Thursday, February 28, 2008

Scouting tour continues...(Pulpo's workshop)

February 28 – Pulpo's workshop @ La Pista. He started promptly to teach the ~40 people who showed up for the lesson. He started with the enganche. To lead the first enganche, the leader slightly lifts the follower's right side, arm, which causes her right leg to lift and enganche outside his left hip/waist. First option after this: Leader can keep her right leg suspended on the outside of his left hip/waist, then step around, and forward, to force her to enganche his right leg that steps through, with her same right leg. Second option: Leader can swivel her out, turning her so that she enganches the Leader's same left leg with her other leg (left) (it's a straddle movement, where leader can just leave his leg out and swivel the follower, forcing her to enganche from side to side with her left or right leg). From here, he can turn her out and away in the opposite direction, while her left leg is still between Leader's legs, so that it can kick back in a (gentle) back gancho. Resolution: Leader releases Follower's leg; Follower steps forward. We did one dance just playing with the ganchos, just doing them whenever there was an opportunity, and putting together all that we learned about the bodywork related to ganchos: playing with closing and opening the embrace + the different directional torques of upper body for both Leader and Follower + Leader hip movements and sacadas = to get Follower legs to enganche/gancho. It was physically and mentally freeing just to play around and discover and explore what opportunities there were to do ganchos, and also to learn how our bodies move in relation to each other. Excellent class! Milonga was very crowded (~70 people by the time I left), and many local teachers showed up for it (some for the lesson, too).



February 29 – Pulpo's workshop @ La Pista. Figure 1: Leader back sacada with his left leg to catch Follower's left leg; he then steps back with his right leg, through her two legs, forcing her left leg to enganche his right leg, and this can then flow into another enganche/gancho of that same leg with Follower's right leg by the Leader turning his body. Figure 2: A circular/continual figure where Leader back sacadas with his left leg, catching Follower's left leg, stepping back to displace it. Follower brings left leg and foot back and to the side across the front of her body (like for a molinete), leaving her right leg behind, which leader catches and then displaces. This can go on endlessly, round and round. Figure 3: We spent the last 3 minutes with a Leader back sacada of his left leg in between Follower's two legs. Technical points: The moves involved a lot of torquing/torsion in the upper body, especially for the leader, keeping Follower upper body still so she doesn't move her feet until he enganches or displaces her leg. For Follower, much of these moves involved/resolved into molinete footwork on the exit after displacement bringing her foot back and stepping to the side in front across her own body. It also involved keeping Follower up on the balls of her feet because of all the pivoting without stepping or changing weight for Follower; Leader also has to be on the balls of his feet when pivoting. These moves involve a lot of changing/fluidity in the embrace, which is a very tricky thing to master to look effortless, more so when there is a large height disparity. It was a small class, only about 12 people, so I got a chance to dance with Maestro. He is wonderful—an amazingly gentle lead, with absolute awareness of where the Follower is. He's an excellent teacher – fluent and very fun. He often just stepped back, sat down, and watched us work it out together on our own. He brought some shoes for sale, which he will leave at La Pista for future orders – most were made by P.H. (same makers of mine!); a couple others were NeoTango.



March 2 – Studio Gracia milonga. I had a good time.



March 5 – CCSF classes. In Followers' Technique and Advanced we continued our work on boleos, and touched a little bit on ganchos.



March 7 – Maybe David & Lisette lesson @ La Pista (topic: Volcadas)



March 8 – Maybe Sausalito Milonga & Lesson with Gustavo & Jesica Hornos (topic: paradas, barridas, enganches).



March 9 – Maybe Studio Gracia Milonga & Lesson – Negracha & Diego teach (topic: turns y cont-turns)



March 10 – La Cumparsita Milonga @ Slovenian Hall.


March 12 – CCSF classes. Midterm review.


HEADS UP:

Excellent Maestros Negracha & Diego Lanau are back in the Bay Area! They will be teaching at the Danceasy in El Cerrito and Studio Gracia in San Francisco most Saturdays and Sundays in March, April and May. Keep your eyes peeled on www.tangomango.org for other appearances. They are among my very favorite maestros, so I will try to go to as many of their lessons as possible. I hope you'll join me!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Scouting tour continues...(Cafe' Cocomo)

February 24 – Café Cocomo. Marcelo Solis & Romina Hahn taught the lesson, which was a conceptual and technical one that touched on connection, Leader chest lead and Follower leaning slightly forward posture, and cross system footwork. I found them to be good teachers, and liked how they participated in the milonga with the rest of the dancers. DJ Polo Talnir did a good job as well, announcing the different orchestras, time periods and other interesting facts about the music before each tanda. The crowd seemed boozier, maybe because of the fully stocked bar. The dancer quality was higher than average, with only one couple who looked like absolute beginners. Food was the usual sliced cheese, slice meats, a couple of dips, crackers, and pretzels. There was a birthday vals with two small cakes (for 3 birthdays). This was the best time I had at Café Cocomo in a very long time, so I'll likely go there more often going forward. There's a special Leap Year dance this Friday, February 29.



