Tango Life

This is a rant. There are other references to the same topic on this blog but I think that I need to be a bit more direct. The keyword for today is 'axis definition' which is produced by good posture. This post (and my whole blog) is written from the perspective of dancing tango by connecting to one's partner and dancing in a one body-four legs manner. If you don't dance this way then it may not make much sense to you. Or perhaps that's just due to the rich tapestry which is my writing style. The blunt truth is that any dancer is a potato sack if they do not have good posture. They are difficult to lead and difficult to follow. The blunter truth is that if you don't know how to stand up and define your axis then it might be best to learn to do so before wasting any further money on dance lessons. I've watched so many teachers talk about good posture and chest projection, among other things, as fundamental requirements of dancing tango. Fabulous! Except th...

I thought that I'd write about popular stories about Buenos Aires that I was told before I went there and still see perpetuated on websites in many countries. Some tango scenes that we've visited seem to be trying to be more BA than BA, itself. I need to highlight, in case it's not obvious, that this post is based on my experience on many trips to BA since 2004. I've watched and danced in a wide range of milongas, from very touristy through to almost completely local, in downtown and in the barrios. Perhaps these stories came from before that time but I can't really comment on that. Your experiences may conflict with mine, particularly if they extend to before that time, but that's the great thing about the internet. Write about it and tell me stories of your own. The Short Version A condensed version of this post can be contained in the experience of a dear friend on her first visit from New York.. We arranged to meet at a particular milonga and we danced a...

This is an archive for links which I send out with my weekly email. It's loosely organized as Dancers and Dancing, Documentaries/Movies/Music/Media, BA Milongas and the intriguingly entitled Other... A thought to live by, via @mountain_goats on Twitter 'dance like lots of people are watching and thinking about how you're so hot they can't even stand it and it's about to make them cry.' Dancers and Dancing This clip from 1992 is interesting because it's of Gustavo Naveira dancing with 11-years-old Geraldine Rojas. http://milongasbuenosaires.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/1992-un-grande-del-tango-gustavo.html Tete and Silvia again. Absolutely gorgeous. Firstly in a vals http://youtube.com/watch?v=fV48NsevVls And then in a tango http://youtube.com/watch?v=fV48NsevVls Anna and Osvaldo dancing canyengue in the street. http://youtube.com/watch?v=tBXVpkA3LQQ Tete and Silvia dancing a vals http://youtube.com/watch?v=tMgv...