Sue and Joe back from Buenos Aires
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Sue and Joe back from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is our favorite home away from home, and we were just itching to go. Fortunately, we were able to 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 - And from what I can see, they did that in spades.
We're thrilled to be back
What joy to return and be welcomed so enthusiastically by our dear Firehouse friends! As much as we loved Buenos Aires, we're absolutely thrilled to be back home. We love you all.
Thanks, thanks, and more thanks to the Firehouse Tangueros
Huge helpings of gratitude go to all of you who brought food and drinks; set up; cleaned up; and kept the Firehouse fires burning brightly while we were gone. We are very aware that our trip would be impossible without an enormous amount of help from the folks back home.
The logistics - The Superhero Team
Special thanks to Fran Chesleigh, Pat Altman, Terri Lopez and Steve Turi for making the whole shebang such a great success. Terri, with Steve's help, planned; ran operations; and coordinated setup and cleanup. Fran and Pat not only originated the idea of the Cat's Away Milonga, but as always, executed it to perfection.
Were it not for Terri's encouragement, we would not have gone last October, much less a second time. Were it not for Fran and Pat's insistence and their willingness to do the work, I would have dismissed Cat's Away as too much trouble. After seeing how well it went, Joe and I might decide to go again in a few months.
These folks fielded the problems and glitches that seem to arise every week. 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.
The newsletter
This Firehouse Tango newsletter has been published nearly every week since March, 2002 and thanks to Fran and Pat, the past two weeks were 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. (Fran came through in spite of formatting problems, which we tried to fix. I heard from some of you that the text overlapped the screen. We're sorry, and we hope to do better next time.)
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.
Superman Steve Turi had his own byline as "Clean-up Editor. and Terri Lopez had hers as "Other Stuff Editor"
The music - DJ Richard Ariza
Aren't we fortunate to have such a wonderful DJ in our Firehouse Family? We heard the music was marvelous. What a pity we couldn't have been there!
Fran's tribute to Richard was over the top. Knowing Fran, I can tell you that he doesn't throw his praise around lightly.
Here's some more information about Richard: he 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 we've had the pleasure of his company - not to mention DJ expertise - quite often at the Firehouse. 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.
40 CD Package from Buenos Aires
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Osvaldo Natucci, one of the finest and most well known DJ's in Buenos Aires, has compiled a magnificent 40 CD package of tango selections. The set contains 1000 of the best tangos of the Golden Age: the ones played in the milongas of Buenos Aires. I brought two sets home with me.
If you are interested in purchasing these CD's, send an e mail to firehousetango@gmail.com or call me at 201-826-6602.
Thursday April 11 - Please celebrate my birthday with me at Firehouse
I hope every one of my Firehouse friends will join me for my birthday on Thursday, April 11. I can't imagine a better way to celebrate the occasion than dancing, socializing, and sharing the best years of my life with the folks nearest and dearest to my heart. Please don't disappoint me.
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
Happy Easter and Happy Passover
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It seems appropriate that the words for Easter and Passover are the same in Spanish: Pascua. Feliz Pascua, todos mis amigos.
More or Less Kosher for Passover Milonga 2013
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The annual More or Less Kosher for Passover milonga at Firehouse last Thursday was a complete success. Thanks to all of the Tangueros Judeos and others who contributed to this ethnic feast.
Many of the people who would normally bring a dish were away, but it was awesome, nonetheless. Here's what we had 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 (I started cooking as soon as I got home.)
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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
- Judy Saul (In absentia) - Gefilte fish with horseradish
- Mike Porro & Debbie Kim - Bitter herbs - Passover salad parsley and arugula
- Jack Mandelberger - Jack's famous lamb stew (incredible)
- George Ngo - Kosher chopped liver, chocolate covered jellies, desserts
- Walter Petuch - tons of Passover candy
What a joy it was for us to be in Buenos Aires for the selection of Pope Francis! Argentines disagree about many things, but they all seem to adore this wonderful man. Over and over, I heard the word, "sympatico" to describe their new "Papa." Felicitaciones y buena suerte.
Correction by Fran Chesleigh
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Hi Sue,
The list of those who brought food and wine in the Newsletter today was not correct - it was our fault! Below is a corrected list, which I hope you will be able to add to the Thursday night Newsletter. Our sincere apologies for this, and thanks so much for re-running the corrected version!
And welcome back!! We'll look forward to seeing you and Joe on Thursday.
Best,
Pat
Barbara-Pizza!
