Message from Sue

Because Joe and I are are leaving tomorrow, Tibor and I are sending out this newsletter early.  Sorry if we missed some of the cleanup folks.  We will see you in two weeks.We will miss you all very much.

Sue  

Sue and Joe off to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is our favorite home away from home, and we haven't been there for far too long.  Fortunately, we can leave our baby (That would be Firehouse Tango) worry free because we have incredible friends who are more than willing and able to keep the Firehouse fires burning brightly. 

The logistics - The A Team

Terri Lopez (Wonder(ful) Woman) and Steve Turi (aka Superman) have generously offered to head up our milonga logistics team in addition to their normal invaluable weekly help.  The tasks involved in running Firehouse are monumental, and we are incredibly fortunate to have so many fabulous friends willing to step in whenever needed. 

But What about the Music?

 DJ Richard Ariza  October 10 and 17

Not to worry.  While we are away, your tangos, milongas and valses will be spun by fabulous guest DJ, Rich Ariza.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

Richard just returned from Buenos Aires, and he can't wait to share his new selections with his Firehouse friends.  For our part, we can't wait to hear them.  

Richard Ariza's milongas at Triangulo

Richard hosts the delightful Friday afternoon and Sunday evening milongas at Triangulo WWW.TANGONYC.COM.  He has guest DJ'd at many New York and New Jersey milongas, and has done those honors at Firehouse often.  If you haven't been to Triangulo, you don't know what you're missing. 

Rich's Sunday Domingo Club, reopens for their third season after their summer break this Sunday, October 6th at 6:30.  Here is some information:

Triangulo - The Studio for Argentine Tango


135 West 20th. St. #301
New York, NY 10011
212-633-6445
WWW.TANGONYC.COM

The Sunday Evening Milonga 6:30 - 10:30 pm DJ Richard Ariza    This Sunday, October 6, at 6:30 Leandro Oliver and Laila Rezk will be performing that night.  

How about the newsletter?

This Firehouse Tango newsletter has been published nearly every week since April, 2003 and thanks to Fran and Pat, the next two weeks will be no exception. 

Among his countless talents, our remarkable instructor, Fran Chesleigh, is a professional writer.  As always when I am out, he and his equally extraordinary assistant, Pat Altman, flawlessly and with a style of their own, take over the task of writing the Firehouse Tango newsletter.  I, with the help of modern technology, then send out their handiwork directly from our apartment in Buenos Aires. 

This awesome duo is usually found at "Fran's Table" in the alcove closest to the DJ table.  They are always happy to answer your Tango questions or show you how to do something you might have missed, so make sure to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to learn from the best.

October is Milonga Month at Firehouse Tango (all levels)

For four Thursdays in October (3, 10, 17, 24) Fran Chesleigh, our incredible Firehouse Tango resident instructor, will be teaching one all-level milonga class (from 7 to 9 PM) in place of his usual beginner and intermediate classes.  For the best results, please try to come at 7. 

As many of our regulars know, Argentine social dancing includes not only tango, but two other dance forms as well - vals and milonga. Since tango is what we focus on primarily in our weekly classes here at the Firehouse, people are often a bit timid about getting up to dance when a vals or milonga are played. In October, however, all that's going to change. Because starting Thursday, October 3rd, and running for four solid weeks, Pat and Fran will be teaching a month-long series of special classes in milonga. Their goal is to bring everyone from beginners to advanced dancers up to speed on this exciting Argentine dance. They will begin with the absolute basics of the dance, and move quickly through as much material as time and your progress will allow. By the end of October, you'll know what milonga is, how it's danced, and how much great fun it is to dance.

October 3 -

Milonga Month Starts

Sue and Joe were here - off to Buenos Aires on the 4th

October 10

Milonga Month Continues

A # 1 Backup Team Terri Lopez, Steve Turi, Fran Chesleigh, Pat Altman, Rich Ariza et al

October 17 -

Milonga Month Continues

A # 1 Backup Team Terri Lopez, Steve Turi, Fran Chesleigh, Pat Altman, Rich Ariza et al

October 24 -

Milonga Month Continues

Sue and Joe return from Buenos Aires 

October 31 -

Normal beginner and intermediate tango lesson schedule resumes

Firehouse Tango's 11th Annual Halloween Milonga

No celebrations this month

Calling all Tan-ghosts and Tan-goblins - Halloween Milonga   Next Thursday October 31st - Come costumed or not to Firehouse Eleventh Annual Halloween Milonga

Our Halloween party features:

• Belly dance performance by Belly-Tangueras Debbie Glaser and Brenda Gaines
• Door prizes
• Parade of the Firehouse Tan-ghost and Tan-goblins
• Awards for best couple, most creative, funniest and sexiest costumes
• Additional half hour of dancing
• Tango lessons by Fran Chesleigh and Pat Altman
• Buffet dinner
• Milonga

Join us  Thursday, October 31st for our eleventh annual Firehouse Halloween Milonga (regular lessons from 7:00 to 9:00.) If you don't have a costume, don't let it keep you away, but come, dance and cheer for your friends. Costumed or not, expect a great evening. In addition to awards for the most creative, best couple, funniest and sexiest costumes, we've got some great door prizes (costume not required to be eligible.) 

