What tango means to me.

I cannot image my life without dancing in it. It has enriched my social world by meeting new, like-minded, creative people. My health has improved by becoming so much more aware of my body and the way I should be treating and moving it. ( not to mention the hours spend training) I have discovered a whole new treasure filled with music that I never would have listened to if it weren't for Argentine Tango. And for me to learn so much more about the plasticity of the brain, in learning to dance, and helping students by teaching them in a fresh new way so they too can remember better what they have learned. Argentine Tango is so much more than "just another dance" It just might change your lifestyle, and the content of your closet as well, tango clothes and shoes are just, well, delicious. It has enriched my life by inspiring me to try to be a better person: better nutrition for a healthy body, trying to find an equilibrium with my dance partners and students without judgement, and the free hugs, talk about an endorphin booster! In this newsletter you will find ways that can help you along the Argentine Tango path. It might even lead you to travel to exotic places, like it did for me; I went to Maui, New York, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Istanbul and danced tango in all of these cities!!!

A tango hug from Sabine

A Tango Festival in Minneapolis!

September 1-5

Plenty of dancing for everybody! We have a great team together that will make sure that we will have an excellent tango weekend in Minneapolis ONLY for learning and dancing TANGO TANGO TANGO. We are about to launch our website www.tangoteachercoop.org with updated information. You will hear about it soon!

April classes

Beginners: Every Saturday morning at 10 AND every Wednesday evening at 6.30.

Look here for detailed information about our class. We are looking forward to seeing you and your friends in class!

All Level classes: Every Wednesday evening at 7.30

Level A: Close embrace classics (details? look here)
Level B: Technical Tournament ( details? look here)

Intermediate/Advanced: Every Wednesday evening at 8.30

Apply your technique directly into movement, make your tango feel better to yourself and your partner. Tango vocabulary to enrich your improvisation.

PRACTICA

Come and practice with us, every Saturday morning from 11 - 1 Instructors always averrable for you to ask your questions to and plenty of folks who love to dance with you as well.
Private lessons? Always a good thing to get 1 on 1 instruction to really improve your dance! look here for details

Save the date for Tango Fusion
Saturday evening April 23

Come and bring your friends for a mini lesson at 9 followed by music, fun, dancing, food and tango clothes and tango shoes!

DJ: Kori Mortenson
Where: Dance Life Ballroom ,6015 Lyndale ave S, Minneapolis
Price: $10 ( students with id $5)
Time: 9 pm till 1 pm
Your hostess: Sabine Ibes

Tango & I students in Buenos Aires!

In this same restaurant, only a couple of days after our dinner with Fabian and Lola, Michelle Obama will have her lunch during their state visit to Argentina. Apparently Moira Godoy got to the President first with "leading" him in to a tango.

Avery Harrington (Tango & I team member) about his experience: Being in Buenos Aries reminded me that if I really want to learn and grow I need to be humble and excited. Being humble opens you up to ideas you might otherwise have missed. Being excited gives you the energy to chase those ideas.

It is humbling to watch some of your favorite dancers dancing socially. At one point, during one milonga, I looked out on the floor and saw Pablo Rodriguez, Juana Sepulveda, Moira Castellano, Corina Herrera, Octavio Fernandez and Cecila Piccinni dancing (if you don't know who they are, look them up on youtube). To be around that much talent will bring you down to earth in a hurry. Then I realized they were just there to have fun and all of a sudden I became very excited. It was exciting to see what can be done socially on the dance floor.

It is humbling to finally catch "that" woman's eye at a milonga only to have her deny your cabeceo with a sweet smile and a quick look away. It is just as exciting to catch "that" woman's eye a different milonga when she excepts your cabeceo by leaning forward with a little smirk.

It is humbling to hear the same feedback about your dance from different teachers. But, I promise you, once your body and mind are truly ready for that feedback and you feel yourself improving as a dancer, it is far more exciting.

Dancing tango well requires a lot from you physically, mentally and emotionally. Any teacher can show you the physical stuff, some good teachers can provide tools for the mental aspect, but the emotional part of the dance is up to you. If you are humble and excited it might help you find a little of all three.

