Scouting Tour from Buenos Aires (October 23-30)

Jueves, 23 de Octubre
Tecnicas de Danza Clasica para Ballarines de Tango lesson by Alejandro Biggo @ EAT Centro. This was another great class, as usual. Highly recommended!!!

Viernes, 24 de Octubre
P.H. (Grito de Ascencio 3602) I picked up the last of my custom shoe orders, and they are gorgeous, if I do say so myself. On our way over, Pablo and I stopped at some leather stores on Boedo. We found a nice piece (actually, two small pieces), and being unsure of how much to get, bought them both for 50 pesos total. When we brought them to Lilliana, she said there was enough material for two pairs of shoes since I wanted contrasting shoes (different strap, bottom, and heel color from the upper color). Had I wanted a shoe of all that material (upper, soles, heels, straps), it would have been enough for one. So I ended up ordering two more custom shoes, the discount being about 25 pesos each pair since the leather was being provided to her. Financially, it was about the same price as if I had just chosen one of her specialty leathers. It dawned on me then that P.H. really does specialize in custom orders. The inventory of ready-made shoes is more limited and traditional in style. But the amount of specialty and patterned leathers is extensive, and you can put together some pretty creative (funky! or elegant!) combinations with whatever heel they stock (including stiletto). You can even pick the color of the paint for the bottom of the shoe (I am thinking Red for next time, a la Christian Louboutin).

Scouting Tour from Buenos Aires (October 16-22)

Jueves, 16 de Octubre
Tecnicas de Danza Clasica para Ballarines de Tango lesson by Alejandro Biggo @ EAT Centro. This was another great class, as usual. We worked at the barres and on the floor, trying to move with elegance, better posture, balance and upward intention in our core, and looking strong and relaxed (especially in the shoulders) the whole time. I can see and feel my body's improvement from last week.

Canyengue Lesson with Cristina Bruno @ Confiteria Ideal. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to me since the schedule and all the signage said otherwise, the class was cancelled. I don't know if it has been that way for a while, but I assume it was because of a lack of interest, a lack of tango tourists, and Confiteria Ideal not printing new schedules/signage to reflect the change. All the milongas/classes at Ideal are now held on the smaller ground floor level, not the larger upstairs, as has been the case in the past. Maybe because of construction?

Tango Porteno show. (Gratis, because Pablo and I were guests of Nito y Elba. Prices normally range from 170 pesos for show only to 600 pesos for super deluxe seating with dinner.) This was a very nice show. Even though we were seated in the "show only" section, the incredibly attentive waiters served us bottomless San Felipe wine, water or gaseosa (soft drinks), coffee, and absolutely delicious empanadas (could these possibly be the best in all of Buenos Aires?! Outstanding filling to pastry ratio...). It was a very retro show, highlighting tango bands that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s -- Troilo, D'Arienzo, Piazzolla, etc. The newly remodeled theatre and everything about the dinner service exuded quality and luxury, which would appeal to the tourist from a first world country.

Viernes, 17 de Octubre
P.H. Shoe Fitting (Grito de Ascencio 3602) Pablo went in for another fitting, and I tagged along. We've been taking the Subte to Boedo Station to save on taxi expenditures, and so took a stroll down Boedo since we had time. Boedo is the neighborhood for shoe manufacturing, so you can find everything you need to make a shoe: the tanned/colored/decorated leathers, different plastic or wooden heels (which you would have to paint/cover yourself) and leather soles, as well as the hardware/infrastructure (wooden/plastic foot molds, machines, metal drill bits, etc.). At P.H., Liliana mentioned that I could buy some of those gorgeous leathers, about 1/3 of a square meter, and she could make a shoe out of them for me. It's too late to go shopping for leathers this time around, but it is a very tantalizing idea for next time... Regarding my custom shoe orders, I decided that it would be best visually to chose the main highlighted leather and use black or red as the complementary color (for heels/straps); to pick two complementary colors/textures is tricky, perhaps best left to the professional shoe designers or those who are wild at heart.

Milonga Lesson with Jorge Firpo (EAT Centro). Maestro taught several simple traspie steps, then the same sequences in crossed traspie footwork. The best part about the lesson was at the end, when maestro did a musicality exercises with body movements not related to tango, like salsa side steps, knee bends, clapping, playing the air guitar, which would help us feel free to move the way our bodies want to, and with rhythm.

Canyengue Lesson (EAT Galerias, taught by substitutes Laura y Adriana). We went over the basic canyengue step, and the back cross step (unpivoted ocho) for Followers, and the embrace. Maestra Laura really emphasized the disassociation in the torso for both Leaders and Followers. Interestingly, even though Maestras were subbing for Martha Anton & "El Gallego" Manolo, they taught entirely differently from them. During their lesson, I found their instructions for the embrace quite difficult to perform (connection at the Follower belly/Leader hip; Follower complete lean on Leader; Follower being completely on the balls of her feet [versus no comment -- I assume whole foot dancing except on pivots for connection to the floor and groundedness for Follower]; variation in the Follower left arm drape over Leader if Leader is substantially taller than Follower [note that this is different from what Martha Anton & "El Gallego" Manolo teach]). This lesson was taught in the new dance room facility, which has no air conditioning. I was disappointed that Martha and El Gallego didn't each the class.

Sin Rumbo Milonga (Tamborini 6157, 15 pesos).