Of course, also included in the low price of only $15 are basic and intermediate tango lessons taught by Fran Chesleigh; a buffet dinner; and dancing and socializing with the fabulous Firehouse tangueros.

Summer is gone,  we're barreling through 2013, I am doing pretty well with my resolutions.  We will see what happens after we go to Buenos Aires next week.  I'm a bit apprehensive, but hopefully, unlike last year, I'll stay on track. These were my resolutions for this year.

·        Learn to converse fluently en español by studying every day

·        Exercise 6 days a week

·         Keep this newsletter interesting for my readers.

Exercise - OK

Every month I update my readers on the progress of my New Year's resolutions.  I was great this year until my Buenos Aires vacation, where I blew it big time.  After being back on schedule, I took a break for eye surgery.  I'm now back on track, exercising every day.

Buenos Aires - yes!

Joe and I will be off to Buenos Aires in October.  Don't worry though.  As hard as it is to leave Firehouse Tango, we know it will thrive without us for the two Thursdays that we are gone. Terri Lopez, Steve Turi, Rich Ariza, Fran Chesleigh, Pat Altman, and the Firehouse crew will keep the home fires burning brightly, and our dear Firehouse friends will be well taken care of.  

 Espanol - yes!

I'm happy with my progress. I appreciate all who continue speaking to me in Spanish, in spite of the fact that I may resist (It's so much easier in English - but as they say, "No pain, no gain.")  I  also signed up for a conversational Spanish course at William Paterson. It's going great, and together with two weeks in Buenos Aires,  my conversation should be lifted to a higher level.

Thank you to Hilda for giving me so much help with my homework and for forcing me to speak and correspond with her in espanol.  She is awesome.  Thanks also to Horacio and Georgina, who keep trying to get me to converse with them in Spanish.

  I am sure that I'll hablo mucho in Argentina, and I'm hopeful that my friends will be very impressed.  Once again, we'll see what happens when I return. Newsletter by Sue

Yes, I am just a bit obsessive compulsive - but sometimes that helps get things done.

From Mike Porro

Would you please post in your notes to dancers that we'll be hosting as Tango Loco IV on November 30th at Grand Ballroom another After Thanksgiving Milonga & Auction to raise money for our local food banks.  We raised $2,370 last year and decided that this would be a great tradition to continue.  We'll fill in the particulars over the next several weeks, but want to get a SAVE THE DATE notice out now in order to avoid conflicts with other activities that could be scheduled on this date.

Many thanks! and best wishes for your trip to Buenos Aires.

From Norma Arias

Hi Sue,

Not sure if you're interested in putting this in the newsletter. The Stable Restaurant is having Tito Castro and a Tango Show again.

 http://www.thestablerestaurant.com/tango.html

 See you Thursday.

Love,

Norma

Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Question: What's the difference between dancing and a dance lesson? Answer: At least two months of concentrated, informed practice.

Most of us think about dancing Tango (and other dances) as building repertoire. We see other people out on the dance floor doing things we'd like to be able to do ourselves, and we focus our energies on grabbing those elements from wherever we can get them as quickly as possible. For leaders, this usually means gathering up complex figures. For followers, it means copying adornments. Where do most of us get all this instant expertise? That's right - YouTube!

Okay, okay. I steal as much stuff from YouTube as anyone else. I think it's a great way of finding out about things I might not otherwise have exposure to. I also use videos from many different sources, and if I see a dancer I admire doing something I want, I watch like a hawk to see whether he does it again so that I can try to grab it.

But here's the thing. Once I have a good idea about how a figure is done, I take it to the practice floor, and work on it for up to two months. It usually takes me at least that long to start feeling comfortable with being able to execute a complex figure in balance in a crowd - without fear of making an idiot of myself, and, more important, confident that I won't be a danger to other dancers.

Another very important factor is that I already know how to dance Tango. I've been doing it for 27 years. My fundamental skills are strong. This means that I can pick up complex material pretty quickly. And I can easily recognize when a given figure will take me an extended length of time to learn. Many of you reading this now are not in the same position. You want the material as much as I do, but you don't yet have the requisite skills to assimilate the material quickly - or for that matter, accurately.

What all this means is that in order to learn something complex, you first have to build fundamental skills - not by watching YouTube, but by studying the dance with a competent teacher. Only then will you be truly ready to start grabbing material simply by watching it on a video or live medium. Then, you'll take your newly acquired figure to the practice floor, work on it with one or more partners for at least two months.

And only then will you be ready to introduce your new figure to the dance floor.

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!

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
  
• steve turi 
• Steve Maisch
• Jesse Barton
• Tsipoyra Sartan
• Carl and Jan for the music
  
• And lots of other folks for so much help.  I was ready to pack up and send everybody home
  

• Barbara Lombardi
• Jil Ofer
• Enrique Zuniga
• Dan & Georgina
• George Ngo
• Bob Brillo
• Rafael & Hilda
• Marta Bautis
• Jorge Sturam
• Susan Berardini
• Francis & Marie