75  Tango Fireworks

Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 18:36:36 -0400
From: rtara <rtara@MAINE.RR.COM>
Subject: Tango Fireworks

Just returned from Tango Fireworks. Linda Valentino did a great job
organizing this tango week. She did an especially good job selecting
instructors who were talented and varied in their styles and approaches to
the dance. There was truly something for everyone.

Omar Vega and Valeria were a big hit with their milonga traspie classes.
They actually were successful helping people to hear the music and rhythms
of the milonga. I peeked into one of their classes where Omar had everyone
in the room clapping in different rhythms, creating an entire milonga of
rhythm.

Corina de la Rosa and Julio Balmacedda's classes were very popular. Their
elegant waltz, clear teaching and winning personalities endeared them to
everyone.

Milena Plebs and her new partner Ezequiel Farfaro, taught choreography with
dramatic entrances, lifts and poses. he is a great partner for her and,
well, what can you say about Milena? Her dancing is impeccable.

Nestor Rey and Patricia delighted everyone with their milonga. Tghey are
lovely people and their classes were a treat for those who want to explore
the joy of dancing. People were especially excited about their canyengue
classes.

I was totally surprised by Pablo Veron and Noel Strazza. I had attended a
class of his in New York many years ago and was disappointed with his
teaching. I am happy to report that all that is changed!! He has become a
fabulous teacher. he is clear, careful and attentive in his classes. Noel is
a beauty and a s sweet as can be. They really won my heart in their
performance on the final night when he gallantly freed her shoe ( which had
gotten tangled in her skirt) from the hem of her skirt as they danced -
never missing a beat.

Speaking of performances - My only comment about Color Tango is that they
were so good that most of the time I was not even aware that I was dancing
to live music.

All in all, it was a great week. I am sure the next one will be even better.

Robin Tara

Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 17:29:48 -0700
From: Anton Gazenbeek <tangoguy16@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Tango Fireworks 2001

Dear List,

I have just returned from Tango Fireworks 2001 in Los Angeles and am
happy to report that it was one of the most exciting experiences of my
life! From the beginning with registration on Sunday, it was obvious that
this was going to be a world class event. The reception and Milonga on
Sunday was absolutely lavish - a huge ballroom, feasts of wonderful food,
wonderful tango dancers from all over the U.S. and the world, and great
demonstrations by the teachers (without a doubt the BEST in the world)!
From the first day, a wonderful ambience and atmosphere was set. The
classes were all very well thought out, so as to allow for great variety.
(Every subject in tango was covered from basic technique to Vals to
Canyengue, from Advanced figures to choreography!) The teachers were
extremely well prepared and took great attention with ALL of their
students making sure that the men rotatated so as to allow all women to
have a partner.

The planning of this event was amazing - no detail had been overlooked
and there were so many special touches that made this a four-star event!
We were able to take advantage of so many classes because the schedule
was so well (and realistically) planned - the day began not too early,
enabling dancers to enjoy the milongas and still manage to be at the
first class the next morning. To help us, there was a free warm-up class
in stretching and body-alignment before the other classes started. In the
breaks, there suddenly appeared refreshments - huge silver punchbowls of
lemonade, iced tea, and ice cold bottled water. In the afternoon breaks,
just when everyone's energy began to fade, the free refreshments appeared
again, this time including granola bars and huge bowls of chilled fruit!
Everyone was able to keep up their energy level because they did not
become dehydrated or hungry. There was also a generous lunch break,
enabling a relaxing lunch, rest, swim, private lesson, etc. Hats off for
these special, energy-fueling touches!

The hotel was just beautiful - light and spacious, airy and open with
lavish arrangements of tropical flowers and wonderful, balmy breezes
blowing trough. It was right on the water, with all the rooms having an
ocean view. There were two hotel rooms provided for men's and women's
changing rooms, allowing local residents to freshen up between the day's
classes and the evening milonga. What a first class touch! The whole
event was like being on a luxury cruise!

The live music of Color Tango was magnificent! There is nothing like the
sound, feel and atmosphere of a live tango orchestra; and this was the
best in the world!! Watching them play was as thrilling as hearing them.

