Firehouse Tango at Twin Door Tavern (formerly Victor's Maywood Inn) next Thursday, September 10th (one day only) |
On Thursday, September 10 (That's next week,) Firehouse Tango will be at the Twin Door Tavern (formerly 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.
Twin Door Tavern - Victor's Maywood Inn 122 W. Pleasant Avenue
Maywood, N.J. 07607-1235
(201) 843-8022 http://www.twindoortavern.com/index.html Thursday, September 10th 7:00 - 7::30 : Basic tango lesson with Fran Chesleigh 7:30 - 8:30
: Intermediate tango lesson with Fran Chesleigh
8:30 - 11:00 PM Milonga
Admission is only $10 and includes lessons and
milonga. The Twin Door Tavern 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 TWIN DOOR TAVERN - 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.
Jewish New Year feast at Firehouse Tango - September 17 - Contributions wanted |
As is our tradition during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, some of our tangueros judeos
will bring traditional holiday food for our Firehouse friends Thursday, September 17th.. You don't have to be Jewish to contribute and it's not too late, so let me know if you'd like to make something. Just send an e mail to firehousetango@gmail.com
Here is what we have so far for this ethnic
feast (You will note that there are some honorary Jews among the contributors):
Sue Dallon brisket, carrots, potatoes string beans
Joe Dallon Apples and honey from Joe's bees
Judy Assisi and Herb Goodfried Drunken fruit
Tsipoyra Sartan ?
Jack
Block Tsimmes
Bonny Yankauer Chopped liver and pickled herring
Sydney St. James something
Eva Roth Rum cake
Georgina Blitzer Apple cake
Mike Porro - Salad
George Ngo -
?
Next Thursday, September 10th Birthday
of Tsipoyra Sartan and milonga at Twin Door Tavern/Maywood Inn
Last Thursday, September 3rd, Anniversary of Walter and Gay Monteblanco
Six years ago we rejoiced at the marriage of our very good friends Walter and Gay. This week, we celebrated their anniversary with great joy. Gay and Walter started the anniversary dance, and then the tangueros will cut in with Gay and the tangueras (and some tangueros as well, I suspect) with Walter. I can't wait, and I shall try my absolute best to be the first one after Gay to cut in for my dance with Walter.
Walter has been
a close friend and supporter since the very beginning at Paramus Firehouse # 4, and Gay came soon after. When they aren't traveling, they come to Firehouse often. Walter also teaches private lessons by appointment.
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
My resolutions - How am I doing?
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Here were my resolutions for 2015. .
- Improve my español and continue my Duolingo streak
- Take a group to Buenos Aires (I will try very hard to make it as wonderful as last year's, but that's a tall order.)
- Exercise six days a week - I'm afraid to let this one go. It's like Weight Watchers. If I don't share it, I will stop doing it.
How am I doing?
I'm up to 63 days in a row with Duolingo. I'll try my best to keep it going, but no
promises. Kudos to my friend Judy Assisi, who is now on a Duolingo streak of well over 100 days. Thanks to my friends, I'm speaking lots of Spanish. I shall dive head first into it this November in Buenos Aires.
We're well under way with this year's trip to Buenos Aires at the beginning of November. It, and the extention to Mendoza will clearly be awesome.
I have been exercising exery day this
month when I am home (1 week in California.) I will try very hard to keep it up. , I'm waiting for more suggestions for cortinas. Let me know if you have some favorite non tango music, and I will try to play it. This week, we heard Elvis Presley
cortinas.
A cortina (curtain) is a short piece (20–60 seconds) of non-dance music that is played between tandas at a milonga (tango dance event). The cortina lets the dancers know that the tanda has ended. The partners can then without insult thank each other and return to their own tables, to find a new dance partner at the next tanda. Cortinas are used at many of the milongas in Argentina and Uruguay but are increasingly common elsewhere. - Wikipedia
Let us know if you are
celebrating an occasion and would like to request special music for that night’s cortinas. We will try very hard to accommodate you. 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. I'm going to start this Tango Tip off by reiterating a few things I said two weeks ago. I'm doing this, because I think they need repetition and reinforcement. What we've been talking about is the development of a "lead/follow mechanism"; i.e.,
a precise, practical method for inviting and responding appropriately to leads. We've suggested that the lead comes directly from something the leader does with his Hi upper body, from his chest (el pecho) as Argentine teachers often describe it -- rather than from some kind of stimulus emanating from his arms, legs, or any other part of his body. (For more information about this, reread our last four Tango Tips -- particularly the one from August 20, 2015, which you'll find in the
Firehouse Tango Tip archive on our Web site.)
