After two weeks away, Joe and I desperately needed a Firehouse fix. Your warm welcome provided the perfect homecoming.
Thank you so much for the messages and phone calls and for your unwavering support.
Firehouse Tango is open next Thursday
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I understand that some folks thought that we would be closed next Thursday. That could not be further from the truth. As I've said before, we rarely cancel. We hope to see you on December 19.
Firehouse Tango New Year's Milonga - Contributions welcomed
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December 26 New Year's We will repeat the entire wonderful holiday milonga process on December 26th for New Year's.
The New Year's milonga will feature: - Fabulous door prizes
- An extra half hour for dancing
- Special food
- Festive atmosphere with decorated hall
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Dress up for the holidays
- Holiday cortinas
As always, our $15 milonga admission charge will include beginner (7 - 8) and intermediate (8 - 9) lessons taught by Fran Chesleigh; a buffet dinner; and dancing and socializing with some of the nicest folks around.
Bring a dish to our New Year's Milonga This is what we have so far: - Sue Dallon Roast pork in gravy and sweet potato souffle
- Terri Lopez Arroz con Pollo
- Mike and Debbie - salad
- Judy Assisi Dried fruit compote with Grand Marnier
- Rose Whitehill Variety of bagel crisps with dips
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Eva Roth Main dish
- Judy and John Wynne Banana nut chocolate bread
If you would like to contribute something for the New Year's milonga, please let me know. You can send an e mail to firehousetango@gmail.com or tell Tibor at the front desk. It can be an appetizer, main dish, or dessert. It doesn't even have to be home made.
December 19 - Cris Grapa birthday
Cris Grapa is a great tanguera, a great dancer, and a great friend. During the milonga, you'll find her at Fran's table or on the dance floor. Cris is still digging out from her damage from Hurricane Sandy, but she comes to Firehouse as often as she can. Carl will start the celebratory tango, and then you guys can all cut in.
Last Thursday - Elena Titova and Veronica Diaz Birthday bash
Veronica -
Veronica has been eagerly anticipating her Firehouse birthday celebration for months. She was not disappointed. Her friends, old and new, came in droves. The ladies toasted and the tangueros danced. It was fabulous,
Veronica brought lots of wine and lots of friends for an amazing birthday toast.
Elena
As the tangueros danced from one birthday celebrant to the other, Elena's smile lit up the room. In little more than a year, she has become a lovely dancer and a great Firehouse friend.
Elena's birthday cake, made by Tsipoyra's sister Dina, was a treat for both eyes and palate.
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
Important message about parking at Firehouse Tango |
Last week, two cars were ticketed for parking too close to the stop sign (one fiercely debated) and another car blocked a neighbor's driveway. Please, please, be careful where you park.
There is plenty of close, legal parking on the local streets right around the Knights' Hall. Please do not block anyone in the parking lot; do not park in the four car private driveway across from the Knights Hall; don't park within 50 feet of a stop sign, and don't block any of our neighbors' driveways. Most importantly, do not block the side door. It is a fire exit and must be left vacant for access to the outside in case of fire.
People have been ticketed for illegal parking, so be careful
Please eat my sweet potatoes
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The Jewish mother in me was devastated to hear that a little of my sweet potato souffle remained uneaten after last week's feast.
How could they leave even a tiny bit of this delicious dish?
What did I do wrong?
The answer -- In addition to the huge tray I had prepared for Christmas, I brought ten pounds of potatoes intended for New Year's. That was too much even for our hungry crowd.
I'm planning to make more for our New Year's milonga. Please finish them. They are really good (The recipe is below.)
Who brought the cupcakes?
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If you made the vanilla cake in cupcake liners with peanut butter and chocolate on the side last week, please let me know. One of our friends is still licking her lips and would love to have the recipe.
Below are some recipes that you requested.
SUE'S SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE
Serving Size: 6 I boil the sweet potatoes in a big pot until they are very soft. After they cool, the skin comes off very easily. After removing the skin, I mash the potatoes, add the other ingredients and beat well. It would probably be much easier and probably just as good to use canned sweet potatoes, but I've always made them fresh. Let me know if anyone tries it that way. ½ Cup White Sugar
1 Egg ¼ Cup Melted Butter (I use sweet unsalted butter) 1 Tsp. Vanilla 1/3 Cup Evaporated Milk 1 ½ Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes Beat all ingredients together. Mix and pour into greased casserole dish. TOPPING ½ Cup Brown Sugar ¼ Cup White Flour ¼ Cup Pecans 2 ½ Tablespoons Melted Butter Mix and crumble on top of the sweet potato mix Bake soufflé 35 - 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
SUE'S BRISKET
I don't have a recipe. The secret to good brisket, I think, is to cook it for a long, long time in tomato sauce based liquid. Here's how I do it.
