Hi everyone, Pat here. We are now only TWO WEEKS away from our first Cat's Away Milonga of 2013!! We are looking forward to another wonderful banquet - we have some great items already signed up, and invite more of you to add your names to the Poster!

For March 14th, we need more volunteers in each category. And, there are plenty of slots open for March 21st.

• Sue Dallon - Brisket with potatoes, carrots, string beans and matzah balls (The brisket is my mother's recipe, the best in the Bronx,)
• Tsipoyra Sartan                                   Passover cake
• Daniel and Georgina Blitzer                 Vegetable kugel
• Judy Assissi and Herb Goodfried       Dried fruits soaked in Grand Marnier
• Norma Arias                                        Roasted carrots and fennel
  

Hi Everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, I discussed at some length the woman's dilemma as she begins to study Argentine Tango. This week, I want to add a bit to what I said, and also talk about the beginning leader's challenge.

Part of the message I tried to convey last week was that attempting to learn Tango through classes alone probably won't work. If you're a woman who is dancing exclusively with unskilled leaders, there is really no practical way for you to develop the myriad skills you need to be able to follow properly. The obvious reason for this is that your leaders simply do not know how to give you the right signals yet. It's not that they won't learn eventually. They just don't know how right now. And now - in the first stages of your learning process -- is when you need it most.

The same thing is true, of course, for men. If your follower population consists of women who haven't yet learned how to follow appropriately, you simply will not be able to form the very specific lead/follow collaboration that is so necessary to make Tango work. You may have some fun, getting together with people and trying out the steps, but the bottom line is that you'll be creating habits that will eventually need to be broken, if you really want to become a skilled Tango dancer.

In my opinion, both leaders and followers need to consider embarking on a course of private instruction in order to form the right habits from the beginning. It is certainly predictable that I, as a dance teacher, would suggest such a thing. After all, it's the way I earn my living. I think, however, that if you consult with virtually any student who has included private instruction in his or her learning process, you will hear exactly how important it is in learning Tango.

Many of you have heard me talk time and again about the importance of the ongoing collaboration between leader and follow. This is what makes the entire dance work effectively. In the private lesson, your teacher offers one side of this collaboration without flaw (assuming he or she is appropriately skilled, of course). This puts the focus completely on your development as a leader or follower - a development that won't in any way be compromised by problems your partner may be having.

Private instruction, of course, is expensive. For the cost of a single private lesson, you could pay for three or more group classes. Or you could limit yourself to the kinds of free classes we offer at venues such as Firehouse Tango. In that case, classes cost you nothing.

The question is: What do you learn?

• Elena (Russian)
  
• Elena Greek)
• Terri Lopez - Terri was out of town, and boy, did we miss her!  I refuse to take her off this list
  
• Tony Mele -  Ditto for her son, Tony.
  
• Tsipoyra Sartan 
• Stephen Maisch 
• steve turi 
• Jesse Barton
• Mary Epiphan
• Maro D
  

• Fred Bilyk
• George Ngo
• Jack Messing
• Jesse Barton
• Florine Salierno
• Carl Remmes
• Marta Bautis
• Horatio Piccioni
• Bob Brillo
• Eduardo Campos