Sabado, 27 Octubre 2012
Dante
picked me up, even though it took forever to get through passport control and
the luggage x-ray area. On our drive
into BsAs, we chatted away about the usual things, people we know, who was in
town, various tango royalty of BsAs, and the economy. I remarked that this was the first time I had
been instructed to bring US$ down. So
then Dante explained to me the whole demand for US$ situation.
Here’s a
good article that sums it all up (fascinating for FX / Intl Biz nerds):
And if
y’all don’t know what the Blue Rate means, here’s an article that discusses
why/how it came to existence:
I arrived to
my usual airbnb place (which will go unnamed since I love it so much and want
it to be available whenever I am in town), and got settled in. After unpacking and a quick shower, I made my
way over to my favorite shoe place, Lolo
Gerard (on Anchorena). There I found
the inventory to be thinner than it had been in the past. While they had some
shoes on sale (350-399 pesos), surprisingly, none of them spoke to me. Could this be the one trip where I don’t buy
any Lolo Gerard shoes?!
Next stop: Coto, where the sign said there was a
15% discount using any credit card. So I tried to use mine, but didn’t bring my
passport (I just had a copy of it, as well as my real state ID card from the
US). After the manager came over to
approve my IDs I was well stocked in the grocery department. Financially speaking, the 15% discount covers
the 3.5% credit card fee that my bank will charge, but the net purchase was
likely more expensive than if I had paid in pesos because of the exchange rate
differences, since I got better than the official published rate of 4.7 (which
is what the cc payment will be in), though nowhere near the blue rate of 6.4
(+36% above published!). Still, it’s very interesting to me how some places
charge you EXTRA when you use cc, while clearly the supermarkets give you a
discount on certain days.
While I
passed by Maossage, the Chinese
Massage place in the same building as the Abasto Coto, I didn’t feel sore or
aching or like I needed a massage, so I passed.
I had
planned to go to Villa Malcolm, but fell asleep instead.
Domingo, 28 Octubre 2012
There’s not
a whole lot to do in BsAs on Sunday as most locals go to the parks to enjoy
nature and free music, and then have an asada with their families and friends.
Instead, I went to the Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo, hoping to go to LiberTango
shoes, which is supposedly open on the weekends, but usually in the afternoons
(after 2pm, despite what the advertisements say). I was curious about this
place, as I tried to go last time but couldn’t make it there in time before I
had to leave.
Hours on its
ad said it would open at 11 am, but based on my experience last time, I’d
figure I’d give them until 12. I was skunked
again, because at noon it was still not open. So I walked around the Plaza
Dorrego market and the art and craft fair on Defensa Street. Most interesting
to me where the wandering food vendors.
Lots of different types of empanadas: Argentine, Columbian, and Tucuman.
I tried the Columbian (6 pesos), which was fried and had a dough similar in
bite and color to those of Jamaican meat patties in their rich orange color and
chewiness. I also had a crunchy, hippie
salad (15 pesos) with brown rice, beans, lettuce, tomato, and carrots purchased
from a crunchy, hippy chick. Then I
stumbled upon El Rey De Chorizo, a chorizo stand that sold choripan (15 pesos),
bandiola pan (35 pesos) and bife de chorizo pan (35 pesos) and drinks (agua,
vino, or cerveza, all 15 pesos). The
smell from the BBQ was divine, and from the looks of the blackened wall, this
seeming pop-up BBQ corner was a regular fixture that transformed what appeared
to be a parking lot into a food oasis of sorts at the end of Defensa y
Mexico. The plastic tables and chairs
with umbrellas for shade looked oddly inviting and more appealing than the many
restaurants that dotted Defensa on this warm afternoon. After I had my fill, I wound my way back down
Defensa, back to LiberTango on Bolivar 1111.
Thankfully, it was finally open! Woo
hoo! Third time’s a charm!
I tried on
just one pair of shoes, and they fit perfectly. So of course I had to get
them. They were full price at 550
pesos. I tried on one sale shoe for 350
pesos, but it was for a narrow foot. I was
interested in a few other models, but they did not have my size, and told me to
come back tomorrow, when another shipment would arrive. I found their shoes to have good padding,
especially at the ball of foot area. I am a size 36 in their shoes, so would
consider their shoes medium to wideish-width if you can still wear most shoes
comfortably off the rack. They can also
have shoes specifically for narrower width feet (like for fans of Comme Il Faut
or NeoTango). Qualitywise, their shoes
seem OK and reasonably durable, though I haven’t put them through the rigors of
how I dance yet. Stylewise, their
offering is current, modern, and pretty; nothing stood out as cutting edge or
particularly girly-girl sweet (and that’s a good thing!).
Happy with
my shoe purchase in hand, I went to the Florida shopping area since it was a
Sunday and I figured it would be less hectic.
It was. I bought a bunch of cheap
clothes because I was a tad worried that I hadn’t brought enough. I stopped by
EAT. It was closed so I couldn’t get a schedule or see how much classes
were. I passed by Galauno, which is now
called Vainilla Massini, and the choripan is now 13 pesos!
As I was
walking back to the Subte station, I was assaulted by the smell of fresh-baked
facturas. The irresistibly heady scent
of the warm, yeasty dough, drenched in syrup, and baked to a beguiling, glistening
perfection where the syrup just reaches the point of carmelization filled the
air, and I could not help but deeply inhale the aroma of the sugar perfectly
marry the risen vanilla-infused buttery dough.
I had never noticed this sliver of a shop before, so perhaps it’s new. I
looked at their offering and chose 4, not knowing or caring how much they
cost. When I was rung up, I was very
surprised when the bill came to 4 pesos (yup, that’s 1 peso each). As I left the shop, I finally noticed the
sign outside, which said 1 doz facturas = 12 pesos. I couldn’t wait to try them, wanting to savor
them while they were still warm, so I snarffled up not one, but two of them
right outside in front of the store. They were delicious.
Then I made
my way over to the Tribunales subte station, which turned out not to be too far
away on foot (it’s just on the other side of the Obelisk, which made me kick
myself for the many times I’d go to one of the other subte stops, and then hoof
it to transfer over to the green line).
From the Palermo station, I hoofed it home, passing by a Sega Le Vaca Express
(which I must try this trip!), and stopping in at the local chino supermercado
for some fresh red peppers and cucumbers.
Then home
for a nap before heading out to Villa Malcolm.
Club Villa Malcolm Milonga de Pepa! 10 to 2 with advanced lesson
beforehand by Julio y Corina (40 pesos for the entire night). The lesson was good. I teamed up with Deb,
who is an excellent leader. Side step to
Follower’s right, leading her to do a forward step (not a side step), to a
forward ocho, to a Leader’s sacada of the Follower’s trailing right foot on her
left side step, etc… It was an excellent lesson. We drilled a lot to clean up
the technique and musicality.
The milonga
was just OK. Lots of local cool kids were there, so it was a tough crowd to
break into. But it was nice seeing so
many folks from NYC and BsAs.
Lunes, 29 Octubre 2012
Luciana Valle Intensivo D – Day 1
Variations on the Turn
We began
with a review of the concepts. The Turn
is the mother of the circular situations in tango with the same structure
underneath. That is the circle and the
center of the circle, like a compass.
When we dance, we switch who is the center and who is the circle. Later we will change the musicality and
structure of the turn. Left or right,
the center is the focus, so when we say a turn to the right or to the left, it
is from the center person’s point of view.
We began
with doing turns from the Follower’s front cross, here the Leader steps on the
opposite (do not step with), so the Leader sends the Follower first, and then
changes it, going from a linear situation to a circular one. The Leader can pivot on one foot, or do
fancier footwork, but whatever he does, he needs to do whatever he needs to do to
be on axis and in balance as he is the center of the circle. The Follower walks around the Leader with
each step equidistant from the Leader.
The back cross step is an overturned back ocho step. All steps of the turn need to be the same
size. The Follower walks circularly,
turning each step, pivoting a lot, and keeping the braline toward the
Leader. The Leader should not turn the
Follower in a block. The Follower should
use the push off the standing leg to have power to build torsion in her upper body. In the turn, for the Follower there are two pivots
that give us rhythm. At the point of the front cross, the Follower’s hips are
perpendicular to the Leader’s at 90 degrees. On the Follower’s side step her
hips face the Leader’s. On the back
cross step, the Follower’s hips are perpendicular to the Leader’s at 90
degrees. That is why we have the S-S-Q-Q
rhythm in the turn, because there is no pivot in the last steps (back,
side). Remember to maintain the size of
each step of the turn.