February 25 – La Cumparsita milonga & lesson, taught by Jon & Judy: "Exploring the Americana." How to get in: from two forward ochos for Follower whereby leader sacadas second one. We tried two resolutions: (1) in cross system, and (2) in parallel system footwork. Some variations: Americana to molinete (exiting in cross and parallel systems) and into another Americana. Follower amague (beat back) embellishment added. Lots of technical and conceptual discussion: (1) Follower's left arm needs to be flexible in terms of being close and opening it up (and same for Leader with his right arm) to allow room for the move. (2) In the Americana, Leader should not look away from Follower, otherwise it breaks the connection (and looks "ballroom"). (3) When the Leader leads Follower out and away perpendicular to him, he does it with his left arm leading Follower to go back to where he wants her to go. Jon showed us this concept by leading Judy with his arm in front of her, and she holding onto it to show his arm movement would be the same whether it was in front or behind her (though obviously for tango it would be behind her). Other random comments from Jon: When dancing to D'Arienzo, it's OK to not do any pauses since he is the king of rhythm. Back sacadas are not for social dancing; it's a more exhibition-/performance-type move. That's why he won't teach it in a group class (he'll only teach it in a private). If you see someone doing a back sacada in a BsAs milonga, he is obviously not a local. Overall, I like Jon and Judy as teachers. We were in the room across the hall (the heater works better there and there's a clock) since they are refinishing the floors in the usual space. It wasn't particularly well attended, but nicely balanced, so I had a good time.



February 27 – CCSF classes (topic: boleos). In Followers' Technique, we worked on barre and floor exercises, practicing doing boleos and working on being extremely loose and free (sloppy feet are OK) and also being precise and cleaning up the leg and footwork (thighs and knees together, foot up as high as it can go on high boleo). In Advanced, we first did exercises in practice embrace with Follower doing boleo movement, and leader feeling what her range of motion is, trying to detect the point at which he can feel the rebound. We also quickly reviewed all the boleos we learned last semester (back, forward, with and contra), including a figure going from Follower molinete with Leader sacadas into back boleos and front contra boleos.



February 28 – Pulpo's workshops @ La Pista.



February 29 – Pulpo's workshops @ La Pista maybe followed by St. Aiden's Milonga or Café Cocomo Leap Year Milonga (Nora & Edu teach the lesson; Hombres de Tango perform).



March 1 – maybe the Late Shift @ The Metronome.



March 2 – maybe Studio Gracia



March 3 – La Cumparsita @ Slovenian Hall milonga and lesson (Pier & Daniel teach: Colgadas [Nuevo]).



March 5 – CCSF classes.



HEADS UP:

To my tanguero foodies (and y'all know who you are): Pena Pachamama Tango Night is March 7, with Christy & Darren, Chelsea & Count performing. There is a $12 cover. Food is Bolivian, with a lot of organic raw vegan items (in addition to the usual meat and hot cooked foods). Reservations required, and let them know you want to be seated downstairs where the show is (upstairs does not have a view of the show). There are 2 seatings: 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. http://www.penapachamama.com/index.php?key=food



Followed by….Trio Garufa's CD Release Party @ Ashkenaz in Berkeley (also March 7). 3 members of tango Con*Fusion will perform around midnight.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Scouting tour continues...(La Cumparsita)

February 18 – La Cumparsita Milonga @ Slovenian Hall. Diego Escobar & Angelina Staudinger (Bs As) taught the lesson: two figures (little conceptual discussion). Figure 1: Like an ocho cortado, only more suspended and sweeter in the connection and on Follower shoe show-off and return to cross (they did a slow spiral cross). Figure 2: Leader leads Follower into (spiral) cross ending up with Follower perpendicular to Leader on closed side of the embrace. Follower then steps side right, then forward and around leader with her left leg, her right leg then trails and swoops around and meets Leader's left leg in a parada; she pasadas (with optional embellishment; Leader must give her time if she chooses to do so). After the first pasada, the Leader can do either (A) another parada using his right leg, which Follower than pasadas, or (B) a stop (sacada) leading Follower into a clockwise molinete. Diego and Angelina did a very nice (show) tango demonstration. The food and wine were better than what Carolina and Dorcas both normally provide, and included La Boca wine from Argentina (via Trader Joes), salami, and bite-size brownies in addition to Carolina's usual healthy fare (veggies, fruit, cheese, crackers).