Sabado, 18 de Octubre
Canyengue Lesson with Martha Anton & "El Gallego" Manolo. This was another great class, with many of the folks from last week. This week was more like a guided practica since we were all at different levels. Googling around revealed that Martha Anton is "THE" maestra in Canyengue, so it's a real treat to be learning from her. I worked on everything I learned last week, reviewing in open embrace, then trying it in close embrace: (1) Basic step of crossed forward steps on both sides for Follower, and alternating front and back crossed steps for Leader. Then we did this series of steps in a turning figure. (2) Rock steps back on the Follower's right (Leader's left) foot, collecting to center with a shift in weight, and then (3) rock steps back on the Follower's left (Leader's right) foot; (4) mirrored back ochos then immediately into the forward ochos.

Domingo, 19 de Octubre
Cementerio de la Chacarita. There isn't a whole lot to do on Sundays in Buenos Aires, except go to the Plaza Dorrego Market (which I've done twice already) and grocery shopping, so Pablo and I visited the cemetery to lay flowers at Omar Vega's grave site again (S16, M3, T10, 7), figuring the warm weather probably wilted the batch from last week. Chacarita is quite vast. Here's a YouTube of Carlos Gardel's grave site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKD1sWwxonQ. They seem to be doing this weird exhumation thing where his grave site is (which I find bizarre since it's so new...the sign was in Spanish, and it seems to be effecting every other one; I wonder if plots are "leased" rather than "owned"), so he might be moved somewhere else the next time I get around to going.

Anoche - Un Baile De Tango (a show at Borges Cultural Center, 35 pesos). Because we completely missed the memo regarding the time change, Pablo and I were an hour late to this show and couldn't get in. Unfortunately, I had also invited Giovanni Garcia to attend it. With egg on my face, we showed up at the venue anyway; Giovanni was sitting outside as he arrived late and they wouldn't let him in either after the lights went down for this one-hour show. We had dinner back at the apartment since we stocked up at Coto earlier in the day. After snarffling our microwaved reheated Coto fare and washing it down with Latitude 33 Malbec and fizzy water, Giovanni and I had a chance to sneak in a few dances while Pablo fussed with the computer. It was a really nice time catching up. I had seen Giovanni earlier in the day, finally giving him the promotional La Milonga DVD he was in (in the segment on Salon Canning). He was thrilled to see himself dancing on the "big screen" -- (OK, small screen).

Lunes, 20 de Octubre
Improvisation Lesson with Juan Miguel Exposito y Daniela Peez Klein (Peron 1785, 3rd Floor, 12 pesos for 1-hour lesson). Lured by their ad copy "Dare to create, explore, search, grow, communicate, express, learn, make, find, know, feel, be moved, ask, discover, improve, enjoy, have fun, connect and share on the way towards your tango," I HAD to go to this since there are few improvisation classes. From a couple of different poses, we were to figure out how to go to the side, and how to go forward, using all of the different possibilities in our tango repertoire, both linear and circular, simple and fancy. It was a good lesson; maestros are excellent teachers and fluent in English.

Brazos y Abrazos show at the Borges Cultural Center (Viamonte & San Martin, 35 pesos). This was a modern tango show, filled with 21 different dance sequences, mostly done to Piazzolla. The six dancers did a good job. There is not a bad seat in the house because it is so small.

Martes, 21 de Octubre
Tecnicas de Danza Clasica para Ballarines de Tango lesson by Alejandro Biggo @ EAT Centro. This was another great class, as usual. It is my favorite class in BsAs so far this vacation. We did much the same as last week, though he did add some more challenging exercises, as he does every week. I can see my improvement.

Milonga with Alejandro Hermida y Silvana Anfossi @ EAT Centro (prices were raised last week, 4 class card = 86 pesos). These are the same excellent teachers as at La Esquina. We began with the same movement warm-ups and the same baldosa traspie footwork as they taught at La Esquina. The figure taught was forward and back diagonal steps for the Follower and Leader, into a one-step Americana to the open side of the embracet, then pivoted side steps of side front left leg for Follower, then collection with right foot, repeated, and then usual close. It was a good class, with only 2 leaders and 4 followers.

Julio Balmeceda y Corina de la Rosa lesson at Salon Canning (Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, 20 pesos). 80 enthusiastic students showed up for this lesson, which made for extremely difficult class floorcraft. I was tired of being jarred, and found the step (an accented walking step, then a molinete with sacada) impossible to perform without constantly bumping in to other dancers, so I left.

Miercoles, 22 de Octubre
Milonga Con Traspie Lesson with Gabriela Elias @ EAT Centro. It was another great lesson. Interestingly, toward the latter part of the class, she instructed the Leaders to mix things up a bit, and not just lead the steps learned in class, to work on their leading technique and to see if the Followers were really following, not just doing the steps on autopilot.

Milonga Lesson with Alejandro Hermida and Silvana Anfossi @ Nuevo Estudio La Esquina (722 Sarmiento, 4th floor; 18 pesos or 8-class pass for 115 pesos). This was similar to last night's lesson, but maestros added to it based on the skill level of the class. We began with the usual movement warm-ups and baldosa traspie footwork. The figure taught was forward and back diagonal steps for the Follower and Leader, into pivoted enrosque of Follower's left leg around her weighted right leg, setting up for a one-step Americana forward of left foot, into a grapevine of side-back-forward-side-into a boleo turn to other side to go left, into grapevine to the left of forward-side-back-side-into a boleo turn to right, then out to resolution. It was an excellent, very well attended class. My impression is that the class has teaching assistants present, which makes the class advance much faster than those at EAT and other schools.

Yira Yira Milonga. It was the four-year anniversary of this milonga, so it was packed with people who were treated to a full line-up of special performances -- tango, milonga, vals (by Negracha y Diego), chacarera, zamba, swing, salsa, birthday cake. Among the well wishers were Eduardo Capussi, and what a treat it was to see him social dancing with Negracha.

