Message from Sue

Through the miracle of modern electronics, this newsletter continued to be delivered to our Firehouse friends for the two weeks that our group was in Buenos Aires.  From New Jersey, Fran, Pat, Steve and Terri contributed their parts and Tibor entered the week's wine and food contributions.  Meanwhile, I, in  Argentina, wrote my portion, consolidated the collaborative product, and sent it all out.  Pretty impressive!

             
Buenos Aires is our favorite home away from home, and we were just itching to go.  Fortunately, we were able to 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 - And from what I can see, they did that in spades.
 
 
 
We're thrilled to be back
 
What joy to return and be welcomed so enthusiastically by our dear Firehouse friends!  As much as we loved Buenos Aires, we're absolutely thrilled to be back home.  We love you all.
 
 
 
Thanks, thanks, and more thanks to the Firehouse Tangueros
 
Huge helpings of gratitude go to all of you who brought food and drinks; set up; cleaned up; and kept the Firehouse fires burning brightly while we were gone. We are very aware that our trip would be impossible without an enormous amount of help from the folks back home.  
 
 
The logistics - The Superhero Team
 
Special thanks to Terri Lopez, Steve Turi, Fran Chesleigh, and Pat Altman for making the whole shebang such a great success.  Terri, with Steve's help, planned; ran operations; and coordinated setup and cleanup (and that's not all.)  Fran and Pat executed the milonga lessons to perfection.
 
These folks fielded the problems and glitches that seem to arise every week.  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.   
 
 
The newsletter
 
This Firehouse Tango newsletter has been published nearly every week since March, 2002 and thanks to Fran and Pat, the past two weeks were 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, helped by the aforementioned modern technology, then send out their handiwork directly from our apartment 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.   
 
Superman Steve Turi had his own byline as Clean-up Editor. and Terri Lopez had hers as Other Stuff Editor.

 
The music - DJ Richard Ariza
 
Aren't we fortunate to have such a wonderful DJ in our Firehouse Family?  We heard the music was marvelous.  What a pity we couldn't have been there!
 
 Once again, Fran's tribute to Richard was over the top.  Knowing Fran, I can tell you that he doesn't throw his praise around lightly.
 
Here's some more information about Richard: he 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 we've had the pleasure of his company - not to mention DJ expertise - quite often at the Firehouse.  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. 

December 4

Vals lesson with Fran and Pat.  See information above.

December 11 - Birthdays of Veronica D. and Elena Titova

                Veronica

Veronica, my Spanish teacher, is a native of Buenos Aires and loves Argentine Tango. She misses her Thursday nights at Firehouse only when her very busy schedule interferes. 

Last year, Veronica  made sure that I wrote down her birthday because she was so excited about celebrating with us.  We are delighted to do so, and we urge all tangueros to join her birthday tango.  You definitely should not miss dancing with this awesome tanguera. 

                Elena

Elena joined us about two years ago, and she has quickly become a great Firehouse friend.  Check out her smile, which lights up the room.  She has become invaluable: cleaning, setting up, and taking over for Tibor whenever he's not around.  We're so happy to be able to celebrate her birthday at Firehouse on December 11.

December 18 - Birthday of Chris Grapa and anniversary of Francis and Marie Gregoire

                Francis and Marie

Francis and Marie Gregoire have been coming to Firehouse for many years and have been to Buenos Aires with us twice (including just now), and we are honored to be able to celebrate their anniversary on December 18th..  Francis will start the birthday tango with Marie and then we lucky ladies will begin cutting in. The guys will cut in with Marie.  It will be delightful.   Oh, and we are looking forward to the mountain of huge and luscious shrimp and delicious chocolate cake that Francis and Marie bring.  They are sure to be fabulous, as always. 

                Chris

Chris 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.  Chris 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.

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Many of the students I've come to know over my years of teaching Tango have, at one time or another, confided in me with the following -- virtually always disconsolate -- lament: "Tango," they sigh wistfully with lowered, slowly shaking head, " is the hardest dance I've ever tried to learn."