More reinforcement: Success with leading/following requires inexperienced partners to undergo very patient, very focussed training in order to develop these crucial skills. This is difficult to achieve because –
1. Lead/follow is inherently difficult to learn (particularly at a basic level, when the student is looking for excitement rather than hard work). 2. Most teachers either don't know how to teach lead/follow, or prefer to concentrate on the fancy repertoire they know their students prefer, and which as all of us teachers know, puts more money in our pockets. With all that said, let's get back to our subject, which is how to lead and how to follow. Today, we're going to focus on the second of our three basic traveling elements -- the leading forward step, or el paso adelante, accompanied by the follower's back step, el paso atras. As before, I'm going to break down the lead/follow mechanism for the step and its resulting actions into four distinct
parts: 1. Lowering 2. Initiating movement through space 3. Traveling 4.
Balancing (creating the neutral position) Let's again talk about each of these four parts separately. Lowering: Our leader begins this movement by flexing his knees very slightly in order to lower his torso. In a previous Tango Tip, we discussed the fact that this lowering serves as an indication to the follower that the leader is about to ask her to travel -- rather than to make a weight change in place. The flexion at the knees -- and the resulting very slight
lowering of the leader's torso -- says to the follower, "I'm about to travel somewhere; get ready to move, please." The word "slight" here means that her lowers somewhere around one eighth of an inch (rather than, let's say, two or three inches). I repeat: Very slight; just enough for the follower to feel the almost imperceptible lowering of his torso. Initiating movement through space: Immediately following this lowering of his torso, the leader will begin to move his entire body in the direction to which he has elected to travel -- in this
case, forward. This includes both his upper and lower body. A few common problems some leaders have at this point are that they – 1. Probe first with their feet, because they're afraid that they're going to step on their follower 2. Lunge forward, chest first, for the same reason 3. Hesitate as they begin their movement (will she move, or won't she), which completely confuses the follower, and invariably produces disastrous results The confident, definite movement of the leader's torso as he commences his traveling action tells his follower that he wants her to move backward. If she's a skilled follower, she'll get her legs out of the way. If not, she’ll need to continue practicing the appropriate technique for the backward walk. Traveling:
Once the leader has provided his follower with the above-described, two-part lead (lowering, followed immediately by a forward movement of his torso), both partners now move independently of one another as they travel through space. There is no need for
the leader to "carry" the follower through her backward movement. The follower knows exactly what she has been invited to do, and she does it. (Next week, we'll have much more about exactly how she moves backward, when Pat discusses the follower's technique of moving backward in Tango.) Balancing (Creating the neutral position): At the end of the traveling phase of this movement, both leader and follower bring themselves into balance independently -- as they did with the step to the side. Let me repeat here that In Tango, balance means creating a condition in which one is standing on one foot comfortably without having to use one's other foot
to avoid falling. The good leader doesn't help his follower to balance -- or hinder her from balancing -- in any way. The good follower doesn't rely on her leader to stop her from falling or stumbling at the end of a step. Both leader and follower must be acutely conscious of getting to the end of any given step with balance in mind -- not rushing headlong into an individual step (or series of sequential steps), and either vaguely hoping for the best or being entirely oblivious of the need to
balance at the end. I think it is important to point out here that with forward/back movement the degree of difficulty in balancing at the end of a step increases dramatically. It is fairly easy to bring oneself into balance at the end of a step to the side. But when we travel forward -- or especially
when we move backward -- achieving lateral balance on the traveling foot alone is quite challenging without a great deal of practice and concentration.