Brown lots of onions and garlic in olive oil; add salt and seasonings; then brown the brisket. Add a few cans of Del Monte tomato sauce and tomato paste (Any other brand would probably work as well, but that's the one my mother used), water and canned beef bouillon. Make sure that meat is covered with liquid. Bring it to a boil and simmer it covered for about four hours. Then remove the meat and cook carrots, string beans and potatoes in water until just done. Add carrots and quartered potatoes to gravy and cook for another hour. If the gravy is too thin, cook it uncovered for a while to thicken. Let it cool a bit and remove excess oil with a baster or spoon. I then cut the cooled meat it into thin slices (I cannot tell a lie; Joe does that) and arrange the meat, potatoes and carrots in a baking dish with lots of gravy, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for another hour or so at about 350. It is wonderful the first day and even better the next.
JUDY AND MARION'S DRIED FRUIT COMPOTE
1 1/3 cups mixed dried fruit 2/3 cups dried cherries 2/3 cups golden raisins 10 apricots 10 prunes Hot freshly brewed fragrant tea to cover 1-2 TBS sugar 1/4 sliced lemon
Grand Marnier to taste
Put all the dried fruits in a bowl and pour the hot tea over it. Place a heavy plate on top of the mixture When the fruit is cool, refrigerate it. Add the Grand Marnier before serving.
View Monica Paz' terrific tango Facebook posts
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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 and Spanish information and a relevant recording. You can see all of them by simply joining Monica Paz PractiMilonguero Facebook page. Below is the post for December 11 and a link to the Facebook page.
December 11th:
TANGO DAY. Birthday of Carlos Gardel (12/11/1890) and Julio De Caro (1899). Gardel created the rhythmic phrasing to sing tango. De Caro installed the instrumental polyphony in the orchestra. In honor of the third "gender" of tango, the danced milonga, we now listen to a "tangazo" composed on another December 11. DÍA DEL TANGO
. Aniversario del nacimiento de Carlos Gardel (11/12/1890) y Julio De Caro (11/12/1899). Gardel creó el fraseo rítmico para cantar el tango. De Caro instaló la polifonía instrumental en la orquesta típica. En homenaje al tercer género del tango, el baile o la milonga, suena un tangazo grabado otro 11 de diciembre.
Here is a link to her Facebook account
https://www.facebook.com/MPTango And the following one for her latest interview (She regularly posts interviews that she does with surviving old milongueros) : http://youtu.be/EUjsOreThMc We welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.comWe welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.com From Sue and Joe
We received too many messages to include here. Thank you all for your concern and support.
Hora Cero holiday milonga
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Holiday Hora Cero milonga.. Friday Dec. 20 Special Guest DJ and Performer LEXA 8 - 9 pm worshops with Silvana,Brizuela, Ninah Beliavsky and LEXA Dancing to a great music selection by LEXA and AUTHENTIC Argentinean Food !!! Dancing til 12:30 am Only $ 15 pp STARLIGHT DANCE CENTER 7 High Street Nutley NJ 07110
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, we talked about inertia as an important consideration in dancing Tango. The general idea behind inertia is that a body at rest tends to remain at rest, while a body in motion tends to remain in motion.