The Saturday night Dinner Concert, Show and Milonga was once again a
four star event. There was dancing throughout the whole evening. The food
was gourmet, the service was fine, and everyone was dressed beautifully,
making for a classy, festive atmosphere. The concert by Color Tango and
the performances by the teachers were so thrilling and breathtaking, that
by the end, most of us were too moved and filled with awe to even
respond! We were speechless!

I cannot praise enough the people who worked very, very hard to bring
such a grand event to the tango world. They assembled such an
extraordinary faculty and orchestra in such a grand place. We will never
forget this wonderful experience - the great teachers, their patience and
professionalism, the great friends we learned along with our tango
technique, the beautiful atmosphere, the rich music, and the breathtaking
performances! My heartfelt thanks to the organizers and staff, and to all
the teachers and musicians. We hope you all come next year!


Ciao,


Anton Gazenbeek

Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 09:51:32 -0700
From: Tango B i t c h <latangobitch@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Tango Fireworks 2002

Yes, Tango Fireworks 2002 had a lot to offer. The staff was friendly and
courteous, the teachers were enthusiastic and gave us a wide variety of
techniques and philosophies, and the beach-front location in sunny California
was, of course, perfect. Best of all were the range of accomplished dancers to
practice with during the classes and to dance with at night. Dancers from all
over the world added to the pleasure of the music. And, of course, Color Tango
was magnificent. Anyone who didn't hear them missed out on a treat.

One or two suggestions which might make next year a bit better:

The music played by the dj's was unvarying. If you can only dance to melodic
tangos, I'm sure you felt at home. But those of us who love taking a step that
lasts five seconds or feeling the passion of tango--rather than the beat--were
disappointed. Unfortunately, the dj's did not take requests (arrogantly so!)
and we had to wait for Color Tango to be inspired by the passion. Perhaps
Fireworks 2003 can offer a broader range of tango music?

And most disconcerting was the open feuding between Nestor Ray and his partner.
It was so bad that some of us left his classes early. By the end of the week,
his classes were virtually deserted, causing overcrowding in the other classes.
If Nestor can't be a gentleman for a few hours each day, then he should have
been replaced. Those of us who paid good money for good teachers deserved
better.

But, those were the only serious problems. Overall, it was an exhilarating week
of dancing and making friends. To all of you who supported it, along with those
who supported the all-night milonga at El Encuentro and all the other milongas
in southern California, thank you for keeping the passion alive.

latb

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 20:51:56 -0700
From: Elemer Dubrovay <dubrovay@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Tango Fireworks 2002

latangobitch@YAHOO.COM Wrote:


The music played by the dj's was unvarying. If you can only dance to
melodic
tangos, I'm sure you felt at home. But those of us who love taking a step
that
lasts five seconds or feeling the passion of tango--rather than the
beat--were
disappointed. Unfortunately, the dj's did not take requests (arrogantly
so!)
and we had to wait for Color Tango to be inspired by the passion. Perhaps
Fireworks 2003 can offer a broader range of tango music?


Maybe somebody can explain me something about the * requests *, a good DJ
has experience in what Argentinean tangos, milongas, valses are good for
dancing, he doesn t play the music for his own enjoyment, he plays the
music that the majority likes.

His goal is that the majority of the dancers spend a good time; he spends
a long time preparing the music.

I think it is very arrogant of somebody to ask him to play music that
might ruin the evening to the majority of the dancers.

It happen to me a few times, one time the DJ was playing nice Pugliese
tangos and all of a sudden he played "La Violetera" a nice Spanish song,
not a tango, it was a request, some other time he played Carlos Gardel
with guitars, another request.
And it goes on and on.

The explanation was that the music was nice, (it was but not for dancing)

Thank you Elemer of Redmond.

Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:07:20 +0900
From: astrid <astrid@RUBY.PLALA.OR.JP>
Subject: Re: Tango Fireworks 2002, music choices

But those of us who love taking a step

> that
> lasts five seconds or feeling the passion of tango--rather than the
> beat--were
> disappointed. Unfortunately, the dj's did not take requests (arrogantly
> so!)
> and we had to wait for Color Tango to be inspired by the passion. Perhaps
> Fireworks 2003 can offer a broader range of tango music?
>
>
> Maybe somebody can explain me something about the * requests *, a good DJ
> has experience in what Argentinean tangos, milongas, valses are good for
> dancing, he doesn t play the music for his own enjoyment, he plays the
> music that the majority likes.
>
> I think it is very arrogant of somebody to ask him to play music that
> might ruin the evening to the majority of the dancers.
>

I was not there, so I cannot vouch for the truth of "tangobitch's"
statement, that "those of us who love feeling the passion of the tango" did
not have such a good time, but:
in my experience, the majority is never asked what they actually do like. It
starts with the musical preferences of the tango teacher running the place.
The students get used dancing to that. What they actually buy and listen to
in private is never talked about or asked about by the teacher. Unlucky are
those dancers whose milonga organiser has a very narrow range of tastes.
IMO, the DJ simply assumes that what works for many people, or for himself,
must work for these people too. And if it does not really- well, here we
just had another exemple for arrogantly rejecting someone's differing
opinion on what she would like to dance to.

Astrid in Tokyo

Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 09:52:48 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Tango Fireworks 2002

latangobitch@YAHOO.COM Wrote:

>The music played by the dj's was unvarying. If you can only dance
>to melodic tangos, I'm sure you felt at home. But those of us who
>love taking a step that lasts five seconds or feeling the passion
>of tango--rather than the beat--were disappointed.

I must admit to a little bit of confusion here. On another forum, a writer
complained about a lack of romantic slow music at the event, which I would
immediately equate with melodic/lyrical rather than highly rhythmic...
When I think romantic slow, I immediately think of the lyrical music of
Calo/Beron, DiSarli/Rufino, Tanturi/Campos, and some Troilo/Fiorentino.

It is also hard for me to conceive of music that is neither melodic nor has
a beat...

>Unfortunately, the dj's did not take requests.

Elemer responded:

>[A] good DJ has experience in what Argentinean tangos, milongas,
>valses are good for dancing, he doesn t play the music for his own
>enjoyment, he plays the music that the majority likes.

I do take requests when I dj, but I balance the requests against the needs
of the majority of dancers. I also will time the requests in keeping with
the overall program for the evening's music. I recognize that doing so may
make the individual making the request a bit impatient, but I will not
disrupt the event for everyone else just to satisfy one person.

It also helps when the the person making the request can name a particular
orchestra. Why? Without naming orchestras, each person is likely to
identify orchestras with their own impressions of the sound, and that is
likely to differ from person to person. A request to play music that is
neither melodic nor has a beat would leave me nearly dumbfounded. Does the
person mean Pugliese? Pugliese is famous for his La Yumba beat. Does the
person mean a Di Sarli instrumental? Again, I hear a very strong beat in
Di Sarli--just a less prominent ric-tic-tic rhythm...

I might come up with Nostalgias from the Tango Argentino soundtrack. It is
very impressionistic, and the beat is not very discernable to anyone but a
highly skilled dancer or a musician. I wouldn't play this at a milonga
where hundreds of people I do not know are depending upon hearing dance
music.

Bottom line, I think each dancer who wants to make requests should at least
learn the names of the orchestras that they want to hear. When you hear
something you really like in a class or at a milonga ask the instructor or
dj what they are playing.

With best regards,
Steve

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/

Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 04:28:12 -0700
From: Bugs Bunny <bugsbunny1959@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Tango Fireworks 2002, music choices

Someone commented on DJs not taking/ignoring requests at a recent Tango
Festival. I've experienced similar problems here at home. I've also had
friends be shot down when they brought in a CD with a song or 2 on it, to
hopefully be played. It might be easier & stop some embarassing/awkward
moments, if an announcement were made or a sign posted where the music is
being played: "I do not take requests, please do not ask." What's the harm
of playing a request if its danceable Tango music & late at night or
whenever? I've seen the requested music played at other Tango dances & it
was well-received; I noticed no one with smoke coming out their ears or
bolting for the door. I would encourage people to relax, open the window &
let some fresh air in & perhaps take a request now & then. We all might
learn something about themselves.

