wanted to ask what are people's favourite tango movies > and documentaries. These are the tango films that I like a lot: Sur, Argentina 1988. Director: Fernando Solanas, Music: Astor Piazolla, Roberto Goyeneche The plot: In 1983, at the end of military dictatorship in Argentina, Floreal (Miguel Angel Solá) is released from prison after a five year's sentence. He's longing for to come back to his wife Rosi (Susú Pecoraro), but the memories of the past resurface: flight and emprisonment, torture and murder, treason and jealousy, love and death. He goes into the dark night of memory and meets the specters of the past: his dead friend Negro (Lito Cruz), that was killed in the military dictatorship, Amadeo (Roberto Goyeneche), who in his tangos sings about the fragility of love, the colonel Rasatti (Nathan Pinzón), who tells about his former project "Sur" (South), the utopia of a better country, and his father (Mario Lozano), the stuttering union member who kept his dignity in times of persecution. Tangos - El exilio de Gardel. Argentina, France 1985. Director: Solanas, Music: Astor Piazzola among others. An argentine dance group which was expelled by the military putsch in Argentina in 1976 to exile in Paris is rehearsing a "tanguedia", a tango-musical which combines tragedy and comedy. The film has an open structure which is compared to exile: you know when it begins, but you don't know when it ends. The different episodes are hold together by the dancing scenes and the tango music. I also love the films with Carlos Gardel that were shot by Paramount in the early 1930s, but they may not be easily available. "Tango Bar" should be available. "Melodía de Arrabal", released in 1933. week after the release El Diario reported: "Something strange happened last Sunday at Porteno Cinema. They were showing Carlos Gardel's Melodía de Arrabal, and when he was singing the tangos "Silencio" and "Melodía de arrabal", the audience interrupted the film with its applause and demanded that they repeat the parts in which you can hear and see Gardel singing those tangos, as only he can do it." "Cuesta abajo", released in 1934. "El día que me quieras", released in 1935. Gardel himself wrote about this film a few days before his death: "The film produced a wonderful impression on me, and I still think that it is my best work in films, and that we have topped everything with its songs. I think that these songs will be hits" There are plenty more tango films that I like, and some of them might seem obscure, for instance I like a German silent film called "the tango queen", it's lovely, it's about a tango dancing contest. I have programmed it for the cinema and we showed it with live bandoneón music accompaniment. If you like to read more about Argentine tango films I recommend the book by Jorge Finkielman "The Film Industry in Argentina. An illustrated Cultural History." London 2004. Anna __ Erweitern Sie FreeMail zu einem noch leistungsstärkeren E-Mail-Postfach! Mehr Infos unter http://produkte.web.de/club/?mc=021131 ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Structure vs. technique (formerly I wanna buy a tango book)
The book 'a passion for tango' goes into the whole deal, a bit of a brain dump from the author who also teaches. Like I said, I don't agree with everything in it, but it is far from worthless and many of the ideas are sound based on what I know of tango. There may just be a gap between ability and understanding. For instance, I knew from my first tango lesson that you need to lead with the chest, but it took me three years and (more importantly) a trip to BsAs to really understand what that means. I can't see the videos at all for the moment so can't comment. To me the main attraction of the book is - it is readily and easily available. However, now we have so many recommendations of other books (and my Spanish is a little better) I am going to have to dust off the credit card... Actually if anyone is interested, Amazon has a quite a few reviews of the book I mentioned and I am sure they go into much more detail than what I can give as it has been some time since I picked it! up - too much to practice right now from all those teachers in BsAs :-). Victor Bennetts >Hi Victor, >I'm curious as to whether the book you recommend talks >about the structure of the steps as opposed to tango >technique. CAUTION - Disclaimer * This e-mail contains PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender by e-mail and delete the original message. Further, you are not to copy, disclose, or distribute this e-mail or its contents to any other person and any such actions are unlawful. This e-mail may contain viruses. Infosys has taken every reasonable precaution to minimize this risk, but is not liable for any damage you may sustain as a result of any virus in this e-mail. You should carry out your own virus checks before opening the e-mail or attachment. Infosys reserves the right to monitor and review the content of all messages sent to or from this e-mail address. Messages sent to or from this e-mail address may be stored on the Infosys e-mail system. ***INFOSYS End of Disclaimer INFOSYS*** ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] tango movies (formerly I wanna buy a tango
My favorite film is "Tango Bar" with Raul Julia. It's only available on VHS (at least in the US). The music and dancing are great and I never tire of watching it. Flame ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Musicality. What is it?