Bill K - wine
Bob (Brillo) - large green salad, and wine
Dorothy W. - wine
Edna N. - wine
Eduardo (Campos)-Empanadas
Emerson and Gunilla - wine
Flo Salierno - large creamy chocolatey trifle
George (Ngo) - Hummus and chips, and wine
Glen Klu - Flourless Chocolate Cake
Horatio - wine
Jean Shedlock and Enrique Zuniga - Potato Pie, and wine
Judy (Assisi) & Herb (Goodfried) - Chili and Rice, with grated cheese and onions
Judy (Koski) - large bowl of fruit
Marie and Francis - wine
Mary (Dinos) - homemade Irish Soda Bread and Lasagna
Mary (Walsh) - chicken minestrone
Maro - wine
Mike and Debbie (Poro) - large green salad
Slava and Naum - homemade Kosher Cheesecakes
Walter Petuch - Wiener Schnitzel and Potato Pancakes with sour cream, sauerkraut,
Polish bread and butter, poppy seed rolls, and 4 containers of Angel Wings for
dessert!
We welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.comHi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Many years ago - let's say, during the 1940's in the U.S.A. -- when social dance was pretty much everywhere, the most common means of learning how to dance was to simply go to a dance venue in your community, watch what people were doing, and try it yourself. Sooner or later, you'd begin to get the hang of it, friends and acquaintances would show you a few steps, and you'd be on your way.
Back then, everyone had their own particular style of interpreting any given dance, so you had a wide range of moves to choose from in creating your own version of whatever dance you were interested in. From time to time you might see some hotshot doing a special step you lusted after, and you'd eyeball him or her until they repeated the pattern enough times that you could finally grab it and make it your own. That was then. Today, the heyday of social dance is long gone. The number of people involved in dancing is very, very small. And instead of attempting to learn how to dance by just heading for the nearest dance hall and taking your chances, your only viable option these days is to find yourself a teacher
. Want to learn foxtrot, waltz, salsa, swing? Sure, you could go to a dance, and try to pick up a few things, but the people you'd be watching today would be mostly students, not seasoned dancers. The experts are now doing the assisted living thing someplace warm like Florida. Their dancing days are way behind them. It's a shame, but that's the way things are. So what do you do? You get a teacher.
Sounds reasonable. Go directly to the source, right? Well ... not quite. As a potential student, you could easily be forgiven for thinking -- for hoping, at least - that every dance teacher is an expert in dance, that we all know everything there is about it, and that you'll be safe in our hands. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Most of us are, in fact, extremely narrow in focus, having slavishly assimilated an orthodox methodology from our own teachers, which we more or less mindlessly pass along to you - but which only represents a tiny sliver of what is available within the full spectrum of social dance. Most of us are hamstrung by the misguided idea of standardizing social dance -turning it into a series of severely limited movements that are rigidly prescribed -- rather than opening the doors to the full potential of this highly creative art form to our students.
Which brings me to Argentine Tango. Because we live very far away from the culture of Tango, we simply do not have ready access to how this dance - along with Vals and Milonga -- is actually being danced in the milongas of Argentina. We absolutely must rely on our dance teachers to guide us appropriately, to invite us into the world of Tango, and to help nurture our creativity as we make these dances our own.
Let me offer you two ideas about all this. First, there is NO certainty in learning how to dance (even though I know it's what you're looking for as a beginning student). Everyone interprets Tango - and every other dance -- differently. If someone tells you it's just one thing, don't believe them. Second, if you really want to know what Tango is all about, go to Buenos Aires, watch every dancer you can find, read books, ask questions, and decide you're going to make Tango a lifelong pursuit. That should put you on the right path. Think of it as Step One.
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. 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. 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
- steve turi
- Jesse Barton
- 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 -
- Tsipoyra - Passover Fruit Cake, Spinach Dip & Crackers
- Norma - Carrots, Fennel
- George Ngo - Kosher Chopped Liver, Macaroons, Ring Jelly Deserts
- Walter Petuch - Kosher for Passover Candy (and tons of it)
- Bonny - Chopped Liver, Herring with and without Cream
- Judy & Herb - Grand Marnier Fruit Compote
- Daniel and Georgina - Kugel
- Mike & Debbie - Bitter Herbs awesome salad
And these people brought wine
- Eduard Simpson
- Rose Whitehill
- Natalya Kaganovich
- Dan, Georgina & Arnaldo
- Bob Brillo
- Tom Rodgers
- Horatio Piccioni
- Flo Salierno
- Michael Yinglins
- Mike & Debbie
- Jorge Sturam
- Terri Lopez
Tango in New Jersey - Milongas |
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