As always, we are thrilled to be able to host another Gregoire celebration.  This time it's Francis and Marie's anniversary.  We will do it next Thursday, January 23rd (just a little late because of Marie's eye surgery.) 

Marie and Francis have been loyal Firehouse followers for many years and have been to Buenos Aires with us as well.  Moreover, we are very happy to be able to call them our friends.  Francis and Marie will start the birthday dance together and then the guys and gals can cut in (I will make every effort to be the first to cut in and dance with Francis.) 

As they always do, Marie and Francis will bring lots of goodies for us. 

Estelle Stanger

Our first celebration of 2014 was for one of the greatest ladies of Firehouse Tango --  Estelle Stanger.  We are always thrilled to see Estelle walk through the Firehouse door.  We're certain that Bert looks down at the scene with joy and approval. 

Estelle wasn't planning on dancing, but Steve Turi would have none of it, so he danced her from the microphone to her chair - slowly with lots of turns. We sang, and Estelle beamed. 

Judy Koski picked up a napoleon cake for Estelle and Rose that was so delicious that not a bite was left.  For those who asked, it was from the Lyndhurst Pastry Shop.  

Rose Whitehill

Rose is a great dancer and lovely lady who has been a Firehouse fan since our Firehouse # 4 days.  She has also been to Buenos Aires with us seven times.  We were thrilled to be able to celebrate her birthday.  As for the birthday dance, The Firehouse Tangueros kept cutting in as long as we would let them. 

 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 and listen to the recording by simply joining Monica Paz PractiMilonguero Facebook page. Below is the post for January 14 and a link to the Facebook page, where you can hear the music:

Comme il Faut - Carlos Di Sarli (1947)

January 14th, 1947. On this date Carlos Di Sarli recorded the first of his three themes called COMME IL FAUT. This tango was disclosed in 1918 by a quintet led by its author, Eduardo Arolas. An almost identical score entitled COMPARSA CRIOLLA is released in 1930, by hardly anyone recorded it. In this way the original title "As it has to be" (Comme il faut) was justified.

 En esta fecha Carlos Di Sarli graba el primero de sus tres registros de COMME IL FAUT. El tango se da a conocer en 1918 por un quinteto dirigido por su autor, Eduardo Arolas. En 1930 aparece una partitura casi idéntica titulada COMPARSA CRIOLLA, que casi nadie grabó. Es decir, cumplieron con la traducción del título original: COMO DEBE SER.

 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 Ofelia Rosito at PractiMilonguero

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Yl--ceNcA&feature=youtu.be

Hi Sue:

As I entered El Arranque this past Thursday  - eyes turned towards me like saying:  "here she is again".  It was just great, the music, people, more men than women and all of a sudden I realized that the men were asking:  Donde esta Susana? y el Senor con el gorrito?

Well, Susana and Joe stayed back home taking care and enjoying Firehouse.  Will they come? - they asked.  Perhaps, I replied!

Que lastima = tanto que yo queria bailar con la flaca.........................

So, back to normal after having arrived with a very bad case of allergy.  Tomorrow Saturday, Marion and Justin will be here in Buenos Aires.  Monday morning, they depart for one week to the wine country of Mendoza.

It is hot here in Buenos Aires.  Most of the women, at the milongas  do not wear pants but rather "soleras"   sun dresses in many different colors.  The men, have left their jackets at home and do wear very attractive shirts and light colored pants.  Beige on beige or white on white, shirts and pants for the men.  Tomorrow, I will stay with Marion and Justin.  Sunday, Marion and I are going to La Ideal.  Juan Carlos will meet us there to dance with us in between.

I do miss not having you Sue, as my breakfast companion planning the daily activities. Guess what?.  I went to the corner restaurant, El Establo and the waiter said to me:  "should I set - up the table for 3 or for 1?.  Where is the lady who enjoys eating the provoleta?.

I do hope that by some miracle you are able to travel down to Buenos Aires.  Just a few days ago, before leaving New York, I went into www.lan.com and they had a last minute special to be booked between January 3 and January 6.  The round trip air-fare from JFK to Buenos Aires was being offered for 299.00 round trip.  There were only 6 seats available...................................funny isn't it?. 

This Monday, I will be going to Marabu, a place you still have to get to know.  Tuesday, I will meet Cristina,  my new friend  at El Nuevo Chique on San Jose Street for a two-hour lesson. 

There is a new empanada and pizza store around the corner.  Each slice of pizza is 80 u.s. cents.  - the rate of exchange now is 10.60 per dollar.  It should reach 11.00 in no time.  The city is full of tourists.

My apartment is very comfortable as you know.  Now waiting the arrival of Debbie, Mike Porro, her mother and her brother who will be taking a 14-day cruise to Patagonia and then spend 4 days here in an apartment at the building.

Well, it happens to be very windy right now.  Thursdays without Firehouse seems very strange to me.  I wish you were here!

Love to both of you - take care -dress warm.  I will continue to stay in touch and let you know all about my wonderful milongueros.   Eva

Los Pitucos' monthly milonga will take place in Caldwell this Saturday, January 18th, 2014

Guided Practica from 7:00pm, social dancing from 8:00pm till 11:00pm
Admission $15, including home cooked "delight"

Location:  Dancesport4YOU
                       31 Westville Avenue
                      Caldwell, NJ 07006
                                                 (formerly, Women's Club Of Caldwell)

NOTE: Los Pitucos will be moving to a new location in Franklin Lakes in February.  January's event will be in Caldwell.

