march 2001 el firulete 1 - planet tangoplanet-tango.com/elfiru/mar2001.pdf · · 2006-05-12march...

El Firulete 1March 2001

THE ARGENTINE TANGO MAGAZINE March 2001Volume 8 Issue 1

PLUSPLUSPLUSPLUSPLUSUna noche de garufUna noche de garufUna noche de garufUna noche de garufUna noche de garufaaaaaA view frA view frA view frA view frA view from behind the music standom behind the music standom behind the music standom behind the music standom behind the music standThrThrThrThrThrow me an ocho sistahow me an ocho sistahow me an ocho sistahow me an ocho sistahow me an ocho sistahand much more... $5.00 U.S.A.

El Firulete March 20012

HOOKED ON NOLADear Alberto and Valorie,

Thank you for the wonderful time we had at yourhome and the warm welcome you gave us duringthe time we spent in New Orleans.

We really enjoyed the city a lot, and we owea great deal of that to you. Valesa and I send youour love and we hope to meet again somewherein the wide world of the Tango.

Please extend our regards to Julio Canosaand his mother Nelly. Un abrazo,

Marcelo y Valesa Solis

Dear Marcelo and Valesa,

Congratulations are in order because ofyour surprise engagement in our city, for yourkindness in sharing the happy occasion at ourhome and for letting us know that as we go topress with this issue, you just got married!

WARMTH FROM ALASKA

Dear Valorie and Alberto,

Greetings from Anchorage. Joan and I missyour expertise - we hope to journey to NewOrleans in the future and perhaps take somelessons. Best regards and Happy New Year.

Norm Hori

Anchorage, AK

PASSIONATE READERS

Dear Alberto and Valorie,

We received your complimentary Decemberissue of El Firulete, thank you for thinking of us!We read through much of this issue and found itvery saddening about Rodolfo Cieri’s passing.Melina and I went to Buenos Aires in March of1999 for the Congreso Internacional de TangoArgentino and we took classes with Rodolfo and

Maria. We even had the opportunity to watchthem perform along with the other teachers of theevent. Rodolfo and Maria are excellent dancersand professors of tango, they presented them-selves as a passionate and loving couple on thestage. Everyone in the theater enjoyed their tangoand canyengue which they presented withprecision and style! As our two week journeycame to a close, we took with us a wealth ofknowledge about the life-styles, cultures andhistory encompassed with the tango! We weredeeply saddened and will always remember himfrom previous classes and on the stage. Ourcondolences go out to Maria and her family.

We enjoyed and really grasped your article“Waiting for the Deejay.” I have attendedmilongas in different parts of Florida and I haveheard “the music sucks” at a few of them.Usually, each milonga gets better as feedbackfrom milongueros are of great value and helpprovide better dancing music. I do agree with youon the education process, a lot of it is taking thetime to listen and study the different orchestrasand their music.

You wrote in “A Music Primer,” “I wondersometimes why friends don’t take advantage of awealth of experience and knowledge that isavailable to them just for the asking.” I wouldlike to take advantage of your experience andknowledge and ask if you have CD’s available toplay at our milongas and also to assist me withlearning as well. I would like to continue mysubscription to El Firulete, the information youpublish is a learning experience in itself and Ikeep your publication in our studio for ourstudents to learn and prosper as well. Melina andI both love to share the tango as much as we canwith our students in Central Florida.

Wishing you many passionate tangos,

Richard and Melina Lucia

Orlando, FL

MIND GAMES

Dear Valorie and Alberto,

I ain’t no pro and by my own admission noteven an amateur but I put out some poetrytogether for fun, and on a whim.

David Capitano

Tampa Bay, FL

Dear David,

Slow night at the milonga, eh? Thank youfor sharing.

We want you to sound off, whether it's to complain or to compliment. Or even if it's to elaborate on an article in ourpublication. Here are the rules: (1) You must tell us your full name, but we won't print it if you so request; (2) you must give yourcomplete address - even though we'll identify you only by the city and state- and your telephone number; and (3) we reservethe right to edit letters for length and clarity or to withhold their publication.

TANGO TRIP IN ABSTRACT(a chance meeting at an open air milonga)

Under the moonDon’t speak too soonQuiet, as we dance this danceAs we walk this circumspect walkAnd talk this silent talkOur bodies in a single tranceAnticipation fills our passionate heartAs we journey to a distant farTwo travelers meeting on a road called chanceNot knowing where we are going or where we willendSimply we beginSoon, however, as we compare as to whereThe same destination is indeed a factBecause stamped on the ticket of our heart are thewordsDestination: Tango Trip In Abstarct

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES(A woman’s perspective)

Follow his subtle leadWalk though the open doorNo doors without locksRooms of possibilitiesRooms with many doorsStill a need for his leadIn a mansion with many floorsAnd rooms with many, many doors

TANGO REFLECTIONSI go, You goYou go, I goTango.The Gancho, The BoleoThe Parada, The Molinetta (sic)Tango.The Bass, The PianoThe Violin, The BandoneonTango.La cumparsita with a senoritaTango.Adios Aster (sic) the MasterFarewell, GardelTango.

ASTERdon’t be so blue don’t be so highlost in thought no thoughts are losttwo paths that happen to crossin this dance what is to gain what is losttwo actors on a stage dancing to an unwrittenscript not even a page two hearts are one burningas the dun turning as planets turn - perfect.

An Argentine moment in New Orleans:Alberto, Marcelo and Julio.


PublisherPlanet Tango

Joint EditorsAlberto Paz & Valorie Hart

Contributing WritersAlberto PazValorie HartEva del CidJoan Singer

Photos and Image ProcessingValorie HartAlberto PazJulio CanosaGary Breaux

Cheryl CredioGerry Miller

Graphic Design and ProductionAlberto Paz

Editorial, Advertising, Inquiries,Comments, Questions and Suggestions

Planet Tango1000 Bourbon St., #202New Orleans, LA 70116

E-mail to: [email protected]@planet-tango.com

Websitehttp://www.planet-tango.com

The information published is intended forentertainment purposes only and it is asaccurate as possible. All correspondence andmanuscripts are submitted at owner’s risk. Allbecome property of the publisher.

All rights reserved throughout the world.Printed in the United States of America. No partof this publication may be transmitted orreproduced in any form or by any means withoutthe express written consent of the publishers.The opinions and advertising printed in ElFirulete are the sole responsibility of theauthors, and they are not necessarily theopinions of the publishers therefore we can notbe held liable for their opinions and theiractions.