Victor Bennetts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > The tango embrace is intimate so a follower can tell a lot > about a leader, [...] > One of the things they can tell is if the leader is actually > listening to and enjoying the music. To me that is musicality. > I don't think lessons help all that much on this particular > point. You have to first and foremost like the music and then > secondly listen to it a lot so that you know it by heart and > can anticipate what sort of steps are going to fit a particular > passage. Bingo. Thanks, Victor, for posting that. For those of you of a certain age in countries where the Beatles were hugely popular, do you remember how so many people growing up at the time knew every single one of their songs intimately, so much so that the music was practically running through our veins? Similarly, that's how well many of the WWII-ear guys and gals knew the Big Band swing music. Well that's how well you need to know the various tangos in order to dance them with musicality. You will be seriously handicapped unless you always know exactly which note, phrase, etc. is coming next in the song. Which is another reason many of us prefer to dance to the tried and true old recordings than to some of the newer stuff, or to obscure (at least to us) live orchestras' unpredictable interpretations of the old stuff. We want to know precisely everything that is coming, so we can dance with as much musicality as possible, in a natural, almost subconscious way (since the music is so heavily burnt into our brains), without having to actually think about musicality analytically, which takes all the fun out of it. We want it to be just like breathing. If you can only hazard a guess as to where the music is going next, your musicality is going to suffer. If you know the music so well that it's almost a part of you, and you love it, dancing with musicality becomes as easy as singing. And note the "love" part (which Victor also mentions)--that's why many people sit out tandas of music they don't particularly care for. If the music doesn't move you, you're not going to be able to dance with as much musicality, because good musicality requires being emotionally involved with the music. So my advice to anyone starting out is, don't waste your money on so-called "musicality classes." You'll either just wind up standing around group-clapping like some kind of trained seal--if you can't feel the rhythm yourself, clapping along with and thus mindlessly aping the people who can is not going to help you much 10 minutes after the class is over and there is nobody who knows what they're doing to ape anymore--or else you'll wind up listening to some teacher drone on and on abstractly about various qualities of orchestras, which will be little more than blather to you if you haven't first spent a gazillion hours listening to the music so you can even begin to understand on a gut level what the instructor is going on about. So I say spend your money on tango CDs instead, and then listen to them until your ears fall off! Actually, I have a lot more advice than that, but until you know the music of as many tangos as possible very intimately, you'll just be spinning your wheels in any attempts to be musical. It's kind of like trying to have a nice tight musical jam when one or more of the musicians doesn't know the underlying song--other than in jazz, it usually just winds up being aimless, boring noodling. Which is precisely (and unfortunately) what a lot of tango dancing looks like, especially when it is compounded with trying to do too many complicated and technically difficult steps. I also agree with what Victor seems to be implying (if I'm reading him right), to wit, that musicality just comes naturally to some people more than others, just as moving elegantly (without any regard to music, just judging the pure movement in and of itself) comes easier to some people than others. Huck ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Buenos Aires Mystery
Holly, It's highly unlikely that anyone would ask you to dance unless they'd already seen you dancing. You say you'd already attended a few milongas in BsAs so it's likely that the men had seen you there. Many men attend many different milongas. Also, if you were alone at those previous milongas, they probably thought you were alone at Canning. I'm sure it was simmply a misunderstanding, which is why the men were mortified when you explained that you were there with a partner. You should feel flattered that your dancing in previous milongas had been good enough to warrant invitations in another milonga. Since you hadn't seen these men dancing, you were correct to politely decline the invitations. Keith, HK On Tue Dec 4 16:23 , [EMAIL PROTECTED] sent: > >Hi everybody, this is my first post, though I've been reading the list for >several months. I've really enjoyed the wealth of information and experience >here...as well as all the drama surrounding it! >I'm a relative newbie (dancing for about 1 ½ years) and recently returned >from my first trip to Buenos Aires. I had a wonderful time, but one thing >happened that mystified me, and I'm hoping you can shed some light. >I had been to a few milongas in town already, danced my little heart out, >and found everything to more or less fit my expectations. Then one night, I >went > to Salon Canning. I was with a friend I had met in Buenos Aires, not a local >but a Mexican man who spends a month of every year there working on his >technique, knows a lot of people and is a very good dancer. >My friend had reserved a table, and we were seated at the outer edge, next >to an adorable local couple who'd been married over 50 years and had gone >there to hear a little music. It was around midnight, and the live music >hadn't >started yet. The floor was fairly full but not crowded yet. My friend went to >change his shoes and pay his respects to various important people, and other >than chatting with the nice older couple, I was careful not to make eye >contact with anybody. It was my first time there, I didn't know the crowd or >the >floor, and I wanted my first tanda to be with my friend. >This is where the mystery began. Within a few minutes of my friend leaving >me at our table, a man tapped me on my shoulder, from behind. When I looked >around he asked me to dance. I was quite taken aback and explained >apologetically (in my bad Spanish) that I was saving my first dance for the >gentleman I >had arrived with, at which point this man fell all over himself apologizing >for having asked. In the 10 minutes my friend was gone, this happened twice >more, each time being tapped from behind and verbally invited to dance, and >each >time the man was extremely apologetic, even mortified, when I declined >(always by explaining I was saving the first dance for my gentleman friend). >What >gives? >I would be tempted to write them off as clueless Americans, but they didn't >appear to be such, which is to say, they were all quite charming and >reserved, well groomed, wearing nice suits, and native Spanish speakers. (No >offense >intended to my fellow clueless Americans, but I hope you know what I mean, >and of course you are not all clueless.) One of them used the word “sorry” in >English but beyond that it was all Porteno-accented Spanish (as far as my >untrained ear could distinguish). >As I had just arrived, these men had no way of knowing whether I could dance >my way out of a paper bag. Is it possible there were some other women there >that these men were hoping to impress, so they were going to take any old >newcomer (me) for a spin just so they could display their wares and move on to > >the women they wanted to win dances with? >Up to this point (at the other milongas I'd already visited in town) I'd >been quite charmed by the cabeceo, and felt a little thrill every time I got >the >nod. But this was something else entirely, and sort of put me on edge. What >is the proper response (if there is one) when such a thing happens? I'd hate >to step on anyone’s toes (so to speak) but I also don't want to perpetuate >bad > manners. >Did they have bad manners? Did I have bad manners? Is it assumed that this >is how one must ask foreigners (me) to dance, who might not know the customs? >Even if that is the case, why would they want to dance with someone who'd >just arrived (me), who might turn out to be a menace on the dance floor? I >tried to discuss it with my kindly table neighbors, but either my Spanish was >insufficient or they did not consider it worthy of comment, as they just >rolled >their eyes and waved their hands. >I hope it will be found worthy of comment here, maybe with a little eye >rolling and hand waving thrown in for excitement. Many thanks. >Holly Rose, Berkeley > > > >**Check out AOL's list of 2007's hot
