660  Tango Week

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 14:05:26 -0700
From: Jim Maes <dancetango@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Tango Week

Are there any comments about Noras tango week or Celebration tango?

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 19:23:11 -0400
From: Michael B Ditkoff <tangomaniac@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Tango Week

Celebrate Tango takes place July 17-21 in New York. I'm guessing that's
what you mean by "Celebration tango." You didn't list a city. Their web
page is www.nyctango.com. If that's the event you meant, I post some
comments after it's over.

Michael
Washington, DC

On Wed, 10 Jul 2002 14:05:26 -0700 Jim Maes <dancetango@EARTHLINK.NET>
writes:

> Are there any comments about Noras tango week or Celebration tango?
>

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 18:15:03 -0700
From: Ed Loomis <TangoBear@OSBTOWN.COM>
Subject: (fwd) Re: [TANGO-L] Tango Week

Hello Michael & List,
What Jim is referring to is the Gala tango ball, "Celebration Tango",
held in San Francisco on Saturday night after Nora's Tango Week at the
Marine Memorial Hotel. This event used to be known as Tango by the Bay. The
ballroom here is extremely elegant and old worldly. Although the hotel
required that the event end rather early as tango events go the dancing was
great and the show put on by the visiting professionals was fantastic. We
had three of the original couples from the 1985 stage show Tango Argentino
present and in addition to their performances we got to see some rare film
footage of the show on Broadway. Oscar Mandagaran was also present and
displayed his incredible virtuosity by picking three ladies from the
audience to dance his exhibition with. For his third choice he picked Nora
and the two of them really tore it up. This was a really super event which
Bob & Nora put on in addition to Tango Week and those of us lucky enough to
attend were treated to a really fine evening of tango.
Now as many of you know I am not exactly unbiased and neutral on the
subject of Nora & Bob so perhaps someone else who was present can give us
their perspective too. Ciao..............
Ed

On Wed, 10 Jul 2002 19:23:11 -0400, Michael B Ditkoff
<tangomaniac@JUNO.COM> wrote:

>Celebrate Tango takes place July 17-21 in New York. I'm guessing that's
>what you mean by "Celebration tango." You didn't list a city. Their web
>page is www.nyctango.com. If that's the event you meant, I post some
>comments after it's over.
>
>Michael
>Washington, DC
>
>On Wed, 10 Jul 2002 14:05:26 -0700 Jim Maes <dancetango@EARTHLINK.NET>
>writes:
>> Are there any comments about Noras tango week or Celebration tango?
>>

Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 15:57:49 -0700
From: david stevens <dmfstevenstango@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Argentine Tango Weekend in Ames, Iowa - followup article