Scouting Tour from Buenos Aires (October 9-15)

Jueves, 9 de Octubre
Tecnicas de Danza Clasica para Ballarines de Tango lesson by Alejandro Biggo @ EAT Centro. This was another great class, as usual. We worked at the barres and on the floor, trying to move with elegance, better posture, balance and upward intention in our core, and looking strong and relaxed (especially in the shoulders) the whole time.

I made my way over to Artesanal (Anchorena 537) lured by their big sale sign. I was not disappointed. They had some shoes on sale for the shockingly low price of 80 pesos, and others for 150-180 pesos, all cash only. Their regular non-sale shoes (which you can buy with Visa) are 220-350 pesos. I tried on many sale and nonsale shoes, and selected two pairs of sensible practice shoes for 80 and 150 pesos.

Viernes, 10 de Octubre
Sin Rumbo Milonga (Tamborini 6157, 15 pesos). This is another milonga that is way the heck out there in Villa Urquiza. To save on the ~40 peso one-way trip, I took the Red Subte to Inca (90 centavos) and then a cab from there (12 pesos). This is a very traditional, porteno neighborhood milonga, but I felt very warmly welcomed. In my opinion, it has the ideal proportion of dance floor to tables, but you really need a reservation for decent seating. Otherwise they will seat you in an area that is not ideal for cabaceoing. That being said, most of the dancers came as couples, and dress was "elegante sport" -- sport coat and ties for men. The floor is black and white baldosa, amply sprinkled with powder. It was easy to get a cab home afterward by walking to the busy street corner.

Sabado, 11 de Octubre
Canyengue with Martha Anton & "El Gallego" Manolo. This was a great class, filled with mostly beginners, including me. In practice hold, (1) We began with the basic step of crossed forward steps on both sides for Follower, and alternating front and back crossed steps for Leader. Then we did this series of steps in a turning figure. (2) Next we did a rock step back on the Follower's right (Leader's left) foot, collecting to center with a shift in weight, and then (3) a rock step back on the Follower's left (Leader's right) foot. To all of this, we added the close embrace, which was tricky. Since we were doing well at this, we added ochos -- mirrored ones, and then going from the back ocho immediately into the forward ocho.

Men's Technique with Francisco Forquera @ Mariposita (950 Carlos Calvo, 18 pesos per class or 8-class card for 100 pesos). This was an excellent class, as usual, and began with the usual control/speed/intention/balance/opening of the chest exercises, such as: while everyone was in a line, arm in arm, doing boleos and then a step forward; ochitos - regular, in tea kettle posture with both arms behind back, and with arms lifted high in the air; walking with control and intention; walking with a turned rounded boleo ocho; walking with a lapice of right foot, and immediate back tuck of left foot behind right foot; a back cross into lapice, into back cross, turned into crossed feet; stepping, then back tap into planeo spin; doing a back boleo, then front boleo, then back boleo, then two back cross steps (ochitos); walking walking two steps, then doing three ochitos with intention; walking in alternating diagonals; doing two kicks, then one back diagonal tap; the baldosa. The most interesting exercise was a man-to-man pairing exercise with one doing the molinete mostly on the side and then changing direction to do molinete to the other side, while the other man did a rulo, boleo, boleo, gancho, parada (back sacada) of back foot, and then gancho, and another gancho. This exercise was reminiscent of the scene from The Tango Lesson of Fabian Salas and Gustavon Naveira dancing together in a small studio in Buenos Aires. The last thing the class did was, while the "Follower" does molinete, the Leader does a planeo to a parada barrida. This was a really great class. It seems like the Mariposita has really found its niche with these technique classes: 2 men's technique classes are offered, and three women's technique (total levels, intermediate, and advanced levels) during the week, and they all seem quite well attended.

Domingo, 12 de Octubre
Cementerio de la Chacarita. Pablo and I wanted to visit the cemetery to lay flowers (red gladiolas) at Omar Vega's grave site. So off on the Red Subte line we went (free today because it ran out of small bills and coin change), to the Frederico Lacroze stop, which is right outside the cemetery. The cemetery is laid out as logically as BsAs streets, so even though the office was closed, and we had no idea where the exact grave site was, we found it anyway since we knew the date of death (the cemetery is mostly laid out by date of death). Currently, since it is so new, Omar's is a simple plot with a wooden cross and flowers. There are numerous famous tango legends buried at Chacarita (like Carlos Gardel), but the place is massive, and we only had enough energy to visit Omar's grave site. I am surprised there isn't some type of tango tour map of Chacarita.

Club Gricel Lesson with Nito y Elba and Milonga (Rioja 1180, 15 pesos). The lesson was great. Nito y Elba are gifted maestros, and warm and inviting people. Elba recognized Pablo and invited him to their show, Tango Porteno, gratis. Unfortunately, I did not have a good time at the milonga. The table service was lacking, and the floorcraft was aggressive (which I also remembered from August 2007). Maybe they are a victim of their own popularity, with the locals and the internationals. Seating was random, with Leaders and Followers all dispersed throughout the entire space, some strangers seated next to each other, so it was difficult to tell who came as a couple and who was open to cabaceoing from another solo dancer. The table to dance floor space ratio practically guarantees crowded dance conditions. I knew it was time to go after I felt a stiletto heel graze the back of my knee (I could understand near the foot or ankle, but knee??!!), followed shortly thereafter by a different stiletto heel piercing my foot (and breaking skin). :o(

Lunes, 13 de Octubre
Advanced Lesson and Practica with Luciana Valle at Villa Malcolm (5064 Cordoba, 25 pesos). This was an advanced nuevo lesson focused on Follower back sacadas. It was difficult. The floor is made of the usual stone composite baldosa. The dancers at the practica were very good nuevo dancers.

