October 14-27

Friday, October 15, 2010

MUSE milonga at City Dance Annex. I had an excellent time at this milonga, which had a nice turnout, the most it's ever been. There were a few more leaders than followers, so I thought it was my volunteer duty to dance with as many different leaders as possible. :o) Since they were all fantastic, needless to say, I had an excellent time. I got to dance with a few leaders that I had never danced with before, though I had been eyeing them for quite some time. The lovely Rochelle made some delicious, luscious desserts: mini lemon and raspberry tarts and mini strawberry cheesecakes, which you can see at the Tango Sitio facebook wall. All in all, a very nice night.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Verdi Club Milonga. I skipped the lesson, taught by Jorge Nel. It was one of those nights where during the day I mentally really wanted to go dancing, but when I got home, fatigue started to seep into my bones and I felt very emotionally drained from the day's events (client drama). I also wanted to try out the new Homedics chair back massager I got at a church rummage sale recently ($10 for a $100 massager-- woo hooo!!!) So I got massager set up on my chair, and then surfed onto YouTube and watched some tango videos. I kept looking at the clock, first wanting to go to the Jorge Nel lesson, but the massager works well and pretty soon I became one with my chair.... aaaaahhhhh.... I watched more videos, seeing that it was getting later and later, missing the Jorge Nel lesson and knowing that I had to be up the next day for an early morning meeting. And so I was torn. Should I go to the milonga? Or should I stay home and get a good night's sleep before my early day? It was as I was pondering this question that I came across a recent video of Jennifer Bratt and Ney Melo in Turkey. That was enough to get me inspired, dressed and out the door in no time flat. I just HAD to dance after that.

When I got to the milonga around 10:00 p.m., it was nicely crowded, with more followers than leaders. Floorcraft was a little challenging at times. Jorge Nel and his partner did an excellent performance of milonga, with the both of them wearing technical athletic clothes. My goodness, how fit, agile, and comfortable they both looked! ;o) It was a busy birthday night, with three cakes: one for El Jefe, one for Nikki and one for some other gal whose name escapes me and who left before the birthday dance. There were several people at the milonga that I hadn't seen in quite a while, so it was nice to catch up with them. The dance area opened up significantly after 11:30 p.m., which improved the floorcrafting. I stayed until the end (1:00 a.m.), which I had never done before. I also tried on a few pairs of Jorge Nel shoes, and I continue to be impressed with the selection and responsiveness of maestro in terms of shoe design. I was sorely tempted by a pair of low-heeled patent stilettos, but I just couldn't justify the purchase (or find any more room in my closet to accommodate them). Still, a tanguera can always dream...

Friday, October 22, 2010
Monte Cristo Milonga with lesson beforehand by Jorge Nel. I missed the lesson, but got there reasonably early for the milonga. There wasn't a huge amount of people there at first, but eventually it got nicely crowded. The dancers were mostly of the social bent so we all danced with each other for the most part. It was a very pleasant evening and I stayed until the very end, although I did completely bonk about two tandas before, crashing and burning, so I really should have called it a night at that point. But I soldiered on, unfortunately feeling sloshy, weak and kerplunky physically and tired mentally.

Saturday, October 23, 2010
The All Nighter at the Beat. I skipped the lesson, taught by Santiago Croce and Amy Lincoln. This was my first time at the All Nighter, and I didn't realize the lesson started later (9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.). Why did it take me so long to try it out? Well, I am less keen on paying the bridge toll if I am only going dancing by myself with no one else to carpool with, and in the past there were other 4th Friday tango options in San Francisco. Since that has gone away, if I want to dance tango on the 4th Saturday, I have no choice but to cross a bridge or drive quite far down the peninsula (which is unappealing since I do that for at least 5 days a week). As I cooled my heels in the lobby, waiting for the milonga to start, I got a chance to catch up with a local tangero who I haven't seen in a long while, listening admiringly as I witnessed him woodshedding, and I also met a visitor from Portland.

What was nice about the milonga was that people came from amazingly far away to dance there (from as far north as Sacramento and as far south as the South Bay and perhaps beyond...), so it's a good cross section of the Bay Area tango community, much like some Thursdays at the Verdi Club and some Wednesdays at CellSpace. It got to be extremely crowded at times, with very challenging floorcrafting. Maestros did a very fine performance to two songs, with Amy having a stronger, more evident voice in their dance than she had previously. You can see the vids at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amwrbzPTdgE and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ3Pi-ih4Ic It was very inspiring to watch them. I only stayed until 1:00 a.m., as I had danced every tanda since the start of the milonga.

