On Thursday, September 4 (That's next week,) Firehouse Tango will be at Victor's Maywood Inn, less than a mile from The Knights of Columbus.   The time and schedule is the same as always. The place will change, the price will be lower, and you CANNOT bring wine.  You can (and should,) however buy a glass or two, along with dinner or snacks. 

Please note that we will be going back to our old schedule just for this night.

Victor's Maywood Inn

122 W. Pleasant Avenue
Maywood, N.J. 07607-1235
(201) 843-8022

 http://www.maywoodinn.com/

Thursday, September 5

7:00 - 8:00 PM :                   Beginner lesson with Fran Chesleigh

8:00 - 9:00  PM                     Intermediate Lesson with Fran Chesleigh

9:00 - 11:00 PM                   Milonga

Admission is only $10 and includes lessons and milonga.  The Maywood Inn has an excellent menu and bar.  We encourage you to try both.  Please do not bring wine.

For additional information, call Sue at 201-825-1570

DIRECTIONS TO VICTOR'S MAYWOOD INN -

FROM KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HALL - GOING TOWARDS MAYWOOD AVE

Start going northwest on Grove Avenue towards Elm St to Maywood Avenue.  Make a left on Maywood Avenue. Take the 3rd right onto W Passaic St.  Go .3 miles and turn right onto Lincoln Avenue.  Go .08 miles and turn right onto West Pleasant Avenue. Victor's Maywood Inn is on the right at 122 W Pleasant Avenue (two-way street with a middle divider).

 ROUTE 17, NORTH

Exit at the Passaic Street, Rochelle Park - Maywood Exit. Go right on Passaic Street towards Maywood. Continue on Passaic Street about 5 blocks to Spencer Joseph Way. Make left onto Spencer Joseph Way and proceed to our parking lot on left.

ROUTE 17, SOUTH

Exit onto Route 4, East, and follow directions for Route 4, East.

GARDEN STATE PARKWAY, NORTH

Exit after the Bergen Toll Plaza at Exit 160. Make a right onto Passaic Street (towards Maywood) about 1 1/4 miles, to Spencer Joseph Way. Make left onto Spencer Joseph Way and proceed to our parking lot on left.

GARDEN STATE PARKWAY, SOUTH

Take Exit 163 onto Route 17, South, in Paramus and exit onto Route 4, East, and follow directions for Route 4 East.

ROUTE 4, EAST

Exit in Paramus at Spring Valley Road, Oradell / Maywood Exit. Continue toward Maywood on Spring Valley Road to West Pleasant Avenue. Make a left onto West Pleasant Avenue (two-way street with a middle divider). Victor's Maywood Inn is on the right about 2 1/2 blocks.

ROUTE 4, WEST

Take the Paramus exit. Exit is after the underpass and marked "Bergen Mall Entrance". At the end of the exit make a right onto Forest Avenue. Forest Avenue will turn into Maywood Avenue, continue south on Maywood Avenue to West Pleasant Avenue (at light). Make right onto West Pleasant Avenue (two-way street with a middle divider). Victor's Maywood Inn is on the left about 3 blocks.

ROUTE 80, EAST

Exit 62 to the Garden State Parkway North and follow the directions for the Garden State Parkway, North

ROUTE 80, WEST

Exit 63A to Route 17 North and follow directions for Route 17, North.

Queridos amigos,

Desde la última vez que les escibí si bien Octavio se mantuvo igual en algunos aspectos, en otros empezó a enfrentar grandes desafíos.  Su situación ha sido difícil desde que se internó, y sigue siendo difícil.  

Nosotros tenemos fe, creemos en Octavio y lo apoyamos siempre.  Lo único que les pido es que sigan rezando por él.

Abrazos,

Adam

Translation by Sue

Dear Friends,

Since the last time that I wrote to you, Octavio has remained the same in some ways, and in others, he has begun to face big challenges.  The situation has been difficult since the beginning and continues being difficult. 


We have faith.  We believe in Octavio and support him always. The only thing that I ask is that you continue praying for him.

Hugs!

Adam

Update # 3 from Angela Maria:

Our friend OCTAVIO BRUNETTI has been in the hospital since August 3rd and is fighting a severe bacterial infection that is life-threatening. The doctors continue to search for the location of the infection and the cure, but so far they have not found it. Every hour counts for him, as every cent counts for his family, who will have to face huge medical bills. We decided to start this fundraising campaign so that we can all raise money and support Octavio's during this difficult time.

