Also, if there is enough interest, we can offer an optional add-on of a few days in Mendoza (Argentina wine country).

Please let me know asap if you might be interested so we can continue to firm up our plans.  Feel free to call or e mail us with any questions that you might have.  We will continue to keep you aware of developments.

Until recently, Firehouse Tango organized wildly successful yearly trips to Buenos Aires.  Many participants said that it was the best trip of their life.  Some continued to come every year.  Everyone loved it.  We will be happy to provide references.

If you think you might want to join us, just send me an e mail at firehousetango@gmail.com, call us at 201-825-1570, or grab Joe or me at the Thursday milonga.  This is just a preliminary survey, and there is absolutely no obligation, so don't hesitate. We just want to see if there is enough interest to pursue it further. 

 To give you an idea of what it would be like, here is what we included in our previous trips (May be different this time):

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 if traveling with group on American # 255 and #256)
• Private group lessons with excellent local teachers
• 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
  

We haven't worked up the numbers yet, but the cost would probably be about $3,000 per person, including airfare.

Sunday, Feb. 9,  is  'Firehouse Night' at Domingo Tango Club. Anyone coming from the Firehouse gets in for $5. Rich Ariza is the host and DJ, and you'll find lots of friends and a warm welcome there. 

Rich has guest DJ'd at many New York and New Jersey milongas and has done the honors at Firehouse often.  If you haven't been to Triangulo, take advantage of this offer.  It's an easy ride with free parking right in front every Sunday.

Triangulo - The Studio for Argentine Tango


135 West 20th. St. #301
New York, NY 10011
212-633-6445
WWW.TANGONYC.COM

The Sunday Evening Milonga 6:30 - 10:30 pm DJ Richard Ariza  
 

RESOLUTIONS

My resolutions for 2014

1.   Keep improving my español and study Spanish every day
2.  Keep visiting Buenos Aires
3.  Shorten this newsletter (HaHa)
4. Exercise every day when I'm at home and try to continue when I'm on the road

How did I do?

 Buenos Aires

We spent five weeks in Buenos Aires last year.  Our group trip in November looks like it's on.  Joe and I would like to try to squeeze in one more time before that.  We will see.

Spanish

I've really been working on my Spanish, which has improved greatly, but it's never enough for me.  I'm still taking two group classes every week and trying to read as much as possible.

I'm planning to meet Hilda for an "habla" session and I continue to meet with Horacio every few weeks for the same.

To my Spanish speaking amigos: Please keep "hablando espanol conmigo", no matter how much I might resist.

Newsletter

As for shortening the newsletter, it's always been a lost cause, but think how long it would be if I didn't try.  Besides, there's always so much to say. 

Exercise

So far, my exercise routine has been right on track.  I've done my 20 minutes every morning.  My problems always come when I go away, so I won't boast until my first vacation. 

 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 February 2 and a link to the Facebook page, where you can hear the music:

2 DE FEBRERO DE 1924

 En esta fecha Rodolfo Biagi graba SENTIMIENTO GAUCHO. En 1924 el sello Odeón comienza los concursos de tango. Éstos eran celebrados en cines de gran capacidad, transmitidos por radio y ejecutados en vivo por grandes orquestas. El tango que oímos fue el primer triunfador y su autor, Francisco Canaro, luego lo grabó en 10 ocasiones.

 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 everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. One of the primary disciplines that we all absolutely must incorporate into our dancing right from the beginning is that of maintaining the line of dance.  And yet, this crucially important practice seems to completely elude so many American dancers that we find ourselves talking about it again and again -- usually with very little positive result. Today, I'd like to talk about why I think this problem persists, and possibly how each of us can do our part in trying to fix it.

The concept of maintaining the line of dance is very direct in its simplest form:

Tango is traditionally defined by progressive movement; i.e., people moving counterclockwise around a dance floor more or less continuously. This well-established convention enables a group of dancers to interact predictably and comfortably while navigating a crowded room.

The problem with this concept is that in order to maintain line of dance with absolute certainty, all the leaders in the room would have to agree to do nothing more than continually walk forward, while all the followers would continually move backward, nobody would be able to stop or slow down, and giving in to any kind of individual creative impulse would be virtually impossible.