Leaders: Be
careful of your right hand. Keep it in
front of your sternum. Do not let it slack, otherwise you will leave the
Follower behind. If your hand remains in
front of your sternum, you will keep the Follower in front of you.
Followers:
Keep the braline toward the Leader to have more torsion in your body. Pivot from the ground up, it’s a down to up
motion. Push the floor to let the
torsion go up through your body. Also,
do not lean forward in the turn. The Axis
is straight. When you stop, be in
neutral on axis.
Note that
there are two pivots in the turn:
The back
cross is a bottom-up pivot.
The front
cross is a top-down spiral.
Continuing
our work on turns from the back ocho, the Leader steps on the Follower’s back
cross step. The Follower’s turn starts at
the back cross step: she should overturn it.
She also needs to stay back and not lean forward.
We did it
slow: S-S-Q-Q so that the Follower could
focus on their technique at each step.
If the Leader gives the Follower space, she has to go.
Moving on,
we added some interesting footwork for the Leader:
Leader’s
lapice starts from the top down, spiral goes down into legs.
To this, we
added the Leader’s parada, playing with alternating paradas on either
side. The motion is to come up at the
point of the parada, and down when stepping out with a pasada.
We also
added the Leader’s enrosque, both front and back (back with the leg in back,
and front with the leg in front), both change weight. The Leader can start an enrosque at any step
of the Follower, but it must finish on her back cross step. We started with the front cross enrosque to
understand the structure and the mechanics of both the top to bottom spiral and
then the bottom to top pivot for the Leaders.
Next, we
played with rhythmicality and the structure of the turn.
We changed
the code of the turn, adding the Leader’s block. This is where the Leader keeps his torso in
the same position so that the Follower does all front and open steps (forward
steps) in full beats. We played with
going into and out of normal turns (forward, side, back, side, forward, etc.)
and then changing the code (to all forward steps). To this, the Leaders played with leading the
double time while the Follower is travelling around him doing all forward
steps.
END OF DAY
1
The weather
was rainy, so I just went home after class.
Martes, 30 Octubre 2012
Intensivo D – Day 2
We began
with a review of the turns, specifically of all the different variations in
Leader’s footwork: the lapice, enrosque, and planeo. For the Follower, the turn energy needs to be
the same, regardless of the size (large or small). She should propel herself and define the
steps by pushing, really moving around the Leader. Nobody is going to do that
job for you. The size of the step is
determined by the radius of the turn.
The Follower should put more energy into her steps in the turn.
Next, we
worked some more of the Follower doing the turn (going around the Leader) but
not the code (forward, side, back, side forward). So instead, she is doing continuous forward steps
or continuous back steps around the Leader.
Follower should not fall into her steps, or use the Leader to support
her. She needs to maintain the radius of
the circle.
We drilled
dancing with turns, with the code, without the code, single time, double time,
and alternating among all these different options. Follower should not anticipate, should not
guess. She should also not go too fast (Luciana said that San Francisco is the
fastest community in the U.S. and that we should all slow down [but I speculate
that she has not spent much time on the East Coast – certainly not in NYC!]).
Next, we
worked on new material: working with the circular situation, with the Leader as
the center of the circle and the Follower as the circle, and adding playing
with the free leg, specifically barridas (sweeps).
For the
Leader’s right leg barrida, he pivots on his left leg slightly before does his
sweep so that he is not pigeon-toed. If
he doesn’t pivot, he will be pigeon toed.
He creates the Follower pasada (step over) around him, as he also
rotates his torso around (this is spiral to the left from top down to bottom of
his free leg). The Follower needs to
allow her foot to be swept and needs to allow the Leader to decide where he
sweeps her foot.
The
Leader’s job is to make this a circular barrida (not a linear one), hence his
pivot. The Follower should take care not
to fall on her back cross step, and to only step when the pivot is completely
over. The Follower should have ton in
her leg and connection with the Leader’s foot/leg so that she gives him
feedback and not escape away as he sweeps her foot.
We drilled
all the different types of barridas, all on the Follower’s back cross step to
her open step:
Leader’s
left leg to Follower’s left leg
Leader’s
right leg to Follower’s right leg
Leader’s
left leg to Follower’s right leg
Leader’s
right leg to Follower’s left leg
Next, we
changed the relationship between the actor and receptor. Previously, all our
work was with the Leader as the actor (sweeper), and the Follower as the
receptor (the person being swept). To
change this relationship, we changed the Leader’s footwork so that instead of
his foot being on the inside of the Follower’s foot, he changes it to the
outside of the Follower’s foot, to make it appear that the Follower is the
actor (sweeper) and the Leader is the receptor (the person being swept). This is an illusion as the Leader is leading
the Follower to sweep the Leader. We
tried this right foot to right foot and left foot to left foot.
The next
concept we explored was playing with the structure since we have the mechanics
down. So we explored doing this with the
Leader’s left foot to the Follower’s right foot and the Leader’s right foot to
the Follower’s left foot. And also doing the options from the Follower’s open
step to her front cross step, clockwise and counterclockwise (so here is the
change of the code of the turn from front cross to open to front cross).
In tango,
we should treat each step as if it is the last step and not anticipate what the
next step will be. This is because the
possibilities in tango, the next step, are endless. The next step can be anything and if we try
to anticipate often we will guess wrong.
END OF DAY
2
I decided
to take advantage of the good weather and decided to walk around and visit some
shoe stores.
My first stop was Greta Flora Palermo (Fco Acuna de Figueroa 1612), which
was not too horribly far from Villa Malcolm. My overall impression: A thumbs up. They have styles beyond the
flower, and shoes seem well made. Prices are 650 pesos without flower,
720 pesos with flower, some models on sale for 400-550 pesos, some bridal
models with platform [really gorgeous!] for 1100 pesos. The shop gal spoke
fluent English. Sizing was on the medium side (not excessively narrow, but I
would not consider them wide either). They had one style I was interested
in, but only in one size larger than my usual, which I tried on. Upon seeing
the fit, the shop gal immediately said they did not fit (of course I already
knew that, but I was very surprised and happy that she did not try to sell them
to me anyway). They seem to have a good business attitude with a good
product at a fair price and good sales practices. So overall a thumbs up.
Taconeando (Cordoba 4030). My
thoughts about this place are much the same as last time (2008). Store is
now a showroom, so you need to know the address and ring the doorbell for
someone to let you in. The spoke Spanish. The model I tried on was 500
pesos, which seemed reasonableish if you are OK with the somewhat delicate quality
of the shoes. Fit was kind of weird for my foot so I didn’t buy anything,
though I tried on several pairs.
Danzarte (Corrientes 3968) is in the Galerias Patagonias mall right outside the
Medrano subte stop, space 24 way in the back. I didn't see anyone in the
small shop and didn't want to ring the bell since I saw all the shoes from the
window. They had about 30 women’s models and 12 men’s models on display, and
shoes were suitable for salsa and ballroom as well as tango. Probably not
worth a special trip, but if you are in the area (which most of us are at some
point), it might be worth a look-see. No slim sky-high stilettos here
(thus targeting the salsa and ballroom crowds as well). Can't say anything
about the fit or quality since I didn't try any of them on.
After that,
I picked up groceries at the local Coto, and just noticed that they now charge
for shopping bags, 15 centavos each!
Miercoles, 31 Octubre 2012
Intensivo D – Day 3
We began,
as we usually do, with a review of what we learned yesterday: Barridas,
drilling all the options from the Follower’s back cross step to her open step,
clockwise and counterclockwise, and all the options from the open to front
cross (so the code of the turn is changed from front cross to open to front
cross), and with the Leader doing the barrida as the actor, or Leader the
Follower to do the barrida as the receptor, which he does by placing his foot
outside of hers).
If the
Follower thinks f the feet as separate from the body, it makes dancing more
difficult. Follower should keep the
braline toward the Leader.
