| Classes this Week: We are covering so much this month! It's Milonga Month, so a lot is happening in every class. As we have become better at milonga, we will expand our tango knowledge with some Canyengue info, some Vals, some traspie, and so many other things that may be skipped or forgotten in pursuit of that next tango move. These are thing that help students to understand the root of tango - how it started, and how we got here. Once you have that information, tango makes sense, and becomes naturally better. Don't miss these firm foundations! Thursdays is advanced, that means I expect a lot from you when you come.
Mardi Gras Tuesday Party: Tuesday is Mardi Gras, so at the Tuesday night milonga we will take the opportunity to celebrate! Think purple, Think green, Think gold! Think masks, King Cake ... think fun! Mardi Gras at the Tuesday milonga ....Krewe of the Mistickal Nights of the Tango. Light refreshments are provided; you are welcome to bring your own favorite beverage and snack as well. Costumes are nice but never required! Milonga starts at 9. (And Wed. is my birthday)
This Weekend: The Third Weekend of the month has been my night to throw a milonga for a long time - it has been ongoing for 16 years! Back when I started this, there were few milongas - only 3 or 4 a month. It was important for me to see to it that the community had fun places to go, because a community cannot survive without them. Now we have many more people creating milongas, and I am often teaching out of town on weekends, so I'm taking a break. I will still throw the Tuesday Night milonga every week, the Krung Thep milonga on the First Wednesday is lovely, and I'm sure I will be called on to DJ, if organizers request. And if there is ever a free weekend night - maybe I can be coaxed back to create something. Thank you for your support all these years, and I hope to see you on Tuesdays and First Wednesdays.
Fourth Weekend of February: Tango Workshops in Duluth! More information to come!
Third Weekend in May: Susana Miller, legendary original teacher of milonguero style tango, was named one of the 4 most influential people in social tango by Clarin, the biggest daily newspaper of Buenos Aires. She was the first to decode how the milongueros and milongueras danced--what they did and how they did it--and to present it for others to learn. This compact rhythmic tango from the crowded dance floors of Buenos Aires is not for show. Rather, it is for the private pleasure of the dancers themselves--a subtle and secret corporal conversation.
Susana's fame has come in part from her multiple associations with renowned milongueros, who chose to work with her because of her dedication to preserving and promoting their way of dancing. These included Cacho Dante, Luisito, Eduardo Aguirre, Tete, Ruben Harymbat, and Ricardo Vidort. She was also the owner and operator of one of the most popular milonga venues in Buenos Aires, El Beso, and has led a highly successul tango academy in Buenos Aires for more than 20 years. She has taught in every major city across Europe and North America, and is coming back to Minnesota in May!
Tango Musing: I've heard it so often: "I saw it on Youtube". Those words can make any teacher, or even your tango partner, cringe. Tango is magic - it is sleight of body. The action that happens with the legs is created by the body - but you can't see what the body is doing in a video. So the teacher in the video opens up to show you - but then the move is no longer led because the embrace changed. So, the partners imitate the move the way it looks in the video, and then we have choreography - a "paint by numbers" tango. It never looks as natural and lovely as in that original video, but stilted and out of phase, and worse - feels bad. I've spent many years distilling what the best dancers are doing with their bodies when they lead or follow me (a challenge because what I really want to do is just drift off into the dreamworld of multiple tango moments.) But that's my job. So I can share it with you.
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