Vol 8 Issue 1 March 2001

The Argentine Tango MagazineThe Argentine Tango MagazineThe Argentine Tango MagazineThe Argentine Tango MagazineThe Argentine Tango Magazine

Alberto Paz

Tangazos

Four crazy days

Cover price $5.00Cover price $5.00Cover price $5.00Cover price $5.00Cover price $5.00

12 issues subscription12 issues subscription12 issues subscription12 issues subscription12 issues subscription$30 in the US, $40 in Canada,$30 in the US, $40 in Canada,$30 in the US, $40 in Canada,$30 in the US, $40 in Canada,$30 in the US, $40 in Canada,

$50 international$50 international$50 international$50 international$50 international

Back a few decades ago, in the city of BuenosAires at carnaval time, we used to sing alongwith a catchy tune that reflected the spirit and the

purpose of the celebration we were all engaged in justbefore the period of Lent, a mandatory time of fasting andabstinence for a devoted Catholic population.

For four crazy days you're going to live, for four crazydays you're going to have some fun. The four days includedthe Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the official day thatinitiates a religious ritual that ends on Easter Sunday. Growing up in the streets of theSilver Queen, we looked forward to the four days of carnaval..

The celebration of carnaval was a time of the year when we let go of inhibitionsand took to the streets to dance, parade and become part of a masked crowd that movedabout the city engulfed in a cacophony of drums, chants and popular tunes. It was allabout coming out.

As it happened for our parents' and grandparents' generations, all the popularsocial clubs offered the possibility to dance to the greatest orchestras of that time. Theannouncements filled full pages in the newspapers. Posters, flyers and hand bills wereall over the city walls and sidewalks. In retrospect, the choices were overwhelming.Anibal Troilo in Avellaneda at the Racing Club. Osvaldo Pugliese in Atlanta at VillaCrespo. Juan D’Arienzo at Club Atletico Boca Juniors. Carlos Di Sarli at VelezSarfield. Francisco Canaro at the Luna Park. Or was it the other way around? It reallydoesn’t matter, because at the time, all of that was part of a natural cycle of our life. Itjust happened. Carnaval was the time to venture out and it was the greatest time to beyoung and bold at the end of summer in Buenos Aires.

For it was not just the appeal of the orchestra which led many to the giganticdance floors, but the call of nature for men and women to openly seek each other out,free of the traditional codes of conduct otherwise imposed by a zealous society.Carnaval was the time when eyes were the first contact to acknowledge each other'spresence, to encourage the shy to be daring, to reassure the undecided to take achance, to openly express the feeling of attraction. For four crazy days, codes andprotocols were set aside. Four crazy days that invited one to live. It was time for fun,joy and romance to the sounds of the Tango.

The same Tango we dance and love today, thousands of miles away from thesource, in our adopted American homeland. The same Tango that, because of earlyHollywood types like Rudolph Valentino, symbols like the rose between the teeth, andthe staged choreographies of Tango shows for export, seems to be muffled by a chatterof false pretenses and corny cliches.

So, I never dreamed that in the first carnaval of the twenty-first century, ourjourney through the Tango life would lead us to a city where the spirit of carnaval,according to spotty records, seems to date back to 1781.

That New Orleans, the Crescent City, is part of the United States baffles a visitor'smind. Long after the city was acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase, traces ofnobility, aristocracy and the diversity of races, languages and cultural traits seem topreserve the rituals of celebration of the greatest free show on earth. They call it MardiGras, but it is carnaval minus Tango. Or so it was until now.


When Miguel Angel Zottoand Milena Plebs beganthe production of their

successful show Una Noche de Tango,they went out looking for a famousdancer who had been in retirement foralmost twenty years. It was the secondtime in so many years that opportunitywas knocking at Jose Maria Braña'sdoor. In 1975, the producers of TangoArgentino invited him to join the soonto be sensational musical revue, butpressed by family obligations, Brañadeclined, and shortly after that he leftthe stage, retired after almost forty yearsof a professional career as a Tangodancer.

This time around, El Pibe Palermo,as Braña is better known, joined theTango x 2 company with his wife andpartner Norma, and brought to the stagethe legacy of a glorious past for theenjoyment of future generations ofdancers. For those who remember, theelderly couple was billed as Palermoand Norma. Palermo, in a recreation ofEl Cachafaz, tops off Zotto'sValentino's Hollywood brand of tangouwith a vintage exhibition of the way itused to be when Tango was only dancedby those who knew how.

In 1997 the Argentine DanceCouncil presented an award to Palermoin a ceremony held at the Teatro Colonin Buenos Aires. Prior to that, in 1981he received the Golden Gardel Awardpresented by the Argentine TangoCultural Center.

Jose Maria Braña was born in theport district of La Boca but grew up in

Palermo, another neighborhood whereTango and Milonga were part of theeveryday life for the dancers of the time.While La Boca has kept its picturesquepainted tin tenements as a symbol of itsmost illustrious tenants, the great artistsBenito Quinquela Martin and Juan deDios Filiberto, Palermo flourishedamong lavish fountains, ponds, lakesand parks surrounded by high-rises andcrisscrossed by wide arteries connectingthe blue collar southern part of the citywith the posh northern habitat of thewell-to-do.

His father, who as these Tango

histories go, was only known as Ellecherito (the milk boy), had a reputa-tion of being one of the best dancers ofTango con corte in nearby Villa Crespo.He discovered that his young son had anatural vocation for dancing, going asfar as pronouncing that he was born todance.

So, Jose Maria spent his childhooddays consumed by the learning aspectsof Tango dancing, listening to everyorchestra on the radio, practicing andadapting steps to the distinctive sounds,styles and rhythms of each one of thepopular band leaders of the time. Hewas still a young teenager, but alreadycapable of dancing wearing embroideredtennis shoes, a carnation in his ear and ablack sash; dressed up in black jacket,white embroidered scarf and grayfedora, checkered slacks with a blackstripe along the side of the legs andCuban heels; wearing aristocratic tailsand black tie.

The kid from Palermo grew up witha reverent respect for the elder, admiringtheir past but not being afraid to lookinto the future. By the time he started toattend the famous Academia Nelson,there were great dancers with names likeEl Tarila, El Mendez, and El Cachafaz.One of the professors at the academypredicted that if this kid finds a suitablepartner, he can go up against anybody,anytime.

Around he went as every conceiv-able dance hall in the district of Palermobegan to notice the ability and uniquestyle that first earned him the nicknameof Tango Argentino, later El dividido,and finally The Palermo Kid. The firstand last monikers are self-explanatory,but the use of a dictionary will translatethe second one as “the divided.” Indeed,from the waist up, the Palermo Kid wasa symbol of the new Tango times tocome; from the waist down he wasvintage turn of the century.

At times, the public at the PalermoPalace would stop dancing, overtakenby the emotion triggered by his exhibi-tions of brilliance, speed and personal-ity. Soon he caught the attention of the

On Our Cover

Faithful To a Tradition of OldThe growth of Tango dancing around the world continues toraise the demand for qualified instruction and authentic repre-sentation of the traditions that form the solid foundation of thisartistic form. The proliferation of "legendary teachers" with lessthan five years of dancing experience, overshadows the livingpresence of dancers who keep the spirit of the Old Guard aliveand well.