Martes, 14 de Octubre
Practica X with lesson by El Pajaro y Belen on Milonga Turns (Medrano 476, 20 pesos). We began with Belen leading us in feet exercises to get more expression, articulation, sassiness and life in our feet. Then El Pajaro led us in stepping/walking/musicality exercises, stepping in milonga, then adding rhythms of traspie and lise. He had us dance with just traspie steps on the forward, then with the back and side steps, too. The turn itself was where Follower does back-side-forward-rock step back-side-repeat. Maestros emphasized that when doing turns, it is important to use the centrifugal force of the dancers, so weight is slightly back (not forward). We did our turns first in practice embrace and then in close embrace. First counterclockwise, then clockwise. Our class next week will cover turns in tango including Leader enrosques and lapices. The practica was OK. It would be better if you attend with a partner.

Parakultural Milonga at Salon Canning (Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, 18 pesos). This was a great milonga. Canning has a nice hardwood floor, laid out in herringbone. Julio y Corina and Rodrigo y Agustina did several dance performances, and Color Tango played a 90-minute set that was fantastic. It didn't get overly crowded, partly because there seems to be fewer tango tourists in town, and also because they didn't set out as many tables to accommodate room for the band to play. The fewer tables made it more difficult to get a reservation, but Julio came to the rescue and helped out in that regard.

Miercoles, 15 de Octubre
Group Tango Lesson with Julio Balmeceda (Independencia 2845, 20 pesos). We continued our work in improving our quality of movement/lead/follow in the context of stepping and turning. For the Leaders, maestro emphasized the foot/leg extension from the hip, like a cat.

I came across an excellent take-out parilla (grilled meat) place that is just a black and a half away from Julio's: Bandera Verde (Independencia 2702 @ Jujuy). My eyes and nose were tempted by it several times but it was closed, though they still were grilling meat. Tonight it was open. It was packed with portenos, waiting to order, pay for and bring home meat for their family dinners. Their asado (beef ribs) and chorizo were both excellent, particularly the chorizo. Next on the list to try: vacio.

Mi Milonga at Confiteria Ideal (Suipacha 385, a whopping 25 pesos!) I decided to give this milonga a go since it is walking distance from the apartment. The floor is the usual stone composite baldosa. Interestingly, the milonga is now held on the ground floor, not upstairs, I am guessing because the milongas have been more lightly attended. That was OK though. The dance floor never got super crowded, and the ground floor is a little less worn and tired looking than upstairs. Fewer tables were set out and the stage is larger for the band. The Good: They did not lose the reservation and the table was rockstar worthy. Cecilia Gonzalez (la otra, no la famosa) did a fun dance performance. The live band, Los Reyes Del Tango, were excellent. A folk dance couple performed zamba, chacarera, and zapeteo footwork. The Bad: only a few portenos (I could have counted them on one hand), mostly international folks, many of whom were just spectators, not dancers. The Ugly: the unruly floorcraft, the very beginner dancers who probably had their first group tango lesson that afternoon, the undisciplined, wannabe show tango couple who missed the train by a few decades. The admission price was sky high. Overall: I hope the milongas on other nights here, organized by other folks, are much better than this one was. Naively, I was hoping for an authentic tango experience along the lines of Sally Potter's in The Tango Lesson. Maybe I am a decade too late or should have gone on the weekend.



Here are some FREE Tango Guides online so you can plan your visit here:
Punto is here: http://www.puntotango.com.ar/puntotango.pdf
B.A. Tango mazine can be had via email PFD at abatango@yahoo.com. Write "Subscription" in subject line.

Scouting Tour from Buenos Aires (October 2-8)

Thursday, October 2
Tecnicas de Danza Clasica para Ballarines de Tango lesson by Alejandro Biggo @ EAT Centro. This class was basically a ballet class targeted at tango dancers. The focus was not on getting the exact technique of the ballet figure, but on moving as ballet dancers do, with more elegance, better posture, equilibrium and upward intention and looking strong and relaxed the whole time. It was a great class, and I can see how it would really be helpful in improving molinete technique for both Leaders and Followers.

A trip to Buenos Aires would not really begin without a trip to P.H. (Grito de Ascencio 3602, en Pompeya), my favorite shoe store. Lilliana, Rodolfo, and son are fine, and there is a new addition to their brood -- Toto, a cute black poodle pup. This time around, I ordered some custom shoes, not for size but for design and color. They were 200-250 pesos. I bought one pair of shoes off the rack for 220 pesos (on the high side for P.H. because of the stiletto heel).

Nino Bien Milonga (Humberto Primo 1462, 15 pesos admission). I got there early since I had no reservation, and thankfully didn't have a problem getting a table. Apparently, the proper etiquette is to call the day of at about 5:00 p.m. to secure a reservation. Those with reservations have reserved seating, usually at a table on the perimeter of the dance floor. It was the usual crowd of 50% porteno, 50% international. The bar and kitchen now take Visa. Romina and Marcelo's tour group was there. I had a good time.

Friday, October 3
My day plans were derailed by my roommate's elbow bursitis ailment, which necessitated a trip to the doctor. Not knowing any local orthopedic surgeons (and not really sure if a sledgehammer was necessary to kill a fly), we decided to do the local thing since the information on the 'net and the yellow pages left us frustrated. So we took the Subte Green line to the Facultad de Medicina stop, thinking there would be medical clinics nearby. We hit the jackpot with the Hospital de Clinicas - Jose de San Martin. We were seen in the emergency room, and the triage doctor who spoke English was able to determine on the spot that it wasn't an emergency. After the initial consult, they took x-rays (for a whopping 14 pesos -- ~US $4.25)-- two different angles on one slide. Then we waited an hour for the doctor, who turned out to be the same one who saw us initially. He set the elbow so that it wouldn't move, and as a precaution wrote a prescription for antibiotics in case it was infected (he didn't think it was), and recommended the usual ice and anti-inflammatories. Then he said to come back in a week for followup. Total cost excluding x-rays: $0.00. Total time from emergency room entry to exit for non-emergency: 2.5 hours. Gotta love socialized medicine.