By finishing their steps in balance, each of the partners individually creates a condition I will once again refer to as "neutral." This means that both the leader and the follower are completely ready for any further movement that the leader may
wish to invite. One more repetition here: If either or both of the partners is out of balance -- i.e., falling in one direction or another at the end of a step for any reason -- the couple can't do much of anything in that moment except fight for balance. Next week, Pat will discuss the follower's
experience in being invited to take a backward step, including her response to the lead, her execution of the movement, and her attempt to balance at its completion. In the meantime, please feel free to engage us with questions or comments about the forward/backward movement, or about lead/follow in general.
Even though the Cats (i.e. Sue and her BA group) will not be away, we are delighted to announce that our traditional Cat’s Away Milonga will take place on Thursday, October 1st!
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Many of you will be familiar with this event, which was originated many years ago when Joe and Sue Dallon would take their group to Buenos Aires, and Fran and I – and many wonderful Firehouse cooks and helpers – would hold the Cat’s Away Milonga
Feast on each of the two Thursdays that the group was away. More recently, due to various events, we have not held a Cat’s Away celebration for a while, but we have decided it’s just too good and too much fun to ignore…. So now it’s back, albeit only one and not two feasts!!
Please mark your calendars for October 1st at Firehouse. Next
week (and each week thereafter), Fran and I will bring our Cat's Away Poster to help with the sign-up of some of the best culinary talent to be found! There'll be plenty of time to consider what you will bring. We'll need appetizers, entrees, salads and desserts. So start reviewing your best recipes and plan to join the banquet brigade!
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), 11th floor; 2-4pm, $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) We think it’s just like
being in Buenos Aires! Pat and I will 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 Web site at
www.franchesleigh.com and join is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc
Stardust Dance Weekend Sunday Milonga |
SAVE THE DATE:Sunday, SEPTEMBER 20!THE STARDUST SUNDAY TANGO PROGRAM IS BACK !11am through 4:30pm / More than five hours of dancing for just $50 per person.at Honor's Haven Resort, Ellenville, NYThe 103rd Stardust Dance Weekend is coming up Sept. 18-20, and it brings the return of one of the loveliest, fun Sunday Tango events in the Tri-State area:featuring....- Morning Classes with JUNIOR CERVILA & GUADALUPE GARCIA- Elegant DANCE LUNCH (Latin,
Swing,Tango, & Ballroom with DJ team Bob & Michelle Friedman)- SUNDAY MILONGUITA with host and DJ I LENE MARDER ~ La Rubia Del Norte ~- No Partner
Necessary! - *11am-12pm/ 12pm-1pm: Intermediate & Advanced Workshops w/Junior and Guadalupe
- 1pm-2pm: Elegant, white table cloth lunch with all styles of dancing
- 2pm-4:30pm: Argentine Tango
Milonquita with DJ Ilene- the Best of the Classics (with funNuevo breaks)All for just $50 (including lunch)!!!(- *10-11am Beginners Class with Junior & Guadalupe also included in the $50 price- a great way to introduce or include less experienced friends!)--- Please contact Ilene Marder to make a reservation (helps to
gender balance the classes, and get onto the hotel grounds!) at imhmedia@gmail.com,
or (845)
399-9034.The beautiful Honor's Haven Resort is just off Route 209 in Ellenville, NY More than 50 dance classes and dance
parties through the weekend!Ilene will also be DJing Stardust's Friday and Saturday Night Milongas.Looking forward to seeing our Firehouse Friends!!!JUNIOR CERVILA & GUADALUPE GARCIA – Junior
Cervila, often called "the Gene Kelly of Latin Dance", was born and raised in Brazil, and for many years based in Buenos Aires, where the tango got into his blood. He has an extensive professional history that includes performances on Broadway (starred in the original "Tango Argentino" at GershwinTheatre, NYC); he has also performed at Lincoln Center and Town Hall NYC, held a key rolein the dance film "Tango" by
Carlos Saura (nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film), and travelled the world with the show of Julio Iglesias. An in-demand performer world-wide, Junior has appeared with Deborah Bull - the prima ballerina of the Royal
Ballet of London, in an acclaimed BBC film, and he developed one of the leading roles in the successful musicals "Tanguera", "Piazzolla Tango" and "Tangorama". He is currently a choreographer of "Piazzolla Tango" and "Tango Porteño", two of the most
prominent tango shows in Buenos Aires.