I did see one very odd thing that I had never seen at any other milonga. A gal climbed through the window to get to the milonga. It seemed very strange, and she was not exactly dressed to be climbing through windows (though I am not sure what one would wear to a milonga if they intended to climb through a window to get there). She was breathless and disheveled as she plopped down onto the floor, her hair accessory perched haphazardly askew, feathers a-flyin'. The leader I was dancing with and I both though she was trying to avoid the entry fee, but on further reflection, it just might have been that the front door got mistakenly locked and she was too alpha and impatient to knock on the window to get someone's attention so that we could open the door for her. On this rainy night, the windows were wide open to alleviate the heat of the crowded dance conditions. So...it was a very bizarre thing. But to each, her own.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Studio Gracia milonga with lesson by Pulpo. The step was not easy, but not overly pretzeled either. The class began with a warm-up dance to a non-tango song. Then the class built on the earlier class of the day on Trap Sacadas. Basically, the Leader does a right foot back step (Follower left foot forward step), and then the Leader does a left foot side step (Follower right foot side step). We were to do these two steps together for one minute to a tango song. Then we did another simple step, of just the Leader's rock step of left foot forward, right step back (Follower's right foot back, left foot forward), to get a kind of attitude in dancing (done to a nuevo tango song). During this song, we were to work on expressing attitude. Also, we were to exhibit control, with every piece of the body being controlled. Our weight changes together were to be simultaneous so that anyone watching us would see only one body, not two. Then we did the Leader's right foot forward trap of the Follower's left foot, to bring it diagonally backish of him. This is a small movement, and the Leader brings his knee in toward his other leg. Then he steps side left with his left foot, after which the Follower must follow by stepping right around him with her right foot. This is not a simultaneous step. The Follower must wait for the Leader to do his side step, and then follow with a side step with her right foot as a consequence of the Leader leading the weight change and bringing her over. Connection is key. Also, the dancers must keep their axis and not lean into each other. We spent a lot of time just doing these two steps (the trap with the Leader step back, then his side step followed by her side step). The Leader can't pull the Follower in, otherwise she won't be able to do it. Also, her right knee and leg need to be straight as he hooks her left foot and pulls it back, setting it back diagonally behind him. We also worked on other variations o fhis right foot-- the paint brush sweep in and out to lead the Follower to do alternating ganchos, or of the Leader doing a left foot gancho. The Leader must control the weight shift at all times. This step involved a lot of opening and closing of the Leader's hip to get his knee to open and close to lead the Follower gancho in various different wraps, with a simultaneous rotating of the Follower around his sacadaing leg. It is very important to note that Maestro made special emphasis to begin the class with musicality, connection, and weight transfer exercises because that is the foundation on which all of tango is based. He also emphasized later on the need for control of every body part (upper body, legs, feet). It was an excellent class, as usual. I have various single lessons with Pulpo in the last three years, and they are always challenging. There were more Followers than Leaders, so there were times when we got rotated out...which was fine with me because Maestro would be such a good sport he would lead the out Followers in the material while the rest of the class was partnered up. Toward the end of the lesson, I got to dance some regular tango (without Pulpeadas) with Maestro. That was a truly amazing, super fun experience. Maestro was his usual charming self, social dancing with many Followers at the milonga.

The milonga itself was weird to me. My first tanda out during the first song, I felt a sharp shooting pain in the ball of my foot. I managed to dance that one song completely, but then I had to stop because of the pain, of course apologizing profusely to the leader I was dancing with. I rested for a while, and then dance the milonga tanda with Jodel, one of my favorite milonga leaders, but my foot still felt a little sore and tender, so I was more tentative with my steps. I attempted to dance with more of a whole foot rather than being on the ball of my foot so much....but that wasn't an easy thing to do since this was the milonga tanda. After that, I rested and chatted with Jr. Scout Extraordinaire. I danced very little, only 3-4 tandas from 8:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m., and then decided to do what I always tell other people to do...that is, stop and rest, which for me meant going home.

I came to the rescue of one gal who wanted more holes in the strap of her stiletto. She was amazed when I whipped out the hole punch that I had put in my purse earlier this evening, and it occurred to me that I never wrote about it. It's a wonderful watch strap hole punch, which can punch tiny, precise 1.5 mm holes into shoe straps.

http://www.esslinger.com/holepunchingpliers512.aspx

I bought mine originally off of ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/WATCH-BAND-HOLE-PUNCH-TOOL-PLIERS-JEWELER-EATHER-1-5MM-/350403314921?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5195aa44e9 and got tipped off on it by the Tango Shoe Divas May 17, 2007 blog posting of the same product. So a big thanks to Tango Shoe Divas.

I love this product, and as I rack up the mileage at the milongas, I get fussier and fussier about how the shoe fits on my feet, especially how the strap feels across my ankle. I've had my hole punch for a while now, but after this last trip to Bs As, I realized that I really need to bring it with me on trips and to the milongas.

So what am I excited about?

All the Halloween milongas coming up. Come on now, I KNOW y'all LOVE dressing up for those!!! So I will definitely look forward to seeing you in costume. :o)

Tomas Howlin. Totally genius teacher. Really. We are very lucky that he will be teaching in the SF Bay Area.

October 7-13

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Verdi Club Milonga. I skipped the lesson. The milonga was fun. It wasn't super crowded, but it wasn't sparse either. So it was the perfect number of people to dance comfortably. What struck me was how good the floorcrafting was on this night. Everyone seemed very comfortable and secure in their dance skills; there was no frenzied desperation, no fighting for space, and no flying stilettos. I had an excellent time dancing with my friend, Theodore, up from way down south. It had been a while since I had seen or danced with him, so I was extremely happy that he came and we had a chance to catch up. Despite being in his 9th decade, his body is still stable, agile and musical, and his mind is still sharp as a tack. Though it's been nearly a year since I last saw him, he remembered where I work and asked how I was doing with my long commute, though we only discussed it once merely in passing-- wow, he is such a true friend! I hope I am as lucky to be like him in mind, body and spirit, if I ever make it to my 9th decade. Being as charming as he is, he introduced me to his friend and carpooling buddy, Miguel, who is a fantastic dancer. It always amazes me what talented leaders there are in the Santa Cruz/Monterey/Gilroy area...it makes me think I should make the effort to go down there some weekend for the milongas.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Monte Cristo Club Milonga. I got there late. It was a lightly attended milonga, but I didn't mind because it gave us all plenty of room to dance with no real floorcraft issues. It was nice catching up with Handsome again.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Volunteering for Jerry Springer, the Opera. What does this have to do with tango? Well, not much. But musicality-wise, I think it is important to be exposed to all forms and styles of musical and simultaneous physical expression to convey meaning. For some strange reason, I had forgotten how much I enjoy opera. This production was fantastic, and I can see why it got rave reviews. It was a great show! My task was to pour wine, so happily my bar tending degree came in handy. Heck, I even did double-handed two drink pours to keep the line flowing. Now THAT skill impressed more than a few people. ;o)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Cellspace Milonga with lesson beforehand by Homer and Cristina Ladas on “Sure Footed, But Feather Light”

There are many ways to dance tango. In this class, we would explore very light connection, feather-light connection. To do this, it is critically dependant that the dancers have really solid connection and control with their feet on the floor. A lot of this depends on how you use the standing leg and how you transfer weight.