Next, we
worked on the contra barrida, which is a barrida that changes direction. Here, the Leader takes the standing leg of
the Follower at her front cross step, and then changes the direction of her
step. The Leader should let the Follower
arrive to her standing leg, and then take her foot, and then change the
direction in a barrida. Follower should
keep her braline toward the Leader, otherwise she her ochos will be flat.
We did a
fun exercise whereby at her left foot front cross to open step in the
Follower’s counterclockwise molinete, where instead of her pivoting out to her
side step, the Leader holds her in place, and forces her right foot to do a
back tuck against her left foot, changes her weight to her right foot, and then
her left foot goes out forward and does a planeo as the Leader walks around her
counterclockwise.
Then we
built on this concept of the Leader forcing the Follower’s right foot to do a
back tuck against her left foot by the Leader changing the embrace and turning
her to do an outside turn of the Follower’s right arm so that she turns in a
soltada. We tried this on both sides.
Again,
Maestra reiterated that we should dance each step in tango, propel ourselves at
each step, and do not rush our steps.
Next, we
moved on to a different subject, though still focused on the footwork,
specifically, the free leg of the Leader.
Our work would focus on Tomadas and Pasadas, where the Leader takes the
foot of the Follower and creates a pass through for the Leader and for the
Follower.
In tango
there are 10-12 laws, where the same foundational concepts repeat.
In the
Tomadas and Pasadas that we would work on, the Leader takes the Follower’s
standing leg like for the contra barrida (his open step to the right). Both are
moving through the weight change of the other person. So the Follower does a forward right foot
front cross step to the left, and then a left foot side step, where the Leader
does a Tomada (take/block) with his right foot, then sends her back so her body and right foot go back
elastically as if for a colgada, and then as she comes forward to step over
with her right foot, his body goes back as he moves his center (this weight
send/receive is simultaneous with the Follower’s).
Then the
Leader switches using his other leg and then he steps over and then she steps
over his back trailing leg. It was a
variation on the “he goes, she goes” concept.
END OF DAY
3
I went
directly back home since I wanted to check the news regarding the situation at
JFK. It did not look good.
Then I
dropped off my laundry at the corner wash place (20 pesos for a load, large or
small, and I had a small one, next day service). And headed back home and stayed glued to the
laptop the rest of the night.
Jueves, 1 Noviembre 2012
Luciana Valle Intensivo D – Day 4
We began
our day with a review of the Tomadas y Pasadas we worked on yesterday, moving
using each others’ weight change, with the Follower’s weight change making the
Leader pass through and the Leader’s weight change making the Follower pass
through. We did this while focusing on
the 1-3-1 rhythm, and in an elastic way.
The
Follower needs to really arrive on the back step, and immediately push off to
go forward to have a real feeling of elasticity. The Follower should not fall from the back.
She should also not rest on her back foot, otherwise she will never push off
forward to step over.
Next, we
added to our Tomada and Pasada work by adding Barridas to them.
However,
because there were so may questions from the Followers regarding Pivots versus
Spirals, Maestra decided that we should all work on these foundational concepts
again.
The
difference between the Pivot and the Spiral is that the Pivots start from the
bottom up and the Spirals start from the top down. There is a direct relationship between the
Leader’s top and the motion of the Follower’s hips.
The Leader
pushes on the floor, anchors, and torques, which gives the Follower’s pivot
energy. The Follower’s pivot energy
comes from the push of the Leader’s standing leg. The Leader and Follower have opposite
relationships of torsion: When the Leader moves his top, the Follower’s hips
move. The Leader tells the Follower to pivot via the opening in his back.
The pivot
is like a piece of chocolate. You eat
this tiny amount, but your hips move by a huge amount. There is a down to up pivot, because it
starts with pushing into the floor.
To
understand these concepts, we drilled doing back ochos: regular underturned
ones that travel back; linear ones that do not travel but just go side to side;
and overturned ones that go forward. The
Follower should keep her braline to the Leader, and keep her arms connected to
her back and the Leader so she does not absorb the lead in her arms. Follower should not lean into the
Leader. For the Leader to get more pivot
from the Follower, he should use more energy and more torsion.
Next we
drilled forward ochos: regular underturned ones that travel forward; linear
ones that do not travel but just go side to side; and overturned ones that go back.
In doing
all these ochos, it is important for the Follower to use her fingers/thumb and
palm of her left hand in her connection to the Leader. Connection comes from the Follower’s side. She should also not be lazy about finishing
is the pivot. The pivot is the pivot,
and the step is the step. They are not
combined. You have to be able to dance
the pivot. Note that the back cross step
of the turn is an overturned back ocho step.
Next, we
worked on Spirals. Here, the Follower’s
braline always stays with the Leader, even in an overturned ocho.
In Pivots,
the Braline is the anchor and the hips/standing foot is the motor.
In Spirals,
the Braline is the anchor and the motor.
The
difference is from where you do it: top down is spiral; bottom up is pivot.
We drilled
doing pivots and spirals.
END OF DAY
4
After
dropping my stuff off I went to the hipermercado near my home, which happened
to be a gigantic Jumbo. I had heard that
Jumbo was where the locals shopped, so I figured it was cheaper than Coto and
Disco. This was not the case with the
Jumbo near my home. They even charged
more for the bags (25 centavos)!
Situated in an upscale indoor mall, this particular Jumbo was very clean
and appealing. The buffet items were all
behind a counter so someone had to scoop it out for you. I found the items more expensive than at the
Abasto Coto, but they did appear to be fresher and better looking.
Viernes, 2 Noviembre 2012
Intensivo D – Day 5
Today, we worked
on musicality.
The class
began with Maestra discussing musicality with 5 volunteer beats, much like Ney
Melo’s musicality exercise with the chairs.
The most
typical rhythm is the 1-3-1 rhythm, where the half beat is in the middle (the
3) and in our dancing, the steps are even.
In the
1-2-1 rhythm, often called the syncopa, the ¼ beat is closest to the 1.
In the
1-4-1 rhythm, the half beat is moved closer to the second 1, so the first step
is larger, and the second step is shorter.
We began
with dancing, just stepping with everything on the 1. Here we would also work on musical
phrasing. In tango music, the phrases
are usually 8 beats, so in our exercise we would try to do very strong steps or
things with up energy at the 1, and at the end of the phrase, we would use more
down energy, or do something in place to allow the Follower to play with her
feet and resolve the phrase. For our
drilling just stepping on the one, we used La Muneca by DiSarli, doing a big
step on the 1, and slowing down/becoming softer toward the 8.
Next, we
drilled dancing the 1-3-1 and the 1 rhythm, doing turns, ochos, cross system,
barridas, and rock steps. Every time
there is a change in dynamics in the dance, it could be from the motion of the
Leader or from the music. In the ocho
cortado and the turn, the Follower can be on the music independently from the
Leader, getting back on the music if he’s off because he is in one place while
the Follower is going around him. Followers should not rush into the cross.
Next, to
our dancing the 1-3-1, we added the boleo and added the Tomada and Pasadas (he
goes, she goes). Again in our dancing,
we should use the last part of the beat and not rush to the next step.
Next, we
drilled dancing to the 1-2-1 rhythm.
Here, the 1-2 is the shorter step and the next step to 1 is longer. So we should attack the motion faster on the
1-2, and the energy is completely different.
We drilled specifically with the Leader leading the corrida and walking
steps and rock steps. Then we added the
Follower’s turn whereby she could do the 1-2-1 timing, in a regular turn and in
the ocho cortado. The Follower can find
the 1-2-1 even if the Leader is leading the 1-3-1 to make/create contrast with
the music.
Next, we
drilled dancing to the 1-4-1 rhythm, putting the double time closer to the
second beat. We practiced this first
with just the side step, where it’s short first, and then long after, like a
fake step or one where the Leader changes his mind, and then goes.
END OF DAY
5
After the
Intensivo, I went with Stuart and Virginia to their apartment as they kindly
offered to help me out of a tough bind.
Strolling through Palermo Soho was very pleasant on this hot afternoon.
