Next Thursday, September 29 Anniversary of Walter and Gay Monteblanco |
Can it be seven years since we rejoiced at the marriage of our very good friends Walter and Gay? We will celebrate their anniversary with great joy on September 329th. Gay and Walter will start 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.
Last Thursday, September 22nd, birthday of Terri Lopez |
Terri, who has become so indispensable that I say in all seriousness that Firehouse Tango could not exist without her, celebrated her birthday last Thursday, September
22nd.
We invited the Firehouse Tangueros to show our most loyal Firehouse friend EVER just how much we all appreciate her - and they most surely did. Our dear friend Rudy started the birthday tango. Then, a stream of Firehouse Tangueros cut in, dancing to Di Sarli's Junto a tu Corazon and Tu el Cielo y Tu. The cortinas, of course, were Terri's favorite, Tony Bennett.
I (Sue) brought the delicious cake with
Terri's beautiful picture. Hilda made two flans. Steve Maisch baked a cheesecake with strawberries, and Ingrid brought home-made zucchini bread. What a spread!
Terri Lopez has been a part of the Firehouse family since our first days at Paramus Firehouse # 4, and we look forward to many more birthday celebrations with her.
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
Jewish New Year feast at Firehouse Tango - Thursday, September 22 - 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, October 6th. 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
I am making brisket, carrots, potatoes, string beans, kasha varnichkas (bow tie noodles with buckwheat groats) and probably turkey.
Lucille Krasne is making a salad.
Fran will transport Lucille, our honored guest, who is one of the mainstays of the New York Tango Community. Lucille runs a terrific milonga on Wednesday nights at One Esmeraldian motto is: "We aim to please all the people some of the time and vice versa."
October is Milonga Month at Firehouse Tango |
Milonga Month at Firehouse starts on October 6th Join Pat and Fran, starting Thursday, October 6th, for a month-long exploration of milonga. As we’ve done in the past, both the 7:00 p.m. lesson and the 7:30 p.m. lesson will be devoted to
this exciting, up-tempo dance. The lessons will be cumulative with every session building on the one before. So plan to be with us for the whole month. Get to the Firehouse early, and don’t miss a moment of this outstanding, month-long celebration of one of Argentina’s great dance traditions.
Shoe sale next Thursday, September 29th |
The shoe sale that was postponed a few weeks ago, will be held next Thursday. Debbie Raquel will bring her Bandolera shoes"Dancing Soles is proud to introduce the fabulous Bandolera line of tango shoes to Firehouse Tango! These elegant shoes for men and women, offer exceptional
balance, memory foam comfort, support, and flexibility. Made in Italy with fine leathers and top quality materials, Bandolera pairs craftsmanship and flair in perfect harmony. You may have spotted Sue and Terry dancing in their Bandoleras recently, come on by the display table and Debbie will help you find you new favorite pair!” This week's cortinas were Tony Bennett, Terri's favorite singer. I'm not sure what I'll use next week.
Any other suggestions? Remember, cortinas are non-tango music.
I always love feedback. Let me know if you love or hate my selections or anything in between. Same for my playlists. Remember, I do this for you, and I really aim to please.
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
From Edna Negron
Hi Sue,
A friend of mine is helping to coordinate an upcoming tango event in New York City. It's called "Puro Tango" at Teatro Latea, Sept. 15-25. She wanted to help getting the word out. Below is a link to the promotional video. It features Tango World Champions
from Colombia.
See video on link below.
Thanks, Edna
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. I love to watch a good Tango teacher work. When I was a student, being in the same room with someone who was able to interact with a class accurately and sensitively was very, very impressive. Following along as an inspired teacher conveyed the right information at exactly the right time was to me something
almost magical.
I think that ultimately what I personally learned to love is the learning process itself. I truly enjoyed taking the journey from a complete lack of knowledge about a given technique to a point where I could look back with an awareness that I'd gotten somewhere, that I'd now reached a stage in which I really knew something -- guided every step of the way by a teacher whose communication skills were up to the task.
In my own
teaching, I prefer to concentrate on process; i.e., how to dance -- rather than what steps to dance. I think it's crucially important for the student to focus on fundamental skill development: posture, smoothness of motion, finding balance at rest and at the end of individual steps, and the appropriate application of lead/follow mechanics to ensure consistently successful communication between leader and follower. In my experience, these are elements that
differentiate good dancers from the rest.
On the other hand, the majority of students -- and unfortunately the overwhelming majority of teachers -- elect to devote themselves to the accumulation of repertoire; i.e., to the pursuit not of dance technique, but of dancefigures. Many students are deeply convinced that if only they can recreate those elaborate moves that they see the pros on YouTube handle with such apparent ease and facility, they will
thereby have achieved that special something in their dancing -- even if their own execution is palpably inept to the point of embarrassment. At the same time, teachers (who above all else need to earn a living) recognize all too well that offering process and technique pays far fewer bills than promising chests of golden glitter at the end of the Tango rainbow.
All of this leads to an ongoing dilemma for both teachers and students alike: How does a
teacher continue to square the circle of knowing what students need, when, in fact, that isn't what the students actually want? And how do students become decent dancers by insisting on pursuing the hopelessly futile illusion of achieving their goals without putting in the necessary work it takes to get there?
From my own observations, the solution to this dilemma that most teachers seem to have come up with is: Take the money and run. Let the students maintain their
illusions; let the teachers pay their bills. But in this depressing scenario people just don't really learn how to dance Tango -- at least with any acceptable degree of proficiency.
Is this really what we want? And if not, what do we in the Tango community propose to do about it? I'm open to suggestions.
Save the date!
Fran and Pat’s upcoming Tango
Workshop
SHOW THEM YOUR TANGO LEGS!
The Surprise of Sacada The Elusive Enganche The Seduction of Adorno The Interplay of Gancho
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23rd
12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Pearl Studios, New York
City
Stay tuned – more info coming soon
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.) 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 atwww.facebook.com/franchesleighllc
View Monica Paz' terrific tango Facebook posts -
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I hope that this link to Monica's Facebook page works for everyone. Her tango and vals with Daniel Arias in Los Angeles is a joy
to watch. https://www.facebook.com/monica.paz.127?fref=ts
ADOLFO CARABELLI is born. Pianist and conductor. He perfected his musical preparation in Italy. He was artistic director of the Victor recording label. He created and directed the
Tipica Victor as an emblem of the label. In addition he had his own orchestra. Although he was one of the most learned authors in tango, he had little recognition. He represents a clear link between the decades of the 40’s and the previous period. ♫ LA GUIÑADA. Adolfo Carabelli (1932)
Here is another link to Monica's tango calendar: 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
Our cancelation policy - We STILL rarely cancel
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Even though we had to cancel once last 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 on my
cell phone 201-826-6602. Feel free to leave a message if I don't answer.
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.
I forgot to put these in last week. I'd like to thank Herb Kahn for joining our clean up team, which included Steve Turi, Jesse, Steve Maisch, and Tsipoyra Sartan.
These are the folks who helped this week:
Tsipoyra Sartan Jesse
Barton Steve Maisch Steve Turi Elana Titova Hilda and Rafael
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 - - Ingrid Jacob - Zucchini Bread
- Marina - Dip
- Hilda Genni - two
flans
- Ingrid Jacob - Zucchini bread
And these people brought wine
- Barbara Lombardi
- Mary Pagano
- Bill
- George Ngo
- Marta
- Rudy
- Camille
- Bob Brillo
- Francis & Marie
Tango in New Jersey and New York |
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