14-10-30 - We're off to Buenos Aires. Please Support our Ace Firehouse Tango Backup Team

Published: Fri, 10/31/14

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October 30, 2014 Newsletter

Halloween Milonga a huge success

 , Barbara


The spooky  atmosphere

Tanghosts and tangoblins galore arrived in full regalia.  DJ Sue played creepy Halloween cortinas; candles flickered;  and a sinister witch smelling of beer peered eerily from the back of the bar.

The parade

What an extraordinary grouping of creatures they were; this cadre of very sexy, scary, funny and beautiful Firehouse tangueros parading around the line of dance; trying like mad to attract the attention of the judges!  

The winners

After intense negotiations, judges Terri Lopez, George Ngo, and Estelle Stanger finally announced their decision.  I sure didn't envy them the difficult task of selecting the best of the many outstanding costumes. 
Winners Emeritus who have withdrawn from competition because they won too many times -Hilda and Rafael, Barbara Lombardi, and Adrienne Burton. 

Most Creative - Jean and Enrique - Skiers with broken limbs - coffee table book and jump rope
  
Funniest - Maribel - Dorothy and Toto - with real live dog - earphones

Best Couple - Natalia and Vlad - Russian and Ukranian - Cookbook

Sexiest - Elena Titova - Gypsky - earphones


The Door prizes

Door Prizes went to Consuela, Walter and Jesse


The Belly Dancers

The enthusiastic crowd was treated to a spectacular display of belly dancing proficiency. Marion Miller and Brenda Gaines performed completely different, but equally spectacular routines.  Debbie Glaser decided to be in the audience, so she sat out and watched her friends do the hard work.  To say that we were in awe of these two talented ladies would be understating our reaction. We are looking forward to a repeat performance very soon. 

 


Sue, Joe and Firehouse group off to Buenos Aires

We're off to Buenos Aires Tomorrow, October 31st
              
Buenos Aires is our favorite home away from home, and we haven't taken a group down there with us for far too long.  Fortunately, we can 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. Please support our wonderful back-up team. 



The logistics - The A Team

Terri Lopez (Wonder(ful) Woman) and Steve Turi (aka Superman) have generously offered to head up our milonga logistics team in addition to their normal invaluable weekly help.  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. 

But What about the Music?

Not to worry.  While we are away, your tangos, milongas and valses will be spun by fabulous guest DJ, Rich Ariza.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

DJ Richard Ariza  November 6 and 13

Richard 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 has done those honors at Firehouse often.  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, which has reopened after a summer break. 

Richard is always adding to his excellent tango collection, and we are very excited about hearing his selections at Firehouse. 

How about the newsletter?

This Firehouse Tango newsletter has been published nearly every week since March, 2002 and thanks to Fran and Pat, the next two weeks will be 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 hotel in Buenos Aires. 

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.  

November at Firehouse Tango


November 6 and 13
No celebrations November 6th and 13th, just lessons, dancing, food, and socializing with some of the nicest folks around.  Sue and Joe in Buenos Aires, Ace backup team takes over.

November 20 - Celebrate Sue and Joe's 26th anniversary with us

Joe and I have been married for twenty-six years, and I can't think of a better way to mark this event than to share a celebratory tango with our dear Firehouse friends - the more of them the better.  Please join us on Thursday,  November 20th for this joyful event.  What woman of my age - indeed any age - would not be excited about a long line of tangueros waiting just to dance with her?  Joe is equally excited to tango with the ladies. 


 November 27th - Thanksgiving day - no Firehouse Milonga

Firehouse Tango will be closed on Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 27th.  We hope you'll enjoy the day with your family, as we all will - and, of course, we'll look forward to seeing you on the following Thursday evening, December 4th for Fran's one day vals lesson.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrations



Thursday, November 6

No celebrations.  Just great music by Rich Ariza and wonderful treatment by Terri, Steve, Fran, Pat and the ace Firehouse backup team.
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




Reader's Corner
We welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.com  We welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.com

From Tom Rodgers (tomcrodgers@optimum.net)

Tom Rodgers  Milonga Holidays special 6:30pm - 12am 
Sunday Dec 7th 
Beginner Tango class6:30pm 
Intermediate Tango class7:30pm
&
Milonga Start at 8:30pm -12am 
DJ Jon 
Performance by 
Amy & Jon Tariq  


On Sunday December 7, 2014. Amy & Jon Tariq will be coming to my ( Tom Rodgers) home (573 Pines Lake Dr., Wayne, NJ) to start the holiday season with a tango event. Jon & Amy will start the eveningat 6:30 by giving an hour introductory tango lesson followed by an hour intermediate tango lesson. The Milonga will start at 8:30 and go until 12:00, with & Amy & Jon giving a tango and waltz show at 10:00.


During the Milonga it will be "pot luck" for light food and beverages, so bring such to share with your friends and friends to be. To preserve my floors, especially my dance floor, everyone will be asked when they arrive, to change from street shoes into dance shoes or wear their socks.

You should first drop off passengers and "pot luck" items at my house. To park, please use the Pines Lake Elementary School which is a few houses up the hill from my house. The local police have said that is not a problem and that Street parking is not allowed.