By learning how to dance lightly, we are really working our feet, ankles, and legs and our connection to the floor. This helps us work on technique.

Weight Transfer

We began with an exploration of how we shift our weight simply standing. When we shift our weight, do we do it with our heels first, and then the toes? Or do we do it with our toes first, and then the heel? For our feet, does the weight transfer go from the outside edge rolling in? Or does it go from the inside edge rolling out? Answer: The foot should roll from the inside to the middle of the foot, not all the way to the outside.

We practiced this, standing with both feet on the ground, and then with the weight being on our left foot, and touching the inside of the right foot to the floor, to shift the weight to be on our right foot, with the inside of our left foot touching the floor. This weight shift does not take much torso motion. Our goal was to be sensitive, be subtle, and be controlled.

Weight Shift in Context of Side Step

Next, we did side steps with our right foot. Here, when we took the side step to the right, we were to focus on just transferring weight from the inside of our right foot to the middle of the right foot, and then pull our left foot in as our upper thighs and legs zip up together. Both legs work to create the collection, and we should push off from our standing (not just reach with our stepping leg). We tried this with both our left foot and right foot side steps.

Weight Shift in Context of Walking

Starting with our weight on our right foot, we were to reach back with our left foot, focusing on pushing off with our standing leg, pulling up with our left leg, to collect. We did this with both our left leg as the standing leg and our right leg as the standing leg, focusing all the while on pushing off with the standing leg, transferring the weight smoothly (no kerplunking), and pulling up with the other leg. We also tried this with our forward walk, with both left and right legs.

Reaching Game

Next, we played a connection game called the Reaching Game. The Leader stands with legs together and without moving. Follower’s two hands are on the Leader’s upper pectoral muscles high near his shoulders. The Follower does not put weight on the Leader, but stays connected to him at all times while also being light in her touch at all times. He is to be subtle in his weight shift so that she as a Follower also shifts her weight in response. After a few tries with this, and to make sure they are connected, he then tries to get her to start taking a step back. He does this by flexing his ankles, but remaining upright in his torso (he should not lean in on top of her or tip forward). The initial goal of this game is to become more sensitive toward each other, and to be more subtle and clear in the lead and more responsive in the follow. Once the Leader has mastered getting the Follower to reach with her foot (and the Follower has mastered responding to the Leader’s lead), he can allow the weight to fully transfer so she takes a complete back step. We tried this reaching game in both open and close (chest-to-chest) embrace.

The Leader needs to remain upright and lifted in his chest and not plank forward/lean in on top of her/tip forward, and the Follower needs to keep her connection to the Leader consistent with no hiccups and no vacuuming/pulling him into her. Her step should be as smooth as possible with no kerplunking.

We tried this reaching game while dancing to the music (doing walking only), single time and double time.

Again, the Follower’s step should be as smooth as possible with no kerplunking and no jolting – which is when her body tenses up suddenly as she gets ready to take a step. In the Follower’s step, she should push into the floor more to compel her body to stay there and not get away (jolt away). She should have strong legs to be connected to the floor.

Simple Figure

We were to incorporate all these aspects of weight transfer and connection doing all that we learned in a simple figure: Leader’s side step left / Follower side step right, to two Follower back steps with simultaneous Leader forward step outside, and then Leader forward step inside, to Leader side step right / Follower step left. We were to practice this simple figure only with no other additions (no ochos, no rock steps, etc.), although pausing and weight changes in place were OK. We could also curve the steps if we needed to to get around in the line of dance.

We were to also to practice this in open and close embrace. In close embrace, the connection should be sternum to sternum, not belly to belly. As dancers, we should hold our bellies under our ribs so that it seems like our legs come from our rib cage.

For this class, we focused a lot on quality of movement of our feet, ankles and legs. If we do good practice in our tango development, it lays a good foundation.

Maestros concluded with a demo to Tanturi’s La Abandone y no Sabia

The milonga itself was OK. It was warm that night, the third day in a heat wave, and the space at CellSpace certainly reflected that. There were more followers than leaders, but dancers of both parts were glad to have the opportunity to sit out a bit, so there was reasonable space on the dance floor. Also because of the heat, I speculate that we all danced a little more mellowly and relaxedly, and not so much athletically or frenzied. There was a goodbye dance because maestra Charity is leaving for Arizona. Lots of really great dancers danced with her and cut in, culminating with an ending dance with Homer where they did an al reves nuevo spinny thing. It was great fun to watch. Hopefully someone will post the vid of that.