Sabine and her CITA students right after the class, see if you can find the Minnesota peeps!!!! (10)

Fred Gommels (Blue Moon Ballroom, Rochester) also traveled to Buenos Aires, here is his story:
This second trip to Buenos Aires was every bit as fulfilling as the first and perhaps more so because of being more familiar with what to expect along with the friends and connections that I had already made the first time around. Also, Myrna went with me this time. She so much enjoyed the culture and people that she is already looking forward to a future visit.

I personally had nearly 30 hours of private and workshop training. That is exactly what I went there for. My private training was with the Estudio Dinzel during the week prior to CITA. My group training was during the CITA workshops as well as milongas and a tango show.

In addition to the training, we also did some sightseeing and found the architecture to be fascinating. Did you know that Buenos Aires is considered the graffiti capital of the world? Down there building graffiti is actually beautiful artwork.

I have also been told by more than one porteño (local) that only a small percentage of the people in Buenos Aires actually dance tango. Our cab driver and confidant, Alberto, told us a story from his perspective: There is a complete generation that did not grow up dancing tango because for quite some time, Tango had lost its popularity and was actually socially very unacceptable. He went on to say that about 20 years ago or so 3 tangueros decided to set out to change that attitude and to reignite tango by spreading it throughout Europe. He did not know their names (Gustavo, Fabian & Chicho), just the story . . . When the people of other lands became very attracted to tango, it caused the locals of Buenos Aires to be somewhat jealous that foreigners appreciated their national dance more than they did. So Tango began making a strong come back in its home of Buenos Aires in the last 15 years or so. Even though I was aware of this scenario, I found it to be very interesting that our cab driver, Alberto, who does not dance tango, was completely aware of some of the history significant to the growth of tango as we know it today.

Another very enjoyable part of this visit was to connect with the Minnesota tangueros at various dinners and milongas. There was a wonderful feeling of comradery between all of us. It was especially nice for our MN group to be able to go to dinner with Fabian and Lola, the CITA organizers. We are very much looking forward to their workshops in Rochester, MN July 15-17, 2016.

Oh yeah, late one afternoon I stepped out of our apartment to put some garbage out in the bin, and the door blew shut and locked me out. I had no key, no phone, no ID and Myrna was taking a nap with the bedroom door shut. Later she said that she heard me knock and holler, but thought it was the neighbor and just ignored me. When I couldn't get a response . . . I then said "hijo de puta ! " and then tried to find the building supervisor. I finally found another tenant who tried to pick the lock. After that didn't work, he asked me if I had tried ringing our doorbell. I thought "there's a doorbell?" And, yup, there was a door bell. I pushed it and right away Myrna opened the door wondering what all the commotion was about. Whew! Oh well, I should have known . . .

For me, the most heart-gripping experience of my visit to Buenos Aires was to see Nito & Elba, tangueros in their 80s, as the grand finale of the Tango Show. Their performance was without all the lifts, throws, speed and comedy. But their performance was full of quality technique, musicality, timing, passion and grace befitting a couple with decades of experience. They received a standing ovation, and I was left with tears in my eyes.

There is much more to share. It was a wonderful trip and I do hope to go again.

Bootcamp April 30 - May 1st

Help us get the word out!

Get a quick start with our 2x 2 hour intensive, which offers you a careful selection of material from our Argentine Tango curriculum.

Who can come? Anybody, bring your friends to join these courses! This will be an all level intensive. All of the foundations, sequences, lead and follow, embrace, posture, music, etiquette,improvisation technique. Everything you wanted to know about Argentine tango so you can enjoy going out dancing ahead of your schedule.

Cost? $20 for one class $ 30 for two classes

When/Where? Dance Life Ballroom 6015 Lyndale Ave S Minneapolis 55419

Saturday April 30 11.00 - 1.00 , Sunday May 1 11.00 - 1.00

Lead?Follow? You want to learn more about the "other" role and speed up your learning process? THIS is the workshop to join! No need to bring a partner, but encourage any of your friends to come and join!

There will be plenty of experienced dancers available to help you out, since we have many assistants in these classes!

Please RSVP by sending an email to Sabine@tangoandi.com

The classes will be taught by Sabine Ibes and Diana Devi.You can follow through with more classes on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings at Dance Life Ballroom with Sabine and Diana