Palermo and Norma on the stage ofTango x 2 in the late 1990's.


owners who hired him along withCarmencita Calderon to dance with theorchestra of Angel D’Agostino. Theyear was 1942 and El Cachafaz had justpassed away at the age of fifty-seven.His first professional engagement wassuch a great success that many timesthey would announce his presence evenwhen he was not scheduled to perform.But fate was saving a greater surprisefor him.

There was a party on the patio of hishouse featuring live music by a four-some of the Old Guard: bandoneon,flute, violin and guitar, and the dancingof a renowned professional. ThePalermo Kid was a fervent admirer ofthe Old Guard, but out of deference andrespect for the elder, he refused invita-tions to dance in spite of the insistentrequests of all present. Finally his fathergave him the green light, go ahead. Thatnight he earned the praise of the musi-cians and the professional dancer, whocould not believe that a kid as young ashe was could interpret the style of theOld Guard as well as he did. This led toan audition with the orchestra ofManuel Pizzarro for La cabalgata deltango, a musical review that premieredwith such a smashing success that theOld Guard dancer proclaimed, Now I

can die in peace, with this kid there isanother sixty years of Old Guard.

Soon the old timer retired and thePalermo Kid became the star of theshow. Around this time he andCarmencita Calderon parted ways. Hecontinued to dazzle the audiences atevery theater in Buenos Aires, where

Pibe Palermo with unidentified partner at a 1943 Tango academy.

Palermo with Carmencita Calderonat the Maipu Pigall in 1942.

night after night the public flocked to beentertained by this dancer that kneweverything. In fact, he danced the OldGuard, the canyengue, the milongawith Tango variations, and the Tangowith milonga variations. When thefrenzied audiences asked for more, hewould pay homage to his dad and dancea Tango with medio corte, ending with asilky Tango Salon, La cumparsita. Itwas here when he earned yet anothernickname, El Rey del Tango. The king.

Throughout the 1940's, the PalermoKid toured the province of Buenos Airesincluding a successful presentation atthe prestigious Bristol Theater in theresort area of Mar del Plata. Eventuallyhe went out on his own, dancing on andoff with Carmencita Calderon. Hedanced at every dance hall in the city ofBuenos Aires during the Golden Era ofthe Tango. In the 1950's, Angel Vargasinvited him and Carmencita to dance atthe Maipu Pigall, a renowned BuenosAires night club.

Further, he toured the northernprovinces of Argentina, and madeappearances in several films with TitoLusiardo, Alfredo Alcon and VirginiaLuque. These were renowned moviestars of the fifties.

He was one of the first stageperformers to be invited to the newTango Festival in La Falda, a resortcity in the province of Cordoba. There,he was accompanied by the trio Losmuchachos de antes led by jazz clari-netist Francisco Panchito Cao andguitar player Horacio Malvicino.

Until he went into retirement, PibePalermo kept busy dancing with theorchestras of Pugliese, De Angelis,D'Arienzo and just about every otherorchestra during TV, theater, and nightclub presentations.Today, he continuesstudying and dancing, faithful to thespirit of the tanguero tradition of oldBuenos Aires, and the life lessons thathis father taught him.

We wish to give special thanks to Sergio Cortazzo,who provided photos and copies of an article onPibe Palermo written by Jorge Riva for Tango XXI inthe March 1999 issue


Steeped in classical violin training,I immediately identified withtango's instrumental virtuosity,

harmonic sophistication and emotionalintimacy. This common vocabulary –shared by tango and classical music –has encouraged is musical crossovers inboth directions. The most famousexample, of course, is Astor Piazzolla,who moved from his role asbandoneonist in Anibal Troilo’s tangoorchestra to his role as classical compo-sition student of Alberto Ginastera andNadia Boulanger, and finally to the rolewhich made him at once the most lovedand hated tango musician in Argentina,that of inventor and prime practitionerof the New Tango. Other tango musi-cians – Atilio Stampone, MarianoMores and Raúl Garello – have crossedinto classical territory by creatingsymphonic tangos arrangements. Morerecently, classical musicians includingcellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist DanielBarenboim, and violinist GidonKremer have issued crossover tangoCDs, complete with liner notes confess-ing longtime addictions to tango.

I went public with my love of tangoby creating the music group QuinTango– two violins, cello, bass and piano.Longing to play this music myself, Isought out the most passionate andpersonal performers I knew, cajoledthem with tango sheet music for theirmusic stands and put cassette tapes intheir car tape players (musicians spendmost of their time in their cars) andwaited for the spark to ignite.

of D.C.), most people come toQuinTango concerts because they arecurious what the tango buzz is all aboutor because they have heard our music onthe radio or because they loved AlPacino in Scent of a Woman. Theycome to us as ‘tango virgins,’ a seriousresponsibility. We carefully seducethem with a variety of classic and newtangos, poetic lyrics recited in Spanish,and historic anecdotes about CarlosGardel and Buenos Aires. By the endof the evening, most of the tango virginshave become tango lovers. The music ofAnibal Troilo, Anselmo Aieta, Hora-cio Salgán, Astor Piazzolla and JuliánPlaza has worked its magic. As theyline up for CDs and autographs, thesenew tango converts are bursting withquestions about how to get more tangointo their lives. Where to take dancelessons? Where to hear music in BuenosAires? What Piazzolla album to buy?When is QuinTango’s next concert? Ileave the concert hall deliciouslyexhausted, knowing that we haveenriched many lives and brought a newgroup of enthusiasts to the tango com-munity, including dance classes.

I get a similar feeling of satisfactionfrom our annual twenty-plus perfor-mances of The Story of Tango in TitleOne elementary schools. Immigrant andlow income children – tomorrow’saudiences and dancers – as well as theteachers and custodial staff are spell-bound by the story and music of thepoor immigrant Rio Platense neighbor-hood that gave the precious gift of thetango to the rest of the world.

My greatest labor of love is thespring Tango Festival in Washington,D.C. Each May the National BuildingMuseum and QuinTango collaborate inbringing to Washington tango loversinternational and visiting tourists a first-rate afternoon of music and dance,featuring QuinTango and such guestartists as Raúl Jaurena, MargaMitchell, Carolina Zokalski and DiegoDi Falco. The event concludes withrefreshments and dancing in the 19th-century splendor of the BuildingMuseum’s Great Hall. It is magical.

For immediate release

A View from Behind the Music StandLike many of you, I was suddenly and completely seduced bytango. Unlike most of you, it was not the ochos and ganchos thattook my breath away – it was the heart-wrenching harmonies,the violin melodiesviolins, and the powerful lunges and retreatsof the rhythm. With no thought for the future, I offered little resis-tance as tango set up a natural resonance in my life.

That was six years ago. QuinTangois, now an internationally recognizedtango orchestra, with has produced twoCDs and concert performances, given acommand performance at the WhiteHouse (for President and Mrs. Clintonand President Menem of Argentina),and appeared in concert at venuesincluding the Kennedy Center, theEmbassy of Argentina, the Organiza-tion of American States, the Interna-tional Music Festival of Costa Ricaand the Piccolo Spoleto Festival inCharleston, S.C.