(Maestro Brunetti is a distinguished pianist, composer, arranger and educator from Argentina and based in New York. He's traveled the world playing Argentine tango and his most recent concert was the Octavio Brunetti Tango Orchestra at the Midsummer Night Swing festival at Lincoln Center in this July).https://www.facebook.com/octavio.brunetti>, a musician who made a difference in the world's tango community.

Let us send Octavio healing thoughts of good health and strength as we visualize Octavio whole and healthy back on stage sharing his inspiring music with us. Let us think of Octavio renewed and healing by the power of God's energy continuously moving through him. Thinking of Octavio and his family,

Angela Maria

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Remember the perennially popular song, "It takes two to Tango?" These words state in a nutshell exactly what happens, when two people get together to enjoy our favorite dance. As Pat described last week -- and as I addressed several weeks earlier -- it takes a highly skilled leader and a highly skilled follower to create this dance, working together in a very sophisticated collaboration. If one of the partners is inexperienced or unknowledgable, the dance just doesn't work.

When I first began to learn about Tango, most of my ballroom acquaintances (including lots of professional dance teachers) told me "Ya gotta have a steady partner for that -- the steps are weird."

Let me translate that sentiment into what I now believe to be true. I think that what these generally well-meaning people were actually saying (although neither I, nor any of them realized it, of course) is this: "We have learned to dance as a continuing sequence of memorized figures. Since we now know these individual figures, we can execute them with confidence and skill as long as we're dancing with someone who also knows them. If a leader wants to dance different ("weird") figures with a partner, both would have to first memorize, then practice these figures before they could execute them on the dance floor with any degree of competence."

In other words -- as stated above -- "Ya gotta have a partner for that."

As I moved through the often difficult process of learning how to dance Tango, I very slowly began to realize that this dance has nothing whatever to do with memorizing elaborate dance figures. In fact, it is precisely the opposite. Every series of movements which occurs between a man and a woman (or leader and follower, if you prefer) during a social Tango in Argentina is completely improvised, based on a highly sophisticated skill called lead/follow. While Argentine social dancers seem to take this for granted -- that's what they actually do on the dance floor -- to me this idea was an absolute revelation! All my early Argentine teachers had told me quite emphatically "There are no steps in Tango." But these words had meant little or nothing to me, because I was rooted in the American/European mind set of memorized figures.

Eventually, it began to dawn on me that because Argentine people learn to dance within a tradition that is so radically different from ours, they have no idea at all about our own ingrained tradition. There is, in fact, a total disconnect going on here. And because of this disconnect, it never occurs to them that they need to address the crucial difference between how they think about social dance and how we think about it. Such statements as "There are no steps in Tango" has no meaning whatever to us, when what our eyes tell us is that, in fact, Argentine social dancers consistently execute what we would call "figures," which we could quite easily memorize and then replicate.

And to make things even more confusing, most teachers from Argentina all too readily adopt our current, preferred method of teaching -- i.e., elaborate memorized figures -- when they conduct workshops here in this country, because for what I believe are largely financial considerations they've very quickly learned that this is what we like, and are willing to pay good money for.

Ultimately, I believe, the bridge between our tradition and theirs is the very complex, essential skill of lead/follow. Argentine social dancers learn to lead and follow as a primary condition of being able to dance. We don't. I think that maybe we used to way back when. But our tradition has, for various reasons, changed over almost exclusively to one of memorizing figures. (Gimme the good stuff right now!)

Pat and I spend a lot of time, trying our best to teach this skill to our students. Those who persevere learn it sooner or later, and, in our opinion, become far better dancers. Those who have no stomach for lead/follow eventually gravitate toward teachers who focus primarily on steps. We continue, however, to believe that if you want to be any good as a dancer of social Tango, you can only get there through the skill of lead/follow.

Not too long ago, I was at a milonga in Hallendale, Florida, accompanied by a close friend, who happened to be a very skilled ballroom dance teacher. He was well entrenched in the "Ya gotta have a partner" school of thought about Argentine Tango. Since I didn't know any of the women at the milonga, my friend challenged me to dance with one of them without completely embarrassing myself. In fact, he chose a partner for me, an older woman (about my age) who seemed to be conducting herself fairly well on the floor with other partners.