Does this sound familiar? Is it possible that you may have from time to time formulated this same thought yourself?  I generally respond to such tortured ululations with soothing murmurs of gentle encouragement. "I know, I know," I offer. "Just give it time. You'll get it sooner or later."

Well, of course, that's what I'm supposed to say, right? After all, I'm a teacher. I teach; I encourage; I soothe. The problem is ... take a breath ... the problem is that notwithstanding my efforts -- or anybody else's for that matter -- I mean, let's face it! -- you may, in fact, not get it after all.

"What???? Me, not be able to learn Tango? I got all A's in school, all right maybe one or two B's. I was an honor student. I ... I ... " Okay, okay, calm down. Let me explain.

Learning Tango is kind of like climbing a hill, while carrying a very heavy backpack that's loaded with stones. The heavier the load you're carrying, the harder it is to get to the top. Here are a few of the stones you may or may not be carrying in your bag:

·      Were you born in Argentina, and do you come from a family of Tango dancers? Good, remove one stone.

·      Do you have an innate talent for dancing? Take out another stone.

·      Do you keep yourself in good physical shape? You know, less time at the fridge, more time on the dance floor? (Add a stone for fridge; chuck one for dance floor.)

·      Are you willing to work your butt off to learn, or do you maybe want it all right now -- without having to break a serious sweat? Come on, don't lie to me; for working your tush off, relieve yourself of several stones; if long hours and hard work aren't your thing, add a big pile of really heavy boulders.

·      Are you committed to inhaling as many stage Tango steps or hot-shot adornments as you can, because you think this is the road to riches? Let me hand you another backpack, twice as heavy as the one you're toting right now.

·      Do you think that lead/follow is the crucial link between you and being a skilled Tango dancer? This is a loaded question: A "yes" answer means you can take off the backpack and scamper right up that hill. "No" means you should consider bowling.

Get the idea? Learning to dance Tango isn't a deep mystery. The mechanics are very straightforward. It starts with learning how to lead and how to follow. This is the really hard part -- which is why so many people decide not to do it -- and you need to know this cold before you can go for the glitzy stuff. If you're having trouble right now, I can virtually guarantee that it's because you decided you'd worry about lead/follow later -- and never quite got to it.

It's not too late, of course. Yes, Tango is tough to learn -- especially if you begin in the wrong way, and let things get worse everyday -- because you've gotten yourself lost in the glittery world of "hey, ma, look at me." Stone after stone stuffed into your back pack, and the hill just seems to keep getting steeper.

On the other hand, you can change everything tomorrow, if you want. No kidding. Start by finding a good teacher. (It'll probably help, if performing is not their main focus.) Put yourself in their capable hands, and listen carefully to what they have to say. The rest will pretty much take care of itself.

Let's dump that bag of stones once and for all.

Since 2002, Fran and Pat have been holding a Tango practica at Dance Manhattan every Saturday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This Saturday will be our last event at Dance Manhattan, because, as many of you know, Dance Manhattan is closing its doors. Starting November 29th, our Practica will be at Pearl Studios, 500 8^th Avenue (between 35^th and 36^th Streets. It will still be from 2-4pm and the cost for will remain $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) Fran and Pat will be on hand as always 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.

Here is a response to Fran’s Tango Tip of last week from Daniel Singer, one of our friends and fellow tangueros:
 

Best wishes,
Daniel Singer

Ring in 2015 with Argentine Tango

TANGO LOCO VI

New Years Milonga

To Simply Enjoy Dance & Friendship

at

Grand Ballroom

Authentic Argentine Tango Music provided by

DJ Al Ko

8:00 PM – 1:00 AM

December 31, 2014

Light Nibbles

BYOW

Champagne at Midnight

$30 before 12/15

$35 12/16 – 12/30

$40 at the door (if space is available)

Mail checks payable to “Tango Loco” to:

Michael Porro

180 Old Tappan Rd. Bldg 5, Old Tappan, NJ 07675

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.

On this night, our extraordinary teachers are 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.

• Tsipoyra Sartan
  
• Elena Titova
  
• Debbie Glaser
  
• Steve Maisch
  
• steve turi