I had a few hours before my lesson later that night, so I made my way over to Comme Il Faut (Arenales 1239). Their inventory seemed to be leaner, but I did manage to walk out with a gorgeous pair safely tucked under my arm, and 400 pesos less in my pocket. I was shocked that the shoes are now the equivalent of more than US$100 -- US$127 to be exact! Back in August 2007, the last time I bought Comme Il Faut shoes, they were 290 pesos -- less than US$100.

Julio Balmeceda y Corina de la Rosa workshop on turns. Their brand new Zarasa studio (Independencia 2845) has several gyrotonic machines. The workshop was extremely pricey at 160 pesos (US$50!), but was a 2.5 that turned into 3-hour workshop. The floor is Pergo, one of the more textured ones, likely to offset the Pergo's inherent smoothness. (1) We began with the basics of stepping -- to the side, forward (with heel), and back. (2) Then Leaders and Followers did 3 of the 4 steps of the molinete -- back, side, forward -- paying attention to having lots of contra body rotation so that the torsos of Leader and Follower always face each other. This is important to look really connected during the molinete. This exercise was done without the embrace, and was Follower stepping in a U around Leader in three steps, and then Leader stepping in a U around Follower in three steps. (3) Then we did an exercise to prepare us for adding the embrace. First we held our arms out in a circular orientation, as if we were holding a beach ball. Then we turned it from side to side, and then shifting it from side to side (the difference is very subtle, but there is a distinct difference). Here, we were really trying to focus on the circularity of the arm, chest motion. (4) Next, we did a balance exercise, using the concept of the ball when we take the forward step, and then the side step, whereby because of the rotational momentum in our chests/torsos, we can get around a lot before actually stepping to land on the side step. (5) Then we practiced putting it all together, paying attention to keeping the torsos and ourselves facing each other for connection, and the circularity of the chest/torso movement and footwork (walking aRound each other). We began this with Leader and Follower being perpendicular to each other and did the forward, back, and side steps. Then we added Leader sacada on the forward and side steps (right foot on the right turn, left foot on the left turn). The sequence was a simple one: Follower does back ocho with left leg, then goes into clockwise molinete of back, side, forward steps. It was a great class. The only other Julio y Corina classes I took were at Fandango de Tango, and they were learn-a-pretty-sequence-with-

embellishments-in-an-hour workshop, so it was a fantastic treat to really delve deeply into a fundamental/conceptual/technique class. They pointed out a lot of subtle nuances of molinete technique. Maestros are fantastic teachers, with Corina doing most of the teaching, but Julio adding a lot of important color to the instruction.

La Baldosa Milonga (R.L. Falcon 2750; 15 pesos). I was awfully proud of myself for calling in advance for reservations. True to its name, the floor at La Baldosa is made of floor tiles, in this case made of stone/cement composite, which makes for a very hard surface to dance on. I had remembered the first time I danced on the dance floor in August 2007, I found it profoundly difficult -- because of the floor's hardness, and the unfamiliar slickness and slightly bumpy texture. Tonight was no different, especially for that first tanda. Still, I know that floors like these are quite common in BsAs, so I better get used to it quickly (or just stick to places that I know have wood floors). I decided to have dinner there (cheese pasta with stew, salad, empanadas). The food there is just OK, not great; next time I will just stick to the empanadas (a bargain at 2 pesos each). It was easier to get a cab home afterwards by walking the two blocks to Rivadavia rather than waiting out in front.

Saturday, October 3
I made my way over to my second-favorite shoe store in BsAs, Lolo Gerard (Anchorena 607), and was not disappointed with the selection. Their shoes are really incredibly beautiful and well made. And joy of joys, it is only a half a block away from a gi-normous Coto -- my favorite supermercado, complete with Banelco ATM in the lobby. I was so excited by the prospect of going to Coto that I forgot to stop in to Artesanal (Anchorena 537), completely walking past the big sale sign.

Julio Balmeceda y Corina de la Rosa workshop on turns. We did more turning sequences, building on what we learned yesterday. The first one began with the Follower doing a counterclockwise forward step, then pivoted into amague facing the other direction so right leg is free. During the pivoted amague step, it is important for the Leader's and Follower's hips to be close to each other. We did this on the other side as well so left leg is free. When Follower's left leg is free, she steps around the leader counterclockwise. She can do this step big and out, which would make it into a colgada. Before this step, it is important that the Leader's right foot needs to really stop and settle into the floor to block behind the Follower's amagued crossed feet. We did the same on the other side. It was a very good workshop; maestros are warm, funny, and caring teachers.

Sunderland Milonga (Lugones 3161, 18 pesos). Trying to get a cab directly from Julio y Corina's proved to be difficult (turned down by two, before Julio intervened and gave one specific driving instructions). Everything at Sunderland is 2 pesos more than when I was last here in March 2008. But the dancing is still good, and the crowd more traditional porteno. It seems like all of the milongas I've attended so far have been lighter attended than when I've been there in the past. There are fewer American tourists here right now but still lots of Europeans and Japanese. In the case of Sunderland, they didn't set out as many tables, and you could get in easily without a reservation (I called for one, but they lost it. Still, I was comfortably and immediately seated.) El Parajo y Belen did a fantastic demo. El Pajaro has amazing footwork. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyFfxRkrdIM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItWjAibqMGo&feature=related .