February 20 – CCSF classes. We continued our work on turns, working on increasing our torquing range of motion, and our footwork-- really trying to clean it up and feel more comfortable in the molinete and cadena. We drilled the sequences already learned: 8CB to 5, followed by ½ molinete (fwd – side) with Leader sacadas, into cadenas. We did this both clockwise and counterclockwise molinete, and left side cadena and right side cadena. Eventually, we linked them all up together (doing the molinete and cadena on one side, then doing the molinete and cadena on the other side). Follower embellishments were added: beat back (Maestra calls it a front tuck) of right foot in front of left foot before 4 of the 8CB, boleos on the ocho steps. In the cadena, Maestra emphasized the groundedness/closeness of feet to the floor, to make it look cleaner and more elegant (rather than having our feet off the floor, which looks sloppy).



February 21 – I am getting a mole removed from the bottom of my foot (it appeared about a year or two ago and has steadily gotten more prominent—this change is why my dermatologist recommended removal), so that means no dancing for me for 3 days. Have your moles checked, folks. Do you have ones that have changed, are irregularly shaped, or are bigger than the size of a pencil eraser? Skin cancer, caught early enough, is 100% curable. But caught too late, it can be 100% fatal.



February 24 – Heads Up: the CCSF Spring Milonga in our New Health & Wellness Center, 3rd Fl.

1:00-2:00 p.m. Intro Lesson to Argentine Tango for Absolute Beginners taught by Chelsea Eng
2:00-4:30 p.m. Argentine Tango Dance Party

$5, benfitting the CCSF dance program. Come check it out! (I won't be able to, I am ushering that day.)



February 25 – La Cumparsita milonga & lesson (by Jon & Judy) @ Slovenian Hall.



February 27 – CCSF classes.



February 28 – Pulpo's workshops @ La Pista (Pulpo [Spanish for "Octopus"] has workshops 2/23-2/29. His dance style is unique; I am hoping his teaching style will focus on concepts and technique (from interviews he sounds very creative and inspiring). Check him out on YouTube. He's called Pulpo because his legs move like an Octopus in the way they entwine in enganches and ganchos. Pulpo is teaching at CITA 2008, so here is your chance for a taste if you aren't attending.). He was here last year (June??), with a lesson before the St. Aiden's milonga – my first upon returning to Tango. I was woefully lost back then. Hopefully I will be able to follow the lesson this time around.



February 29 – Pulpo's workshops @ La Pista maybe followed by St. Aiden's Milonga or Café Cocomo Leap Year Milonga.



HEADS UP:



To my tanguero foodies (and y'all know who you are): Pena Pachamama Tango Night is March 7, with Christy & Darren, Chelsea & Count performing. There is a $12 cover. Food is Bolivian, with a lot of organic raw vegan items (in addition to the usual meat and hot cooked foods). Reservations required, and let them know you want to be seated downstairs where the show is (upstairs does not have a view of the show). There are 2 seatings: 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. http://www.penapachamama.com/index.php?key=food



Followed by….Trio Garufa's CD Release Party @ Ashkenaz in Berkeley (also March 7).

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Scouting tour contines (very long this week)...

Happy Valentine's Day and Gung Hay Fat Choy to all those who celebrate it!


February 8 – Ferry Building Milonga. We were at the north end, by Out The Door & Taylor's. The large turnout was extremely diverse. The floor was honed concrete, in some places sticky. It seemed like the dancers and spectators had a great time (though some dancers complained the next day of sore knees/bodies from the concrete). There was a fundraiser at the Ferry Building that night, so it was packed with foodies from all over enjoying the wine and yummy eats.