Then I
spent a quiet evening at home, which has been my usual routine. I know I
probably should attempt to go out to the local milongas, but after spending my
days at the Intensivo and dancing with among the best leaders in the world, it
almost seems kind of pointless. Maybe I
will think differently next week.
Overall thoughts on the Intensivo D
experience:
It was
wonderful. I had the best time I’ve ever
had at any of the Intensivos. I felt
happy and relaxed and my mind and body could better absorb the concepts. I was very nervous about coming to this again
this year, as I had not been dancing as much or taking as many lessons on the
East Coast and I worried that I was not in ideal physical or mental condition
to be doing such intense training. But I
brought the right shoes (my Sansha Helium dance sneakers, which still make me
feel like I am dancing on air they are so cushioned), and the days are a bit
shorter than they were in the past (we only spend 4 hours for 5 days training,
whereas in the past I believe they were something like 5 hours for four days and
2.5 hours for two days). And most thankfully,
we had a very nice, friendly, drama-free group.
While some
of the regular assistants from years past were not present this time around
(Chino, Sergio), the new assistants (Jorge,
Pedro, Marcos, and Dani [Dani is not new to the Intensivos, but he was never
one of the assistants when I took them since he was already a big-time
travelling maestro. This time around we just lucked out as he was in BsAs on
vacation to visit his family]) were, dare I say, equally fabulous! I know, hard to believe...but it’s true! (At
least in my mind!) What a pleasure it
was to see the same encouraging faces (Nicolas, German x2, Mati, Jose,
Eduardo, Gaston, Quique) from years past who have played a key role in knocking
my dancing into shape, to help it become what it is today. And it was very nice to hear their words of
encouragement and approval. I was sure
to tell them that I had been working on my homework with some local folks on
the East Coast who had also taken the Intensivos in the past and who were
serious (drama-free) students and skilled dancers (so no problems with their
intelligence, recollection, and physical capabilities and no needy ulterior
motives).
Every year
I question whether it is worth it (in expense and vacation time) to come back
to train, and every year when I am here I wonder why on earth I doubted the
value of it in the first place. Words
cannot describe how valuable it is to work this material and dance with the
assistants (likely all of them are tango professionals in Buenos Aires—whether
they are teachers or performers in shows, or both!), who all have different
feels to their leads, and all are excellent leaders. While every one of them may not be an expert
at whatever the class concept may be, many of them are or are on their way to
be. And each one has a different insight
on what our particular dance problems are, each one gives us at least one (if
not many more) little nugget that is a priceless gem of wisdom regarding how we
can improve our dancing. And some of
them are just plain old great dancers that feel absolutely delicious to dance
with! They say that tango is all about
hope. And in dancing with the
assistants, I feel that that “hope” is finally realized. We dance these amazing dances with how we
think tango should feel, how we hope tango will feel.
And I feel
for the first time, I could hear with crystal clarity Maestra’s instructions. I
could truly appreciate her precise use of language, instruction, and
illustrations, more than I ever had in the past. It felt as if the cotton had been removed from
my ears. Maybe it’s me and maybe it’s just that I am fully at peace this time
around, with no needless irritating distractions and drama to inhibit my
learning, and fully rested instead of being dog-tired.
Sabado, 3 Noviembre 2012
I got up
and planned a day of shoe shopping, take care to go to the places that are
advertised as open on Saturday (many shoe shops are only open M-F), and making
sure I didn’t criss cross the city 27 times.
My first
stop was Victorio (Valle 399). I
hadn’t been too keen on returning here since my first visit to this store in
2008 for various reasons. But the advertisement in the free Tango Map Guide
persuaded me to make a second trip, since it advertised shoes for $399
pesos. As is typical in Buenos Aires, it
took me a lot longer to get there on the subte, as I had stopped beforehand to
get my US$ changed into pesos (at a rate closer to blue than published). All of the women’s shoes had suede
bottoms. I found the sizing to be on the
medium side, with some models wide and some models more narrow, but most in the
range of “medium”. I tried on three
pairs and didn’t particularly love any of them, but I found one to be OK. I asked the nice sales gal the price of the
shoes and she said they were 650 pesos, but 400 pesos if paid in cash, true to
their advertisement. Because of their
good business practice of transparent pricing and being true to their word, I
decided to buy a pair even though I could have just as easily passed on
it. So I was happy and they were happy.
My second
stop was Bertie (Venezuela 1593). This was my second attempt to go to this
store, having shown up at an empty storefront a few trips ago. This time the advertisement in Punto said it
was a new location, as well as showing the plata lame shoe I wanted last time
(which I tried on and loved at Naranja de Flor, but which I found shockingly
expensive at the time. I found the place
easily and they indeed had shoes for 300/400 pesos and up. The advertisement showed the exact plata lame
shoe that I wanted with a price underneath of 300/400 pesos, so of course I had
to go. I made it there, found the shoe,
as well as one in oro and one in pewter as well. I tried on all three, and all three fit
perfectly, wouldn’t you know? When I
asked the price, it was a good thing I was sitting down because he said they
were all 790 pesos each! Ugh! I offered him 1800 pesos for all three, after
which he explained it was a special lame imported from Italy, and was much
better than the lame at other shoe stores (this was exactly the same thing that
the gal at Naranja de Flor said last time about the same shoe) and that
inflation was way up in Buenos Aires in the last seven months, but that his
shoe prices remained the same. He then
conceded and came down a little in price, to 2100 for all three. That still seemed too steep to me, so I told
him it was just the beginning of my trip and that I wanted to visit other shoe
shops first but that I would return at some point. Then I left, Bertie shoeless.
I walked
over to Alma Buenos Aires, a new
shoe store in San Telmo on Estados Unidos 652.
Again, I liked their advertisement, which clearly stated they were open
on Saturdays from 11 to 7, and it also had their web site address, so I could
see beforehand their shoe selection. I
liked several of their metallic lame shoes (can you see a pattern
here…obviously I have glitter on my mind) on their web site, so decided to give
them a go. I was not disappointed. The shop has clothes as well, and they are
not big in volume, but on quality.
Dresses were in the 400-550 peso range.
Shoes were clearly marked at three price points of 590/650/690 pesos. I saw two lame shoes that sang out to me, one
in gold, and one in multicolored confetti.
The shoes on display were my size, so I put them on and they fit
perfectly. Oddly though, they were not
marked with their price, though all the other shoes in the store were. The shop gal told me they were 690 pesos each
(figures it would be the highest price point!), but then I asked how much for
both, paid in cash. She came back with a price of 660 each, but then said 650
each so an even 1300 for both. That made
me happy and I told her so. Interestingly,
the store had Alma branded shoes as well as Tango Imagen shoes (which were the
ones I bought) and a random Lolo Gerard shoe. So I guess that means the same
factory/manufacturer makes shoes for all three brands.
Then I made
my way over to LiberTango shoes
again (Bolivar 1111) as I was hoping that they had a few more models that I
liked in my size. I tried on a few pairs
that were OK but didn’t sing to me. So I
left without any more shoes from them.
And of course they said they would be getting in another shipment next
week, of course in the models in my size that I liked (which is what they said
last week!).
I then made
my way over to Florida y Lavalle again as I wanted to revisit the clothing
store where I bought two dresses last weekend, as I wanted to get another one
of one I got, only in a different pattern.
Unfortunately, when I got to the storefront, it was clear that the
vendor was no longer there! So it seems
the storefronts turn over very quickly right now with the economy the way it
is, so it definitely pays to just pick things up in multiples if you find
something you like at a price you are willing to pay.
By then I
was starving, so I had lunch at the Arabian Food place (LaValle 697), where I
had a Shwarma de Cordero y cerveza for 32 pesos, so still a bargain, and I was
glad to see their prices had not doubled or tripled the way some other places
have.
After my
late lunch I wanted to go to Escuela Argentina de Tango since it was so close
and I wanted to pick up a schedule and price list. Prices are now 52 pesos for one class, 4
class card 192 pesos, 8 class card 384 pesos, and 12 class card 520 pesos. So classes there are pretty steep (to
compare, classes at DNI are 30 pesos).
I also
picked up a few flyers from the Borges Cultural Center, as they have tango
shows several nights a week there for 100/110/140 pesos. I usually just stick
to the 100 peso tickets as there is not a bad seat in the house.
