Message from Sue

Many thanks to Terri Lopez and Steve Turi for making my Buenos Aires trip possible.  I could not find more capable hands in which to leave my baby.   Terri, with Steve's help, planned; ran operations; and coordinated setup and cleanup (and that's not all.)  These folks fielded the problems and glitches that seem to arise every week.  The tasks involved in running Firehouse are monumental, and I am incredibly fortunate to have so many fabulous friends willing to step in whenever needed.   

             
 
I'm thrilled to be back
 
What joy to return and be welcomed so enthusiastically by our dear Firehouse friends!  As much as I loved Buenos Aires, I am  absolutely thrilled to be back home.  I 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. I am very aware that our trip would be impossible without an enormous amount of help from the folks back home.  
 
 
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.

 
The music - DJ Richard Ariza
 
Aren't we fortunate to have such a wonderful DJ in our Firehouse Family?  I 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. 

• Sue Dallon - Brisket with potatoes, carrots, string beans
• Terri Lopez - Arroz con pollo

Ring in 2016 with Argentine Tango

TANGO LOCO VII

Second 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, 2015

Latin interlude - Salsa lesson 10:00 PM

Thursday, December 31, 2015

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!

Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the week. Over the past two weeks, we've been addressing the idea of "musicality" in Tango. If you haven't yet begun to follow the discussion, I recommend that you read the last two Tango Tips before continuing here. Just go to our Firehouse Tango Web site, click on "archive," and take a look at those Tips.

Ready to continue?

Today, we're going to take the plunge, and start to actually find a connection of our own to a piece of music. But first, I have a small disclaimer. When I teach a class in rhythmic response to music, I can more or less instantly notice who is able to keep a beat consistently and who is not. Over the years, I've noticed, for example, that the majority of women in any given class seem to have very little difficulty responding accurately to music. I would estimate that in a group of twenty women, maybe one or two might not be able to hear the beat of the music appropriately, whereas the others will pick it up right away. On the other hand, about one in four male dancers -- in some groups the ratio is as high as one in three -- seem to have either no accurate response to the beat of a piece of music, or at least are inconsistent in their responses. Sometimes, they're on; sometimes, they're off. We could speculate forever on why this may be the case, but for our purposes, let's just accept that my observations are probably accurate, and move on from there.

Where do you fit in?

The exercises I'm going to describe below will be next to impossible, if you're one of those people who just cannot hear the underlying rhythm structure of the music. You will need to work closely with a teacher in order to have any chance of moving past this fundamental difficulty. On the other hand, if you're one of those gifted people who find it quite easy to hear and respond to music, the exercises I will describe should be very simple for you to carry out.

Let's find out whether you as an individual have the ability to hear and respond rhythmically to music or not. Two weeks ago, I ended the Tango Tip by asking you to listen to as much Tango music as you could find, and to try to find some kind of rhythm structure to at least some of the pieces. Right now, we're going to talk about some of the specifics of that little assignment. In fact, we're going to define this as "Exercise 1."

Exercise 1: Finding your own way of responding to a piece of music: What do you hear?

This crucial first exercise is best done in the presence of a teacher -- in order for you to be absolutely certain that your "musical" perceptions are accurate. (Once you know you're doing it correctly, the need for a teacher at your side will no longer be necessary, at least for this exercise.)

Select a piece of Tango music. (Even better, have your teacher make the selection.) Listen to the music, eventually trying to find a connection between you and the ongoing beat/cadence of the piece. Demonstrate this connection physically by using one of the following ways to indicate what you're hearing--

Move either hand up and down to what you think/feel is the regular beat ("leading the band")

Tap either hand against your side

Clap both hands together

Tap either foot against the floor

Nod your head up and down

If you're working with a teacher, he/she will be able to notice almost immediately whether you're hearing the beat of the music correctly -- just by observing the way you're responding physically in the moment. If in your teacher's judgement you're showing that your rhythmic sense is accurate, he/she will verify that you're ready to move on to the next exercise -- which is to actually move your whole body to the music. On the other hand, if the outcome of this exercise suggests that you need more work right here, your teacher will be able to formulate a plan to help you eventually move through this phase of your individual learning process.

Next week, we're going to look at Exercise 2 -- moving your whole body to the rhythm of the music.

• Barbara - Popcorn
• George Ngo - Two huge trays of delicious home made (by Theresa) Fried Rice

• Mary Pagano
  
• Adrienne Burton
  
• George Ngo
  
• Bob Brillo