Monday, October 6
Tecnica - Naturaleza del Movimiento Lesson by Maria Eugenia De La Latta @ EAT Galerias. We worked on posture and walking with different orchestras/music/intention.

Milonga Con Traspie lesson by Gabriela Elias @ EAT Galerias. Maestra taught an interesting sequence with side traspie on the Follower right (Leader left), and then directly into another traspie step on the Follower right back (Leader left forward). She taught another sequence of continual Follower ochitos while Leader walks around her, and included Follower embellishments: the beat back of left leg to right side of right leg, and the rounded air step of the back ochoing right leg. She also taught a couple of embellishments for both Leader and Follower: the air tap on the back step, and a raised step on the forward step in the context of Follower being outside right of leader, but both side by side. Maestra is an excellent teacher, but the class was very crowded with lots of couples bumping into each other, which was a real bummer.

Tuesday, October 7
Tecnicas de Danza Clasica para Ballarines de Tango with Alejandro Biggo @ EAT Galerias. This was a great class as usual, where we focused on ballet techniques related to posture, balance and increasing our strength.

Tecnica para la Mujer with Patricia Gomez @ EAT Galerias. We first worked on getting limbered up and moving to the music. Then we did some some forward and back adornos (walking with tucks, sequential crosses), and caracia variations (regular, with exaggerated kick out, up one side only, up the other side only). Then we did these adornos in the context of forward ochos and back ochos and included the rounded back boleo-like ocho. We ended the class with giving each other a standing massage.

Practica X Lesson with El Pajaro y Belen (Medrano 476, 20 pesos for lesson & practica) (topic: turns in vals). It was a great lesson, taught by the couple I saw dance at Sunderland. We began with walking to the vals rhythm, first as a group in a circle, then in partnership. Then we did molinetes to one side then the other, first as a group then in partnership, in regular single time. Then we added the double time, Q-Q timing to the back and side steps. The sequence taught was a simple one: from the Follower back ocho, she is led into the molinete (we tried both clockwise and counterclockwise). Then we did a more complicated sequence, again from the back ocho, into the Follower doing two clockwise molinetes, the first of which is in the parallel system, and the second of which is in the cross system with Leader sacada on Follower's forward step, concluding in an ocho cortado. Maestros emphasized the lean forward for chest connection in walking, but in the molinete, emphasized a more vertical posture with weight back to use centrifugal force to keep leader upright and balanced so he can do lapices, enrosques, etc., as Follower does molinete around him. The floor was made of the usual stone composite, but surprisingly, I found it quite comfortable to dance on. Maybe all baldosas are not made the same.

I went shoe shopping at NeoTango (Sarmiento 1938) earlier in the day to get a San Francisco tanguero buddy a pair of shoes. As I was waiting for the shoes to emerge from the storage room, I chatted with another shopper in the store. I noticed the self-confidence with which he choose his shoes, and his overall intention in behavior. So I couldn't resist asking if he was someone famous. He thought about it for a nonosecond, and said, "yes." Then he proceeded to dig out an advertising postcard from his bag, which he handed to me. It said, "Tango Oblivion -- Angeles Chanah/Michael Nadtochi" -- my eyes grew wide (and nearly fell out of my head). He was indeed famous. I think he was surprised I had actually heard of him since I don't hail from his parts. Supernice guy. He was there with a tour group he and Angeles organized from the NYC/NJ area. As for the NeoTango shoes, they are beautiful, and still comparably priced to March 2008 and August 2007, and like many vendors who take visa, will give you a discount (discuenta) if you pay in cash (en efectivo) or buy multiple pairs of shoes.

Wednesday, October 8
Milonga Con Traspie lesson by Gabriela Elias @ EAT Galerias. Amazingly, it was the opposite of yesterday in terms of numbers: 4 Leaders and me. So it was almost like having a group private/men's technique lesson. I didn't mind since I got to dance with Maestra and all except one leader were very skilled. So there were no floorcraft issues. It was a good lesson.

Milonga Lesson with Alejandro Hermida & Silvana Anfossi @ Nuevo Studio La Esquina (Sarmiento 722, 4th Floor, 18 pesos). This is a new school, and an excellent one. We began with a warm up of just doing a pivoted forward diagonal cross step in front of our bodies, and then a pivoted back diagonal cross step behind our bodies, first one side and then the other, to milonga music, and with some embellishments (floor taps, air taps, high and low beats back, shoe shoe off). Then we did the basic baldosa. Then we did traspie footwork on each step of the baldosa, trying to match to the milonga music. Then we did traspie, pauses, and stops on different steps of the baldosa depending on the music. The sequence taught was a good one that strung all these elements together: baldosa, then a change in direction with Leader going forward (Follower back) traspie and then back (Follower forward) traspie, then two Follower right side (Leader left side) steps into an exaggerated circular outside front cross of Follower's left leg in front of her right and Leader doing exaggerated circular outside back cross with his right heel embellishment at the same time, which pops his left knee/leg forward. This lesson was excellent and heavy on technique and musicality. They sell discounted multiclass cards.

I visited Alanis Tango Shoes (Diagonal Norte 936, right by the Obelisk) because I was intrigued by their ads, which state: "Original and Comfortable" "You can Dance or Fly" . Most of the shoes were 320 pesos, and some on sale for 270. Alanis was there herself, and I found her warm and welcoming. So, how do her shoes feel? Really good. They had a lot of padding to them, more so than P.H.'s, and the shoes felt squishier and more cushioned all around (not just under the metatarsal); they are available in normal and wide widths. Stylewise they were more fashion forward than P.H., but not as much as the no-padded shoes of Comme Il Faut or NeoTango. Would I buy her shoes? Sure. I am a HUGE fan of padded tango shoes (I love my P.H.'s), and wonder why more vendors don't include padding. Did I buy her shoes? No. Why? I've already exceeded my shoe budget, and it's only week 2 of a 4-week vacation. The store only carries women's shoes. There was another customer/friend in the shop while I was there; Alanis said she was the new partner of Fabian Salas (she looked awfully similar to Carolina del Rivero).

