Firehouse Tango Twelfth Anniversary Celebration a huge hit
|
Thank you all - especially DJ Felix Pacheco for being our DJ for two weeks.
Los Pitucos Milonga with Monica this Saturday, June 20 Franklin Lakes, New Jersey |
A little bit of Buenos Aires in Franklin Lakes, NJ Next Milonga - Saturday, June 20th, 2015 This month a
special guest instructor - Monica Paz from Argentina. More info about Monica: http://mptango.com/SocialTangoSchool/?lang=en-2. Lesson at 7:00pmSocial starting at 8:00pmCouples, singles and beginners welcome!Admission $15, including home
cooked "delight"
Location: VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) 725 Franklin Avenue (corner of Pulis Avenue) Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
Firehouse Tango history and time line |
At appropriate times during the year, we take a look back at some Firehouse Tango highlights. We sincerely thank all of you who have been with us from the start, the newcomers, and everyone in between. Every one of you contributes to making us who we are.
03/20/2003 Argentine Tango instructors
Carlos and Rosa announce they are leaving for Paris and ask if we would like to continue Pasional, their weekly milonga at Paramus firehouse # 4.
03/27/2003 Sal and Laura Zullo host first session of Tango Co-op while Sue, Joe and Eva are in Buenos Aires.
04/1/2003 Sue Dallon publishes first weekly
newsletter.
04/17/2003 Fran Chesleigh teaches first lesson as guest instructor.
06/12/2003 Tango Co-op members vote to change name to Firehouse Tango.
07/20/2003 Fran has accident - recommends Jak Karako as
replacement.
07/29/2003 CJ Puotinen publishes interview of Fran Chesleigh, first of a series of Firehouse Tango instructor interviews.
09/4/2003 Jak Karako teaches first lesson as guest instructor. .
02/3/2004 Goodbye party for
Jak
02/10/2004 Fran is welcomed back as permanent instructor.
03/16/2004 First Firehouse Tango trip to Buenos Aires. Fran Chesleigh and Pat Altman run milonga and buffet and write newsletter. They call it the Cat's Away Milonga, and it becomes an annual tradition.
04/20/2004
Firehousetango.com web site is launched.
04/29/2004 Firehouse Tango outgrows firehouse and moves to Maywood Knights of Columbus Hall.
05/6/2004 Firehouse Tango celebrates first anniversary in new home with live music by Hector Del Curto trio. The anniversary celebration will become an annual
event.
06/17/2004 Fran's half-hour basic tango class is expanded to full hour.
07/2004 Fran adds one hour intermediate lesson and teaches from 7 to 9 pm every week
08/30/2004 First Firehouse Tango on the Hudson picnic milonga. These will continue as an annual
tradition.
06/15/2006 First Fran Chesleigh Tango Tip published in Firehouse Tango newsletter
09/2006 Firehouse Tango's first Milonga Month. Fran Chesleigh teaches a two hour milonga lesson for entire month. This becomes yearly tradition.
05/31/2008 Monica Paz
from Buenos Aires visits Firehouse Tango and gives first Saturday workshop. She will continue to visit Firehouse on her yearly trips to the U.S.
02/31/2009 New Year's Eve is Thursday night, and Firehouse Tango has New Year's Eve Milonga
03/2011 Rich Ariza, Hector Scotti and Felix Pacheco join Firehouse as guest DJ's while Joe recuperates. Sue
then takes over and when Joe returns, they begin to alternate weeks.
12/23/2011 Norma, Terri and Marion suggest a Christmas/Hanukkah party inviting everyone who wants to bring a dish. It's a resounding success, and we decide to continue the tradition every year. It's so much fun that we add a new year's party, as well.
1/5/2012 Firehouse Tango starts
its tenth year with Fran Chesleigh's Argentine Vals lessons. This, too, becomes an annual tradition.
05/23/2013 Firehouse Tango celebrates its tenth anniversary with lots of original friends starting the anniversary dance and new friends joining in.
09/12/2013 A night to Remember. Lightning, thunder, floods, and no electricity could not keep the Firehouse folks from dancing the
night away by flashlight, proving once again that we are, indeed, a very special place.