Then I went
to the 1 peso factura place again (gosh those things are addictive), Panaderias
Del Pueblo (LaValle 835), and chose 5 delectable looking facturas. As I was
leaving, I noticed someone else choosing facturas, and he used the tongs to
poke at them to judge their tenderness.
I just look for the ones with the most filling.
Domingo, 4 Noviembre 2012
There isn’t
a whole lot to do in Buenos Aires on Sunday, so I just decided to kick back at
home, work on my Intensivo notes (which I finished! Yay!) and pack. So that’s what I did, in addition to checking
into work for an hour or so.
I had to
move to another place since there was another boarder coming in so there was no
space for me, and I had decided to stay in Buenos Aires for another week thanks
to Superstorm Sandy. I found a place
easily enough (thank God for airbnb.com!), and reasonably close so I could just
walk my stuff over (thank God for wheeled luggage!).
The couple
who own the home are young, hip, and cool, just like their place. While the bathroom is tiny and typically
Argentine, the room itself is nice, in a sparse, Zen-like way, and their
neighborhood quiet. No A/C in the room
though, which kind of sucks in this sweltering weather with mosquitos galore
(that never happened before. Dunno why this season is so bad. JSE said there was speculation that they
didn’t do as much spraying this year).
Still, the wifi worked reasonably well, and there was a laundry machine
on site. Overall, I like it so far. It
seems like a nice place to spend a week.
Lunes, 5 de Noviembre 2012
I worked
all day.
Martes, 6 de Noviembre 2012
I worked
all day and was feeling stir crazy, so afterwards I just felt like
walking. So I decided to go to Madreselva. When I got to the Abasto
Plaza hotel, I was told that it was no longer there. So I just walked and walked, all the way down
to Callo y Corrientes, even though it was a sweltering day, figuring I’d go to NeoTango since it was early enough that
it should be open. As I got closer and
closer, I noticed that every other house or so had no electricity, which I
thought was strange. When I got to
NeoTango, the metal gate was coming down and the store beyond was pitch
black. I asked the many who was coming
through the little door in the gate if the store was open. He hesitated, looked
back at the store and then back at me, and said yes, but that they had no
power. However, he welcomed me in. I walked through, saw one show that I liked
(a silver lame) and asked how much it was. He said 750 pesos. I said I would come back when they had power.
Tango Leike, just across, the street, still had
power and lights. Peeking in from the
window, I noticed that their selection is much more severly edited (read: they
have a lot less inventory, though very nicely displayed). I didn’t go in
because there was no one else in the store, and none of their shoes really
grabbed me and yelled at me to take them home.
Walking
around Callo, I passed by a CD store that was blaring, so obviously they still
had power. I picked up some CDs from the
current bargain line (Cronica Del Tango, all 15 pesos and 15 songs each):
Salgan, DiSarli, Pugliese, De Angelis, Vargas, Castillo, Troilo.
As I walked
back to my place, I suddenly found myself famished. I eyed a Nac
y Pop on Corrientes and decided to give it a go. Nac y Pop is a fast food chain, and there are
plenty of them in Buenos Aires.
Literally, they are all over the place and you cannot miss their bright
read awning and graffiti signage, which boasts “pan casero” – home made bread,
which I would discover would be much better than the usual high fructose corn
syrup processed white flour crappy buns we typically eat in the U.S. They sell mostly hamburguesas y panchos (hot
dogs) and coffee, beer, gaseosas and Fernet, with alfajores and popcorn
rounding out the dessert offerings. They
also have a Prime Condom machine (2 pesos – a fantastic bargain!). I had una hamburguesa (15 pesos) and a Guinness
(29 pesos!). The hamburguesa came with
potato chips. Like I said, the bun was better than the usual US buns (of course
that’s not saying much since US buns are horrible to begin with) and the meat
was OK. Not great by Argentine
standards, that’s for sure, but not completely horrible from US standards
(again, I suppose that is not saying much).
But it was fast, convenient and cheap, and I like how they kept the
self-serve mayo in the fridge. While I
would certainly not make any Nac y Pop a destination, it’s not a bad place to
duck into for a quick, cheap bite and drink.
Miercoles, 7 de Noviembre 2012
I spent an uneventful
morning working, the fan humming away in the background, which helped to keep
the mosquitos off me on an even more sweltering day than yesterday. Then,
complete disaster struck. The power went
out. Which means the Internet went out.
Which means my work cellphone connection got lost too. So I had no way of telling them I was offline
at all.
I quickly
gathered up all my belongings, and remembering the numerous wifi signs I saw in
the windows of local cafes, I booked it out of there. Now, normally I would tell you were I went,
but honestly, it’s such a great, reliable place that I don’t want it overrun
with folks who need mobile offices and who will park there for hours on end
(like I did). It is true that in South
America, Buenos Aires too, that the waiters never rush people out to turn the
tables. It’s like they have all the time
in the world and want you to stay and linger.
This place was no different. It
was a Godsend to me that afternoon, as they had a big, juicy, wonderful
Internet connection.
I got back
onto my work’s system quickly enough so that no one noticed that I was gone,
and our work was not negatively affected in any way. Phew!!!
I also
noticed that this restaurant had its own generator, in case the power did go
out!
I felt
horribly guilty that I had parked there for hours, so I ordered the most
expensive thing on the menu: the picada (70 pesos). The charming, handsome waiter looked at me
bemusedly, and made sure that the picada was indeed what I wanted. I confirmed that indeed it was, and yes, I
knew it came with a shocking amount of food typically shared among 2-4
people. I told him I would take the
leftovers to go. The answer seemed to
satisfy him, so he took it, and then went back to the kitchen. A short while
later, he arrived with all 15 dishes.
Yes, 15! They were: (1) black olives; (2) green olives; (3) sliced
pancho (hot dog); (4) sliced chorizo (delicious!); (5) peanuts; (6) potato
chips; (7) anchovies; (8) sliced onion bread; (9) sliced cheese bread; (10)
sliced ham y cheese empanada; (11) sliced faina; (12) cheese cubes; (13) ham;
(14) crunchy bits; (15) crunchy bits (yes, two dishes of the same thing). I also had water (15 pesos) and Fernet (22)
pesos, to bring my bill to over 100 pesos, which was my goal. On top of that, I tipped generously to make
any future visits welcome on their part, as I really liked this café.
I really
liked this café, and will leave it unnamed as I wouldn’t want it to get overrun
with gypsy workers logging in remotely. But it’s a wonderful place, with the
following advertised on their door: security, handicapped bathroom, baby
section, wifi, wii section for children, and air conditioning. Along with ample
food and beverages, for me it served as an ideal location.
Jueves, 8 de Noviembre 2012
Since the
day was projected to be even more sweltering than the day before, I decided not
to chance it. So first thing in the morning, I went to my café, parked myself
at the same table, and began my workday.
For breakfast, I tried to order grapefruit juice (jugo de pomelo), but
the waiter said they did not have it (even though it was on the menu). Instead, he gave me Fanta pomelo gaseosa (I
was actually hoping for the Ser, the local brand like everyone else had). I
also ordered 3 medialunas, not knowing that they were the gigantic ones (some
places have teeny tiny ones or medium sized ones). Since I was there all day, I also had lunch: milanesa
de ternera y lechuga y tomate. It was
good (but I have yet to have a milanesa that I didn’t like). The day went by pleasantly enough,
considering the circumstances.
Viernes, 9 de Noviembre
I had been
enjoying my café so much that I went over again, even though the weather had
finally broken, and a much cooler, rainy day was projected. For breakfast I
ordered only 2 medialunas this time, along with jugo de naranja y agua. Lunch was un ensalada con lechuga, tomate, pepinos,
championes, y huevos. It was delicious
and really hit the spot. It came with at least two eggs, so was chock full of
clean, efficient protein. Soon enough
the 5 o’clock hour came and it was time for me to go. It was a strange
experience to have sat their for 8 hours straight, more or less, and to look up
and see the darkening sky. It had rained off and on during the day, sometimes
heavily storming. But it hadn’t rained in a few hours, but the darkening sky
started to look a little threatening. It
started to come down lightly as I made my way home. I didn’t mind. It felt refreshing.