How would that way of dancing Tango work for you? It sure wouldn't work for me.

Let's say that I had been born and raised in Buenos Aires (rather than Brooklyn). Let's say that my initial introduction to Tango involved going to a social dance with family or friends. Okay, given those circumstances, it's possible that I might have been very pleased to learn the more gentle art of social dancing -- in order to do what my friends were doing. In order to be a part of the social swim. I mean, all my buddies would know that nobody in Argentina does stage stuff on the social dance floor, right? It's just unheard of. (Ahem ....)

Anyway, getting back to the ideal world, like most Americans, my first exposure to Tango was watching people dancing on stage. It just took my breath away. I fell hopelessly in love. I became instantly hooked. I thought, "I want to look like those guys. Get me a teacher now!"

So, what if my teacher had said, "Okay we're going to learn to walk around the room non-stop without ever doing any of the fancy stuff." I'm sure my response would have been, "I want another teacher." Or maybe, "Oh yeah? Well, I quit!"

Have I spelled out the dilemma I, you, we, face? Strict, one-note, robot-like, rat-in-the-maze social dancing versus the unbridled ecstasy of the stage?

Of course, this way of thinking is ridiculous. Yet many, if not most, students in America seem to find themselves caught up in this unrealistic fantasy. They approach learning Tango as an exercise in accumulating -- and dancing -- as many elaborate stage sequences as possible, while completely neglecting the less dramatic -- but crucially important -- elements of basic movement within the social dance. Because their focus is exclusively on displaying their own prowess, they tend to disrupt -- if not completely destroy -- the line of dance. Quite often, they actually place themselves and their peers in danger.

Does this describe you? I myself have certainly been guilty of such breaches of the delicate social dance contract from time to time.

Ultimately, I think that what we need on the social dance floor is compromise. Yes, of course, it's fine to get all excited about learning all that material we see on stage, on YouTube, and in lessons with the "stars." As skilled social dancers, however, we have to find a way to integrate such material into a well-practiced habit of taking care of everyone around us.

We know that the norm is to maintain a consistent line of dance. So that idea has to sit front and center in our consciousness as a primary goal, whenever we find ourselves on the dance floor. Our ongoing challenge will be to pick just the right moment, when we feel that it's safe to introduce a complex element into the mix. Sometimes, it will work. At other times, we'll have to abort a particular sequence in order to maintain our first responsibility - the comfort and safety of other people in the room.

Does this sound like a plan? Let's all try it, and see whether maintaining the line of dance as a primary goal makes things better for everyone on the dance floor.

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.

We've noticed that some of you haven't picked up your DVD of our workshop at Dance Manhattan. If you weren't able to be there, but you'd now like to have access to these unique figures from some of the world's premier Tango dancers, you can buy the DVD for $49.95. If you participated in the workshop, you can pick up the DVD for the very low, discounted price of $25.

We've had lots of positive feedback from people who have already purchased the DVD, many of whom have been happy to see themselves right there on screen. Want a copy for yourself? All you have to do is fill out the attached order form, and send it to us along with a check for your purchase. Please also include $6 for priority shipping. If you prefer, you can bring cash or check either to the Argentine Consulate (Wednesdays), to our practica at Dance Manhattan (Saturdays), or to Firehouse Tango (Thursdays). 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.

• Daniel Blitzer - Last week, when the floor was littered with salt and dirt, Daniel volunteered to pick up a broom and help Steve Turi sweep the floor.  Incredibly, I forgot to credit him.  I am making up for it now.
• Tony Mele
  
• Terri Lopez
• Steve Maisch
• steve turi
• Bob Brillo
• Debbie Glaser
  
• Elena Titova - Thanks to Elena for stepping in to man the door after Tibor got sick.  Thanks also for helping clean up.
  
• Nonna and Joseph
• Netta
• Judy Saul
• Tsipoyra
  

• Heidi Fedor - Bean Dip
• Bonny Yankauer - Guacamole & Chips
• Jack Block - Cheese

• Enrique Ziniga
• Daniel and Georgina
  
• George Ngo
• Marie and Francis Gregoire
  
• Bob Brillo
• Horatio Piccioni
• Eduardo Campos
• Terri Lopez