February at Firehouse Tango
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February 2
No birthdays, only great eating, socializing, and dancing. Don't miss it.
February 9
Sue out - A team takes over
I'm off to
Florida Once again this week, I will play hooky. This time, I'm passing up Firehouse for fun in the sun. Fortunately, I can leave my baby (That would be Firehouse Tango) worry free because I have incredible friends who are more than willing and able to keep the Firehouse fires burning brightly. Please support our wonderful back-up
team.
The logistics - The A Team
Terri Lopez (Wonder(ful) Woman) and Steve Turi (aka Superman) have generously offered to 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 so many fabulous friends willing to step in whenever
needed.
But What about the Music? Johnny Tablada DJ's
Not to worry. While we are away, your tangos, milongas and valses will be spun by fabulous guest DJ, Johnny Tablada. Many of our tangueras have had the pleasure of dancing with Johnny, who comes to Firehouse every Thursday. Now, you can have to pleasure of listening to his incredible music, as well. I promise you will not be
disappointed. Johnny has an amazing and extensive knowledge of Argentine Tango.
How about the newsletter?
This Firehouse Tango newsletter has been published nearly every week since March, 2002 and thanks to Fran and Pat, the next two weeks will be 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 will send his handiwork out when I return.
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.
February 16
Judy Saul, Debbie Glaser, and Nathan Amatai celebrate their
joint birthdays
For six years in a row, Debbie Glaser and Judy Saul had celebrated together at Firehouse for their joint birthday. A few years ago, Nathan Amatai added his birthday to the celebration. It worked beautifully. Then they skipped a year, but now they're back.
Tangueros, do not miss this chance to tango with all three of these fabulous dancers and awesome Firehouse friends. For the birthday dance, Nathan started will start with Vicky, and Debbie and Judy will choose partners. Then Nathan gets to dance with both of the ladies, but I intend to get to him right after Vicky, Debbie and Judy. It will be awesome. We're so happy that these three are members of our Firehouse family.
February 23
No birthdays, only great eating, socializing, and dancing. Don't miss it.
Last Thursday, January 26th Birthday of Rose Whitehill
Rose is a great dancer and lovely lady who has been a Firehouse fan since our Firehouse # 4 days.
She has also been to Buenos Aires with us seven times. We are thrilled to be able to celebrate her birthday. As for the birthday dance, Fred started and then all of the Firehouse Tangueros cut in.
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 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's cortinas were for The Beatles. Next time, I'll play Big Band 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.
Correction - Steve and Lynn |
Last week I congratulated Steve and Lynn on their engagement. Unfortunately, I shorted them a bit. They have been together for 36 happy years. Here's wishing you both at least 36 more: a lifetime of love and
happiness!
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 everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. You may not remember this, but there was a time, when partner dancing was considered a benign social activity in which people spent time together in a genteel, delightful way. In general, women tended to enjoy dancing more than men did -- so men sometimes had to have their arms gently
twisted in order to get started. But once they took the plunge, most usually found social dancing to be more fun than they had anticipated, and everyone lived happily thereafter.
Cut to the world we now seem to inhabit:
"Every guy I try to dance with thinks he's an expert, and I'm an idiot."
"She just can't keep up with me; I have push her around to stay with the music."
"He's got his own agenda, and I'm not a part of it."
"Check out this great step I just picked up from YouTube. I need a partner who can do
that."
"Sometimes, I sit here all night without anyone asking me to dance."
"She walked off the floor right in the middle of the song -- who does she think she is?"
"I just won't dance with
beginners."
"If she's not up to my speed, she's not on my dance card."
"(Bleep) you!"
"No, (bleep) you!!"
How have things come to this?
Is there anybody out there who would willingly join this party, if you knew in advance what to expect? Who is to blame for this kind of behavior? Personally, I find myself utterly appalled at some of the conduct that goes on routinely in our Tango community.
What do you think of this way of acting? And more to the point, what do you think can be done to change it?
Because ultimately, it's entirely up to you. If you make a personal commitment to never, ever behave in ways like this yourself, you will become a point of light for change. If you refuse to tolerate this kind of malignancy in the people around you, they'll be forced to rethink their actions -- or find somewhere else to go. If we join hands as a group to root out such behavior, our community will eventually
return to what it should have been all along -- a safe, fun environment for putting away the frustrations of daily living, and finding pleasure in the joys of social dance.
Would you like that? In the end, it's all up to you.
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 at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc
Nelson and Madalyn's Milonga in Closter
Greetings Tango Amigos,
Please join us for our Next "La Milonga”
at: VENTURADANCE CENTER 540 Durie Ave.Closter, NJ
Saturday Night, February 11th 8:30 to Midnight with the John De Cesare Tango Trio Tango Exhibition with Madalyn
and Nelson Avila, Nelson’s great selection of Tango Music including some Ballroom, Latin, Hustle, Swing
Complimentary Classes: Beginners 7:30-8:00 Int/Advanced 8:00-8:30
Coffee, Tea, Light Snacks and…. your presence for another Magical Night of Dancing!
$20 in advance, $25 at the door Call ahead to reserve your table and pay $20!
Simply Social Dancing
********************************** Latin Night at La Havana 59 110 Moonachie Ave, Moonachie NJ
Tuesday, January 31st 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Mostly Salsa and Argentine Tango... some Bachata, Merengue, Rumba , & Cha Cha. A Latin evening for those who enjoy Latin music, food, and dancing! An Argentine Tango lesson to start (for all level dancers).
$20.00 cover includes 2 house drinks or i drink & 1 Latin Night appetizer
La Havana 59
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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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Our cancelation policy - We STILL rarely cancel
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Even though we had to cancel once a 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 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.
- Tsipoyra Sartan
- Steve
Maisch
- Lynn Gross
- Nina
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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 -
And these people brought wine - Barbara
Lombardi
- Mary Pagano
- Bill Krukovsky
- Jack Messing
- George Ngo
- Edna Negron
- Dana Ryd
- Bob
Brillo
- Diane Langmuir
- Eduardo Campos
Tango in New Jersey and New York |
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