Thank you all -

Our Firehouse friends packed the Knights of Columbus Hall to celebrate our eleventh anniversary.  We missed all of you who couldn't come, and we appreciate your messages of congratulations and good wishes. Firehouse Tango started in 2003 and has been going strong ever since.  We want to thank all of the wonderful folks who have supported us over the years and who  do so now.  We truly love being with you.
 
 Thank you all - old friends and new- for making this an unforgettable night.  

 
Happy Anniversary to us - Anniversary Tango
 
We invited all of the Firehouse folks who had been with us since our days at Paramus Firehouse # 4 to raise their hands.  I'm amazed to see how many there were. We appreciate every one of you - old, new and in between.  We know that you are what makes Firehouse Tango the wonderful place it is.

Monica Paz and Johnny Tablada - Tango Milonguero Style
 
Monica is our favorite teacher from Buenos Aires.  Her performance with Johnny Tablada  was awesome.  They did a tango, a milonga and a waltz, and each one brought the house down..

Johnny is the open amateur winner (with Antoinette Tomai) of the 2010 Celebrate Tango Festival.  He teaches and DJ's in many places in New York.   Monica's info is below in the next section.  A few slots for private lessons this weekend and next week are still available. Send e mail to firehousetango@gmail.com for information.


Fran Chesleigh and Pat Altman - that fabulous mambo
 
Fran and Pat performed a mambo for the Firehouse crowd.   The crowd loved seeing our tango teachers doing this wonderful dance. We are always amazed to see our teachers doing another dance.


The wonderful belly dances
 
Brenda Gaines and Debbie Glaser, our terrific Firehouse friends, perform their beautiful belly dances at many Firehouse festivals.  To our dismay, Brenda couldn't make it this time (See Reader's Corner.)  Debbie was joined by another marvelous dancer, Marion Miller, and they wowed us with their fabulous performances. 


The food
 

•  I made ham and corned beef for sandwiches and potato salad to go with the sandwiches.
• Eva brought lobster casserole .
• Jan brought kasha (buckwheat groats) varnichkes (with bowtie noodles)
  
• George Ngo brought delicious beat salad with quail eggs.
• I also made lots of potato salad, and it all went in a flash.
  
• We ordered eggplant rollatini
• Faye and Lou brought pineapple
• Marie G brought wraps
• Adrienne brought mixed fruit
• Carl Shaefer brought beets and leeks
•  The anniversary cake. half filled with fresh strawberries and cream and the other half with chocolate.  Yummy
• Camille brought chips
  

Door prizes
 
 
The winners were:

• Nonna - Coffee table book on Latin America
• Jack B - Headphones
• Debbie and Mike - Coasters
• Estelle - Tango key chain
• Irina - Pan and keychain
  

TANGO LOCO V

Workshop & Milonga

Featuring

Monica Paz

Direct from Buenos Aires

Brush up on your dance steps

Learn new movements

Experience the beauty of Argentine Tango

Saturday, May 10, 2014

7-11:00 PM$15

7 - 8:00 PM Gathering Milonga

8 - 9:00 PM Tango Lesson

Musicality and Movement

9 - 11:00 PM Evening Milonga

Refreshments and beverages.

BYOW

Grand Ballroom Dance Studio

Midland Park Shopping Center (around the back)

85 Godwin Ave, Midland Park, NJ 07432

For additional information call 201-768-0218

Or email: porro@erols.com

TANGO LOCO MILONGA is a spontaneous event that arises when the spirit moves us and we have the opportunity to host extraordinary teachers of dance for our tango community.

Be sure to visit Monica's website www.mptango.com for historical information and interviews with milongueros of Buenos Aires AND to visit her studio at 30 Riobamba when in Buenos Aires.

At appropriate times during the year, we take a look back at some Firehouse Tango highlights.  We sincerely thank all of you who have been with us from the start, the newcomers, and everyone in between.  Every one of you contributes to making us who we are.
 

03/20/2003     Argentine Tango instructors Carlos and Rosa announce they are leaving for Paris and ask if we would like to continue Pasional, their weekly milonga at Paramus firehouse # 4.
 