September 23 - October 6

Saturday, September 25, 2010
Ushering at Marine's Memorial Theatre for the Kate Clinton Show. The show was fun, with Lada Haha whip smart and witty. But what on earth does Kate Clinton have to do with tango, you might wonder? Well...not much. But wait!!! It was during our debriefing that the ushers were told that Forever Tango will likely be coming to that theatre in December 2010 for three weeks. In the past, when Forever Tango has been in town, the ushering gigs were only open to those who had ushered with the theater in the past. So if any of y'all are thinking that you might want to usher, now is the time to get on the Marine's Memorial Theatre ushering list. I think there might only be another one or two different shows before November/December.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Verdi Club Milonga with lesson beforehand by Cristy Cote and George Garcia of Hawaii. I missed the lesson, but it was apparently very well attended, and a good, challenging one. The milonga was also very well attended, especially by many of the the local and visiting maestros in town (in no particular order: Pampa Cortes, Luiza Paes y Julio Bassan, Alex and Luz, Santiago and Amy, Dani Tuero and Mila Vigdorova, Andrea Monti, Cristy C, Adolfo C, Rose V, Julian R, Natasha D, Glenn C, etc.). Though conditions were quite crowded, the floorcrafting was pretty good overall with dancers generally respectful and no one worked up into a frenzy. The highlight of the evening was the rather lengthy show: A dance demo of Christy Cote and George Garcia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyVMX4wxowg, and then another dance demo of Dani Tuero and a student of his whose name escapes me (Mila's toe is broken) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYTc3F3k8S8, and a "blind tango" dance with several of the visiting maestros http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUyo3TaJjM8. After a few minutes of coaxing the four good sport volunteer leader maestros onto the dance floor, their eyes were covered with large black blindfolds (impossible to peek out of). Several of these maestros did not have their usual partners there, so that added a layer of complexity. The four couples all danced together to a Pugliese song, and it was great fun seeing how well they did at remaining in the line of dance, and keeping the space even between dance couples. Then things were turned up a notch when a partner change was called and the followers moved on to the next leader, obviously not their usual partner / dance style. It was really fun night overall. Even though there were noticeably more followers than leaders, there were no whack-a-mole tanguera ambushers, and the leaders were all of the social, community-building nature (no glommers on, no people who hung onto you and never let go because they want to dance with you ALLLLLLL niiiiiiiiiiiight loooooooooonggggg).

I had a funny conversation that night with someone who likes to tell me what I should write about. I always encourage him to start his own blog so that he can write whatever he wants to talk about. But he said he is shy that way. Whatever. Anyway, the topic he wanted me to address was when Leaders are there, and they are tired, and Followers stare them down and pretty much insist that they dance with him (or other leaders). Normally, I wouldn't write about this, and I had decided not to. However, because of a conversation I had several days later at Z's dinner, I decided it deserved some mention.

Friday, October 1, 2010
MUSE milonga at City Dance Annex. It was a lightly attended night, but with good quality dancers. So I had an excellent time.

Sunday, October 3, 2010
Dinner at Z's. As some of you may know, our own Mix Mistress Z is also a wonderful chef extraordinaire. Seven of us descended upon her place, and she cooked up a feast (despite having spent all day DJing at Tango in the Square): Carrot Soup with Cumin and Lime; Spinach Salad with Bosc Pears, Cranberries, Red Onion and Toasted Hazelnuts; Pur Borek with Feta Cheese; Lamb with Black Olives; Revani (Turkish/Green farina Sponge Cake soaked in Syrup with a twist). We were all encouraged to bring our own wine, which most of us did, except El Jefe, who is allergic to mold! Street parking near her house can be a little difficult (though the parking gods were smiling me on that night), but conveniently there is a public parking garage across the street. I am no stranger to some seriously delicious cooking, and tonight was no exception. Each dish was wonderful and I cleaned my plate every time (and most everyone else did, too). Portions were ample, and I am quite sure everyone had as much as they wanted of each delicious dish.

The conversations were quite lively as the group consisted of all tango people, one from as far away as Italy. It was a fun experience breaking bread with lots of people I had formerly only danced with and had conversations during cortinas with. I know that the parishioners of the Church of Glenn go out to eat after services, but I had never done so personally and so really never sat down in a group setting to eat with my fellow tangueros (except on those group tours to Buenos Aires in 2007 and 2008). Z also had fantastic music playing for atmosphere, and not just tango music.

There were more men than women at this particular dinner, and again, the same topic that came up at the Verdi Club a few days earlier came up again: That is, when women/followers stare down men, or even boldly go up to them and insist that they dance with them, even though the Leaders may be tired or just don't want to dance. I asked why these Leaders just didn't say "No" -- or "I'm tired" or the usual phrases that women use when they decline a dance. They said that it is harder for a man to say no to a woman who asks them to dance (or who fervently cabaceos them). Part of this is because guys are just really nice and they feel a lot of empathy for women who t put themselves out there and ask a man to dance. (And Pablo tells me the other part is that men are hesitant to say no to a woman because it might hurt his chances with her off the milonga dance floor as well.) They too, expressed their irritation at other leaders or followers who go up to them while they are in conversation with a follower and ask either them to dance or the follower to dance. So, bottom line is that there seems to be a need overall for more etiquette instruction. So here's a little something for us all, written by Mitra Martin in L.A.: http://www.mitramartin.com/1times1circa2002/Manners/EtiquetteIndex.htm And thanks to Junior Scout Extraordinaire for forwarding me the link last week. I thought Mitra's instructions were beautifully and cleverly written.

Come join me!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Cellspace with lesson beforehand by Homer and Cristina Ladas

September 16-22 + special report on Oxygen Milonga in L.A.

Thursday, September 16, 2010
Verdi Club Milonga. I skipped the lesson, taught by Judy and Jon, who did a two-song performance later on. The milonga itself was OK. It was a humid day in San Francisco, and the floor was sticky. The organizers were a little late and a little overzealous with the powder, which eventually spanked down the stickiness. Carlos Rivarola was there visiting. It was nicely but not overly crowded, and everyone seemed to want to dance a lot. Floorcraft was OK with only light bumps. There was one gal though who got severely stepped on, to the point of having pierced skin and a shocking very blue, huge bruise on her foot. She was a very good sport about it, not knowing who had done that to her, and after icing her foot, getting up to dance a few more tandas. I had a nice time, but bonked around midnight since I had danced every single tanda while I was there.