Thanks from Sue to A+ team and to Felix Pacheco DJ for two weeks
|
Sue was out of town Thursday, June 11th - no problem
While I was out of town, Terri,
Steve, Felix, Fran and Pat did such a great job that no one even noticed my absence. I'll have to plan another trip very soon.
The logistics - The A Team
Terri Lopez (Wonder(ful) Woman) and Steve Turi (aka Superman) will 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 these fabulous friends willing to step in whenever needed. Without Terri and Steve, there would be no Firehousetango.
The music - Felix Pacheco "El
Tordo"
While I was out, our dear friend Felix Pacheco played superb music for his Firehouse friends. I wasn't here for Felix's first appearance, but the second one blew me away.
El Tordo, incorporates composers from the "Golden Age of Tango" to replicate the best of the Milongas of Buenos Aires. Felix hosts the wonderful monthly Milonga Los Pitucos every
third Saturday of the month, where he takes pride in creating a
new dish for every event. If you haven't been there, you must try it soon. He has been bringing the finest Tango events and music to New
Jersey since 2009.
The newsletter
This Firehouse Tango newsletter has been published nearly every week since March, 2002 and thanks to Fran and Pat, this week was no exception (see above.)
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 then send out their handiwork.
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.
Monica Paz visits New York and New Jersey - A few private lessons still available
|
There are just a few time slots left on Sunday and Monday for private lessons in New Jersey with Monica Paz. You can call me (Sue) with your requests.
Happily she will be at Los Pitucos Milonga in Franklin Lakes this Saturday, June 20th.
Her New York schedule is on her web site,
Los Pitucos Milonga with Monica Paz Sat. June 20 |
A little bit of Buenos Aires in Franklin Lakes, NJ Next Milonga - Saturday, June 20th, 2015 This month a special guest instructor - Monica
Paz from ArgentinaMore info about Monica: http://mptango.com/SocialTangoSchool/?lang=en-2. Lesson at 7:00pmSocial starting at 8:00pmCouples, singles and beginners welcome!Admission $15, including home cooked "delight"
Location: VFW (Veterans of Foreign
Wars) 725 Franklin Avenue (corner of Pulis Avenue) Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
Los Pitucos Milonga brings the best of Argentine Tango to Northern New Jersey. Experience the finest of Buenos Aires at our Saturday night Milonga at VFW. Los Pitucos is a Monthly event which is held on the Third Saturday of the month...Find yourself engulfed in the spirit of Buenos Aires, circa 1940. Mingle with other delightful Tango dancers.Allow the romance of the period music to move you.Your evening's hosts "El Tordo" and "El Zurdo" are dedicated to an authentic and enjoyable Tango experience. Our DJ (and instructor) El Tordo, incorporates composers from the"Golden Age of Tango" to replicate the best of the Milongas
of Buenos Aires.Milonga Los Pitucos is the first and only Milonga to offer gourmet food, prepared fresh,by our chef "El Tordo". Chef Tordo takes pride in creating a new dish for every event.We have been bringing the finest Tango events and music to New Jersey since 2009. ● Beginners Welcome... no partner necessary. ● Cocktail Bar area - BYOB ● Munchies & Finger food (Feel free to bring a dish to
share...) ● The evenings "delight" is made fresh before the Milonga by chef "El Tordo"Facebook
About Monica
Monica Paz was born and raised in Buenos Aires, and tango has been her full
time profession for almost 20 years. She specializes in Tango Milonguero style (with its strong chest-to-chest connection) which she loves to dance with the best old milongueros in the best milongas of Buenos Aires.
Three years ago, Monica realized her dream of opening her own studio in Buenos Aires (at 30 Riobamba near the Congresso.) One of the best milongueros in the
city, Osvaldo Natucci, teaches group lessons on Tuesday and Thursday nights with Monica translating when necessary. Monica and Natucci also teach private lessons. If you are in Buenos Aires, I highly recommend checking out these lessons.
Monica has taught extensively all over the United States and Europe, as well as in Australia and much of South America. She was invited
to Los Angeles to teach and perform in June.
Monica's web site with interviews of old milongueros
Monica is passionate about preserving the traditions, codes, and history of tango. To this end, she continues pursuing her
project of interviewing the precious few remaining old milongueros of Buenos Aires. Their stories and the videos accompanying them, as well as other wonderful videos of Monica can be found on her web site at www.mptango.com Scroll down for English or Spanish selection.
