I'm looking forward to being back with you all on this Thursday. I missed you terribly
Big Birthday Fun at the Firehouse!
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With Sue Dallon away in Florida, Terri Lopez and Steve Turi co-hosted last Thursday’s extra special Firehouse birthday extravaganza. We raised our glasses to Judy Saul. Debbie Glaser, and Nathan Amitai, wishing them all our very best birthday wishes for this year and
many more! Of course, our milongueros and milongueras were champing at the bit to treat our special guests to a non-stop stag line of dancing to help them celebrate. We also had the pleasure of having our evening’s music played with expertise by our good friend Johnny Tablada, who kept us all simply unable to stay in our seats for the entire night with his wonderful music selections. All in all, it was an evening to remember. If you weren’t there, join us next week. You’ll be very happy you
did!
February at Firehouse Tango |
February 9 -- moved to February 16th 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 enjoy 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 -- still on Februrary 16th
Judy Saul, Debbie Glaser, and Nathan Amitai celebrate their joint birthdays See below February 23 Sue Back. No birthdays, only great eating, socializing, and dancing. Don't miss it.
Thursday, February 16 Judy Saul, Debbie Glaser, and Nathan Amitai 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 Amitai 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 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.
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 Big Band. Next time I'm there (February 16), I'll play Dave Brubeck 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 From Rose Whitehill
Thank you, Firehouse, for such a wonderful birthday. The tangueros I danced with were
awesome !!! Big hug to all. Rose
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Do you find yourself "judging" your partner's dancing? Does he/she judge yours? Do you judge your own? One of the things I notice quite frequently is that students always seem to be judging one another. Go to any milonga
in New York, and you'll almost surely find that everyone there knows exactly who is an "advanced" dancer, who is more or less intermediate, and who is a lowly beginner.
"The women here are all too slow for me; I need someone who can keep up."
"I could never dance with him; he's much too advanced."
"I don't know why I even bother to come to this milonga; no one wants to dance with a beginner."
It is regrettable to me that this kind of negative behavior seems to be so commonplace among the Tango student population today. By its very definition, dancing should be a positive social interaction. Dancing should serve as a pleasant release from the tensions and troubles of day-to-day existence. In short, dancing should be
fun.
And yet all too often what should be an enjoyable experience becomes an opportunity for people to be just plain mean to each other.
Is it
possible that we could make an effort to stop this nonsense? I have a few specific suggestions on things we might all strive to do, starting now:
1. Stop judging your own skill as a dancer, and stop judging everyone else in the room.
2. Think of Tango as something to share with others -- no matter what their physical attributes, and no matter what their skill level.
3. If you're a leader, pick out several beginners on any given occasion, and dance with them. Try to give them the best experience you can offer.
4. If you're a beginner yourself, don't be afraid to invite a more experienced follower to dance with you from time to time.
5. If you're a follower, don't ever refuse to dance with anybody (unless, of course, their behavior is in some way socially offensive).
6. Oh, and by the way, don't, don't, don't ever teach. If someone starts teaching you, walk away from them, Or, if you can, run!
Learning and dancing Tango is difficult enough without all the unpleasantness some students impose on it. Let's all try really hard to get it out
of our community. Starting right now, please.
Whew!
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
Filipo Ross Art Dance Studio
Argentine Tango
Night Saturday, February 4, 2017
$15 Lite refreshments/ BYOB
540 B Grand Avenue Englewood, NJ
201-567-3785
info@filiprossartdancestudio.com
7:30 - 10:30
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!
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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.
The Turi Report
Yay team! The hall was left spotless thanks to our stalwart volunteers, namely:
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 - - Mary Pagano - Candy
- Henry Kim - Rice Cookies
- Judy Saul - Birthday Cake
And these people brought wine - Barbara Lombardi
- Fred Meyer
- Adrienne Burton
- George Ngo
- Camille
- Mike
Casale
- Rich Abrahamsen
- Walter Milani
- Bob Brillo
- Jesse Barton
Tango in New Jersey and New York |
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