Although many of our fans aretango dancers, our performances takeplace in concert settings. QuinTangohas three target audiences: the concert-going public with little or no knowledgeof tango, students from kindergartenthrough college young people, and thewonderful international community oftango lovers and dancers. Outsidecosmopolitan areas (like our home base

The author with Osvaldo Berlingieriin Buenos Aires.

By Joan Singer


This spring’s festival, Tango Thenand Now, will highlight tangos by someof the remarkable composers working inBuenos Aires today – HoracioSalgán, Julián Plaza, Mariano Mores– and will feature the world premiere ofa new tango by the tango masterOsvaldo Berlingieri. This premiere isthe result of my pilgrimage in August(along with my husband and two otherQuinTango members) to the live musicvenues of Buenos Aires, a city whichoverwhelmed me with its generoushospitality. Julián Plaza, AtilioStampone, and Amilcar Tolosa invitedus for a cafecito. Emilio Balcarceinvited us to his rehearsals. OsvaldoBerlingieri invited us to a concert I wasunable to attend.

Maestro Berlingieri’s generosity islegendary I was told – and now believe.Since I could not attend the concert, Iwas invited to a dinner with him and hislovely wife. We had a great time chat-ting and exchanged CDS. After severalmonths of correspondence through athird party (the maestro does not haveemail), I received out of the blue,Berlingieri’s brand new tango, amanuscript of a new tango compositiondedicated to us and entitled QuinTango.The maestro, I was told by our commonfriend, had been thinking of us and what

we were doing for tango in the USA andwas moved to write a new piece. With-out doubt, this is the most remarkableand supportive gift I know of from atango legend to the new kid on theblock. Like tango itself, it is an extrava-gant gesture straight from the heart.

The premiere of QuinTango willtake place at Tango Festival 2001, May20th at 5:30 PM at the National Build-ing Museum in Washington, D.C. Alsoon the program will be Chris Vasquez’recreation of the character and songs ofCarlos Gardel, the bandoneón andguitar duo of Tito Castro and PanchoNavarro, world class tango dancerPablo Veron, and of course,QuinTango. If you can be in the D.C.area, please join us for an afternoonhonoring Carlos Gardel and the tangosof today in Buenos Aires. You’ll beright at home among all those musi-cians, dancers, and tango lovers. Muybuena gente. Don’t forget your tangoshoes!

Few in the world of Tango in Argen-tina would consider the music ofBuenos Aires as being seductive withpromises of intimacy, passion and truth,except the producers and publicists ofTango shows for export. For this, theyhave been chastised, criticized andridiculed by those who know that theTango is playful and arrogant, irreverentand sentimental, nostalgic or dramatic.As a reflection of the people who createdit, the Tango expresses the collectivemoods of a city that grew from a tensquare block village to a megalopoliswhich combines aspects of New York,Paris and Moscow. A unique livingenvironment where the music of Tangois the score for the plot of seductionbeing played on the dance floor betweenmen and women.

When we listen to La cumparsita,Taquito militar, Nueve de Julio orCaminito, we expect images of bygonedays of street celebration, nights at thetheatre, patriotic parades or leisurewalks hand in hand through a dirt alleybehind the railroad tracks in somehumble neighborhood. That is, if theinterpretation is done by musicians whocan understand and communicate inthe lingo of the streets, and do it withthe accent and phrasing that speaksdirectly to the heart and soul of theTango aficionado.

QuinTango's newest CD has comecloser than any other foreign group toexpress the Tango with its propersound, pulse, accent and emotions. Outof thirteen selections, only two carry thesignature of Astor Piazzolla, arguablythe composer of choice for most classi-cal musicians turned Tango players, buthardly capable of speaking the languageof Anselmo Aieta, Osvaldo Pugliese,Osvaldo Berlingieri, Horacio Salgan orAnibal Troilo.

We highly recommend this CD foryour dancing and listening enjoyment.Buy extra copies and give them to yourlocal "tango band" as an example of howTango can be played with respect andconsideration of its sound, accent andpulse, even when, as it is in the case ofQuinTango, there is no bandoneon, buttwo talented expressive violins, aconfident cello, a commanding doublebass and a pianist with two hands.

TMan

The DJ ReportQuinTango - SECRET PLACES

Total playing time 47:29Produced by Joan Singer and Bruce SteggContact: 703.548.9148www.quintango.com

Violinist Joan Singer wrote this articleespecially for El Firulete. She is founderand director of QuinTango, a tango quintetbased in the Washington, D.C. area.

She is married to tango dancer (anddaytime physicist) Irwin Singer. Updateson QuinTango and the Tango Festival canbe found at www.quintango.com.

Libby Blatt, Irma Field Cripe, Bruce Steeg, Joan Singer and Rachel Schenker.

QuinTango


The city of New Orleans sharesan uncanny resemblance to another port city

colonized by the Spaniards, culturally influenced bythe French, and originally created to serve as ahuman dumping ground for the most undesirablecharacters from the Old Continent. Settled on thebanks of a mightyriver, the blueprintscalled for a Cathe-

dral and the Cabildocircling the centralsquare. Today, NewOrleans is without adoubt the most authenticEuropean city in theUnited States. BuenosAires continues to be themost European city inSouth America.

From the latenineteenth centurysettlements of BuenosAires, the Tangoemerged as the danceand music of the disen-

franchised lower class and in a little over onecentury it has become an internationalambassador for the cult of the human em-brace. We first visited the Crescent City inOctober 1999 invited by Casa Argentina ofNew Orleans to teach a four day ArgentineTango workshop to about twenty couples.Actually it was Sabina_Nola (an e-mailhandle at the time) who had originally askedthe proverbial question, "when are youcoming to New Orleans," after she hadmissed us in San Francisco while visitingCalifornia. Barely a couple of years old,Tango in New Orleans had been quietlypracticed in a downtown cabaret and at aquiet suburban studio fifteen minutes away.We remember getting the impression that thiswas a group separated by a common passion(and a stretch of Interstate 10).

Mary Anne on a breadpudding break.

Michelle and Julio

Four tables like thisoccupied the four cornersof the dance floor.

SHOWTIME

Alberto and Valorie


For all New Orleans Tango Activities, http://www.neworleanstango.net

Miss Valorie, the hostess

Photos by Julio Canosa

On December 29, 2000, six months after we con-summated our love affair for the Crescent City andmoved in, we wanted to share with our new Tango friends a taste of the good Tangolife that lies ahead. So, we gathered in the heart of the French Quarter for a nightof "garufa," a night of partying the Tango way, a night to thank and be thankful forthe renovated spirit of friendship, camaraderie and unselfish love of the Tango.