I've experienced this mostly with people that rigidly adhere to mostly
playing monophonic, less-than-high fidelity classic era Tango music. I hope
someone, somewhere, somehow fixes the fidelity problems of what was once,
very beautiful music when it was played live. The recordings we have, in
mine & others like me (who I talk to frequently) opinion, don't do justice
to the original orchestras, musicians. I always ask my partners, when faced
with mutli-hour blocks of this music if it speaks to their soul & if they
have enthusiasm for dancing to so much of the music. Far more often than
not, the answer is no. I often apologize after dancing with someone,
because we both know it could have been a better experience with better
sounding music, for them & for me. There's lots of high-fidelity, real
stereo tango music out there. I'm also gravitating towards mostly dancing
close-embrace as well.

Rick Anderson

Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 10:51:41 -0400
From: Manuel Patino <white95r@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Tango Fireworks 2002, music choices

> IMO, the DJ simply assumes that what works for many people, or for

himself,

> must work for these people too. And if it does not really- well, here we
> just had another exemple for arrogantly rejecting someone's differing
> opinion on what she would like to dance to.
>
> Astrid in Tokyo

Hi Astrid & fellow listeros,

The DJs job is to play tango for the milonga. it's very important that the
music be almost exclusively very rhythmic and from the best orchestras of
the golden era. That's what the milongas require because that's the kind of
music that embodies the feeling of tango. Also, this music is ideal for
dancing to the beat and for dancing in crowded floors with a lot of people.
There is no mystery or magic about this. Anybody who goes to enough good
milongas and pays attention can learn what music to play and how to time it.

The DJ must play the music needed as described above so that the majority of
dancers will take to the floor and keep the energy of the milonga in high
gear! It's very difficult to "take requests" because these "requests" cannot
just be played randomly through the night. The music comes in tandas and the
request has to be worked in with a tanda. Imagine someone asks for
Darienzo's "El Rey". Nothing wrong with the song, great choice for a tanda,
but what if the Darienzo tanda just finished playing? Also, the DJ might be
very busy putting together the next tanda, how can he or she abandon their
job to look for a particular song? There are many reasons for a DJ to reject
a request. The "arrogantly" part is not so good, but who is to say that the
DJ was "arrogant" in his declining to play that request?

IMHO, the only DJs who are arrogant in their denial of requests are those
who do not know what they are doing and will not play the right music for a
milonga. I was a milonga a few months ago, where the music was just awful,
they played some weird and ill timed music including lots of strange tangos
in languages other than Spanish (or lunfardo). During the breaks they played
some bizarre "ballroom type" music they called "latin", etc. Of course, the
majority of the folks there were begining tango dancers and simply did not
know or cared about the music. For me it was very painful but I mostly kept
my opinions to myself. I did approach the DJ and asked if he woulf play a
tanda or two of Darienzo, Tanturi, Rodriguez, etc. He became defensive
immediately and I dropped the subject and went away. To me that milonga was
a total waste of time and I'll probably not attend another one where this DJ
is playing.

I would suggest that for anyone out there there is probably some DJ who'll
play just what they want. Please support those DJs you like and enjoy and
avoid those you do not. If you find yourself alone or at poorly attended
milongas, please reconsider your choice of music for Argentine Tango.

Good music to all,

Manuel

Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 01:29:12 -0700
From: Linda Valentino <lindavalentino@PRODIGY.NET>
Subject: Tango Fireworks Deejays