Friday, September 17, 2010
MUSE Milonga at City Dance Annex. Since I was manning the door, I couldn't participate in the lesson, which was fine with me. The lesson focused on Follower and Leader disassociation. The milonga itself was fun. It was even more humid than yesterday, so the floor was really sticky. This was remedied somewhat by the modest sprinkling of powder in the corner, which the dancers targeted stepping in between songs. It was a nice crowd, with many skilled Leaders, so when I did dance, I had a good time. Mix Mistress Z was there again to spin the tunes, and did a fine job. The empanadas (beef and mushroom) from El Porteno were exceptionally delicious on this night, being delivered still warm and of course mighty tasty. Lots of folks were content just to socialize around the food area, in between their dances. It was a very pleasant evening, and it's nice to see the momentum building for this new milonga.

Saturday, September 18, 2010
Milonga Garufa at Askenaz in Berkeley. This is the milonga organized and music provided by Trio Garufa. I skipped the lesson taught by Andrea Fuchilieri since I was at my supper club dinner instead, and couldn't possibly tear myself away earlier. For some reason, I had the mental image of this place as more of a ballroomy type dance studio. Boy was I ever wrong. It's more like a cafe/club. The weathered floor has a lovely patina to it, much like Jelly's in San Francisco, only without the mojito and beer residue. It was very crowded, and quite warm. Lots of people just came to watch and hear Trio Garufa play. A treat later on was when Maria Volonte came by after her gig to sing with the band, which I unfortunately missed. Dance quality was reasonably good, and it was nice to see people come from all around. The refreshments were strictly cash only, and included a wide selection of bottled and on-tap beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages, and mostly organic vegetarian light fare (bagels, sandwiches, tamales and such), cookies and cake. Lots of people, including me, brought in their own water bottles, and we were not discouraged from drinking our Hetch Hetchy 2010 (or EBMud 2010 as the case may be for those living on that side of the Bay).

Sunday, September 19, 2010
Studio Gracia Milonga. I skipped the lesson. The milonga started out a bit slow, but with good quality dancers. It filled up during the night, with dancers who seemed to be ravenous since we vacuumed up the food in no time flat, and not because it wasn't ample (it was). Earlier on in the night we got to dance quite freely with so much extra space, so we could do more real-estate intensive dancing that would normally annoy our fellow dancers under more crowded conditions. It was a very pleasant evening, though I did find myself getting very tired somewhat early.

SPECIAL REPORT FROM THE FIELD BY JR. SCOUT EXTRAORDINAIRE:

I visited the Oxygen Milonga hosted by Mitra Martin and Stefan Fabry in LA recently. Thumbs up! I wondered how inclusive the atmosphere would be to new people, and I’m happy to report it was a friendly experience.

Here’s a link to Oxygen’s tango etiquette, it’s very well done:

http://mitramartin.com/1times1circa2002/Manners/EtiquetteIndex.htm

The floor was reasonably sized for the group there, although it has potential for being too small with a larger crowd. The floor was nicely smooth, with one asymmetric corner that kept the leaders on their navigation toes. The hosts completely transformed the space with wall hangings, lights, a slide show (tango) /clips (The Matrix) playing continuously on one 1/4 wall, still photos of tangeros/tangeras on walls, an abundance of high quality food (cheeses, crackers, salami, grapes, strawberries, carrots, tomatoes, another veggie I forget, dip, bags of really good cookies, various fruit juices, mixed nuts), walking and sitting space around the dance floor. Ample water and cups and sharpie pens. Signs and receptacles encouraging recycling. Aromatherapy with tea candles in the (one) bathroom, tea candles and decorations in the sitting room where the food was.

The hosts were very welcoming to me, and the entrance fee was discounted for out of towners. I got there a bit early, but kept busy meeting the few people there before it started and helping set out the food and candles. To my pleasant surprise, Stefan burned sage and went around the space and the few people in it as a cleansing moment before many people started arriving. The milonga was not too packed, but just about to be. Sometimes it was better just to sit out a bit and watch or mingle. It went on until 3:15am, with Shorey Myers' excellent as usual music choices as DJ. The dance quality was high, and the etiquette was good. Yes, there were some floorcraft issues, about the same as SF. There was a competing milonga across town that night, maybe that's why it didn't get too crowded.

The best non-dancing part for me was during Mitra's brief announcements. She thanked everyone for coming and supporting the Oxygen milonga for two years. They donate a portion of the $$$ to The Nature Conservancy for planting trees, and 6,732 trees have been planted so far with the donations from this milonga. Mitra encouraged people to be inclusive and offer a welcoming smile and greeting to someone you don't know (in a very sweet and genuine way that I am not doing justice to) not just at the milonga but anytime. Next, she announced that Shorey would play 3 Vals and asked dancers to dance with someone they hadn’t danced with or met yet, and to switch partners every song. Most people danced this tanda; we all had fun switching and meeting new people. It was a great way to keep the atmosphere friendly, open, and balanced. I stayed until the end and was amazed at the deconstruction of the milonga set up, and how much was involved. Volunteers filled a minivan with all of it.

The quality of the hosting of this milonga was so high; I couldn't help compare it to SF. I ended up feeling like we could do better. I haven't heard of any charitable donations linked to milongas, I hope there are some I don't know about. If not, why not? Yes, we are all trying to make a living, but can we find a way to do more? When I think of all the long announcements we sit through that consist of nothing other than "here are the next classes/milongas/workshops we'd like you to come and pay for" compared to Mitra's announcement themes of "here's what we all have given to the environment together" "here's what we can give each other" "let's all meet and dance with three new people tonight" “let’s try to be kind to others” "let's make new friends"- I ended up feeling inspired by Oxygen, and a little, I don't know the right word slightly peeved? used? shortchanged? at announcements that are not like Oxygen's. . .

