Fran Chesleigh Back at Firehouse Tango

Published: Fri, 07/26/13

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July 25, 2013 Newsletter
Fran Chesleigh
We are thrilled that Fran's hernia operation was a complete success, and that he was able to return to Firehouse after missing only one Thursday.  What a guy!   Thanks to Carolina Jaurena for filling in last week.
8th Annual Tango on the Hudson Picnic Milonga Sunday, August 25, 2013 - Tickets on sale now

Get your tickets [$20.00] now for our eight annual Tango on the Hudson picnic milonga. Don't miss dancing Tango at one of the loveliest spots in this area.

The dance is in the Alpine Pavilion, located at the boat basin in Alpine, New Jersey, about seven miles from the George Washington Bridge.  We will dance under the stars at this magnificent stone, open air structure built in the 1930's by the
 WPA, nestled in the forested Palisades directly on the Hudson River, with a huge wood floor made for dancing.  Its protective roof, picnic tables and matchless ambiance make it perfect for eating and dancing rain or shine.

FIREHOUSE TANGO ON THE HUDSON

Admission:

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door if space is available

Purchasing tickets:    

Tickets may be purchased in advance at Firehouse
Tango on  Thursdays or you can send a
check made out to Firehouse Tango to Sue
Dallon 16 Fox Hollow Rd Ramsey, NJ 07446

Date:                   

Sunday night, August 25, 2013


Time:                 

4 - 8 PM                             

Weather:            

Rain or shine - Covered pavilion


Place:           

Alpine Boat Basin


Parking:

$5 for a car to park in lot


Food:      

We will not supply food but you can bring a picnic supper if you want. There are tables at which to sit.


Drink:           

BYOB and water


Cleanup:           

Please dispose of your own garbage in the receptacles provided


Music:           

Music by DJ Joe


Information:        

For additional information call Sue at 201-825-1570 OR 201-826-6602 or e mail firehousetango@gmail.com .


Floor:

The floor is wood and you can wear dance shoes (dress is casual)

 

For pictures and directions for this year's Firehouse Tango on the Hudson Picnic Milonga (Sunday, August 25, the Sunday before Labor Day) click on Special Events on our web site at www.firehousetango.com


Firehouse celebrations

 
No more birthdays in July.  We look forward to celebrating Joe Dallon's birthday on Thursday, August 15th.





If heaven is anything like celebrating one's birthday at Firehouse Tango, it has a lot to recommend it. Frankly, I'd rather be at Firehouse. Thank you lovely tangueras, for a birthday memory I shall cherish. Con mucho amore,

Steve Turi

I keep saying I do not want to celebrate any more birthdays, but how many men will line up to dance with me, if not for the traditional tributes on birthdays.....oh well, you know that is not really true because our tanqueros dance with all of the ladies...

Terri Lopez



Our web site


 
Photos
 
You will notice that Joe has been taking lots of pictures lately.  I'm happy to say that many of them have been posted on our web site at www.firehousetango.com  Just click on Gallery and 2013. 
 

Newsletter

You will always find this week's and last week's newsletters on our web site under Newsletter.


Fran Chesleigh's Tango Tips

 
Fran's Tango Tips going back to 2006 can be found under Tango Tips.  


Check it all out at www.firehousetango.com
 


Parking

Please DO NOT park in front of the side door! This is a fire exit and should be left open!

Readers' Corner
We welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.comWe welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.com
Tango Tip of the week

Hello everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Before we begin, I want to thank Carolina Jaurena very much for covering my class last week. Carolina is a wonderful dancer and teacher, and we've heard that everyone who took her classes last week had a terrific experience. We're very grateful that she was able to step in and take over for. Pat and I were so sorry to have to miss a week due to my hernia operation: we missed all our Firehouse friends, and we're delighted to be back.

And now, let's get to our Tango Tip of the Week.

Most contemporary American, European and Latin social dancing, even at the highest levels, adheres to a principle which I would call "direct lead/follow." Basically, this means that the leader invites a specific movement by giving a precise lead, and the follower responds by taking a specific step. In social ballroom dancing, this step would almost certainly be the beginning of a continuous sequence (multiple steps which form a figure - think of the "progressive basic" or the "box step" in Foxtrot, for example.) In social Tango at a fundamental level, "direct lead/follow" consists of a specific lead for a single movement, and doesn't imply a continuous sequence. Once the follower responds to the lead by taking a single step, she comes to a stop, finds her balance, and waits for the next lead.