Sabado, 10 de Noviembre 2012
My
allergies were killing me (and I hoped they were allergies and that I wasn’t
coming down with a cold since I had not worn a lot of clothes yesterday, and
got caught in the rain), so I spent most of the day at home, after spending a
couple of hours exploring a place called Urban
Station (http://argentina.enjoyurbanstation.com/en/home/), which is a
co-working space in Palermo Soho (El Salvador 4588). I was curious to see if the Internet was
faster and more reliable, and specifically I was interested to see if they had
a back-up generator. I emailed them, but just got a canned response about hours
and pricing, with no answer to my generator question. They also have an
auditorium and other larger meeting rooms with projectors, etc., and prepaid
cards or monthly passes, so that it can truly function as an office away from
your usual normal office.
It turns
out the internet connection at Urban Station was no better than my cafe. So other than Urban Station’s free coffee bar
(with medialunas, crackers, cookies, and packaged cheese and jams, water, teas,
etc.) and security (you have to be buzzed in and out), I don't think it was
superior to my café (though there are three different networks at Urban Station). Plus I know that my café has a generator in
case there's a power outage. The gal who was manning the place was nice though,
and while I was only there for two hours (first hour is 23 pesos, each
additional hour is 21 pesos, with a daily max charge, the exact amount of which
I don’t recall), after I had paid the bill, she gave me two passes, each worth
a free hour. She spoke limited English.
Lunch was
at Sinior Shwarma (Honduras 5322),
which I have passed by many times and had always been curious about. A Sharma de Cordero con papas y cerveza
(Quilmes Bock) was 45 pesos, a bargain and delicious! Big thumbs up for this
place!
Domingo, 11 de Noviembre 2012
I got up
early to pack and move back to my old place.
My current landlords weren’t up yet, so I left a note for them that I
would return to give them the keys. (At
all these BsAs places, the security is really high where you need get multiple
keys: a key to your room, a key to the house/apartment, and a key to the
building, and you need all keys to get in and get out.)
When I got
to my usual place, I couldn’t believe it when I got there: there were two other
boarders! One just leaving, and one who
looked like she would be there for a while. It was bizarre. My room wasn’t ready, but the landlady
prepared it in no time flat. Still, it
was awkward having us three girls rushing around. One coming (that would be me), one going (the
one vacating my room), and another one kind of goingish but still hanging
around. Like I said, it was
bizarre. After I was able to access my
room and unpack and get it all set up the way I like, it was time to go back to
my previous place to drop off the keys.
After that,
I just took to subte down to Florida, with the goal to build my CD collection
again. So I picked up some D’Arienzo,
Biagi, and Rodriguez (30 pesos each, except D’Arienzo, which was a 2 CD set for
65 pesos, all 15-20 songs per CD). Lunch
was at the Arab place again (Shawarma de Cordero, papas, y cerveza, 37 pesos.
Papas were very much like Mickey D’s).
The 1 peso factura place was not open, sadly. So I had to make due with a 5 peso cona from
Mickey D’s. Why I decided that, I had no
clue. I mean, the stuff isn’t even real
ice cream. It’s just some really gross, disgusting, man-made chemical stew
that’s frozen to a creamy consistency.
But it was only 5 pesos and I was curious. I had a combo, which I thought would be
swirled vanilla and chocolate, but this being Buenos Aires, the other flavor
was dulce de leche. Very civilizedly,
they gave me a little spoon to eat with it, which I put to good use. So, what did it taste like? It wasn’t bad. It was what I expected, which
is a soft serve cone. For some reason,
even though it was quite cool, it started to melt really fast, so I had to
snarffle it up quickly, which I did. The
whole dang thing. I don’t think I will
do that for another three decades (which approximates the last time I had
something like this).
It seemed
that fewer shops were open today then previous Sundays, so I just decided to
walk up Corrientes to see how far I could get.
At Abasto, I decided to do my usual Sunday grocery shopping at the mega
Coto, and the store seemed more crowded than previous Sundays. I quickly got what I wanted and got in line
to get rung up. Unfortuntely, Typhoid
Mario got directly behind me and was hacking away and gurgling phlem with mouth
open like it was nobody’s business. I
could only stand about 10 seconds of that before I quickly switched lines. Unfortunately, that line was extremely slow,
and even though I was quite a bit away, I could still hear Typhoid Mario hacking
and gurgling, mouth open the entire time (which seemed like forever). Of course I gave him the hairy eyeball, which
he did not notice one bit. Man, that was
seriously annoying. Thing is, he didn’t look sick. He just sounded sick. Maybe
he had some undiagnosed cystic fibrosis or weird backward nasal drip or severe
allergies. But whatever it was, he
seriously needed to get that taken care of professionally.
Lunes, 12 de Noviembre 2012
Luciana Valle – Intensivo Al
Cuadrado – Focus on Follower’s Technique
Day 1
The
facility was the same place as Taconeando, as there are a couple dance practice
rooms with wood floors and A/C.
On this day
our focus was on boleos, and really recognizing the difference between circular
and linear ones, and from all directions (forward, backward, ones that change
direction, etc.). We drilled a lot, with
Maestra pointing out our individual weaknesses and the corrections, both based
on her watching us and from feedback from the leader assistants (Jose and Mati
on this day).
From this,
we moved on to going from spiral directly into pivots, working on different
speeds and different directions. We also
linked the whole spiral motion with how we do boleos, as it was obvious that
one of my weaknesses is that there is a disconnect in my body.
We did lots
and lots and lots of drilling, which was wonderful, to help us work on cleaning
up our respective problems. Though are session was only two hours due to the
small size of the class and intense work, I was thoroughly physically exhausted
by the end.
After
class, I made my way over to the DNI
Tango Store (1011 Bulnes). DNI had
moved since the last time I visited several years ago. Now the Tango Store part of DNI has a
windowed storefront clearly visible from the street, and there is a full café
in the middle area of the building. I
did not peek into any classrooms, but they had a lot of folks milling around,
asking questions about the class schedule and pricing, and a lot of people
eating at the café.
From what I
could see, DNI Tango Store only had 2 or 3 different styles of women’s
stilettos, but with various different materials (630 pesos). I bought a pair because I was intrigued by
the sole, which is made of two different materials: rubber on most of the sole,
and suede on the big toe (I assume to help make walking backward easier). This was my first pair of tango stiletto
tango shoes that have a rubber sole. In
my opinion, sizing is on the wide side, as 36s were definitely too big for me,
as were the 35.5s (note that they have half sizes). The 35s fit me well. They also had some interesting chunky Mary
Jane style tango shoes (450 pesos) and urban hipster heeled tango sneakers
(didn’t get the price). There were also
ample women’s clothes (generally from 240 pesos to 500 pesos) and men’s clothes
in the style of Chicho (I didn’t look at the prices) and men’s shoes as well.
Next, I
made my to Tango Bazar (Santa Fe
1780, 7th floor, room 707). I
was intrigued by this place, as the advertisement showed that it had La
Vikinga, Fabio and Negra y Portena shoes, as well as a bunch of clothing lines
(Mimi Pinzon, NapoliTu, 4Corazones, DeColibries, GaRua, Munecas Bravas, and
Miguel Mancera Boutique). The store
certainly did carry all of these brands, but a limited selection of each. I
would say it’s a good place to go to if you want to check out the offerings of
many different vendors at one place, but if you want to see the entire line of
what one brand offers, it would be more advantageous to go to the specific branded
store (La Vikinga, for example). The
clothes offerings were more substantial than the shoe selection. I wanted to try on a couple of La Vikinga
shoes, but sadly they did not have my size.
The shop girl was very nice, and she recommended that I make my way up
the street to Fabio Shoes to see the new Pepe Lopez line of shoes, which she
showed to me on computer. I was
intrigued enough by what I saw that I decided to take her advice.
Upon
emerging from the store onto the street, and despite having a map, I got turned
around and ended up on Arenales. I
thought twice about going to Comme Il
Faut, since it was only 6 blocks away, but looked at my watch and decided
against it as I had a list of shoe places I wanted to go to that
afternoon. While I was curious about
their shoe prices, I knew that I would not buy any of them.