"Try that one," he said. "Let's see what you got."

After this woman agreed to dance with me -- I'm sure she was as apprehensive as I was, since neither of us knew whether the other person could dance Tango or not -- our first few movements were understandingly tentative. Then, we found a groove, and as our dance progressed, I was able to invite more and more elaborate sequences, some of them ridiculously "showy." Under other circumstances, I probably would have kept our interaction very social and conservative -- but I was making a point for my friend. I wanted him to see very clearly that even people who've never met can dance Tango at a highly sophisticated level, if they both understand and practice the art of lead/follow. When I returned to my seat after a complete "tanda" with this very fine partner, I asked my friend what he thought of our dancing.

After a moment, he shrugged, and said with complete conviction, "She knew the steps."

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.

 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:

August 25th, 1945

On this date Enrique Rodríguez and Armando Moreno record LA VI LLEGAR. The previous year this tango had had a considerable success. First it was recorded by Miguel Caló with Raúl Iriarte (04/19/44) and then by Aníbal Troilo with Alberto Marino (06/27/44). The poet of Italian origin Julián Centeya wrote its lyrics and the music is by Enrique Francini, a violinist with Caló.

♫ LA VI LLEGAR Enrique Rodríguez y Armando Moreno (1945)

⊙ En la Colección Natucci dedicada al director (2 CD) +info

 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.

We look forward to the reopening of Domingo Tango Club after a well-deserved summer break.   This is our favorite New York milonga with our favorite New York DJ, Rich Ariza.

Sunday Evening:

6:30 'till 10:30 PM

hosted by Richard & Eddie

TRIANGULO

Ballroom Dance Resort Weekend: September 12-14, 2014

 Joe and I are planning to attend this weekend.  Let me know if you would like to sit with us (firehousetango@gmail.com .) 

This is our 99th dance weekend!  We are pleased to introduce you to the new HONOR'S HAVEN RESORT & SPA (formally known as the Fallsview Resort).  Located only 90 miles from New York City and Albany on a 250 acre private estate with spectacular surroundings and glorious views of the Shawangunk Mountains.  The new ownership has renovated all the public spaces and the hotel grounds.  Best of all, they have thousands of square feet of wooden dance floor. Honor's Haven Resort also has the finest chef in the Hudson Valley, making it the perfect dance venue!

• Overnight Accommodations at Full Service Resort
• 7 Meals
• Champagne & Wine Reception
• Open Bar Cocktail Party & Smorgasbord
• Over 50 Dance Workshops
• Night & Day Dancing to 4 Great DJ's 
• Swing Shift Orchestra
• Great Gatsby Theme Saturday Night
• Dancing During Lunch & Dinner
• Top Nite Club Entertainment Each Evening
• Friday Lunch is on us! (Served from 1 - 2 PM)
• Your choice - Separate Dance Facilities for Latin, Ballroom, Argentine Tango, & Hustle/West Coast Swing
• Special Thursday Night Package (Join us for our Stardust Mixer Thursday Night to meet old and new friends)
• Call for more information 800-537-2797 (Monday-Friday 9am - 5pm) Outside USA & Canada 845-794-4707
• DAY PACKAGES AVAILABLE (based on availability, limited space) - Click here for info!

 *For more information click here --> Dance Weekend FAQ Section

OVER 50 DANCE WORKSHOPS
Please note: Each class is designed for different levels of proficiency.
Most classes are repeated offering everyone a chance to learn these stylish new steps.
(A) Beginner     (B) Intermediate     (C) Advanced

*SPECIAL WORKSHOPS*
2 Hour Salsa Workshop
2 Hour West Coast Swing Workshop
2 Hour Argentine Tango Workshop
*2 Hour Hustle Workshop

Click Here to Meet The Stardust Dance Faculty

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
• Steve Maisch
  
• Steve Turi
  
• Elena Titova
  
• Debbie Glaser
  

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

• George Ngo - Grapes
  
• Bonny - Guacamole and chips 
• Eva Roth - Beef Stew
  

• Bob Brillo
  
• George Ngo
• Camille
  
• Horatio Piccioni Horatio Piccioni
• Mary and Francis
• Doug & Amina Verost
  
• Marie and Francis
• EduardoEduar Krukovsky