ARGENTINE TANGO WEEKEND IN AMES,IOWA,WITH GLORIA AND
EDUARDO.
Des Moines International Airport,Saturday 27th.July
2002,11.22 AM - I am impatiently and nervously
awaiting the arrival of Eduardo Arquimbau and his wife
and partner,Gloria Barrand,who will be teaching us
Argentine tango,vals and milonga during this Tango
Weekend in Ames,Iowa ....
Impatient because,after all the work organising this
weekend,I want it to finally begin ...
Nervous because I have only eighteen preregistered
participants(obviously I'm a gambler!) ...
It is a year since Eduardo,Gloria and I were last
together,so I am very happy to see their infectious
smiles as the walk towards me ...
Studio 213,the Forker Building on the Campus of Iowa
State University,1.15 PM - and the rush begins! My
nerves are for different reasons now ... how to enroll
the twenty-five unregistered participants now crowding
round the "sign-in" table,AND get the first class
started on time!
Finally we are all lined up ready,the ladies on one
side of the studio,the men facing them,Gloria and
Eduardo between the two lines - ready,yet not quite
prepared for the exceptional heat and humidity which
has descended on Ames this weekend ... and a studio
WITHOUT air-conditioning!!The SIX fans will certainly
help - ?
The three Saturday
classes(Tango:Beginners/intermediate-Vals:Beginners/intermediate-Milonga:Beginners/intermediate)go
very well,even though I feel that my true market
should be selling bottles of cold water and dry
towels!
The "Milonga" on Saturday evening is not so
successful(though greatly enhanced by a beautiful
"improvisation" by Gloria and Eduardo - true artists
dedicated to their art,especially considering the heat
and humidity,and Gloria not feeling well),because a
number of the participants are a little shy and
nervous about the prospect of finally having to put
all of today's learning into practise on the dance
floor.We have some genuine"Beginners",but,considering
the "adverse weather conditions" they are all doing
extremely well.I am sad to see so many who only want
to sit and watch,but all the same,the milonga is still
going as midnight chimes.
Sunday,and a few degrees cooler,and less humid,but
hardly noticeable in the studio at noon,as we begin
the two classes for today(Tango:Intermediate/advanced
- Vals&milonga:Intermediate/advanced).
At the request of the majority,Eduardo patiently talks
and walks us through the main points of yesterday's
classes,which is a great help and very much
appreciated.
Why does it look so easy when he and Gloria
demonstrate for us?
Now the lead and follow get more challenging,and a few
are just watching on the sidelines,momentarily.
Our teachers are truely concerned to give us of their
best,so when two ladies begin to discuss something
together as Eduardo is talking to the class,he
stops,and facing the two ladies,tells them in no
uncertain terms that they need to pay attention to
HIM,because this is their one and only opportunity to
learn what he is teaching them.
All classes have over-run a little on time,but
particularly the last class on Sunday - almost as if
we don't want Gloria and Eduardo to leave.
A marvellous turn-out for Iowa(beyond my wildest
dreams,to be honest!),some participants having driven
more than two hours to get here,and staying the whole
weekend in Ames. Dare I say,as the organiser,be so
bold as to say :"A successful weekend!" ? I feel that
the obvious enthusiasm of both teachers and students
has carried the day.
I hope that the Argentine Tango community in Iowa can
now progress,grow and improve,and take to heart the
words of the great Enrique Santos Discepolo(1901-1951)
... "Tango is a chunk of life.A suit looking for a
body that will serve it well.The more bodies there are
for this suit,the more successful tango will be.If
everybody dances,that means everybody lives,feels this
dance,and the suit looks good on them."
I want to say "THANK YOU!" to EVERYONE who in ANY WAY
helped to make this weekend possible.
!Hasta la proxima! David Stevens - Barrio de
Tango.




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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 10:07:17 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Ease in Dancing Tango (was: Tango Weekend in Ames)

About Gloria and Eduardo, David Stevens wrote:

>Why does it look so easy when he and Gloria
>demonstrate for us?

David probably intended this question as rhetorical, but on more than one
occasion I have seen a beginner look at the seeming ease with which more
accomplished dancers can execute their steps and say something like, "They
look so good; I will never be able to do that." I am responding to those
comments.

Developing ease in dancing tango is simply a matter of practice. In fact,
practice is the most essential ingredient in learning to dance tango--so
much so that it is better to think of instruction as only providing
guidance about how to dance. Through practice, the tango dancer finds
tango in their own body, and in doing so gets away from the internal voices
of criticism.

Some instructors take the approach of attempting to clone students in their
own particular way of dancing tango. (Please note that I am not writing
about Gloria and Eduardo in making these remarks.) In taking this
approach, instructors typically supply an external voice of criticism that
works in conjunction with the student's the internal voice and keeps the
student away from ease. Strangely enough the combination of internal and
external criticism frequently drives the insecure student into more
workshops in which instructors offer detailed instruction on dancing like
themselves. Frequently such students fail to practice because practice
does not offer instructor direction, but the lack of ease drives them to
more classes. The consequence is a spiral away from ease... Practice
reverses the spiral, and takes the dancer toward ease.

With best regards,
Steve

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