03/27/2003        Sal and Laura Zullo host first session of Tango Co-op while Sue, Joe and Eva are in Buenos Aires.

04/1/2003         Sue Dallon publishes first weekly newsletter.

04/17/2003      Fran Chesleigh teaches first lesson as guest instructor.

06/12/2003      Tango Co-op members vote to change name to Firehouse Tango.

07/20/2003      Fran has accident - recommends Jak Karako as replacement.

07/29/2003      CJ Puotinen publishes interview of Fran Chesleigh, first of a series of Firehouse Tango instructor interviews.

09/4/2003      Jak Karako teaches first lesson as guest instructor.

.

02/3/2004         Goodbye party for Jak

02/10/2004      Fran is welcomed back as permanent instructor.

03/16/2004      First Firehouse Tango trip to Buenos Aires. Fran Chesleigh and    Pat Altman run milonga and buffet and write newsletter.  They call it the Cat's Away Milonga, and it becomes an annual tradition.

04/20/2004      Firehousetango.com web site is launched.

04/29/2004      Firehouse Tango outgrows firehouse and  moves to Maywood Knights of Columbus Hall.

05/6/2004      Firehouse Tango celebrates first anniversary in new home with live  music by Hector Del Curto trio.  The anniversary celebration will become an annual event.

06/17/2004      Fran's half-hour basic tango class is expanded to full hour.

07/2004        Fran adds one hour intermediate lesson and teaches from 7 to 9 pm   every week

08/30/2004      First Firehouse Tango on the Hudson picnic milonga.  These will  continue as an annual tradition.

06/15/2006   First Fran Chesleigh Tango Tip published in Firehouse Tango newsletter

09/2006        Firehouse Tango's first Milonga Month.  Fran Chesleigh teaches a     two hour milonga lesson for entire month.  This becomes yearly tradition. 

05/31/2008      Monica Paz from Buenos Aires visits Firehouse Tango and gives   first Saturday workshop.  She will continue to visit Firehouse on her yearly trips to the U.S.

02/31/2009   New Year's Eve is Thursday night, and Firehouse Tango has New Year's Eve Milonga

03/2011        Rich Ariza, Hector Scotti and Felix Pacheco join Firehouse as guest DJ's while Joe recuperates.  Sue then takes over and when Joe returns, they begin to alternate weeks.   

12/23/2011    Norma, Terri and Marion suggest a Christmas/Hanukkah party inviting everyone who wants to bring a dish.  It's a resounding success, and we decide to continue the tradition every year.  It's so much fun that we add a new year's party, as well.

1/5/2012    Firehouse Tango starts its tenth year with Fran Chesleigh's Argentine  Vals lessons.  This, too, becomes an annual tradition.

05/23/2013    Firehouse Tango celebrates its tenth anniversary with lots of original friends starting the anniversary dance and new friends joining in.

09/12/2013        A night to Remember.  Lightning, thunder, floods, and no electricity could not keep the Firehouse folks from dancing the night away by flashlight, proving once again that we are, indeed, a very special place.

Monica's web site with interviews of old milongueros

Monica is passionate about preserving the traditions, codes, and history of tango.  To this end, she continues pursuing her project of interviewing the precious few remaining old milongueros of Buenos Aires.  Their stories and the videos accompanying them, as well as other wonderful videos of Monica can be found on her web site at www.mptango.com   Scroll down for English or Spanish selection.


Facebook page and Calendar

Every day, Monica posts a historical tango fact of the day. These interesting and informative tidbits always include English, Spanish and Italian  information and a relevant recording. You can see all of them and listen to the recording by simply joining Monica Paz PractiMilonguero Facebook page. I enjoy these posts so much that I share them with my readers every week in my newsletter (See below.)

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Today, I want to make a case for movement in Tango being primarily "gestural" in nature, and only "functional" in a very limited way. This might sound a bit abstract to you right now (no yawning, please), but please reserve judgment until I've made my point.