The location was the second floor room of a nearly two-hundred year oldrestaurant, which was smartly decorated with garlands, Christmas lights, multicol-ored ribbons, votive candles and freshly cut flowers. Four round tables were setaround the dance floor, each one withcenterpieces topped with candelabrums andindividual flower vases. The open barbegan serving the first arrivals at 9 PM asthey gathered to greet each other, theirlively conversation leading to a deliciousdinner which included paella, salmon,shrimp pasta, Caesar salad and a deliciousbread pudding for dessert.

The evening stretched into the firsthours of the morning when the last coupleliterally dragged their happily tired feet offthe floor and marched, with the reverbera-tion of the sounds of legendary orchestrasin their hearts, into the misty gray halo thatwraps around the colonial street lamps.

Sabina and Joe. He playssax and flute for a localLatin band.

Exhibition by Valorie &Alberto with Gary & Phyllis.

Fine moments of after dinner chat

Linda (also her name)

Gary

Don Antonio


2001 Mardi Gras Tango Odd-E-ssay

Throw me an ocho Sistah

A couple of hundred years later,after being ruled by the French,the Spaniards, and finally

purchased by the United States, thestate of Louisiana has earned a reputa-tion that some call European and othersThird World. In particular, the city ofNew Orleans is recognized as thebirthplace of jazz, its culinary varietyand Mardi Gras.

It is said that the celebration ofcarnaval was imported from France asa ritual that begins on the twelfth dayafter Christmas and ends at midnightthe day before Ash Wednesday. Thesedates are very familiar to those of

Catholic persuasion although there isvery little religious about Mardi Gras.

Some say that the Church gave uptrying to fight the decadent pagan tonesof the celebrations by its faithful, andlooked the other way while people wentout indulging in food, drinks and othercarnal excesses, so their bodies wouldbe strong enough to endure the Lentenperiod of fasting and abstinence.

This is a city where the smell ofcrawfish boil turns more people on than

Chanel #5, and where waitresses at thelocal sandwich shop tell customers thata fried oyster po-boy "dressed" ishealthier than a Caesar salad. The majortopics of conversation when you go outto eat are: restaurant meals you have hadin the past, and restaurant meals youplan to have in the future. People don'tlearn until high school that Mardi Grasis not a national holiday.

For visitors, New Orleans isBourbon Street, and Mardi Gras atime for housewives and coeds toexpose their breasts in exchange forplastic beads. It is actually the outsiders,who for fourteen days, filling the city

TANGUS 2001, Lord of Franela andFiruletes toasting Miz Valorie, queen of

the Krewe of the Mistickal Nights oftheTango.

Heels on Wheels, a Tango theme float atthe 2001 Mardi Gras. Miz V. arriving at the Purple Party.

The year was 1718, the occasion a one way cruise; the skipper wasPierre Le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville, his mate, brother Jean-Baptiste, Sieur of Bienville. The passengers included French andCanadian immigrants; whores, beggars, Indian slaves, thieves andcutthroats on leave from Parisian jails. The destination, a belowsea level collection of swamps in a miserable steamy, sticky andsuffocating heated bend of the Mississippi river. Starvation anddeadly disease were a threat. Bienville pulled into the quay, un-loaded the passengers, threw their belongings overboard andproclaimed: Welcome to the Crescent City, enjoy the Mardi Gras.

Krewe of the Mistickal Nights of theTango on parade on Royal Street.


coffers with a cool billion dollars, litterthe streets with a tonnage of garbageand convert Bourbon Street into thegreatest loitering place in America.Major Mardi Gras parades have longabandoned the French Quarter becausethe growing size of the floats andcrowds began to pose a major firehazard. However three walking parades

TANGUS hitching a ride to the milonga.

"roll" through the streets of the VieuxCarre, and neighboring FauburgMarigny and the Bywater. The Krewede Vieux and the Krewe of St. Ann arefor humans. The Krewe of Barkus isfor all the dogs of the city (the fourlegged variety) and parades exclusivelyin the French Quarter.

The super krewes and the bigparades now roll through the streets ofsurrounding neighborhoods, continuinga tradition that began just before theCivil War, when a secret society of wellbred white supremacist aristocratsfounded the Mistick Krewe of Comusfor the purpose of saving the spirit ofMardi Gras, which they felt had beencondemned to extinction by the idle andfeckless Creole of colonial and Catholicheritage. The old line formula has notchanged a lot: a host of black men leadthe parade with propane gas tanks ontheir backs waving flambeaux; highschool marching bands; masked horse-back riders and police squad cars marchin between tractor-pulled floats over-

flowing with lights. They sport gianttheme figures, from mythology to StarTrek, to political satire. They aremanned by masked riders wearingelaborate customs and donning titlessuch as kings, queens, captains, pages,marshals and throwers.

For a first time participant, as aparade slowly rolls through streets linedwith enraptured spectators, who seemcapable of pushing little old ladies outof the way to catch Mardi Gras throws.One wonders if some will leave the

One of Two Well-Known Gentlemen of theTango with a British subject in hand.

Miss Natalia, Miss Mary Anneand Miss Phyllis, debutantes at

the Mardi Gras Milonga.

Miss Behaving at the Purple party

Mounted page taking a breakto greet visitor from Phoenix.


parade with footprints on their hands. Inreality, one quickly learns how to avoidcatching beads with the nose, how tobefriend fellow catchers, and how to gohome with the booty of trinkets caughtfrom the floats hanging around the neck.

Although the plastic beads fromTaiwan which have replaced the originalglass beads from Czechoslovakia, haveno other value than that charged at theFrench Market or other stores along

Royal and Bourbon Streets, the wholeunjustifiable idea is to run beside thefloats, waving hands, jumping up anddown, yelling throw me something,mistah, and catching the colored beadsbefore they hit the ground.

On Bourbon Street, after midnightand a couple of cocktails with nameslike hand grenades, hurricanes andgoodies, young All American coeds baretheir breasts in exchange for fakejewelry to the chants of go, go, godescending from the festooned balconiesof the Vieux Carre. The lenses of videocameras propped high above heads and

shoulders catch a glimpse of flesh.

During the ensuing months, lateafter midnight in the heartland ofAmerica, infomercials will peddleMardi Gras' Wild Housewives andCoeds videos on TV with an assortmentof revellers exposing their breasts. Theywill most certainly be followed by

lunatic preachers whowill inspire other freaksto come on down to NewOrleans and second linetheir way into theparades waving flagswith slogans that readSatan Rules and JesusJudges.

Anticipating a dryseason for Tango danc-ing while everybody elsewas having fun, ameeting was called at asecret location some-where in the Warehouse

District on Tchoupitoulas St. for apurpose soon explained as follows:

WHEREAS, Mardi Gras has castits fun over our passionate Tangonights and care usurped the placewhere a milonga is wont to hold itsway. Now, therefore, do I deeplysympathizing with the general anxiety,deem it proper to join the AnnualFestival in this goodly Crescent Cityand by this proclamation do commandassemblage of the Krewe of theMistickal Nights of the Tango. Givenunder my hand this, the 1st day ofFebruary, A.D. 2001. TANGUS.