February 8 – David Caditz & Lisette Perelle class on Embellishments for Leaders & Followers. Their email hooked me: "In tango, we step on the weighted leg and embellish with the free leg. If you are not embellishing, you are only doing half of the dance!" They began with a demonstration of Leader and Follower embellishments while dancing during a (1) rhythmic song (this was an older song from the earlier days of tango music); and (2) melodic song (a more smooth, modern song). They also stated that there were opportunities for embellishments both in milonguero (close) and salon (open embrace). There was discussion on tempo rubato, a space in the music where the beat changes, sometimes getting dropped altogether, only to be picked up later on. Exercise 1: In medio tiempo, both Leader and Follower embellish at every step of the 8CB. Exercise 2: Follower did all the embellishing (mostly lapices or rulos) while the Leader did all the stepping, in this example during the Calesita. Technical Points of Calesita: Follower needs to engage the stomach muscles, otherwise the body will collapse and feel heavy (you could also hurt your back). Follower should keep the pelvic floor oriented downward to stretch and lengthen the lower back. Both leader and follower need to be connected in the torso during this type of move. We also did this in open embrace, and Lisette demonstrated the strength/solidness/location in the left arm posture (85%) and right hand (15%), and had all the followers lead her so we could feel her example of what we should be doing. Exercise 3: Leader does all the embellishing (typically lapices/rulos), while follower does all the stepping, as in molinete. Technical tip for me specifically during molinete: I need to move my arm down during the Back – Side of molinete because my arm is short proportionally, and I need more room to torque and step back so that I don't pull the leader's right shoulder with my left hand. Sequence: One had a parada, then sandwich. Technical points: don't be afraid to separate at the top of the couple if the geometry of the footwork necessitates it. Adornments aren't led. Back boleos should only be led since Follower can't see what is behind her. Big high back boleos should not be done at milongas for that reason (do low floor boleo if led). If leader is dancing with big steps then that likely means there is more room for boleos/adornments. During social dancing, keep your adornments under you as much as possible, especially on a crowded milonga floor. Tango is a machismo dance, so be sensitive to what the Leader is leading. Follower technical points: always have clean footwork (fast does not mean sloppy); always know where your feet are and where they are going and need to end up. Make the embellishments smooth; leader should not feel them. If the footwork is wonky and abrupt, the leader will feel it and it will be jarring to him. Leader technical points: Give Follower time and space for adornments. In the music, there are pauses, as well as fast moments and slow moments. Dance to these variations to have texture in your dance to make it interesting for you and the follower. Overall, I liked the class. It was more conceptual and technical rather than "how to tap, how to rulo/lapice, how to beat, how to caracia, how to drag your heel, how to swivel, how to sass." Next week's lesson will be on Follower's technique since David will not be there. The two subsequent classes will focus on "–adas" of some sort (colgadas, volacadas, sacadas).



February 9 – Gustavo Benzecry Sabá & María Olivera workshops: Walking with Sacadas and Empujaditas; Volcadas for Tango de Salón. Gustavo is a Dinzelito. I liked them as teachers.



Walking with Sacadas and Empujaditas workshop: We began with a review of the 8CB, with a focus on the proper chest lead to get the Follower to cross (because Empujaditas are forced crosses). Los maestros taught the Empujaditas where the Leader's right thigh bumps the Follower's right thigh so that her right leg/foot gets bumped, and lands diagonally front left of her left foot. There is a full weight change here, which causes an extra step for Follower (so Follower takes 3 steps for Leader's two), then she takes two steps back to another regular front cross. We added to this the sacada (sacada for leader, which displaces follower's leg). For the sacada, the Leader walks directly into (invades) the Follower's space, then we do another forced cross, only Leader uses the inside of his thigh (instead of his outside thigh) to force her to cross. He then steps between her feet (that's the sacada), which displaces her leg/foot (sends it flying out a bit [low and controlled]). So it's a cross-displace-cross-displace footwork for Follower; Cross Lead – Sacada - Cross Lead – Sacada for Leader. Then we did sacada – step – sacada – step, where the Leader continually displaces Follower's leg (usually her right). Technical points: The emphasis is on elegance and smoothness. Collect your feet in the cross (they need to be together, not wide apart). Keep knees and feet together all the time.



Volcadas for Tango de Salón workshop: Sequence 1: We began with a regular volcada. Most knew how to do this, so we quickly built on it. Sequence 2: Sacada into Volcada. Leader sacada's follower to displace her right leg, flinging it out and away so that her right foot goes back and lands back cross against left foot, with all weight on it. Follower's left foot pops forward, then Leader leads it into a regular volcada (or big rounded volcada if he can/wants to). Sequence 3: We reversed the movement, like a series of back crosses, but Follower is off axis. Sequence 4: We played with the concept of volcada, like doing a regular volcada, but Leader doesn't let Follower complete the cross (have a complete weight change); do it backwards as if Leader changed his mind, then lead a series of back crosses. Follower technical points on Volcada: Hips should always be solid and forward. Free leg needs to be really free. You can do short and fast volcadas in small spaces. Chest connection is key, and abdominal strength is key to chest connection and posture. Always keep abdominals engaged. Volcadas must be done to music, not arbitrarily anywhere (a good time to do them is during the violin to match its long strokes with Follower's foot coming around). Maria made an interesting comment regarding Follower's left arm (right hand/arm also). She said that a lot of teachers teach that it should be strong and solid to "hook on" (push down) on the leader's right arm; she believes this is incorrect and that volcadas should not look stiff or difficult, but natural, fluid, and easy. She then did a volcada with chest connection only and no arms. Obviously, she is far more advanced than we are.