Facebook page and
Calendar
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. I enjoy these posts so much that I
share them with my readers every week in my newsletter (See below.)
Buenos Aires with Firehouse Tango November, 2015 - More information |
Latest information on Buenos Aires
Our trip to Buenos Aires from October 30 to November 9th, 2015 (with a possible optional extension to either Mendoza or Iguazu Falls) is on.
Last year, we took a group and exceeded all expectations (references are happily available.) If you think you want to come, please send me an e mail at firehousetango@gmail.com or call me at 201-826-6602.
Trip details and payment information are below. 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
- Welcome luncheon at the hotel
- Transfers to and from
hotel (included if traveling with group on American # 953 and #954)
- Private group lessons with excellent local teachers and local partners (male and female) for each person
- 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
How Much: The cost of the trip including everything listed below (excluding air) is $2100 (double occupancy). Single supplement is available for an additional fee
of $400. Airfare should be about $1,400. Payment Schedule: $400 at signup - Non refundable (Single Supplement $400) due about May 7th $400 June 4th- Refundable if canceled before September 3 $400 July 2 - Refundable if
canceled before September 3 $400 August 6 -Refundable if canceled before September 3 $500 Balance September 3 - Non refundable
We advise you to purchase trip cancellation & medical insurance (for example www.accessamerica.com ) You should make your air reservations as soon as possible, since the fare may go up. There is also an Argentina Reciprocity Fee of $160. This is a
one-time payment that is good for ten years.
How to Register: Give check made out to Firehouse Tango for $400 together with your name, address and phone numbers to Sue or send to Sue Dallon, 16 Fox Hollow Rd. Ramsey, NJ 07446. For more information or references ask Sue or call 201-825-1570 or 201-826-6602.
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
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. If you read last week's Tip, you know that we talked about what I referred to as the "functional" aspects of a basic Tango step. (If you haven't read it, now's a good time to take a look at that Tip in our archives before reading this week's offering.)
Our discussion last week took us as
far as the end of a single step. That's where we stressed the crucial importance of balance by both partners to complete the movement. But what happens next? When people dance, they usually don't always pause at the end of each step before moving on to the next. More often, they just keep going, step after step, figure after figure, until the dance is over.
This continuous motion -- maybe we should call it perpetual motion -- isn't the best social Tango
practice, but it's what people generally do. What we see on the dance floor all too often is people (who, unfortunately, think they know how to dance), lurching through space, completely oblivious to the fact that there is a beginning, a middle, and an end to their steps, and finding zero balance from one movement to the next.
By way of offering a contrast to this situation, let's focus on the crucially important moment when a leader makes a transition from one
step to another. This is, I think, where the big problem lies. In an ideal world, a skilled leader invites the follower to take a single step, then allows her to execute this movement, and finally to bring herself into balance as she completes the step. I call this moment "neutral." This is the precise point in time, when the follower has achieved upright balance -- and is therefore available to be invited by the leader to embark upon any additional movement in the dance. If the follower is not
completely in balance for any reason -- the most obvious perhaps being that she is still in motion from the previous step -- she is not in neutral, and is therefore compromised in her ability to receive and act on the next invitation to move.
In many basic-level Tango classes, the teacher will at some point stress the fact that the follower’s job is to bring herself completely to rest between steps. The reason behind this is that she doesn't know what the leader
is going to ask for next, and it's important for her to avoid "back leading" or what we sometimes call "anticipation." For the leader, on the other hand, things are somewhat less definite. If the leader has it in mind to continue by inviting further movement of some kind, he is perfectly at liberty to do so. The follower will now be called upon to stop focusing on bringing herself into balance, and to execute whatever it is the leader is now asking her to do. And right here is where
the dance often falls apart.
One of the crucial challenges for a leader in Tango is to find the exact moment when his follower has come to the end of a step (and is therefore in the "neutral" position) before inviting her next movement. If he invites her to continue too soon -- let's say, while she's still in motion or hasn't yet been able to bring herself into balance -- she will simply be out of control and unable to dance properly. When this happens once in a
while during a dance, it's no problem. But when it virtually defines an entire dance, it becomes a major problem.