When we dance Tango, we often (not always) travel around a room in a counterclockwise direction in what's called a "line of dance," or "line of direction." People from Argentina call this circle or oval on the outside of the dance floor la ronda. As most of you are aware by this time, learning to consistently observe the line of dance is a very challenging skill for many of us in the Tango community here in the United States. And what I'll be talking about today might just help a bit to alleviate this all-too-prevalent problem.

Now let's talk about the idea of Tango movement being primarily "gestural;" i.e., focused on form, rather than "functional." If you ask most leaders why they just took that last forward, backward or side step, they would probably reply, "I was trying to get from here to there, or from point A to point B." What they're telling you, in other words, is that the function of their movement was to travel through space in order to arrive at a new location on the dance floor -- to progress in a given direction.

This is the way most social dancers think; i.e., functionally.

Now, to be sure, there are times when movement is indeed functional. You may need to avoid a collision with another couple; you may need to find a new travel line in a crowd. Or, as we'll discuss below, you may need to observe the line of dance. There are all sorts of reasons for individual or sequential movements to be functional on the dance floor. However, most movement in the social dance context isn't functional at all -- it's gestural.

What do I mean by that? For the answer to this question, let's turn to other dance forms -- ballet, jazz, tap, or modern, for example. How would we categorize individual elements within these dance forms. Are the dancers trying to "get somewhere" on the dance floor, or are they making an artistic statement in which their individual gestures are creating an overall effect? It's the latter, of course. If they happen to move through space during the process, this traveling is simply one more way to enhance the overall artistic statement.

The same is true of social dancing. Traveling is what we do -- the means we use -- in order to create a statement for ourselves and for our partners -- not just to get around a room. Yes, we do indeed end up working our way around the dance floor. But, in fact, we're using a specific social dance vocabulary --which includes traveling as well as other movements -- to build our improvised social/artistic creation rather than to simply behave mindlessly like rats on a treadmill.

Gesture (form) rather than function.

"Okay, okay, I get it," you say. "Everything we do in our social dance helps us to communicate an artistic intention. So far, so good. But we still have to get around the dance floor."

Yes, we do. And herein lies the challenge. For some leaders, it's very easy to get absolutely lost in our pursuit of a creative improvisational trajectory. For others, demonstrating that complex figure we just learned from one of the "masters" totally absorbs our concentration. In either of these instances, it becomes very easy to neglect the mandate we have as social dancers to keep the flow of the dance consistent enough that we don't seriously impede collective movement around the floor.

So, what we have to do ultimately is to constantly juggle. We certainly have to focus on our own creative needs. Otherwise dancing just wouldn't be enjoyable. But at the same time we need to acknowledge and respect the "social" tradition of Tango. This means maintaining the flow -- the functionality - of the line of dance. Form within function. Or if you prefer, function within form. Either way, as a Tango dancer it's crucial to incorporate both elements whenever we get up to dance on a crowded floor. Gesture combined skillfully with function.

I suppose all this might be a really long way of saying, "Have fun, but keep things moving."

 Every day, our dear friend and teacher in Buenos Aires posts a historical tango fact of the day. These interesting and informative tidbits always include English, Spanish and Italian  information and a relevant recording. You can see all of them and listen to the recording by simply joining Monica Paz PractiMilonguero Facebook page. Below is the post for May 8th and a link to the Facebook page, where you can hear the music:

 May 8, 1947: Date in which Carlos Di Sarli recorded for a single time, an iconic tango: LA RACHA. The work belongs to Agustín Bardi, who did not complete his primary education but nevertheless studied piano and violin. The word racha has 2 meanings: a short period of time of good or bad luck. Or a bash of violent wind of short duration.

 Fecha en la que Carlos Di Sarli graba por única vez un tango emblemático: LA RACHA. La obra pertenece a Agustín Bardi, quien no completó su educación primaria pero sin embargo estudió piano y violín. La palabra racha tiene 2 acepciones. Una, período de tiempo corto de buena o mala suerte. Otra, golpe de viento violento de poca duración.