February 10 – Tango: A Romantic Ritual Stage Show, followed by Belrose Matinee Milonga. The show played to a packed house and was extremely well done; it was great fun to watch our local teachers perform. My favorite segment was "El Sol Sueño" – Tango Con*Fusion's nuevo tango segment. The Belrose Matinee Milonga was imbalanced by ~+12 followers, so Jamie and I left after the show by visiting maestros Jon and Judy.



February 11 – La Cumparsita Milonga @ Slovenian Hall. Gustavo Benzecry Sabá & María Olivera from BsAs taught an interesting but not difficult sequence: 8CB to 2, salida Americana, Leader turns and steps in front of Follower, forcing Follower to step forward with right foot, Leader meets her right foot with his right foot, then turns her clockwise so she steps and pivots around on left foot, she steps back with right foot, and then back with left foot, at which point Leader steps forward into her with his Right foot to sacada (invade her space) so that Follower right leg is displaced (technical point: contact point at the sacada is in the thighs, not knee, calf or foot). There was much discussion on technique and concepts, and Los Maestros reiterated that tango is about elegance and that chest connection and close embrace are key – that's tango. They also stressed musicality – you need to dance differently if the music is different (Canaro v Biagi v Pugliese, for example), you shouldn't embellish or move your leg/feet if the music doesn't dictate it. Slow down. Regarding social dance rules: no chatting while dancing. Gustavo wrote a book (which Maria translated into English); I bought it, think it's good, and believe it is worth the $25 (will also be available at Valentango in Portland). The milonga was fun. Roberto Riobo was there, as were a few people from our BsAs trip (Peter & Jerry Sue from Sacramento, Jorge, Jamie, Carolina of course). It was great fun seeing Carolina and Roberto dance – they really went all out, doing a Pugliese tanda toward the end of the night when there was enough space to do a lot of fantasia—they were much flashier than at the Romantic Ritual show.



February 13 – CCSF Classes (topic: Turns). In Followers' Technique, in addition to our usual core and foot strengthening exercises, we did a lot more disassociation exercises to increase our range of motion. We also practiced embellishing ochos at the barre. In Advanced, we did a sequence that started out 8CB to 5, counterclockwise molinete (side – back – side – forward), then we added overturned forward ochos for Follower with Leader sacadas during same. Then we added cadenas (which we learned in the first and second week of class -- I should review my CCSF notes before class). It was tricky! For some reason, I feel this semester is more difficult than last. A tanguero buddy of mine practiced what they learned in Intermediate with me: leader straight forward sacadas invading Follower space with displacements for Follower. He did them on both open and closed side (closed was harder), and using parallel and cross system feet.



February 17 – Maybe Gato & Andrea Vals workshop @ La Pista @ 5:15 p.m. if I can work it in schedulewise. It's relatively expensive ($30 for 1.25 hours), but I am thinking the class will be super small and maybe I'll get lucky and it will be like having a private.



February 18 – La Cumparsita Milonga @ Slovenian Hall. Diego Escobar & Angelina Staudinger (Bs As) teach the lesson.



February 20 – CCSF classes (topic: turns).



February 21 – I am getting a mole removed from the bottom of my foot (it appeared about a year or two ago and has steadily gotten more prominent—this change is why my dermatologist recommended removal), so that means no dancing for me for 3 days after that. Have your moles checked, folks. Do you have ones that have changed, are irregularly shaped, or are bigger than the size of a pencil eraser?





HEADS UP:



Sunday, February 24, 2008 is the CCSF Spring Milonga in our New Health & Wellness Center, 3rd Fl.

1:00-2:00 p.m. Intro Lesson to Argentine Tango for Absolute Beginners taught by Chelsea Eng
2:00-4:30 p.m. Argentine Tango Dance Party

$5, benfitting the CCSF dance program. Come check it out! (I won't be able to, I am ushering that day.)