Julio Balmeceda lesson @ Zarasa studio (Independencia 2845, 20 pesos). Julio taught the lesson on his own, without Corina, and it was an unstructured, unplanned lesson. A student said he wanted to do more work on the male disassociation, so Julio came up with continuing our work on molinetes, with the leader doing lots of disassociation in his chest and lots of embellishments with his feet (enrosques, lapices) while the Follower steps around him. It was a good, somewhat advanced lesson (more like a guided practica), and the students were strong dancers. The sequence was a simple one: Follower does two back ochos into clockwise molinete with Leader sacadas and embellishments during her molinete.

Yira Yira Milonga (Venezuela 2939, 10 pesos). This was only a few blocks away from Julio's studio, and started conveniently after the lesson. I didn't call for reservations, but that wasn't necessary since it didn't get too crowded. The floor was stone composite; the dancers ranged from soup to nuts with old and young people, skilled and unskilled dancers. It seemed like a local neighborhood milonga. They serve food (pizza, empanadas) and beer there. It was easy to get a cab to there and back home.

Scouting Tour (September 25-October 1)

Friday, September 26
Homer & Cristina Ladas Advanced Seminario @ the Garaje @ Allegro; topic: Turns. We began separately with the Leaders on one dance floor and Followers on another. The Leaders worked on doing their footwork for their part of the molinete (the Needle and the Power Sacada). The Followers worked on doing a 4-point turn around a standing person, trying to do the forward-side-back-side steps to get completely around the person in four steps. Then we did a 3-point turn, doing the forward-side-back steps trying to get completely around the person (really taking big steps and carving around the Leader) in three steps. Then the Followers did the anti-molinete, with our backs to the leader (not facing) and doing the reverse footwork for the molinete -- back with the inside leg, side, forward with big pivot, side.

When Leaders and Followers came together, we did several different molinetes:
(1) The Chicho Bubble: The way to stat this turn is in the open position, and Leader gets a little ahead of Follower, but still faces her, then collects and leads her around to turn her on her side step. Here he can do the power sacada. Leader changes axis once. The Follower has to oppose the Leader with slightly tilting back on her own axis to match and be sensitive to the Leader. Follower makes long steps, do not shorten the side or back steps. The Leader's embrace is loose, opening up and engaging, to fit her body. The Follower needs to really hold on, otherwise she will go flying, but not rigid; she needs to be flexible and elastic.

(2) The John Sebastian Slingshot. Here the Leader and Follower start in close embrace. The turn is similar to the Chicho Bubble, but is in close embrace and emphasizes the use of the axis. The movement is compact and takes less space, but has similar dynamics as The Chicho Bubble. It is a beautiful way to transition from open to close embrace in a more dynamic way. It begins in close embrace, and can also include the power sacada. Leader does cross behind. If Leader gives Follower a lot of energy in the power step, there is incentive for Follower to do lots of pivot because she has lots of power in her hips. But she is constrained by close embrace, so she may do a more truncated step. The Leader needs to make space for her to pivot. This close embrace turn has a mellow energy. In the Power Turn, the Follower needs to engage more in her embrace and needs a lot more room in her back, core ribs to create a lot more spiral. Use the embrace to create more torsional energy. This turn can be done from any embrace (except standard), and we attempted to do it starting from the Sweetheart embrace. We also attempted to do it in the opposite manner, i.e., the anti-molinete (which begins when the Followers back is to the Leader). Leader can add sacada, gancho, enrosque to the anti-molinete. For the Follower, the orientation in the anti-molinete is disconcerting, but she MUST NOT fall into her step; just take it slow, pay attention to collecting, and be strong on her supporting leg; continue to have good walking technique. Leaders do not lean forward, otherwise you might get into an unled colgada.

(3) The Coriolis (also from John Sebastian). This turn utilizes centrifugal force and outward spiraling. It is a single-axis shared turn, and the shared axis is what gives it the counterweight feeling. The Leader steps back and a little across himself (rock step, forward step) to draw Follower in that direction (get Follower to right) , to make back step of molinete around Leader.

The practilonga was good. Trio Garufa played, and yummy food (chips & guacamole, baba ganouj, cheese & crackers, veggies, fruit) was catered by Cristina.

Saturday, September 27
Luciana Valle Workshops:
(1) Barridas
(2) Tomas & Pasadas
(3) Perpendicular Colgadas

Barridas: As in all of the Luciana's workshops, we work on (1) mechanics of the move, (2) technique (how to make it work right), (3) structure (working on the possibilities), and (4) dynamics (changes of qualities and motion). In all of tango, and in today's topic Barridas, there are circular or linear moves. In circular there are: (A) ones in direction of the turn (where Leader accompanies Follower and she would step around anyway with her): (1) to respect the code of the turn, or (2) to change the code of the turn. Or (B) ones that change the direction of the turn (called contrabarridas). Both Leader and Follower can do barridas.

In the workshop, we focused on circular barridas that go in the direction of the turn, and which respect the code of the turn. Here, the Leader's top of chest is with Follower, but hips are ahead at Follower 's back step. She does a clockwise molinete, and Leader sweeps the Follower's left foot with his left foot. We worked on other barridas: Leader's left foot of Follower's right foot; Leader's right foot of Follower's left foot; Leader's right foot of Follower's right foot; from clockwise and counterclockwise molinete. We also practiced changing sweeps from Leader to Follower and Follower to Leader.