With Tango, there is - potentially, at least - a second layer of interaction between leader and follower, which goes well beyond basic lead/follow as described above. This is where Tango becomes far more collaborative between the partners - where they become virtually equal participants in the dance.

The best way for me to explain what I mean here is to describe a typical interaction at this level of the dance. A leader takes his follower to a cruzada through a salida - as is so often done at the beginning of a dance. At this point, he may have a plan in the back of his mind in which he will now invite a resolution. (If you've been dancing Tango for more than two weeks, you know what these words mean.) But his follower decides to play with the cruzada by employing a small traspie ro extend the movement. Right now, the leader could legitimately force his follower to adhere to his plan - not permitting her to add the adornment at the cruzada, but because he realizes that an important component of the dance relationship is to allow ancillary movements by the follower in the form of adornos or embellishments, he waits while she completes her traspie. As he is waiting for her to complete her embellishment, he changes his plan, and decides to lead an entirely different follow-up series of movements. During this ongoing, improvised exchange, whenever he feels that his follower wants to add something of her own, he either decides to allow it to happen - or, if his plan is very important to him, he denies her the adorno and continues with his leading.

Notice that even when the leader allows maximum participation by his follower, the elements of the dance continue to be generated by his motivation, by his lead. A good leader will be very sensitive to moments during which his follower seems to be indicating a desire to add something. A good follower will, at the same time, be sensitive to when the leader agrees and when he does not.

Most beginning leaders do little more than run their followers (ragged) around the floor form the beginning of the dance until the end. In such a context there is no chance for the follower to express her creativity through the use of adornment - unless she wants to turn the dance into a war.

Leaders, if you know that your follower would like to attempt a few embellishments, try waiting between steps from time to time, offering her the opportunity to collaborate at this higher, very satisfying level of the dance.

Followers, see if you can insert an adorno once and a while between individual steps. This will sometimes be enough to slow your leader down a bit, so that he gives you more room to breathe - and to create.

Saturdays with Fran and Pat at Dance Manhattan
For Firehouse dancers who might enjoy a day in the Big Apple on Saturdays, Fran teaches from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. every week. He offers a beginner class in Milonga & Argentine Waltz at 11:00 a.m. as well as an intermediate class in Tango at noon. From 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Fran and Pat host a special beginner/intermediate practice for bringing your skills up to speed. The cost for the practice is $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) Fran and Pat are always on hand to answer any questions you may have about your dancing, and to help you with figures you're working on. If you want to take Fran's classes, call Dance Manhattan at 212-807-0802 to register. For the practice, all you have to do is arrive with $10 and your dance shoes in hand.

See you every Saturday for a full day of Tango!
Firehouse Tango hot line - We rarely cancel
We want to remind everyone that if the weather looks really bad, we will leave messages on our web site www.firehousetango.com and phone 201-825-1570. You can also reach us on our cell phone 201-826-6602 (Sue) and 201-913-8504 (Joe). Feel free to leave a message on any of these lines. We cancel only when absolutely necessary (only about six seven times in all these years), but please check whenever you're not sure. If there isn't any message, we're on.

During Hurricane Sandy, when we had only cell phone service, I was able to leave a message on my cell, so I guess that the best number to call is 201-826-6602.
Lost and Found
 If you lost something, we probably have it. We have a few ladies' scarves and some shoes. There are also various items of clothing and jewelry in the closet. Ask Tibor at the front desk.
A final thank you
The following folks helped set up, break down and clean up before and after the milonga. Without them, there would be no Firehouse Tango.


  • Terri Lopez -
  • Tony Mele
  • Tsipoyra Sartan
  • Eva Roth
  • steve turi
  • Stephen Maisch
  • Debbie Glaser
  • Judy Saul
  • Mary Epiphan
A reminder that Firehouse Tango does not supply wine - Your fellow tangueros bring it. Therefore, if you drink it, please make sure to bring a bottle every so often.

The folks below brought food and wine this week -
 
  • Eva Roth - Flan with Strawberries
And these people brought wine
  • Fred Meyer
  • Jean Shedlock
  • Enrique Zuniga
  • Bill Krukovsky
  • George Ngo
  • Bob Brillo
  • Horatio Piccioni
  • Marta Bautis
  • Eduardo Campos
  • Terri Lopez
Tango in New Jersey - Milongas