So I walked
up Callo and then over a block to Fabio
Shoes (Riobamba 10, 10th Floor, 10A). It was still in the same place as when I last
visited in 2008, and they still had their usual dance sneakers (women’s were
550 pesos). But what brought me there
were the Pepe Lopez shoes. I tried on 4
different styles (all that they had in my size), and found them to be narrow. So none of them worked for me, though they
were beautiful and well made (650 pesos).
They also had a few high-style couture-like models (999 pesos).
Then I made
my way to NeoTango, to try on some
lame shoes. As I tried on the pewter lame ones (750 pesos), I noticed that they
had a tiny (6 shoe) collection of sale shoes (said AR 290/390 – I don’t know
what the two prices were). In NeoTango, I am now a size 35, so I believe they
have made their shoes a tiny bit wider over the years as I used to be a 36 in
their shoes, and obviously my feet have not shrunk! And lucky for me, they had
two sale shoes in my size! So I tried
them on and they felt good so I went ahead and bought them. While I have gone to NeoTango for years, and
saw their sale shoes (the last size in that particular model), they never had
any that I could fit. So this time I
finally lucked out with not just one, but two sale pairs! Woo hoo!
Next, I
made my way over to Anchorena, as I wanted to visit Tango Imagen (Anchorena 606, right next to Tango 8 and across the
street from Lolo Gerard, which appears to have changed its name to just
“Lolo”), as I was intrigued by the brand since my shoes that I adore from Alma
had Tango Imagen labels. In the past, I
had only known that Tango Imagen was big on clothes (performers especially seem
to like them); I did not know they sold shoes as well. At the store, they only had a small
selection, with prices of 630 or 535 if paid in cash. Actually, everything in the store was 15%
cheaper if paid for in cash, and they have a sign right there that says
so. Sadly, the shoe styles in this store
did not appeal to me, though they were all very well made, just like Lolo
Gerard. In fact, some of them were of the same materials and very similar
styles, so I believe they have the same manufacturer/factory for many of their
styles.
Since I was
in the ‘hood, I decided to walk across the street to Lolo Gerard, where I
found a nice pair of very low-heeled shoes with a flower on them (similar to
Greta Flora) that I could use for classes on sale for 350 pesos. Regular shoes are priced at 650 pesos.
After a day
of the Intensivo and walking all over Buenos Aires and visiting six (!) shoe
places, I started to get hungry and decided it was time to go home. So down to
the subte I went. However, by now it was
rush hour, and the trains were packed.
The thought of squishing myself in among the portenos y portenas was
unappealing, and after letting 3 packed trains go by, I decided to walk
instead. I got a little farther than the
next subte stop before I decided I was completely famished and exhausted, so
ducked into a La Continental for dinner while I browsed the tango magazines I
had picked up during my shoe excursion.
I had a hamburger, drinks, and dessert, which were all delicious.
Fueled and
rested, it was time for me to walk the rest of the way back home. On Corrientes, I ran into Cristobal de Bahia
Area, who is here with his lovely wife touring with Meastro Marcelo. So we chatted and caught up, which was nice.
Then it was
really, really time for me to go. And on the way back home, I stopped in at the
vegetarian precooked food place (Corrientes 4657), which I really like a lot,
got some noodles, and a few Chinese items (a bun, an eggroll), and a deep fried
ball (which I had no clue was, but which looked for too beguiling in its golden
speckled crunchiness for me to resist) (all 35 pesos per kilo).
When I
finally got home, super late by this time, I got a phone call from JSE, and we
then made plans to meet up to go to El
Motivo later on, and dinner
beforehand at Damiana (Cordoba 5099),
the restaurant across the street (Cordoba 5099). It was a wonderful evening, a perfect 70
degrees. At Damiana, we split a burger
and drinks. The burger was super awesome delicious, substantial, and it came
with fried egg (yum!) and papas (I have not had any bad papas here at all,
ever. They really know how to do potatoes in Buenos Aires!).
The milonga
was OK. I didn’t dance much (only 1
person asked me to dance, and it was just for two songs before he said
“Gracias”). Here, they play music in the
style of a practica, so there are no cortinas.
So you just keep dancing until the other person says “Gracias.” It was
fun watching the dancers, most of whom were more technically skilled than
normally seen at BsAs milongas.
Martes, 13 de Noviembre, 2012
Since we
were starting late today, I decided to make my way over to Vos Baila (Scalabrini Ortiz 658), as I liked what I saw on their
web site, as it showed their business hours (10-1, 2-7), and prices ($310-790
pesos). So I got there around 12:30 pm,
rang the doorbell, but no one came. Drat!
So even though I went by during their posted hours and the lights were
on in the store, for me, at least, it was close. This was the same location as the former
Buenos Aires 1951 used to be. I speculate they are the same folks, only with
different store name, as many of the shoes in the window still had the 1951
label. Since the store was closed, I did
not have a chance to try on any shoes, though I recall from last time that I thought
their shoes were generally wide.
Intensivo Al Cuadrado – Day 2
In class,
we worked some more on going from spiral to pivots, really focusing on the
transition from one, which is slow (the spiral) to quickly going into the
pivot, so really trying to get quickness and snappiness in our hips to go into
things like Follower’s back sacadas. The
trick to this was to use our upper body, our backs and arms in our embrace so
that we could use the Leader’s hand to push against to get more energy into our
pivots.
We also
worked on rebounds and elasticity in the context of tomadas and pasadas,
similar to what we worked on in Intensivo D.
Again, for the rebound, the action comes more from the energy in our
legs, but for elasticity, the action and energy needs to come more from our
upper body, our arms and hands, and our connection with the Leader. There was a strong emphasis in using the
fingers part of our embrace to get a good elastic energy to go back when the
Leader pulls us back.
Bottom line
to all of this is that it was very important for the Follower not to absorb the
lead in her upper body and her embrace and arms/hands, but to receive it from
the Leader, and transfer it through her core, down to her hips and feet. So basically, she has to dance with the lead
and message transferring through her whole body, not just going from her brain,
bypassing her torso and going directly to her legs/feet (the way … ahem … some
unnamed people do).
It was an
excellent lesson, as usual, which left me exhausted in the end as it is very
physically demanding doing this much drilling for 2 hours.
Miercoles, 14 de Noviembre, 2012
Intensivo Al Cuadrado – Day 3
We worked
on off axis moves such as volcadas and colgadas, with a focus on knowing when
to use more dynamics, when to give the Leader more feedback, and when the
Follower needs to use the Leader more and how to do it. Basically, we worked
and drilled to deepen our understanding of when we as Followers need to move
with extra energy, when we need to do additional work, or add additional
energy. When there is a change in dynamics,
we need to know when to use more energy to get around (i.e., when to pivot A LOT). It was very similar to our work in doing
planeos to back sacadas regarding the change in connection.
For our
volcada work, we were to not incline, but be on axis when the Leader walks
around, so that we would focus on having good spiral in our upper bodies before
our legs came around as a consequence of the Leader walking around. For whatever reason, Maestra had me work on
my back volcada and the other Follower work on her forward sacada.
We also
worked on the front enganche/wrap, with a focus on using spiral energy coming
from our top and working its way down.
The gancho happens on the exit, not on the go/entry. What produces the gancho is the Leader’s
transfer of weight from the free to the weight leg. The Follower’s front boleo is around herself,
but the Leader’s leg is in the way.
We also
worked on the structure of the contra boleo with contra motion. The Follower answers from the top spiral, not
just the bottom legs/feet.
After
class, I decided to go to P.H. (Grito de Ascencio 3602 x Cachi en
Pompeya). It is now easier to get to, since the yellow subte line H is running.
I just took it to the end (Parque Patricios, when it completes it’s
construction to Hospitales, it will be even closer) and then cabbed it from
there to Grito de Ascensio y Cachi (about 20 pesos; cab meters now start at 9.1
pesos and with 91 centavo increments).
The store hours are 10 am to 6 pm L-V.
Cerrado S&D. Shoes are
generally 400-500 pesos. I bought 2; both were 450 each. Their off the rack
shoes are current fashionwise, but they are best known for their custom shoes,
with any type of heel and heel height for ladies and different materials and
designs for men. Thankfully for me, I am fine with their off the rack shoes.
