What if we have to cancel during the next two weeks?

 
In the unlikely case that we have to cancel because of really bad weather, we will post the notice on our web site and send an e mail as well.

You can also call Terri Lopez at  845-270-1201 or 845-620-1261 for information. 



Sue and Joe to Buenos Aires tomorrow - Please send lots of e mails to remind me of home
 
Joe and I are leaving tomorrow and we'll be away the two Thursdays after that (14 and 21).   I will miss all my Firehouse friends, but you are in good hands. I will have my trusty computer with me, so I'll be looking forward to e mails from my friends keeping me up on every little detail of what's going on at home.  Please don't disappoint me.

The logistics
 
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.  
 
Music by Rich Ariza
 
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.
 
DJ Richard Ariza  March 14 and 21
 
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.  You'll find information below in this newsletter about Rich's Sunday Domingo Club.
 
Richard is always adding to his excellent tango collection, and as always, we are very excited about hearing his selections at Firehouse. 

Newsletter and feast by Fran Chesleigh and Pat Altman
 
Read below about the Cat's Away Milonga/feast below.  It's a wonderful Firehouse tradition.

This Firehouse Tango newsletter has been published nearly every week since March, 2002 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 (and maybe adding a little bit)  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.   

Hi everyone, Pat here. Fran and I are very excited to be hosting the Cat's Away Milonga next week--March 14th. We are looking forward to a wonderful evening of home cooked food, fabulous music, and an all-around good time. As Fran and I look at our culinary sign-up poster, we feel such a deep gratitude for the generosity that exists in our group - our sincere thanks to all who have signed up!

A couple more entrees for next week and some appetizers on the 21st - and we'll be all set! Please email us at franchesleigh@mac.com or paltman@bcrfcure.org

 And, a few requests to make our evening go smoothly:

·      If you've signed up to bring something, please make sure that it will feed approx. 20 people

 

·      If you're bringing food, check in with Tibor at the desk, and then go straight to the kitchen. Please do not leave your food on the table.

 

·      Those bringing Appetizers - please arrive at 7:30 p.m., latest 7:45 p.m. Appetizers will be served at 8:00 p.m.

 

·      Those bringing Entrees - please arrive at 8:30 p.m., latest 8:45 p.m. If your food needs heating up, please arrive before 8:30 p.m. Entrees will be served at 9 p.m.

Thank you so much everyone! We look forward to seeing you next week.

 

                                                                                                                                                                       

 
On Thursday, March 28, we will treat everyone to traditional Passover food at Firehouse Tango (yes, that is the Thursday after the second Cat's Away Milonga - Three awesome dinners in one month.)  As is our custom, some of our tangueros judeos will provide an ethnic meal for our Firehouse friends. 

It looks like many of the people who would normally bring a dish will be away, so we would appreciate any additional contributions.  You don't have to be Jewish.  Just let me know at firehousetango@gmail.com  
 
Here's what we have so far for this ethnic feast.
 

• Sue Dallon - Brisket with potatoes, carrots, string beans and matzah balls The brisket is my mother's recipe, the best in the Bronx,), desserts, snacks, appetizers, matzah
  

• Tsipoyra Sartan -  Passover cake

• Daniel and Georgina Blitzer - Potato kugel

• Judy Assissi & Herb Goodfried  -  Dried fruits soaked in Grand Marnier

• Norma Arias -  Roasted carrots and fennel

• Bonny Yankauer  -  Pickled herring and chopped liver

• Jack Block -  Tsimmes

• Jean Gastfriend & Stephen Herbst  - Vegetable casserole

• Judy Saul (In absentia)  -   Gefilte fish

• Mike Porro & Debbie Kim - Bitter herbs - Passover salad parsley and arugula

• Jack Mandelberger - Jack's famous lamb stew

• Faye and Lou Levine - Fresh pineapple

• George Ngo - Kosher chopped liver, chocolate covered jellies, desserts
  

There will be lots of goodies for all.