Guadalupe Garcia started dancing Argentine Folklore when she was 5
years old, and began learning tango when she was 12! At the age of 18, she received a degree as a teacher ofArgentine Folklore, and from 2004-2010, received wide acclaim with the UBALLET (Ballet de la Universidad de Buenos Aires). She's been a featured performer in Buenos
Aires with outstanding dance troupes including Mora Godoy's Tango Company, Juan Corvalán's Tangomalambo's Company, and Roberto Herrera's Company, and has toured worldwide including representing Argentine Tango at the 2012 World Yeosu Expo in Korea. Since 2007, she's been featured in the top tango shows of Buenos Aires, such Complejo Tango, Michelangelo,
Taconeando, Piazzolla Tango, Gala Tango and Tango Porteño, including the 2014 Glorias Porteñas show as Principal Dancer partnering iconic tango maestro Juan Carlos Copes. In 2015, besides touring, teaching and performing around the world with Junior Cervila, she was featured in the Tango e Paixão's
Show in Brazil .
Tuesday Sept. 29 at La Havana 59 with Simply Social Dancing |
Please call the restaurants to
make a reservation, even on the event day. We are given more space and more food and more servers base on our Reservations!!
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Latin Night at La Havana 59 110 Moonachie Ave, Moonachie NJ
Tuesday, Sept 29th 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Mostly Salsa and Argentine Tango... some Bachata, Merengue, Rumba, & Cha Cha A beginner lesson to start. $20.00 cover includes 2 house
drinks or i drink & 1 Latin Night appetizer
For reservations and directions:
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Biagio's Restaurant for Dinner & Dance 299 Paramus Rd,
Paramus NJ
Biagio's will return in October & November.
A mix of music for all types of partner dancing A beginner Swing dance lesson to start off the night. $35.00 for dinner and dancing / Cash bar
For reservations and
directions:
Lisa SkatesSimply Social Dancing |
Find milongas anywhere in the world |
Hola tanguero/a, We would like to inform you about our website with milongas in any city worldwide to dance tango. Check out the milongas nearby. New season, new milongas. Our website may be useful for you to find milongas in your destinations. Our website is: http://milongas-in.comIf you organize a milonga please add it in our website, so anyone who is travelling can find your milonga. If you have a website, please add our website in your links section. In case you do, we would prefer our link to be named: “Milongas in any city worldwide” and the corresponding link has to be http://milongas-in.comThank you very much. Un abrazo, Milongas-in.com Team
View Monica Paz' terrific tango Facebook posts - my pick from
this week is below
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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
Date on which Horacio Salgán records a tango composed by him: DON AGUSTÍN BARDI. It is an homage to an excellent tanguero of the Guardia Vieja. Bardi, who because of financial problems could not finish his studies at the music conservatory, is perhaps one of the best examples that tango has given us of a natural talent: that
mysterious creativity that a few humans possess. ♫ DON AGUSTIN BARDI Horacio Salgán (1950)
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 and othes like it that Monica has preserved.
Un bello recuerdo
Juan Carlos Pontorielo Q.E. P.D.
https://youtu.be/CiEib0rZ92Q
Our cancelation policy - We STILL rarely cancel
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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
- Elena Syrett
- Hilda and Rafael - Welcome back - we missed you so much
- Bob Brillo
- Tsipoyra Sartan
- Steve Maisch
- 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 - Grapes
- Bonny Yankauer - Guacamole & Chips
- Jack Block - Cheese
And these people brought wine
- Camille
- George Ngo
- Bill Krukovsky
- Marta
- Rafael & Hilda
- Bob Brillo
- Jorge Sturam
- Francis &
Marie
- Eduardo
Tango in New Jersey and New York |
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