How can a leader make certain his follower is balanced and ready before inviting her next step? One way is to focus his concentration on her rather than on the components of a memorized figure he may want to try. Another way is to stop letting the music dictate the speed at which he invites movement. I know this will sound like heresy to some, but in
my opinion the follower's comfort level during any given dance is far more important than rigidly adhering to the beat of the song. Finally, if the leader starts paying attention to his own balance between steps, he is far more likely to enable his follower to balance as well. Next week, I'm going to discuss the basic elements of lead and follow as I perceive them. In the meantime, try finding the ends of steps before inviting subsequent movements. This is not an option. It's the way
we dance social Tango.
Saturdays with Fran and Pat at Dardo Galletto Studios
|
Please join us for our Saturday Practica at Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues; 2-4pm, $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) We think it’s just like being in Buenos Aires! We’ll both be on hand to answer
any questions you may have about your dancing, and to help you with material you're working on. Plus you get a new “must-have” tango move each week! If you’d like a private lesson, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692, or email him at franchesleigh@mac.com. Don’t forget to visit our website at www.franchesleigh.com and join is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc
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: Below is a link to Monica's interview with Juan Carlos Pontorielo from February 8, 2011. He passed away recently. How wonderful to have this video history.
Un bello recuerdo
Juan Carlos Pontorielo Q.E. P.D.
https://youtu.be/CiEib0rZ92Q
Calendario Milonguero
Birth of HORACIO SALGÁN, conservatory trained pianist. He was one of the few tango musicians of that time trained in the 5 basic instrumental activities: performer, conductor, composer, arranger and orchestrator. With his own orchestra (1944-1957) he did not have popular acclaim. His style was highly original: was he ahead of his time? Let’s hear. ♫ LA CLAVADA. Horacio Salgán
(1950)
⊙ CD Nº01 Colección Natucci (40 CDs) +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) : New MP Tango Interview
MPTango Presents Ricardo Rezk at PractiMilonguero Click on cc underneath the screen for English subtitles.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/14d21c02e335a6a8
Simply Social Dancing - Salsa and Argentine Tango |
Dancing with Simply Social Dancing Havana 59 Restaurant -New 110 Moonachie Ave, Moonachie NJ Tuesday, June 23rd 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Tuesday, June 30th 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Havana 59 Restaurant 110 Moonachie Ave, Moonachie NJ
The evening will start off with a lesson, followed by dancing. Mostly Salsa and Argentine Tango... some Rumba, Bachata, Merengue, and Cha Cha thrown in.
$20.00 cover per person (pay when
arrive) Includes 2 house drinks or 1 house drink and 1 appetizer from Latin night menu.
Thank
you,
Lisa Skates Simply Social Dancing Mostly Salsa and Argentine Tango... some Rumba, Bachata, Merengue, and Cha Cha thrown in.
$20.00 cover per person (pay when
arrive) Includes 2 house drinks or 1 house drink and 1 appetizer from Latin night menu.
201-694-7087 http://www.simplysocialdancing.com/
Our cancellation policy - We STILL rarely cancel |
Even though we had to cancel once this year, we still 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 my cell phone 201-826-6602. Feel free to leave a message on either of these lines.
We cancel only when absolutely necessary (only about eight or nine times in all these years - including, unfortunately, the first scheduled milonga of March, 2015), 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.
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 - Thanks for picking up Estelle. We are always so happy to see her.
- Tsipoyra Sartan
- Steve Maisch
- Elena Syrett
- Jesse Barton
- steve turi
And of course, without Terri Lopez and steve turi 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
- - Barbara Lombardi - Popcorn
- Sydney St.James - Veggie Dip & Pizza
- Bonny Yankauer - Guacamole & Chips
- Jack Block - Cheese
- Herb Goodfried - Tin of Candy
And these people brought wine- Mary
Pagano
- Bill Krukovsky
- Dorothy Whitton
- George Ngo
- Maria Srepanova
- Edna Negron
- Rose Whitehill
- Horatio
Piccioni
-
Bob Brillo
- Susan Berardini
Tango in New Jersey and New York
|
|
|