This year, we are celebrating our tenth anniversary (nine at the Maywood Knights of Columbus and one at Paramus Firehouse # 4.)  Our dear tango maestra, Monica Paz, will be here  from her Buenos Aires home the week of May 23, so that's when we're planning the event.  We're trying to make the night very special, while keeping the price low for all our friends. 

We welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.com



Hi Everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. A question that I'm asked quite often by students is: "How do I place my feet on the floor, when dancing Tango?"

 

If the student is a relative beginner, I usually suggest that because there are so many important things to concentrate on during the early stages of learning Tango, foot placement can and should wait until sometime later in the learning process. However, I'm sure that there are people reading this column who are intermediate- and higher-level dancers. With that in mind, I'll briefly discuss the topic of foot placement and foot movement.

 

The majority of Tango dancers in Argentina - both leaders and followers -- are extremely meticulous about the placement and movement of their feet. For this discussion I'm going to limit my focus this week to forward movement for men. (Next week, Pat will talk about backward movement for women.) To be sure, in Tango women also walk forward - although not as often as men, and men walk backward - though certainly nowhere nearly as often as women. Remember, for this discussion, we're limiting our focus sharply.

 

With forward movement there are fundamentally three stylistic considerations:

 

1.     Static placement of the leading foot during movement

2.     Relationship of the moving foot to the floor upon impact

3.     Placement of the trailing foot upon finishing the movement

 

Our first consideration is the static placement of the leading foot during the movement. In this regard, the dancer may choose between:

 

·      Moving with the feet perpendicular to the shoulders (straight ahead)

·      Moving with the feet angled slightly outward at the toe (about 25 to 35 degrees)

 

In the early days of Tango skilled male dancers generally moved with their feet pointing straight ahead. Why? Because it was the style of the time. Later, let's say, after the 1930's, men began to point their toes slightly outward. One could make a solid case for this latter, "more modern" way of moving as a more effective means of ensuring balance between steps. But to keep things somewhat simple for now, let's just say that men placed their feet in this new way, because they saw other men doing it, and they liked it.

 

Our second consideration is the relationship of the moving foot to the floor upon impact. We will identify four possibilities:

 

·      Heel impacts first with toe approximately 25 to 40 degrees off the floor upon impact

·      Heel impacts first with toe about one quarter to one half inch off the floor

·      Heel and toe impact together

·      Toe impacts first

 

If you were dancing American Foxtrot, the first possibility above would be appropriate. For Tango it just doesn't look right. Any of the other possibilities work fine. My personal choice is for my heel and toe to impact at the same time. You should try them all, and choose what you like best.

 

Our third consideration is the placement of the trailing foot when finishing the movement. Basically, your choice is between

 

·      Bringing the feet absolutely together with the toes pointing straight ahead or angled slightly outward.

·      Bringing the moving foot slightly behind the standing foot with the heel of the moving or closing foot approximately one inch behind that of the standing foot.

 

This is also a personal choice. Experiment with both ways of finishing the forward step, and choose the one you like best.

 

As you can easily see, there is a great deal to consider when it comes to placement and movement of the feet during the forward step. If you are in the early stages of learning, it would be best to forget all about these things and concentrate on more fundamental concepts. But if your Tango fundamentals are solid, you can start to think about such subtleties.

 

Next week, as mentioned above, Pat will address women's backward placement and movement of the feet. In the meantime, if you have any question, you have but to ask.

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!

 
If you lost something, it's most likely safe in our closet.  Ask Tibor at the front desk.

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.

The following folks helped set up, break down and clean up before and after the milonga. Without them, there would be no Firehouse Tango.

• Mike Porro
  
• Jesse Barton
• Bob Brillo
  
• Terri Lopez - Thank goodness, Terri is back
  
• Tony Mele -  Ditto for her son, Tony.
  
• steve turi 
• Mary Epiphan
• Maro D