Plus, no salsa tanda thank goodness. (Anne's note: HEY!! I LOVE the salsa tandas!!! I was a salsera way before I was a tanguera, and I have to keep myself from getting too rusty!!!! Now, back to JSE's excellent report...) Brief high quality announcements, then back to dancing tango - a really nice experience.

End of special report from the field.

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Some of you asked about the Pampa Cortes folklore series. See the flyer here:

http://www.pampatangosoul.com/classespage.html

and

http://www.tangoandmore.org/1041/108801.html

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September 2-15

Friday, September 3, 2010
MUSE Milonga @ City Dance Annex. It was my first time volunteering for this event, and except for an initial miscommunication, everything went smoothly. I was quite happy to be the registration gal, and also had ample time to dance, switching off with Howard, the organizer, who was also able to dance. The milonga is gaining momentum, with a decent crowd that night of a wide range of skills but no shortage of strong dancers. El Porteno generously donated some empanadas, and Howard generously passed on the kismet by giving free empanadas to the first 16 people who registered. Mix Mistress Z did such a fine job spinning the tunes that we all begged her to play on. She graciously complied, so that we could all party on a half hour more than the original milonga end time. It was a great night, dancewise. Shoewise, it was a little sad. I realized that one of my favorite pairs of shoes really and truly needed to be retired, once and for all (but mostly for me). I have completely blown out of it, and there is just no way that this shoe is safe to dance in any more. So sad, because it is a really beautiful shoe, that during its prime, fit like a glove and performed like a champ. Those days are long gone though. :o(

Wednesday, September 8, 2010
CellSpace Alt Milonga. I did not go to the lesson. I had more fun at this CellSpace milonga than I had ever had previously. I stayed to the very end, which I never do. Floorcraft improved, I think because of the fine DJing of Bobbie and Luz. They played a lot of moderately tempo'd songs, so there was no frenzied dancing. Not too many milonga tandas though, unfortunately. It was really nice dancing with so many people that I hadn't with in quite a while.

Thursday, September 9, 2010
Verdi Club Milonga with Chacarera lesson beforehand by Pampa Cortez, assisted by Gigi Jensen. I just adore Chacarera, and like to attend any lesson I can on the subject, since with every teacher, I get some new nugget of how to do it right. I missed the very beginning of the lesson, and since the class was perfectly balanced, I sat it out but took notes. They split the groups up with Leaders with Maestro and Followers with Maestra. I paid a lot more attention to what Maestro was teaching since it was more captivating to me. When I got there in the middle of the lesson, Maestro was teaching the Leaders the basic Zapateo footwork (called the Hammer). But then he went on to teach a much more complicated (at least to me, anyway) Zapateo footwork (called Volcada) of a left foot step, then a right foot toe tap, followed by a right outside edge of foot foot tap (and then the opposite: right foot step, left foot toe tap, left foot outside edge of foot tap). The Zapateo footwork happens quite quickly. The lesson was good, because all the dancers came together at the end, and did the Chacarera reasonably well. Maestro ended with a demo of the different types of complicated/artistic/dance footwork that can be done to Chacarera, and then Maestros demonstrated several other Argentine Folklore dances, some of which use the elements of Chacarera (like Gato) and some that don't (Chamame, Zamba, etc.). The milonga itself was very nice. It was perfectly attended: not too crowded, and not empty. Floorcraft was also pretty good. I got a chance to talk to the bartender Red for a few minutes. If you are a foodie, you should chat him up... Fascinating guy! I really like this milonga since it's the only game in town on Thursday, so a decent crowd is almost assured, and the food is thoughtful and ample. Red has even upgraded the agua de Hetch Hetchy 2010 by adding cucumbers and lemons to it. Pampa will be giving a series of Argentine Folklore dance lessons in October and November for the screaming deal of $80 for 8 weeks Sunday afternoon. It should be a blast.

Friday, September 10, 2010
All Saints Milonga with Chacaera lesson beforehand by Pampa Cortez, assisted by Gigi Jensen. The lesson began with us walking briefly to the 1-2-3 Chacarera rhythm. Then, like last night, we broke up into Leaders and Followers separately taught by Maestro and Maestra, respectively. Maestra taught us pretty much our part in its entirety individually, and then we all got together and did it. It was great fun, and I had a good time partnered up with La Russa, who was surprisingly extremely friendly and nice toward me. Interestingly, Maestro did not teach the same Zapateo footwork: he taught the usual basic Hammer footwork (slap, heel stomp, heel stomp), but didn't teach the volcada footwork. He taught some other footwork, whose name I didn't quite catch, that even mimicked more the footwork of a horse (more than the Hammer footwork). It was also announced that Maestro is moving back to the Bay Area, and will be starting a new Argentine Folklore Dance Company; the kick-off of this endeavor will be the 8-week series of folklore dances taught in October and November in San Francisco. They concluded the lesson with a few quick demos of the Argentine folk dances that they will teach. The milonga itself was really fun. It was nicely attended, but not overly crowded, which was good on such a warm evening. I got a chance to dance with someone I hadn't danced with in years and have sorely missed, so that was a nice New Year's present to me. Maybe it is just my imagination, but I felt everyone was a lot friendlier and warmer. (Not that anyone was ever cold, but gosh it just seemed like everyone was unusually warm...or maybe it's just me being happier and more relaxed than I have been in a long while).

Saturday, Sepember 11, 2010
The Return of the Late Shift Milonga with lesson beforehand by David and Mariana. I missed the lesson, and got there quite late to the milonga, around 11:30 p.m. The milonga now takes place at the former Cheryl Burke dance studio space above World Gym. It's a smaller space than before, and tends to get quite hot and humid in there. Tonight was no exception since there was a strong turnout, from local SF people, as well as folks from the South Bay, East Bay and North Bay. It was great to be back again, and I think everyone was happy to see this milonga return. I had a good time. I danced with several visiting dancers who were great fun, as well as my usual favorites. Many of us stayed all the way until the end.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Orange Practica at the Beat with lesson beforehand by Homer and Cristina Ladas: Understanding the Follower “With” and “Against” (4^th/Quattro) Back Sacadas.