 8 maggio 1947: Data nella quale Carlos Di Sarli registra per l'unica volta un tango emblematico: LA RACHA. L'opera è di Agustín Bardi che non terminò la sua istruzione elementare, tuttavia studiò piano e violino. La parola "racha" ha due significati. La prima, breve periodo sia di buona o cattiva fortuna. La seconda, violenta folata di vento.

 https://www.facebook.com/MPTango

And the following one for her latest interview (She regularly posts interviews that she does with surviving old milongueros) : 

MP Tango Interview

MPTango Presents Jorge Garcia at PractiMilonguero

http://youtu.be/iBvxXlJp3FU

Dear Sue & Joe...congratulations & best wishes on the 11th anniversary of Firehouse tango.

Sorry I won't be able to attend, but wish you many more years of Firehouse milongas.

Best

From Gretchen Janssen

Thinking of you all tonight and wishing I were there!  The greatest anniversary party ever and complete with Monica!!

Best to you and Joe,

Gretchen

Dearest Sue,

I was sooo.... looking forward to celebrate with you and everyone tonight. But, my dentist had other ideas.
So, while oral surgery and tango may not go well together, I know that best wishes for a great party among so many dear friends will make for the greatest tango celebration in town! 
Happy Firehouse Tango 11th Anniversary!!!.... with hugs, kisses and cabeceos to all!!!
From Cris G.

Our group leaves New York on Friday, October 31, 2014 at 10:15 PM and returns Monday, November 10 at 6:15 AM. As I write, the round trip fare for non-stop American flights #953/956 is $1285. Let me know now if you are interested in joining us. You can contact me (Sue) at 201-825-1570 or  firehousetango@gmail.com.

How Much:

Cost of the trip including everything listed below (excluding air) is $2000 (double occupancy). Single supplement is available for an additional fee of $300. Airfare should be about 1,285.

Give check made out to Firehouse Tango for $400 together with your name, address and phone numbers to Sue or send to Sue Dallon, 16 Fox Hollow Rd. Ramsey, NJ 07446. For more information or references ask Sue or call 201-825-1570 or 201-826-6602.

What's included?

·         8 nights / 9 days in Buenos Aires with the friendliest group around

·         Stay at the excellent, centrally located Bauen Suites Hotel

·         Full breakfast every day

·         Transfers to and from hotel (included only if traveling with group on American # 953 Fri Oct 31 and # 956 Sunday November 9 (arriving Mon  10))

·         Welcome luncheon where you will meet the instructors

·         Private group lessons with excellent local teachers and local hosts as partners

·         Milongas with local hosts (male and female) who are there just to dance with us

·         City Tour

·         Full day at gaucho ranch with barbeque and show

·         Popular Tango show with dinner

·         Day at San Telmo Flea Market & enough free time for shopping, exploring the city, visiting museums, taking private lessons, visiting milongas on your own or resting (heaven forbid).

·         You most certainly will want to visit a shoe store (shoes cost about 1/3 of price here).  Prices in Buenos Aires are amazingly low & additional costs are minimal.

·         Excellent & inexpensive local teachers highly recommended by us for privately scheduled lessons.

Optional add-on - Four days in Mendoza - Argentine wine country

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

• Tony Mele (Terri's son)
  
• Terri Lopez
• Tsipoyra Sartan
• Steve Maisch
  
• Jesse Barton
• Joseph and Nonna
  
• Bob Brillo
  
• steve turi
• Monica Paz
• Rafael and Hilda
  

• Camille - Chips
• Adrienne Burton - Mixed Fruit
• George Ngo - Quail Eggs, Beets & Leeks
• Carl Schaefer - Beets & Leeks
• Eva Roth - Corn Chowder with Peas, Carrots & Lobster
• Lou & Faye - Pineapple
• Marie Gregoire - Wraps

• Camille
• Bill Krukovsky
• George Ngo
• Carl Schaefer
• Marta Bautis
• Lynne Tracey
• Horatio Piccioni
• Rose Whitehill
• Bob Brillo
• Marie Gregoire
• Jesse & Cathy
• Eduardo Campos
  
• Terri Lopez