Further, breaking all old line rules,the Krewe would not require a member-ship fee, would welcome people regard-less of gender, race or sexual preference,and would adopt the motto: Pro bonotango, be nice or leave.

And so it happened that the Kreweof the Mistickal Nights of the Tangowas seen second lining at the Krewe deVieux parade through the FrenchQuarter on their way to the MardiGras Milonga at Pierre Maspero'sRestaurant. Further, masked andunmasked members of the Krewecontinued their carnival celebration

Big Easy Chapter members of theFollowers-Who-Lead Society.

Morgan, Ed, Nick, Miss Mary Anne and Warrendemonstrate the effect of Hurricanes on balance.

TANGUS refuses to show anything butattitude to bead trader.

The New Orleans We-Can-Tango-to-Anything Club on parade.

Mr. Nick of the Bywater Tango Clubcaught recruiting on Royal St.


through the streets of New Orleans,some having been spotted at the Kreweof Barkus parade holding the leash of atleast two of the eighteen hundredcanines that joined that parade.

Two well known tangueros whoown a self-described former flop houseand bordello provided a first ratebalcony party during one of the majorparades. Petite tangueras with Ph.D.degrees were seen in the street shame-lessly screaming we need more beads!Soon they became unrecognizable underthe weight of the tonnage of worthlessand hard won baubles.

Six weeks of king cakes, Purple,Bunch and countless other balls, lots ofstreet dancing, masking and beadcollecting, finally came to an end atmidnight on Shrove Tuesday, as Statetrooper cruisers begun to clear BourbonStreet followed by the Krewe of theSanitation Department.

Everybody has gone into fastingand abstinence to shed the extra poundsof king cake from their waistlines. Thereare only 50 weeks until Mardi Gras2002 and the next meeting of the Kreweof the Mistickal Nights of the Tango.

GLOSSARYSecond line: An informal paradeperforming impromptu dances thatfollows the brass bands and floats.

Crawfish: One of the year's four sea-sons. The rest are, Shrimp, Crab andKing Cake.

Tchopitulas: A word New Orleanianscan pronounce, but can't spell.

Po-boy: A sandwich judged by thenumber of napkins used.He leads, he follows - these boys

just wanna have fun.

The King Cake Leg Wrap.

Miss Mary Anne, Miss Phyllis and Mr. Warren.

Julio, the photographer of the starswith Miss Phyllis.

Miss Natalia and Miss Eva.

One of Two Well-Known Gentlemenof the Tango squeezing the charm

from Miss Eva.

Miss Phyllis, Miss Valorie, Mr. Gary(the Cajun Valentino), Miss Evaand Mr. Ed (the Creole Traspie).


Most experts agree that theorigin of the word waltz refersto the action of turning around

while dancing. The origin of the Waltzas a dance itself is uncertain, but histori-ans agree that it first appeared aroundtwo centuries ago.

There are certain musical forms ofpopular nature that originate as dancesand later follow a transformation intosongs. Of interest to us, the Waltz andthe Tango, a couple of centuries apart,represent a typical example of the fusionof dance and song into internationallyacclaimed musical expressions.

Records show that the Waltz was invogue in Vienna around 1773. In spiteof being a genre of popular origins, itseduced composers such as Mozart,who wrote many waltzes for the dancersof Vienna. From this romantic periodoriginated the most classic compositionsof the Viennese waltz by Schubert,Chopin and Brahms which still areplayed today.

When it begun to appear in Europeit was considered an indecorous dance.

France is credited with the transfor-mation of the uniform and livelydanceable rhythm of the VienneseWaltz into a more insinuating andromantic melody which allowed the useof lyrics and the creation of the waltz-song.

On the American continent, thewaltz arrived to the salons of highsociety around 1840. It quickly becamethe favorite dance conquering new fansat the lower levels of society as well.Many folklore dances from Argentina

show the influence of the waltz.

It was in the nineteenth century thata new type of waltz was created in thecity of Boston, the Boston Waltz. Itscharacteristic was a change in the role ofthe piano, or rather the pianist. Insteadof using the left hand to mark the 1-2-3rhythm of the waltz, the left hand onlymarks the first beat of the rhythm whilethe right hand combines rhythm andmelody.

The Vals Boston conquered BuenosAires at the beginning of the twentiethcentury. Prior to that, the waltz had beenthe darling of the aristocracy in the1800’s and gradually had gained accep-tance among pianists and musicalgroups in Buenos Aires.

The immigrant invasion that startedin the 1870’s brought songs and dancesfrom their native lands. The waltz wasamong their favorites. Their descen-dants, the first Creole generation grewup to the popular sounds of the waltz,enjoying the old tunes while beginningto modify the songs and dances of theirparents under the influence of the newcustoms and the new environment of thecountry where they were born andwhere they lived. Thus was born theArgentine folklore, a collection ofregional dances and rhythms that makeup a very rich musical heritage.

The new Creole generation added atelluric feeling to the traditional waltz,and gave birth to the Vals Criollo. TheCreole Waltzes, composed by LatinAmerican musicians preserved thecharacteristic and style of the Viennesewaltz. It continued to be mainly a

dance. It had three parts especiallyarranged for dancing. Two classicexamples of Vals Criollo are found onthe only CD available of the group LosTubatango: Santiago del Estero, andPabellon de las rosas.

By the first decade of the twentiethcentury, composers in both Argentinaand Uruguay wrote numerous valseswhich became part of the repertoire ofthe first Tango orchestras. Buenos Aireswas becoming a city with its ownpersonality, and the valses composedduring that period were acquiring thatpersonality as well. The rapid growth ofthe city and an environment heavilyinfluenced by the cadence of the Tangoadded an authentic Buenos Airesmelodic tone to the music of the ValsCriollo. While the “forbidden” Tangowas being played by guitars, flutes,violins, pianos and bandoneons for theworst element of society, the sameinstruments played the Vals Porteño forthe decent families, at the weeklyneighborhood social dances.

The preference of the Buenos Airesmusicians for the waltz over the otherdances of the time, i.e. polkas, mazur-kas, is due in part to the expression andnuances of its melody, which on a largerscale are elements intrinsic to theArgentine Tango. Erroneously manyrefer to the resulting rhythm as Tangowaltz. Outstanding musicians who madethe Vals an integral part of their reper-toire included Roberto Firpo, JuanMaglio “Pacho,” Francisco Canaroand Francisco Lomuto.

The Vals began to loose its danceappeal around 1917 when the first waveof American dances (Fox-Trot, One-Step, Two-Step and Shimmy) begun tobe heavily promoted to the Argentineyouth. Ten years later the Charlestonfinished off the appeal of the Vals, atleast until the 1940’s when it returned tothe dance floors with the renaissance ofthe Tango in the Golden Era.

The most popular valses that remainas the classic of classics today are Desdeel alma (Boston Waltz style) andPalomita blanca (classic style).