Tomas & Pasadas: Tomas comes from the word "tomar" -- to take. Here, the Leader takes the standing leg of the Follower and makes her keep going by stepping over it (pasada). Going clockwise, the Leader takes the Follower's left standing leg with his left foot while facing her (not behind, and not ahead). The Follower steps over with a step forward. Here there is a continuous change -- who is the center, and who is going around. We worked on tomas and pasadas from the front, back, open, and forth sacada legwork.

Colgadas: Maestra emphasized that you need to take many, many workshops on the same subject (like colgadas) to finally get it--it is not possible to be instantly able to do colgadas after just one workshop. Colgadas are an off-axis position, with Follower off axis, and Leader compensating for this. Follower is perpendicular from the shoulders to the tops of her hips, but legs are diagonal. This 90 degree angle of body and hips to floor is key. We began with some posture exercises, first face to face with Follower in the middle of Leader's body, facing him. Then Followers shifted from side to side, but still maintaining colgada posture, the goal of which was to feel the moving line of support. For the Leader, we did a hand-to-hand exercise so he could understanding the concept of his toes clawing into the floor so that he can remain straight and upright, while Follower tried to exaggeratedly pull him in the colgada. Then the colgada: the Follower does a molinete; Leader stops her, then positions her perpendicular to him, and sends her out to the side at a perpendicular angle on the close side of the embrace. Here, the Follower's energy is out and up to maintain a perpendicular body (not curved concave or convex). On the close side of the embrace, using the barrida for the Follower, the Leader sends her out into a colgada; then he steps around and behind. For the Follower, if her hips pass his, then her free leg must step. The Leader steps behind and around Follower as she steps through.

Sunday, September 28
Luciana Valle Workshops:
(1) Rebotes 1: Techniques & Mechanics
(2) Rebotes 2: Structure and Dynamics
(3) Dynamic Combinations

Rebotes 1 and 2: Rebotes are a combination of sacadas and changes of direction, which creates a rebound motion that is very dynamic. First we worked on sacada technique. In sacadas, there are two parts: (1) the entrance/positioning of the foot, and then (2) the transfer of weight. These two things happen sequentially, not at the same time (which is more typical for tango, where body and leg go together always when the leader moves). In sacadas, first the leader marks the place with his foot, sends Follower with the Leader's top, then commits by the Leader changing his weight. We did sacadas in parallel and cross systems. Leader must pay attention to the sanding foot. For Follower's technique: for the curve of the front cross, (1) bra line is toward the leader, and (2) step should be curved (like for molinete). The sacada rule is a big step out of radius farther from center creates the sacada, and Leader sends Follower slightly far to make room. During the change of direction, the Leader accompanies the Follower's standing leg. In this case, the move is linear because Leader and Follower are going in opposite circles.

For the actual rebotes themselves, we worked on forward and back ones, left and right ones.

Dynamic Combinations: In this workshop, maestra had us do sequences that combined what we learned in her workshops (linear boleos, barridas, tomas & pasadas, colgadas, and rebotes).

Wednesday, October 1
Technica (Naturaleza del Movimiento) class taught by Alejandra Gutty @ the Escualea Argentina de Tango (EAT) Centro @ the Galerias Pacifico (19.50 pesos, or 210 pesos for a 12-class card). EAT Centro now has two rooms, not just one, so there's now double the opportunity for fun and learning, with a lot more milonga and technique classes. We worked on a very simple sequence, but the sequence was not the point. The point of the class was to match our breathing to our partner and to the movements of our dance, to step together with intention, intensity and unctuousness. Maestra taught that the movement in our dance comes from our bodies and hips before our legs. Her style is with a fully vertical (no lean) on-axis posture of head over hips over feet.

A Puro Tango afternoon/early evening milonga @ Salon Canning (Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, 10 pesos). This milongo was mostly porteno with very few international tangoheads (except for me and two other folks that I could tell). It wasn't overly crowded, and the seating was somewhat structured with men mostly on one side of the room, and women mostly on another, but there were also couples (same and opposite sex) seated by the host in those areas. So it was somewhat more random than traditional milonga seating. I did not call for a reservation, but got there early enough so that wasn't an issue. I had an OK time. They served complimentary pannetone, which was a treat.

Note of the day on my life in Buenos Aires: The apartment is centrally located, near Confiteria Ideal, which makes it really convenient, but the grocery and food stores are not quite as nice as in my old 'hood (Palermo). Certainly, there is nothing like my favorite, Lo De Las Chicas (Guise 1879), which sells absolutely delicious home cooking, hechas con amor. I like that place so much that it was worth it to duck out of A Puro Tango early enough to make my way over to pick up dinner for a few days. Their lasagna is divine. I also bought meatballs & mashed potatoes/mashed calabasas, a chicken leg, a couple of portions of tartas, and acelga (swiss chard) balls, all for a whopping 50 pesos (US$17). I suspect I will try to go there as much as possible, despite it being quite a way away and only convenient if I go to Canning. Yes, it is that good, yes it is worth it. Their hours are Lunes a Viernes 11:30 a 16 y 19 a 23 hs; Sabados 11:30 a 15:50 hs. Unfortunately, my favorite wine/cheese/meat shop (Pampa Linda, on the corner of Guise y Mansilla) was already closed for the night, so I had to pick up a bottle of wine from Carrefour (large supermercado). It sucked. The cork had no wine stains on it (which means it was stored upright for most of its life). There seems to be a weird shortage of coin change here right now (which means lots of free rides on the subte, but longer lines at the supermercado as the checkers portion out their coins carefully).