Thank you, thank you, Richard Ariza!

The centerpiece of any great milonga is its music. And for the past two weeks, we've been blessed at Firehouse Tango with the fabulous music of Richard Ariza, one of the truly outstanding DJs in the metropolitan area. Richard, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for bringing us this wealth of such exciting -- and exceptionally danceable -- music. It has been a pleasure and an honor for all of us at Firehouse.

Sue Dallon and our Buenos Aires travelers will be back at Firehouse this coming Thursday from what has no doubt been a wonderful visit to the capital city of Tango. We look forward to having them back, and to hearing all about their memorable moments. Please join us this and every Thursday for an absolutely great evening of Tango fun at the friendliest milonga in the tri-state area.

Tango Tip of the Week

Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, we started a discussion of what is sometimes called "musicality" in Tango. By way of definition, I would offer that this term very generally refers to an individual person's ability to respond with what I'm going to call "rhythmic precision" -- along with some degree of creativity -- when dancing to a given piece of Tango music. By the way, if you haven't read last week's Tango Tip, it might be a good idea to find it in the Firehouse Tango archive on our Web site, and give it a quick perusal, in order to be better able to follow what we'll be talking about over the next several weeks.

Tick, tock, tick, tock ...

Okay, all set? Are you up to speed? Great. Let's move on!

As promised last week, over the next several Tango Tips, Pat and I will focus on defining and describing the musical skills we believe you need as a leader and/or follower in order to elevate your Tango beyond a mechanical exercise, and move it closer to becoming your own personally fashioned art form.

To start the ball rolling, let's first establish that by way of fundamental areas of concentration, we can -- if we apply ourselvesdiligently -- eventually learn to use many of the basic tools of the Tango -- the lead/follow mechanism, the highly idiosyncratic stylization of the body as it moves through space, the personal repertoire of figures and sequences (yes, yes, I know, there areno steps in Tango). These are more or less accessible elements, which, with concentrated work and dedication, can ultimately form the basis for a reasonably skilled iteration of social Tango.

But what about moving with a partner in a rhythmically appropriate -- perhaps even musically creative -- way as the music of Tango progresses? This presents us with a challenge unlike that anything we’ve encountered before in other social dance forms. If you've ever taken dance lessons, for example, you've learned that with every single dance form in this country, there's a very definite basic rhythmic timing attached to it as a matter of course. Think about Foxtrot, Waltz, Swing, or any of the Latin dances. Each of these disciplines comes neatly packaged with its own specific rhythm structure, usually called "the basic step." (Whether this narrow definition/codification is actually valid or not presents us with a very interesting subject of discussion for another time.)

Now, we come to Tango. It turns out that in Tango, there is no basic step, and there is no consistent rhythmical timing. Instead, everything is completely improvised. As a result, it becomes very difficult and frustrating for the student of Tango to figure out not only what to do from one step to the next, but how to respond in some rhythmical way to the music. The result is that when we go about approaching the skills necessary to become Tango dancers, this becomes a very big hurdle in our learning process.

With all that said, how do we learn to be musical, when we dance Tango? In my opinion, the very first thing you have to figure out either by yourself -- or better yet, with the help of your teacher -- is whether or not you possess a basic sense of rhythm. As mentioned last week, some people have what seems to be a natural ability to find a credible rhythmic connection to a piece of music. Others simply don't seem to make that connection.

Can this connection actually be taught? I'm not sure that it can be in all cases; however, there are tools we can use in order to make it possible. If you are one of those people who finds it virtually impossible to respond with any consistency to the rhythm of the music, you need a teacher to help you break through to your next phase -- accurate response to the music. A big dilemma here is that if you are indeed one of those people, you probably don't really know that this is a problem for you. Someone will have to tell you, and, if possible, help you solve it. This, of course, is your teacher.

Next week, we'll examine a practical way for you (and your teacher) to determine your fundamental rhythmic capability as you attempt to actually move to Tango music. Then, we'll talk about ways to make things work a bit better in terms of developing your own personal musicality.

Saturdays with Fran and Pat at Dardo Galletto Studios

Please join us for our Saturday Practica at Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46^th Street (between 6^th and 7^th Avenues), 11^th floor; 2-4pm, $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) 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, you can visit our website at www.franchesleigh.com, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692, or email him at franchesleigh@mac.com   Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc

The Turi Report

Thanks and kudos once again to the crack team of Firehouse helpers, namely:

Barbara L

Bob B

Shan

Elena T

Hilda G

Mike P

Steve M

Jesse B

And, of course, the dynamic duo, Terri and Tsipoyra

And thanks to all of you who place your dishes and cups in the barrel.

You are a huge help and much appreciated.

Thanks to all,

--Steve Turi