The basis of our work was to focus on the Follower having an energetic pivot and the Leader leading it in a nice way. Since the recent local Bay Area lessons have focused on alignment, posture, and hip pivot, Maestros decided to teach something different from, but related to, those topics. Hence, the choice of the Follower Back Sacada.

Exercise 1: Couples Ocho Exercise

We began with the couple’s ocho exercise, where each person does ochos; there was no leader and no follower, we are equal partners. Our goal was to stay close to each other, and take long steps, and step around each other while doing a series of forward ochos (easier) and then back ochos (a little more difficult). There is no Leader and no Follower, and both dancers were to do their respective ochos together simultaneously. The goal was to be able to create balance with each other. If the dancers need to find their balance, their orientation should be backward (not falling forward).

Good posture is key in being able to do good ochos. We should think about spreading our “tango wings” by keeping our chest up, compress our shoulder blades out wide and down, and expand in our rib cage. We should not compress or slouch or curl forward in our shoulders. For the exercise, we were to pivot as much as possible, over rotating, with hips facing away from each other, but stepping around each other to stay close. We should stay with our partners and articulate the femur to really step around each other and add to the spiral, which is what we were after. We should step in an arc.

For the back ocho, which is a little trickier, it is important to step close to your partner, but also work on keeping your balance at the same time. Again, you should be on axis or oriented slightly back if you need to.

Building Toward the Fourth/Quattro Sacada with Leader’s Teapot Embrace

Next, our work on tonight’s subject, the Quattro or Fourth Sacada, began. It is from the Follower back sacada, so the Follower needs to develop a good back ocho. We did this by moving to another exercise where the Leader uses his body (his chest, not arms) to lead the Follower back ocho. For the exercise, the Leader Teapot Embrace was used, with his right arm is behind his back, and his left hand holds the Follower’s right hand. The Follower maintains the connection in her left hand on the Leader’s right arm, but his right hand does not touch her, remaining behind his back.

This exercise was to help us develop the Leader’s lead, where he turns both shoulders, left and right, evenly when leading her to do back ochos. He should not turn one shoulder more than the other, and he should not rush. The Follower receives the communication through the embrace and adds her own energy with her hip pivot through her connection to the floor. The goal of this exercise was to improve our communication with each other, and really communicate the pivot and for the Follower to pivot a lot. The lack of the Leader’s right hand/arm gives the Follower the opportunity, empowering her to get in touch with her relationship with the floor to power her steps and her pivot.

Adding the Soltada and Follower Back Sacada

Next, we added to this, with the Leader’s left hand with the Follower’s right hand, leading a half turn (inside/loop turn) soltada change of embrace on the Follower’s right foot back ocho step, with the Leader then stepping across her ocho path (slightly at an angle, away from the Follower so he doesn’t jam the Follower) with his right foot, while the Follower pivots, to do a Follower left foot back sacada through the Leader’s legs. The Follower should always try to look at the Leader, or for the Leader, so that she knows where to go, and to keep track of him to have an idea of where the space is.

Adding the Leader’s Right Hand to the Embrace

Next, we added the Leader’s right hand embrace to this. He should not raise his hand too high, but keep it safely low since his hand should go around the Follower’s waistline during her pivot as he leads the soltada. The Leader needs to lead the pivot first, before leading the half turn soltada (change of embrace). The Follower stays in the same back ocho line with her steps, and then takes a step back with her left foot.

Leader Needs to Lead a Good Follower Pivot

We drilled a lot on the Leader deeper idea of leading a good pivot. For this concept to work in our dance, the Follower should not fall into her ocho, and not fall forward. If she needs to fall to keep her balance, she should fall back or be backward oriented. The Leader needs to communicate the energy he gives as he “attacks” the floor. The Leader feels like he is pushing more into the floor when he leads a big pivot. The Follower needs to have the confidence to pivot a lot and completely, and not truncate the move or cut it short because she feels a change in the Leader lead or that something is coming up and going to happen.

The exit for the soltada figure is for the Follower to take an additional step back with her right foot, to a clockwise molinete of left foot side step, right foot forward cross step.

The “With” and “Against” Follower Back Sacada

“With” Sacada:

When the Follower’s and Leader’s hips go in the same direction (clockwise + clockwise or counterclockwise + counterclockwise), it is a “With” Sacada.

“Against” Sacada:

When the Follower’s and Leader’s hips go in opposite direction (clockwise + counterclockwise or counterclockwise + clockwise), it is an “Against” Sacada. An example is where the Follower’s hips turn counterclockwise, while the Leader steps clockwise. The Fourth/Quattro Sacada is one of these, with the Leader stepping counterclockwise (right foot open side step), while the Follower does a clockwise hip turn with a right foot back sacada between Leader’s legs.

Why Does the Leader Sometimes Get in the Way During the Follower Back Sacada?

For the Follower back sacadas, the question of the Leader getting in the way of the Follower came up. He gets in the way because he tends to over lead and get in the way. He needs to know (1) where to step and he needs to know (2) when to let go of the embrace.

The Leader can let his right hand/arm go, and the Follower should still hang on and remain connected to him with her left hand on his right arm. She needs to hang on because he should be leading a big, dynamic pivot with lots of energy, and she needs to use everything to protect her standing, supporting, pivoting leg. The Follower needs to be able to have active elasticity in her embrace, with her left arm being able to have a large range of motion, extending back to create a big energetic pivot. Here, she feels like she is being thrown out and led back in.