The fit of their off the rack shoes tends toward wide, IMHO.
Liliana
spent a lot of time with me and showed me all of the shoes in styles that I
liked in my size. I spent a lot of time
trying the size 6s and size 5s, and remarked that now I am a size 5 in their
shoes whereas before I was a size 6.
Liliana said about sizing: the higher the heel, the greater the propensity
to slide forward, thus rendering the heel too loose and the shoe too big. In addition, open back shoes, which I tried
on more of this visit even though I normally just stick with closed back shoes,
have more wiggle room for sizing, so if you are all the way forward in the shoe,
you will have room in the back to stick out/hang over a bit. That’s how she explained my difference in
sizing from 6 in years past to more 5s: that I am likely wearing models with
higher heels and open backs. I am a 5 in
their open back models, more like a 5.5 in their closed back (but of course
they don't have half sizes! So basically, I am saying that their 6s are a
little too big for me, even though my shoe rack is filled with their size 6
shoes!
Jueves, 15 de Noviembre, 2012
Intensivo Al Cuadrado – Day 4
Today our
work focused on being responsive all the time, and dealing with our own problem
and connection. We worked on ganchos on
the front (enganches) leg wraps. The
Follower does a spiral, like in a contra boleo.
Not like back or side, it’s more of a change in direction. It happens on the way out, like in the
boleo. The Leader is moving around the
Follower’s standing leg, which causes the Follower’s spiral, to wrap in a front
cross.
We also
worked on piernazos because the other Follower wanted to (certainly not because
I wanted to). We were to focus on the
quality of our technique on each step.
We should focus on our unwinding.
Mostly we focused on fine tuning our technique and maximizing the space
between our braline and hips. We were to
forget the pattern. We need to actively
do pivots by pushing the floor to exit.
In
piernazos, the Follower is the center of the circle. The Leader sets himself up so that he is
behind her. The Follower’s left foot
steps forward, with the Leader behind her, as he also steps left foot forward
to immediately take a right foot step behind her, to change the direction as he
goes around her right foot to lead the Follower’s left foot to do a piernazo
around his left hip.
The Leader
can also lead a gancho, but the Follower is the center of the circle and then
turns the Follower’s hips to lead a gancho.
The
Follower should feel that the piernazo I the only option (as opposed to a
different type of gancho or step).
Some things
I was told repeatedly to work on: The Follower needs to go if the Leader leads
her to step. She should always try to
maximize the space between her braline and hips. Keep shoulders on top of hips. Really arrive to axis before taking the next
step. Really connect the arms to the
back. Push against the Leader’s left
hand with your right hand and his right bicep with your left thumb when doing a
back cross step and when going from a planeo to a back sacada. The key to the
back sacada is the back cross step. The
rebound is in the legs; the elasticity is in the arms. Don’t let go of his right shoulder with your
left hand.
As usual,
it was a really great class filled with relentless drilling and focusing on
trying to improve our respective weaknesses.
Viernes, 16 de Noviembre 2012
Intensivo Al Cuadrado – Day 5
Maestra
asked what we wanted to work on, and we both agreed that we just wanted to
continue drilling all that we learned in the last four days, with a focus on improving
the areas where we were most weak.
So things I
needed to continue to work on: Keep the embrace, use the arms, not just the
hands. Do not overuse the hands. Keep the shoulders on top of the hips. Do not
lean forward and do not lean back. Pivot
faster by sending the energy from the top down into the floor.
It was a
great class, as usual.
This
Intesivo Al Cuadrado was experimental to us all since it is so small and more
like a group private that it focused on Followers’ Technique. Fortunately, the other student in class had
been to many Intensivos as I have (I think she’s been at all the ones I’ve gone
to), and is of comparable skill, academic seriousness and blissfully
drama-free. So we all had a great time
and moved quickly through the content.
She and I both have similar problems in our dance, so corrections and
instructions were applicable to us both. It was a very productive process, and
I feel so lucky and spoiled and blessed to have worked at such a high level
with such intensity and with such precise focus on MY dance and MY weaknesses
(but without the super laser beam focus if I were to go it alone, and with the
nice contrast of being able to work on the material with Maestra’s three hand-picked
assistants (Jose, Mati, and German), who many would consider the cream of the
crop in terms of leading, sensitivity, communication, and diagnosis of
problems).
After the
class, I went over to my café to sign in to work. Thankfully, all went well and they didn’t
need me after all. So I had a delightful lunch, largely peaceful and
uninterrupted by work, though I kept an eagle eye on things.
Afterwards,
I got my hair cut at Peliqueria de la
Cabeza (Mario Bravo 1136 xCordoba).
It was OK, not great but serviceable enough. Cost was 95 pesos for the cut, and then there
were a couple of add-ons for washing and I don’t know what else (maybe blow
drying?), so the total came out to be 145 pesos. I gave her a 20 peso tip, thinking I was
being generous, as I thought the bill was going to be 95 peso. Whoops.
Later on, JSE assured me that my tip amount was adequate.
That night,
I went to La Baldosa (Ramon Falcon
2750). According to Punto and the other free tango magazines, there was
supposed to be a lesson @ 9 pm. I got there exactly at 9 (entry was only 20
pesos as they were celebrating their 10 year anniversary for all of November),
looked around and saw about 20 or so people there, either just sitting at
tables or having dinner. Maestra was
there, but didn’t look like she was going to teach. I was right. She didn’t. Since it was early with only a few people
there, I decided to have dinner. So I ordered two beef empanadas (6 pesos
each), a bottle of wine (20 pesos for a bottle of Santa Ana Etiqueta Negra; I
went for a bottle because a glass of wine was 9 pesos) and a bottle of water
(10 pesos), which came to a total of 42 pesos, which I thought was an amazing
bargain.
Happily,
Cristobal came by and we shared some wine, and were able to enjoy several
tandas on the spacious dance floor with only a few other couples since it was
early. Then his lovely wife and
Marcelo’s party came, so he went to their table instead, and the portenos then
cabaceo’d me (or I them). I danced a
lot, and had a good time.
The highlight
of the evening for me was the performance. I knew that Alejandra Mantinan would
perform as that’s what Punto said, but I was surprised that Damian Garcia would
perform with his partner, and that Joana Copes would also perform with a male
dancer whose name escapes me. But
Alejandra was the highlight. She danced with someone named Pancho and they were
truly amazing. It’s such an amazing,
absolutely ethereal experience watching her dance (in real life and on
YouTube!).
Sabado, 17 de Noviembre 2012
I spent the
morning packing, which was easy since I had brought so little, and with an
additional empty carry-on bag that luckily fit all the 11 pairs of shoes I
acquired.
Then I
spent the better part of the afternoon with JSE to catch up since we didn’t have
the opportunity to earlier on this trip, even though I had been in town for
three weeks(!). We were chatty Cathys
for hours, and had lunch at a nice little café near her place.
Then it was
time for me to go to Confiteria Ideal
(Suipacha 384) for their afternoon milonga, the same one so many of us had gone
to in years past right before our evening flights. When I arrived, there were
about 20 people, 2/3rds women.
So I just sat there and waited. Luckily,
Cristobal arrived (I told him I was planning to be there) and we managed to
squeeze in a couple of tandas before I really had to go.
Dante was a
half-our early, but was totally fine with me taking a shower and doing
last-minute rejuggling of the luggage contents before my flight. The ride to Eziza was fine and brisk, as it
usually is on a weekend evening.
My flight
home was very cold, and I my nose started to run controllably. So I was very relieved when the plane finally
touched down at JFK early Sunday morning.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
I was
congested and my nose was runny all day, so I did not go to Roko though I had
entertained the thought.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
RoKo Milonga, with lesson beforehand by Robin
Tomas and Maria Elena Ybarra. It was another excellent lesson, as usual,
although shame on me for not writing down any notes. I had a nice time at the milonga. I tried to employ all that I learned from my
recent trip to Buenos Aires. Some
dancers did say I felt different. But I
am not sure if that was because I wanted them to say that (I kept asking them)
or because it was true. Anyway, it was all good. No post-BsAs hangover with
being disappointed in dancing with the locals this time around. Guess I was
much more focused on doing my best with my own part in the dance.