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About Pitucos

Hello, everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Whenever you walk out onto the dance floor with your partner, what is it that you find yourself thinking about? Is your mind a blank? Or maybe you're thinking, "I'm looking forward to dancing with him/her." Or perhaps, "I can't wait to try this new step/adornment I just learned." Today. I'd like to suggest a few of the other things you might consider thinking about in your Tango dancing this year.

When we dance socially -- unless we're alone on the floor -- we take on several obligations to which we need to pay attention in order to enjoy the optimum dance experience. If you're a leader, your first responsibility, of course, is to the comfort, wellbeing and pleasure of your follower. If you're a follower, your primary obligation is to focus on and execute in a balanced way what your leader is asking you to do with each movement he invites.

But let's talk about some other important considerations. One of these is the music. When we dance -- in fact, the reason we dance -- is to move to music. The music inspires us to respond to it, and to a large extent dictates the tempo and rhythm we'll use. For some people, moving confidently and creatively with the cadence of a piece of music is very easy. For others -- usually relative beginners, but sometimes people who have been dancing for many years -- it can be very difficult. This could be your year to explore with your teacher how to finally overcome any rhythm block you might be experiencing. This will make your Tango much more enjoyable both for you and your partners.

Dancing is a social skill. The implication of this is that when we dance, we need to realize that we're actually interacting not only with our immediate partner, but with all of the other people on the dance floor. What does this mean? First of all, it means that it's crucial for you to observe the conventions of movement on the dance floor. Keep moving counterclockwise along the line of dance, shift slightly to the center, whenever you plan to do something in place in order to leave the outside lane open for those who are continuing to travel. And never back up against the line of dance -- unless a single step backward is absolutely necessary to avoid a disaster. (In such a case, make certain you're not going to step on someone who may be immediately behind you before you make that potentially dangerous move.) Beyond all this, don't bump into people, don't scare them by flamboyant movements which threaten to invade their space, and -- if there is an accident of some kind -- say you're sorry! In fact, I even apologize, when someone bumps into me. That way, we all stay friends.

Finally, let's talk about stage-oriented dance steps/adornments. All of us love to show off the latest hot stuff we've just picked up from a teacher or, heaven help us, from YouTube. The problem with such material, however, is that it necessitates shifting our concentration more or less radically to the process of getting ourselves through complex -- and potentially dangerous -- figures. Such material is almost never improvisational and therefore almost always lies well outside the realm of good social dance practice. Okay, okay, you think I'm trying to spoil all your fun. That's not my intention. I want you to incorporate a few fancy steps into your Tango. Truth to tell, many of you have learned some of these figures from Pat and me. Just keep them under control, and try to focus primarily on social dance.

Does this give you a few things to chew on? Pat and I hope so, and we look forward to helping you go as far as you want in your Tango this year.

If you attended Fran and Pat's recent special intensive workshop at Dance Manhattan, "10 Must-Have Tango Moves You Should Know," the DVD of the entire event is ready and waiting for you right now.

Remember the fun you had at Fran and Pat's November workshop? How about learning those 10 great figures from some of the world's premier Tango dancers? We've put it all on a big 2-hour plus DVD that's yours for the asking! If you participated in the workshop, you can pick up the DVD for the very low price of $25. If you weren't able to be there, but you'd like to have access to these unique figures now, you can buy the DVD for $49.95.

Sound good? All you have to do is fill out the attached order form, and send it to us along with a check for your purchase. We'll send out your DVD right away! If you prefer, you can bring cash or check either to the Argentine Consulate (Wednesdays), or to our practica at Dance Manhattan (Saturdays). We'll have copies of the DVD with us, ready to go.

As a reminder of what you experienced at our workshop. here's a listing of the ten individual figures Pat and I taught that day. By the way, we're so pleased with your response to this event that we're already planning an exciting follow-up -- "10 MORE Must-Have Tango Moves You Should Know!" We'll let you know the details as to when and where very soon! In the meantime, if you have any questions, be sure to contact us at franchesleigh@mac.com. And please don't forget to practice, practice, practice!

1.   Osvaldo Zotto's traspie with back ocho

2.   Virulazo's (Jorge Martin Orcaizaguirre) hook

3.   Julio Balmaceda's molinete with enrosque

4.   Pat's favorite adorno sequences

5.   Virulazo's (Jorge Martin Orcaizaguirre) arrastre

6.   Fran Chesleigh's forced cross

7.   Gustavo Naveira's back sacada

8.   Orlando Paiva's double sacada

9.   El Pulpo's (Norberto Esbrez) cross release

10. Osvaldo Zotto's molinete with lapiz and double cross

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
• Bob Armstead
  
• Steve Maisch
• steve turi
• Bob Brillo
• Debbie Glaser
  
• Jesse Barton
  

• Mary Pagano - Candy
• Bonny - Chips & Guacamole
• Herb & Judy - Cookies & Chips
• Rose Whitehill - Fruit Bowl
• Estelle Stanger - That luscious birthday cake
  

• Mary Pagano
• Irene Andrews
• Rifky Mackeen
• George Ngo
• Dan & Georgina
• Bob Brillo
• Jack Messing
• Horatio Piccioni
• Susan Berardini
• Francis & Marie
• Jesse Barton
• Eduardo Campos
• Terri Lopez