Tango is a dance in which movement and stillness are equally important (in contrast to dances of continuous movement -- such as American Foxtrot and Waltz). In American progressive dancing (Foxtrot, Waltz, Quickstep, Peabody, Viennese Waltz, "American" Tango), we use inertia routinely in order to begin and continue our dance. The leader sets both himself and his follower into motion; thereafter, the dance progresses more or less without stopping until the music comes to an end. During any individual dance, the leader will often invite changes of direction as well as of rhythm (what teachers refer to as "slows" and "quicks"). With Tango, on the other hand, we're always aware of the potential need to overcome
the effect of inertia in completing every step we take. In fact, stopping at the end of every step is a crucial skill which followers must learn in order to make it possible for their partners to lead effectively. (For a more detailed exploration of the concept of inertia, go to the Firehouse Tango archive and read what I wrote in the Tango Tip for December 5, 2013.) Today, I'd like to discuss a concept which is related to inertia. It's called impetus. As it applies to dance, let's define the creation of impetus as the act of setting a body (in this case, the follower) into vigorous motion with the intention that she will then continue moving by herself for a limited duration. The role of impetus
in progressive social dance in America is virtually non-existent (although in competitive dancing the technique is used to a limited extent. There is actually a movement called an impetus turn, which is utilized in some of the progressive dances.). For the most part, however, once the two partners are in motion in social progressive dance, they almost always remain in motion, precisely mirroring each other's movement. Where impetus does play a significant role in American social dance is in what we call "spot" dancing. With "latin" and rhythm dances impetus is used as a matter of course in order to produce aggressively motivated but unaccompanied movement by the follower -- figures such as double turns, special releases to or from closed or open position, jumps, slides, and so forth.
The basic linear movement of traditional social Tango -- which comprises elements such as forward, backward, to the side, in place and pause -- does not use impetus at all. This includes simple forward and backward ochos as well as molinete. As discussed in last week's Tango Tip, these elements rely exclusively on inertial movement -- in particular, the overcoming of inertia in motion (the whole idea of movement and stillness) in order to give them their special "Tango-like" character. However, impetus is used in social Tango in a very selective way. First, there are certain choices the leader may make in accompanying his follower's molinetes
in which he is unable to use the movement of his torso to effectively direct her rotation. In cases where the leader is either stepping around her axis during a turn, or creating a sacada, for example, he simply cannot lead her with the front of his chest -- because the nature of the accompaniment dictates that the follower actually precede his center line momentarily. In such instances, the leader uses impetus to send his follower past his front for one or two steps. As he rotates himself (in accompanying her movement), the leader eventually catches up to her, and the equilibrium of the couple's normal front-to-front relationship resumes. A second instance in which impetus is almost always used is in the creation of boleo
. This very common Tango technique involves the follower having a rotation in one direction changed abruptly by the leader to a counter-rotation in the opposite direction. Such a change in direction can, of course be led slowly. However, more often than not, a leader will create a sense of drama by "snapping" his follower from one direction to the other. (This action will often suggest an adornment of some kind from the follower.) In boleo, the leader can create impetus in the follower by aggressively rotating his own torso, first to produce the primary rotation, then suddenly in the opposite direction. The follower's response is to rotate quickly in one direction, and then be literally pulled into a counter rotation.
There are other examples in which impetus can be used in traditional social Tango. However, those addressed above should give you a sense of what I'm talking about. In working with your instructor (you do have one of those, don't you?), you can greatly improve your Tango by skillfully employing the use of inertia as described last week, and impetus as we've been discussing today. These are essential techniques which literally define the mechanics of Tango as a dance. Any questions?
Saturdays with Fran and Pat at Dance Manhattan |
Fran teaches at Dance Manhattan from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. every Saturday. 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 material you're working on. If you want to take Fran's classes, call Dance Manhattan at 212-807-0802 to register. If you'd like a private lesson, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692 or email him at
franchesleigh@mac.com. For the practice, all you have to do is arrive with $10 and your dance shoes in hand.
Firehouse Tango hot line - We rarely cancel
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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. - Tony Mele
- Terri Lopez
- Tsipoyra Sartan
- Steve Maisch
- steve turi
- Lynn Gross
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Bob Brillo
- Joseph and Nonna
- Debbie Glaser
- Mike Porro
Many folks pitched in last week when Joe and I couldn't come. Once again, we thank all of you. There were a few who need to be singled out.
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Terri and Steve, of course, deserve all of the thanks I can give
- Mary Pagano, without being asked, went right into the kitchen to wash all the dishes that were piling up. She continued helping through the night.
- Debbie Glaser was a great help
- Barbara Lombardi helped all night long.
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 -
- See list above for those who brought food this week
- Bijoy George - Fruit Cake
- Lillian Sonnenschein - Cookies
- Jan Folmsbee - Kirby Pickle Salad
And these people brought wine
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George Ngo
- Jean Shedlock
- Enrique Zuniga
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Bill Krukovsky
- Bob Brillo
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June Stahl
- Eduardo Campos
- Terri Lopez
Tango in New Jersey - Milongas |
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