Hi List Members:
Please forgive me if you've already read this posting. It was previously
sent to the ATOF list, but since the discussion that began there has also
dominated the last few days of Tango-L postings, I decided to send it to
this forum as well.
"Okay, now it's my turn. The Tango Fireworks deejays--Robin Thomas,
Robert Hauk and Dan Boccia--were nothing less than superb, and the proof of
that is that THE DANCEFLOOR WAS PACKED EVERY NIGHT! There are so many errors
in Larry's [Ricelli, from Hawaii] postings, I will take them one by one:
1. "I could count on one hand, how many slow, romantic tangos were
played all week"
Gee, Larry, you must have HUNDREDS of fingers on your hands. Robin's
run-down of what he and the other deejays played listed tandas totaling
scores and scores of slow, romantic tangos. THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU DON'T
UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE HEARING. Slow, romantic tangos for DANCING are
different from slow, romantic tangos for LISTENING. And no good tango deejay
is going to accommodate beginners by playing tangos which are intended for
listening and not for dancing--at least not at any of my events. That would
have been the fastest way to clear the floor of the many good/experienced
dancers who attended Tango Fireworks. The beginners need to learn how to
dance to tango music for DANCING.
2. "(Other than Saturday night when the band played piazolla so much, so
it was only appropriate for Dan to
play it also, but no other night!)"
Wrong again, Larry. The band (Color Tango) DID NOT PLAY LOTS OF PIAZZOLA. IT
PLAYED LOTS OF PUGLIESE!!!! OSVALDO PUGLIESE--the band whose sound Color
Tango was specifically formed in order to re-create. All but one or two of
the very few Piazzola numbers it did play were played during the band's
section of the Saturday night show, or at the beginning of their first set
on Friday night, when they specifically explained that those numbers were
for listening and not for dancing.
3. "I even concurred [I assume you mean CONFERRED] with a couple of the
teachers and they agreed that the music we were hearing in the lessons was
not played at night. It's one thing to say you played these slow tangos but
the fact is you didn't!"
The teachers couldn't have been happier about the music. They all went out
of their way to compliment the deejays and me many, many times. In fact,
Julio and Corina are sitting here as I write this and they both said they
want me to invite the same deejays for next year! It may be that one of the
teachers used something in class that wasn't played at the milongas but NONE
of them had anything but good to say about the deejays, and believe me, if
they hadn't liked the music they would have been very vocal about it.
[I spoke yesterday with another of the TF teachers, Ezequiel Farfaro, and he
said that someone--I suspect Larry Ricelli--said that they were not hearing
in the milongas the music (Pugliese) that Milena and Ezequiel used in their
"Dancing the Pauses" class. Ezequiel claims he said that he did not notice
the absence of that music, and would listen at the next milonga and talk to
the deejays if that music was not played at some point during the evening.
Of course, he didn't need to, as there was PLENTY of Pugliese played by all
the deejays, as well as lots of other slower, romantic music for dancing.
Ezequiel said for me to add his "bravo" for the deejays to this posting and
absolutely wants them back next year. Carlos and Alicia, Milena Plebs, Diego
and Carolina, Aurora and Jorge, Nestor and Patricia and Brigitta Winkler
also complimented the choice of music.]
One of the reasons people attend tango weeks is to LEARN and improve
their dancing. And that must include learning about the music. I wonder if
Larry attended Nestor Ray's beginner's class on rhythm? Or the two classes
we had on "Dancing to the Great Tango Orchestras"? One class dealt with
D'Arienzo, Tanturi, Biaggi, Troilo and Rodriguez and the other class with
Fresedo, DiSarli, Calo and Pugliese (thus reflecting the two major branches

of tango dance music).
Finally, I'm getting sick and tired of reading postings by
self-described beginners about what's wrong with the music at various
milongas around the country. These folks lack the expertise to discuss this
subject, as they don't know the orchestras, the styles, the songs, etc. Yes,
everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there are informed opinions and
UNinformed opinions. I wouldn't go to a swing dance and criticize the music
and kibbitz the deejay, as I am only a novice swing dancer. Instead, I would
try to learn to dance to and appreciate the music being played, as there
must be some reason the experienced dancers are having so much fun dancing
to it. All of us non-Argentineans (in other words, those of us who do not
grow up hearing this music in one way or another) go through the same
learning process in regard to tango music. In the beginning we want to dance
to show music, Piazzola, etc., because it is dramatic and doesn't
necessarily have the clear rhythmic demands that the traditional tango dance
music has. But as we grow into more experienced, sophisticated tango dancers
we appreciate and love the traditional music and understand why--to this
day--that is the music that is played in the milongas of Buenos Aires and
that is what great tango dancers want to dance to on the social dance floor.
For some of us it took a long time to learn this because we didn't have
deejays in our cities who were knowledgeable about the music. But with great
deejays like Robert, Robin and Dan, hopefully the learning curve for today's
beginners will be shorter.
Finally, thanks to all of you (Larry included) for the wonderful
compliments about Tango Fireworks. It was a great week for me because of all
the wonderful people who attended. And it will be even better next year!!
BAILAMOS!
--Linda Valentino