To my tanguero foodie buddies (Jamie, LouAnn, Larry!!!!): Pena Pachamama Tango Night is March 7, with Christy & Darren, Chelsea & Count performing. There is a $12 cover. Food is Bolivian, with a lot of organic raw vegan items (in addition to the usual meat and hot cooked foods, which is what I would eat). Reservations required. There are 2 seatings: 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. http://www.penapachamama.com/index.php?key=food



Verdi Club is closed until March 7 for installation of new floor. A lot of people seem to really like the La Pista 80/20 Thursday milonga.



The Late Night Metronome Milonga on Saturdays seem to be getting good reviews; I haven't made it there yet.





RANDOM FOLLOW-UP:

I got my DVDs from the Fandango de Tango. The Saturday night masters show is great (I'd buy it again). I was a little disappointed in the video notebooks (I would not buy them again); the only teachers who had any commentary/instruction review were Alex Krebs and Luciana Valle; the other teachers just danced to whatever they taught in class and had no discussion, commentary, or instruction review.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Scouting tour continues...

February 1 – ODC milonga with live music by Hombres de Tango (Seth & Marcelo). The usual room's lights weren't dimmable, so they moved us to another room, which was stuffy and sweltering. The dancing was OK, despite the site issues.


February 3 – Brigitta Winkler workshops in Palo Alto. The first workshop was "Wind & Unwind: The Power of the Spiral." We began with disassociation exercises (top of body, lower body, then adding left foot and right foot forward and turning body to left and to right, then with left foot and right foot back and turning body to left and right). We also did breathing exercises (up and down, in and out). Step 1: Follower steps left foot forward to outside right of leader (like for molinete), really practicing the spiral in the chest for leader and follower. Step 2: Leader paradas follower, then walks around her. Follower footwork remains planted on ground, but upper body torques (spirals) from one side, to neutral, and then to other as leader is walking around her. Resolution: follower steps forward with left foot.

The second workshop was "Nuevo Milonguero." We began with walking exercises to get our heads in a different place (not line of dance, in arbitrary way with no pattern, then trying to shake hands with people as we passed, then a slow walk, then walk looking at the ceiling). Since this was a milonguero workshop, we did close embrace connection exercises (accepting the other person in the embrace; feeling Follower's breath in their rib cage as leaders embrace them). The sequence built on what we learned in the Spiral workshop: Ocho cortado with Leader sacada. Leader catches Follower's left foot and raises it, then places it back on floor (either straight up and down or lifting it over and to side, slightly forward). Leader option: place the foot down, then step through (sacada) deeper again, then turn her body slightly sideways to force Follower's right leg to gancho leader's right leg. Follower technical point: pay attention to the quality of the gancho – imagine your free leg is like the trunk of an elephant or other animal that has good gancho-like qualities (giraffe, mantis [sharp], snake). To reiterate the concept of the connection of the feet, we experimented with a connection exercise using our hands, where one person's hand would go up and down and side to side on the beat of the music, and the other person would try to catch it, connect with it, and left it up.

Brigitta is an awesome teacher (with much focus on concepts, and a different way of looking at them and teaching them); I wish I had gone to more of her workshops. Interestingly, she said that Berlin (where she is from) is 2nd in the world for Argentine Tango, after Buenos Aires. Funny, I had heard San Francisco was 2nd in the world! This was one of the last events at the Elks Club Palo Alto because it will soon be torn down. :o(



February 3 – Studio Gracia milonga. I had an excellent time. I danced so much that day, I actually got a blister.



February 8 – Ferry Building Milonga (be there or be square, it's FREE, close to Embarcadero BART/MUNI, starts @ 5:30 p.m.); maybe Monte Cristo after if I am ambitious (8:00 p.m. lesson is sacadas for women and men, with guest teacher Kat Kwan MacDonald). I should probably go to this, as I do hesitate doing sacadas, even though the leader is clearly leading me to do it.



February 9 – Gustavo & Jesica Sausalito milonga and lesson (topic: sacadas, boleos, and volcadas).



February 10 – Tango: A Romantic Ritual Stage Show, followed by Belrose Matinee Milonga. If Jamie and I are maniacs, then Studio Gracia that night as well, where Trio Garufa will play (their first time back in many years).



February 11 – La Cumparsita Milonga @ Slovenian Hall. Gustavo Benzecry Sabá & María Olivera from BsAs teach the lesson.



February 12 – Maybe Ney Melo's class.



February 13 – CCSF Classes. Really better go to class. I've missed the last two weeks.