Please be mindful that this is a private house party by invitation only and RSVP's are required. You can bring guests, but they must  be included in your RSVP. RSVP's should be made as soon as possible, but can be made or revised thru Sat Dec 6 to both Jon and Tom

When using your GPS please be aware that some GPS services at the end of the trip will try to have you use a street that is no longer a thru street to my home, so if you are directed to "TURN ONTO TULIP" do not do that, but instead turn onto Vale and then make a right on to Pines Lake Drive and proceed to my home."


Tango Tip of the week

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. The other day, I was pointing out to one of my student leaders that I thought he was trying to move his follower much too quickly through her molinete (You remember, don't you? That's the grapevine-like sequence often used in Tango, when the follower moves around the leader).

His response was: "I had to lead her that fast so she'd keep up with the music."

"Do you think that at her current level of skill she actually has the ability to move that fast?"

"I don't know. I never thought about it. Everyone tells me that it's the music that counts. She's just supposed to make it work, right?"

Wrong.

Or at least it's wrong in my opinion. I've been studying Argentine Tango since 1986, and teaching it for 21 years. One thing that virtually all my teachers from Argentina would do (I'm sure most of them still do this right now) is that when they'd walk into a room to teach a class or a private lesson, they would invariably turn on the music immediately.

"There is no Tango without the music," they would say.

"Moving to the music is the most important thing."

Hmm. I agree completely -- once you've been dancing Tango for, let's say, thirty years or so. But if you can't walk, can't balance, can't lead, can't follow, and generally don't know which way is up ... moving to the music in Tango can be a bit of a problem.

So when I walk into a room to teach a class or private lesson, I do not automatically turn on the music -- especially when I'm working with beginners (these are people who've been dancing Tango for less than maybe 10 years). For people like this, moving to the music --  as important as it will become in the future -- is, generally speaking, impossible.

Rather than bore you with the details of my personal pedagogical approach to teaching Tango, I'm now going to hope that some of you agree with my assessment of the situation, and I'll quickly segue back to my student leader who was racing his partner around in a molinete she couldn't possibly handle.

"Martin (that's not his real name)," I said, "when leading her in molinete, what's important right now is her level of comfort, not the music.

"But --"

"Her level of comfort, Martin (still not his real name). Moving to the music comes later."

Heresy, right?

Okay, so Martin humored me, and reluctantly tried to lead Melissa (not her real name either) more slowly -- without the music playing. At first, she couldn't stop herself from racing. Then, when she calmed down a little, her molinete started to feel comfortable and balanced.

"Gee, that feels good," she exclaimed.

"Yeah," countered Martin, "but the music goes faster!"

"Give it another few years, Martin," I suggested. "It'll get better."

Grumble, grumble ... (That's Martin, waiting for me to leave the room so he can start racing her around again).

I'm here, leaders; I'm on my knees: I'm begging you to slow those molinetes down. Give it a shot. Try one whole day without whirlwind grapevines. I guarantee you that everybody will be happier.

Especially me.

Saturdays with Fran and Pat at Dance Manhattan

 

Every Saturday, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Dance Manhattan, Fran and Pat host a special beginner/intermediate practice, geared toward helping you bring 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'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.

 

View Monica Paz' terrific tango Facebook posts - my pick from this week is below 

 

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

 

Calendario Milonguero


 October 28th, 1907


MIGUEL CALÓ is born. Bandoneonist, composer and conductor. When he was young he looked for a personal style without finding it. Afterwards he became a pivotal representative of the decade of the 1940’s. Especially when he played with his three singers: Raúl Berón, Alberto Podestá and Raúl Iriarte. He was an uneven composer. With his pianist Oscar Maderna is the co-author of the tango we are listening to now.
♫ QUE TE IMPORTA QUE TE LLORE. Miguel Caló y Raúl Berón (1942)


CD Nº7 Colección Natucci (40 CD) +info


Here is the Facebook link to see Monica's tango calendar:

 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 Eduardo "El Nene" Masci at PractiMilonguero

Click on cc underneath the screen for English subtitles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBECqsZMnl0&feature=youtu.be 


Our cancellation policy - We STILL rarely cancel
Same cancellation policy while we are in Buenos Aires.

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  seven or eight times in all these years - including, unfortunately, the first scheduled milonga of 2014), 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.



 

A final thank you

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


 
    • Elena Titova
    • Hilda and Rafael
    • Steve Maisch
    • steve turi
    • Lynn Gross
    • Mike Porro
    • Jesse Barton
    • Walter Milani
    • Tsipoyra Sartan



    And of course, without Terri Lopez, we would have to close up shop.



      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

      • Sydney St.James - Doughnuts & Cheese
      • Judy & Herb - Tin of Candy
      • Glen Klui - Danish
      • Bonny - Chips & Guacamole - Cheese & Crac

      And these people brought wine
      • George Ngo
      • Rifky Mackeen
      • Flo Salierno
      • Camille
      • Jesse
      • Bob Brillo
      • Edna Negron
      • Francis & Marie
      • Terri Lopez
      • Eduardo Campos
      Tango in New Jersey and New York