A Waltz by Another NameLong before the Tango became the target of society's scorn be-cause of its provocative choreography and the character of itspractitioners, the puritanical arrows of disdain were aimed atanother dance with similar uncertain origins that caught theimagination of European society.

Turning Around

BY ALBERTO PAZ


On Saturday January 20th, fourteen Argentine students and their NewOrleans host ”brothers and sisters” took their first ever Tango lesson from NewOrleans resident Argentine Tango masters Alberto and Valorie at the OriginalPierre Maspero’s restaurant in the French Quarter. Not only were both groupsof teenagers willing to put their best tango foot forward that afternoon, but adelightful, budding teenage romance began that day between two local highschoolers and all because of this tango class!

For the past 38 years, a non-profit organization in New Orleans, the For-eign Relations Association of New Orleans, has coordinated an exchangeprogram for high school students from CADIE (Consejo Argentino deIntercambio Estudiantil), an Argentine group dedicated to bringing studentsfrom Argentina to the U.S. during school vacation time.

Under this program, students from New Orleans area high schools travel toArgentina for one month during summer and students from Argentina come toNew Orleans for a month in winter. The program is designed to provide bothgroups with social and educational opportunities to better understand thecultural fabric of the host country while students live with local familiesduring their visits.

By Eva del Cid

Budding Teenage RomanceSparked by Tango's First Lesson

MARIA TANGOWHERE TO LIVE IN BUENOS AIRES

CLOSE TO MILONGAS!Stay with us in Mariatango's home

Tel/Fax [email protected]


El FiruleteEl FiruleteEl FiruleteEl FiruleteEl FiruleteThe Argentine Tango Magazine

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MUSICAL COMPILATIONS FOR EDUCATIONALPURPOSES AND PERSONAL ENJOYMENT

Carefully selected and smartly compiled classics of theArgentine Tango by its foremost musicians.

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ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 1ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 2ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 3ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 4ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 5ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 6

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August 31 - September 3, 2001RENO HILTON Casino and Resort

Five minutes from Reno, NV airportby courtesy shuttle

Everything under one roof

Large Guest Rooms Five Restaurants, Cafe

Fast Food, Elegant Casino Three Showrooms

Shopping Mall, Bowling Alley Cinema, Health Spa, Pool

All levels welcome Singles - Couples

Even ratio of men and women

Tango Boutique Clothing, CDs, Shoes

Videos, Art work

Spacious wood dance floors Reasonable class size

Private classes and mini-workshops available at extra cost.

All classes conducted in English

Planet Tango is pleased to announce its Fifth Annual Labor Day Weekend TangoGetaway once again to be held at the wonderful Reno Hilton in Reno, Nevada. As manyof you know, this is a great and unique Argentine Tango weekend combining classes andsocializing at its best.Two professional couples to be announced shortly will join your hosts and Master teachersAlberto Paz and Valorie Hart for your learning and enjoyment experience.Friday, August 31 is check in and the traditional Welcome Milonga. It’s a good idea tobook your bargain airfare and rooms now. The farther ahead you book, the better the roomrate. In year's past early birds got $59. per day for either single or double occupancy. So itpays to book early and on your own. Use whatever discounts you have - AAA, AARP,American Express, etc. The rooms are large and generous for sharing. Call 1 800.648.5080.Saturday, September 1, morning and afternoon are for classes. The classes are suitable forany and all levels of dancers, whether this is your first experience or you’re a seasoneddancer. We make a concerted effort to maintain a balanced number of men and women,couples and singles. Class size is kept to a level that allows everyone to get individualattention. On Saturday night, we will host the Reno Tango Ball with dinner and a showproduced by the teachers.Sunday, September 2 offers the same schedule and amenities. However, at the Sundaynight milonga/dinner, the students are invited to do the show in what has become a legend-ary evening of great performances. It’s great fun! There is also a certificate presentationfrom the teachers to the students.Monday, September 3 offers the last set of group classes, as well as some extra time toschedule those precious private hours with your teachers. So when you reserve your hotelroom, make sure to specify that you want a late check-out on Monday, September 3.A fabulous Tango Boutique will be set up as well. Clothing, shoes, CD’s, videos will all beavailable Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

You are welcome to bring your video camera to record a video notebook of the classmaterial and the performances solely for your own personal use.

Please sign me up for the Fifth Annual Labor Day Weekend Tango Getaway, Aug 31 - Sep 3, 2001at the special tuition rate of $225 offered only to readers of El Firulete until April 15, 2001

Print Name(s) _____________________________________________________________

Mailing Address ___________________________________________________________

City _____________________________________ State _________ Zip ______________

Phone ________________________ E-mail ____________________________________

I'm attending [_____] as an individual, [______] with a partner

Amount enclosed $ _________ for _________ person(s)

Please mail payments toPlanet Tango

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For information please contact,504.592.8256

[email protected] updates,

http://www.planet-tango.com/reno2001.htm


Chapter 22Copyright (c) 2001 Planet Tango

Riders of the best markIt seems that Argentine Tango

dancing is the most talked about pastimebecause of its free form nature and themany opportunities to dance that arenow available everywhere we go.Unfortunately those doing most of thetalking are the ones who are sociallychallenged, tend to be mechanicaldancers, and find in their eloquence away to justify their frustrations on thedance floor.

The predictable target of thesetalking heads are women who follow allkinds of advice, most often contradic-tory. Facing the "addiction" of Tangoand the "seduction and passion" that itpromises, many women accept situa-tions which they would not tolerate inthe course of their daily lives. In theprocess they develop bad habits andattitudes that makes the progress to-wards total fulfillment of their desiresdifficult, painful and frustrating.

The Luxury of Letting GoThere is a method for learning to

dance Tango for both men and women.It is part of a process of work andimprovement by emulation and recogni-tion of excellence in dancing.

As communities grow, there is thepotential for excellence as men andwomen take a more discriminatingapproach to learning, understanding theconcepts and as a result of their work,they begin to stand out on the dancefloor. It is a time proven fact that whatdrives aspiring Tango dancers to excel isthe incentive to learn the techniques andunderstand the concepts of Tangodancing in order to better themselveswithout the rhetoric and the pitch for thelatest fad, the phony claims of newsecrets discovered, or the promises ofinstant gratification.

Tango dancing requires that people

trust, embrace and move to the rhythmand melody of the music executing themost simple and the most complexpatterns without loosing connection toeach other; without disturbing the pathof others on the dance floor, and hope-fully enjoying the moments sharedtogether.

The first step in the learning processfor women is to find and recognize theiraxis and to manage their weight changesand center of gravity, in order to havetheir bodies ready for the motions thatthe man creates. The underlying corol-lary here is to accept from the word go,that in Tango the man drives and thewoman rides. The analogy does not dojustice to the actual experience ofdancing, because the implied passiverole of riding, as in a car, adds a sense ofunfairness to women accustomed tobeing discriminated against in everyother order of life.

To the contrary, riding the Tango isa luxury that presents women with theegalitarian challenge of having toassume responsibility, making decisionsthat count and accepting the conse-quences of their actions. Crediting orblaming partners for their dancing is notan accepted option for the woman whowants to become a Tango dancer.