For the Leader, he steps half a foot back with his right foot, opening up the space for the Follower to do her back sacada. She aims for his left foot during her right foot back sacada. Follower needs to be precise where she does her back sacada.

Maestros concluded with a demo to Orquesta Tipica Victor’s Coqueta. See the video at www.tangostudent.blogspot.com

COME JOIN ME!

Friday, September 17, 2010

MUSE milonga at City Dance Annex.

August 19 - September 1

Friday, August 20, 2010
MUSE Milonga at City Dance Annex, with lesson beforehand by David & Mariana. I sat out the lesson since it was otherwise perfectly balanced with Leaders and Followers. The topic focused on the back volcada with a forward step for Follower, and also included the no-hip rotation tight back cross step with no lean (they called this a mini volcada but there was no off-axis to it). The lesson was good. The milonga was fantastic. It was more crowded than it had been, and the Leader quality was excellent. Maestros were very good sports, spending a little while social dancing with us all. Jr. Scout Extraordinaire was there, and she gave me a very nice present (a way cool kitchen toy...oops. I mean tool). I was planning on leaving before the last milonga tanda, but Mix Mistress Z, who did a fine job spinning the tunes, and Jose convinced me to stay to dance with a local tanguero (they called him "milonguero" -- but I respectfully beg to differ...). We did, and were rewarded with applause. So I guess that was my YouTube moment (though no one was filming). The Leaders were all incredibly charming, and I got three offers of walks back to my car at the end of the evening. :o) I accepted from El Jefe. It was a really fantastic evening. I totally believe in this milonga and want it to be a success, so I will be volunteering for it in the future.

Sunday, August 22, 2010
Gabriel Misse y Natalia Hills workshops @ Alberto's. They were good lessons (on technique and figures in close embrace). Gabriel Misse is an excellent teacher on the Leader side of the equation. I just totally flaked on my notes.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Negracha y Diego Milonga Argentina @ Lake Merritt Dance Center…sort of… Parking was very difficult (meaning I had to park a whopping one block away) since there were four different dance events at the Lake Merritt Dance Center on this night. Walking into the facility, I saw the schedule of events, and could not resist checking them all out. Event No. 1.: Ballroom dance party in the main gorgeous ballroom with mostly seniors. Event No. 2.: The Smokin’ Hot Lesbian fundraiser dance for the Humane Society with mostly smokin’ hot lesbians. Event No. 3.: The very crowded Salsa party hosted by (and lesson taught by) Juan. Event No. 4.: Negracha y Diego’s milonga. As much as I adore Negracha y Diego, when I arrived around 9:30 p.m., there were significantly more followers than leaders at their milonga. So rather than warm the bench for a good part of the night, I decided to go to the other LMDC event that tickled my fancy the most. And that event was…drum roll please…the ballroom dance party with mostly seniors (though I was sorely tempted by the Smokin' Hot Lesbian party)! I think they, too, were a little shocked that I decided to go to their party. Unfortunately, I only had my insensibly-high-for-ballroom tango stilettos, but I decided to give it a go anyway. The leaders took it easy on me, since I prefaced nearly every dance with a new leader with the disclosure that my ballroom was quite rusty. They were all super nice and understanding. I had an excellent time. It was a very strange sensation, which is always how I feel when I dance at other social partner dances, where we are done after one song. It seems almost uncivilized, like we can’t wait to get away from each other after one song, starkly in contrast to spending an entire tanda with one person and getting to know them on a dance level during that time. There was also this almost sort of personal mental anguish with trying to reach back into the far crevices of my brain, trying to remember how to dance nightclub two-step, rumba, and fox trot. Thank God they didn’t play any Quick Step, because I would have messed that up for sure (even though I used to be decent at Quick Step). My East Cost Swing and Waltz are still respectable, and thankfully, the live band played quite a few of them. But all too soon, the night was over (the ballroom dance party goes from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.). After that, I decided to make my way back upstairs to peek in at Negracha y Diego’s milonga. I saw the last 3 seconds of a milonga performance by visiting maestros Tomas Galvan & Gimena Herrera, which looked good. I decided not to join in on the fun of the milonga though since there were still substantially more Followers than Leaders. And quite frankly, I was mentally and physically exhausted from trying to remember all the ballroom dances, and dancing them in insensibly high shoes. The thought crossed my mind to stop in at Tango Magdelana, where the milonga was scheduled to go to 3:00 a.m., but I just kept driving on Grand Avenue, and back onto the freeway as soon as I saw the theatre.

Come Join Me!

September 3 - MUSE milonga @ City Dance Annex. I'll be at the door. :o)

What am I excited about these days?

September 11 workshop with Gabriela Condrea. 4-hour workshop on Learn to Listen, Learn to Play, for the bargain price of $25 prepaid. Location TBA. I have no idea who she is (other than what's on her web site), but what excites me is that she is a Dinzelito!!! Those few group privates I had with Los Dinzel in 2007 completely changed the way I danced. And they were the ones who started me on my note-taking tango journey. :o) I am hopeful that Gabriela will teach something along the lines of what Los Dinzel teach, and in their style of teaching.

Here's what the tangomango.org listing says:

Workshop-LEARN TO LISTEN; LEARN TO PLAY
Improvisation in Argentine Tango
Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Feel rather than think, see possibilities rather than sequences, seize each moment of every tango, and play. This workshop will help you leave your plans behind you and focus on the moment before you - on yourself and your partner and the conversation that is tango that you create together. LEARN to LISTEN to each other; LEARN to PLAY.

A Very Happy Picture of Us All from Al Cuadrado

Dang. We are one seriously happy, DRAMA-FREE group, don't you think? :o)