First Find Your AxisWe define axis as the vertical line

formed by the head, shoulder, hip, kneeand foot, which means that the axis canbe on the right or the left side of thebody, as the weight is transferred toeither side. In other words, when youfind your axis, you’ll be standing withyour full body weight favoring eitherleg. In order to improve the equilibriumwhile balanced on one leg, the upperbody must elongate upwards, and theother hip must be relaxed in order tohave the leg attached to it hanging looseand ready to swing from the hip in any

direction indicated by the motion of theman you are dancing with.

Favoring either leg on your axisgrounds the hip on which your weight isresting in such a way that the onlypossible motion for that hip is circular.What produces the circular motion is theresult of your upper body rotatingenough that eventually makes the hipturn, which in turn forces the foot onwhich you are standing to pivot. Pivot-ing has the main purpose of pointing thegrounded hip into a different direction.This is very important to understandsince the embrace does not allow theupper body to fully turn. Therefore, theconnection between the upper body andthe hips must be fluid so the plane ofboth parts of the body can be broken -thus the commonly used term ofquebrada, which literally means "bro-ken" as in the line between the upperbody and the hips is broken.

A training exercise that helpsdevelop a good sense of axis is to standup straight, feet together, weight on theball of the feet. Gradually begin to shiftyour body weight to the right as youtake a deep breath. Tighten the hipmuscles so there is solid support for theweight of your upper body and elongateupwards as if standing on top of apedestal. Feel the other hip relax, andthe other leg literally hanging relaxed asits heel almost gets off the ground.

Next, shift your weight to the lefthip while exhaling and repeat thetightening of the hip muscles. Inhale andelongate your torso at this time on yourleft leg. Do this swaying motion thatresults from weight changes in placewhile listening to Tango music. Gradu-ally, synchronize your breathing andaxis shifting with the beat of the musicso you shift on a beat, elongate on thenext and shift again on a beat andelongate on the next. Two weightchanges should equate to four beats.You are already dancing Tango.

Once you make it clear to yourpartner that you are on the axis heplaced you on, you will be in a positionof dynamic balance where you can wait


as long as it takes for your partner toinitiate the next movement. This is whatit's meant when a talking head tells awoman, without actually knowing whatthey are saying, “wait,” “don’t think,” orthe classic “shut up and follow.”

Things change dramatically when awoman on her axis confidently waits forthe mark to continue. This is the mo-ment when you can tell the men fromthe boys, and the time to becomediscriminating about who you accept todance with, and why.

In summary, find your axis, allowyour partner to shift your weight fromaxis to axis, understand how yourgrounded hip can only rotate, and beready to have the ride of your life.

Changing from Axis to AxisWhen clearly standing on her axis,

the woman can now be moved in anydirection. It is the man's responsibility,to the degree of his own skills, to clearlymark the direction and extent of themovement required from the woman.

It is very important and fundamentalfor a woman to understand the processin which her movements are marked,created, dictated, suggested, whatevermakes it clear to her that a man isrequired to know how to move her fromposition to position on the dance floor.

Standing in front of the man, withher weight on either leg, the womanshould only be aware that she can bemoved away from the man's chest (backstep), towards the man's chest (forwardstep), to the right shoulder of the man(lateral opening if standing on the rightleg or forward or back step if standingon the left leg), or to the left shoulder ofthe man (lateral opening if standing onthe left leg or forward or back step ifstanding on the right leg).

The man moves the woman's bodyto the new position. At the new position,the woman must again stay on her axiswith the weight on the leg used to moveto the new position, and the other leghanging relaxed next to it.

The man moves the woman awayfrom his chest by gently stepping

forward displacing the woman with hisupper body so her free leg extends intothe new space behind her.

It is possible that in sending thewoman away, the man may choose tomove into the woman's right or leftshoulder with a slight counter bodyrotation of his upper body so as to keeptheir hips facing each other. This is partof a previous chapter on the man's role.

The man moves the women towardshis chest by gently stepping backwardsand bringing the women with his upperbody so her free leg extends forwardinto the new space.

The man moves the woman towardshis right side by rotating his upper bodyto the right thus opening the spacewhere he wants the woman to go.Whether the resulting step is a lateralopening, a forward step or a back step, itis important for the woman to see theopening, to understand the mark and toallow her whole body to go deep intothe right side of the man, and NOT justher leg.

The man moves the woman towardshis left side by rotating his upper bodyto the left thus opening the space wherehe wants the woman to go. Whether theresulting step is a lateral opening, aforward step or a back step, it is impor-tant for the woman to see the opening,to understand the mark and to allow herwhole body to go deep into the left sideof the man, and NOT just her leg.

It is the responsibility of the man tofinish all the woman's motions byclearly placing her vertical on the legshe used to move, thus establishing hernew axis.

Rotating at the HipAllowing her body to be moved

from axis to axis keeps the woman'scenter of gravity vertical over either hipfacilitating her ability to pivot. Pivotinghas the main purpose of pointing thehips in such a way that the motion of thetrailing free leg is natural, relaxed andfollows the direction of the body.

Generally the woman will pivotwhen the man moves to her right or leftside while holding her on her axis, or

when he moves her to his right or leftwhile rotating only his upper body.

In other words, when the manaccompanies with a step in the samedirection the motion he created for thewoman, the resulting figures fall underthe general category of WALKS. Whenthe man doesn't move or move into thespace where the woman was, theresulting patterns fall under one of threecategories, FORWARD OCHOS,BACK OCHOS or GIROS.

Learn Well and Dance BetterTango dancing is no different than

anything else requiring knowledge,understanding and application.

The history of the Tango seems toshow peaks and valleys that occur everyforty years, that is the span of twogenerations. The earliest heyday datesback to 1870 as documented by thechronicles of Viejo Tanguero in 1913.About this time, during the centennialcelebrations in Buenos Aires (1910),the second wave of Tango dancing tookplace fed by the furor that had takenEurope by storm, with the appearanceof the first European-style cabarets inthe city. Then, in 1950 we had the mostdocumented period of renaissance ofTango dancing, the so called GoldenEra. Many who lived through the fortiesand fifties are still alive and some of thedetails of the times trickle down coloredby the characteristic trait of the habitantof Buenos Aires to embellish the factswith their biased opinions on anysubject that reaches wide attention.

We are now at the peak of anotherwave that started around 1990. If historyrepeats, we are in for another decade ortwo of great dancing and indescribableenjoyment.

What has not changed is theanatomy of men and women. We eachhave two legs, two arms, one brain andone heart, along with the humility toaccept the nature of a timeless danceand the rules and codes that have keptits purity in spite of many attempts tocorrupt it, deface it, or morph it intofads that eventually disappear.

Alberto and Valorie


This is a copy for you with our complimentswith our invitation to subscribe and join thehundreds of readers who enjoy El Firuleteevery month around the world.


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