Next Thursday, April 28 - Walter Monteblanco celebrates his birthday and annual More or Less Kosher for Passover Milonga |
Walter Monteblanco
Walter is actually celebrating his birthday with us during the month when it occurs. This is a rarity, as the Monteblancos are usually traveling.
Walter has been teaching Argentine Tango since way before I knew it
existed, and he's my absolute favorite vals partner in the world. Everyone loves Walter's large and happy personality.
Gay will start the celebratory dance, and I will fight with Marita for the privilege of being second. Each of the tangueras can then have her turn. Possibly a few tangueros will cut in as well, since Walter follows as flawlessly as he leads.
Passover
Dinner
Our annual traditional more or less kosher for Passover feast will take place at Firehouse Milonga next Thursday, April 28th. Details are below in this newsletter. I am cooking pot roast and turkey (or maybe chicken instead of turkey) and others will bring lots of different main dishes, appetizers, and desserts. I have very little of Joe's honey left, but I will share it with my friends at this
milonga.
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
More or Less Kosher for Passover Dinner-Milonga |
Next week is our annual Firehouse Tango Jewish New Year’s feast for our fellow Firehouse tangueros.
This year, Passover starts on Friday night, April 22nd and ends on Saturday, April 30th. That makes Thursday, April 29th the perfect day to schedule the dinner.
As I do every year, I will make brisket with
potatoes and carrots and maybe a turkey or chicken. You can still contribute something.
Sue
Here is what we already have:
· Sue Dallon - Brisket with potatoes and carrots (my mother's recipe,
the best in the Bronx,), turkey (or chicken), and misc. appetizers and
desserts. I will also bring some of Joe's honey. I have very little left, but I would like to share it with my
friends.
· Marion L - Drunken dried fruit
. Judy Assissi - Carrot tsimmis
· Georgina B - potato kugel
. . Mike Porro and Debbie Kim (Honorary) Salad
. George Ngo - (Honorary) Salad Matzoh
Jack Block - fruit bowl
Please feel free to pass this on to anyone I might have missed.
Sue
Dallon
Eva and Francis - Birthdays |
Last Thursday
Thursday, April 21 - Eva Roth (who returns from Buenos Aires to NJ just in time to celebrate her birthday) and Francis
Gregoire
Eva Roth
Our dear milonguera from Buenos Aires, who took Firehouse by storm a few years ago and cooks something different for us almost every Thursday when she is here, celebrated her birthday with us when she returned from Bs. As. on Thursday, April 21st. Eva loves the milonga, and she glowed while dancing her favorite dance. Walter started, and her many admirers
followed. The crowd insisted on two more tangos for Eva and Francis, Eva brought two delicious birthday cakes.
Francis Gregoire
Francis and Marie Gregoire have been coming to Firehouse for many years and have been to Buenos Aires with us three times, and we are honored to be able to celebrate Francis' birthday on April 21st. Francis started the birthday
tango with Marie and then I cut in and then all of the lucky ladies began cutting in. Francis is a terrific dancer, and it was delightful. Oh, and the mountain of huge and luscious shrimp amd robs and mouth-watering chocolate cake that Francis and Marie always bring was delicious, as always.
Lessons with Monica Paz in New York this week
Monica's visit to New Jersey was awesome, and I am very sorry to see my favorite house guest depart. I miss her very much. Aside from being my dear friend, she is my wonderful teacher from Buenos Aires.
She will be giving private and group lessons in New York City. Her schedule is below.
Diane Huber's Dad, Dr. Harry Rosin
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For those who would like to send cards to Diane Huber on the passing of her father, her address is as follows:
Diane Huber
269 Heather Lane
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
I played Prince cortinas this week. Django Reinhardt selections will be next week. Thanks to Debbie for that
suggestion.
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. Your input is always welcome. My cortina library is expanding rapidly.
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.comFrom Sue Dallon
Thanks to everyone
for the amazing gifts, cards and messages for my birthday. You made this my best birthday ever.
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. As promised at the conclusion of last week's Tango Tip, we're about to examine Tango through the eyes of a seasoned milonguero in order to discover from his very practical point of view what we really need -- and don't need -- in order to dance Tango
competently at a social level.
Our visiting maestro for today is the late, great Pupi Castello (Ernesto Norberto Castello, 1936-2007). Pupi often danced socially and performed with his pupil/dance partner Graciela Gonzalez (a fine dancer/teacher in her own right). You'll find lots of video on Pupi, performing with Graciela as well as with many guest partners on YouTube. Give yourself a treat and go
there right now. I'll wait for you to come back ....
I was lucky enough to study with and talk to Pupi on a regular basis during his many visits to New York in the late 1990's and early 2000's. He became a prominent figure on the scene in NYC, and was always very generous in sharing his expertise and candid opinions with anyone who professed real interest in the subject of Tango.
Pupi maintained the refreshingly insightful position that social Tango was at heart a simple, easily accessible dance. This was in sharp contrast to the prevailing focus among teachers and students alike that Tango was an endless series of complex, difficult-to-learn figures, sequences and adornments, which could only be assimilated through years of intense dedication, not to mention consistent, heavy outlays of cash. (Just
put more money in my pocket, pilgrim, and I'll show you the real secrets).
Oh yeah.
"Here's all you really need," Pupi used to tell us, "in order to dance just like a milonguero anywhere in Argentina."
"First," he would say, "you need to learn how to walk -- not just forward, backward, and to the side, but also la cadencia, and la pausa." By la cadencia, he meant the weight change in place; by la pausa, he was talking about the ability to stop in balance at any time.
"Walking is the important skill," he
would say with emphasis. "Learning to dance Tango is learning to walk properly. After that, you need forward and backward ochos, and giro. The rest is window dressing."
Wait a minute here! What about gancho? What about calicita? Parada? Sacada? Boleo? What about la cruzada?
"Window dressing."
Pupi would shrug his shoulders with feigned nonchalance as he watched us all break out into a cold sweat.
"That'll be $200 please."
The
room erupted in laughter.
"What's the most important thing for a follower to learn?"
"How to stop," he would say, pronouncing each word very carefully. "Every step she takes ends in a stop. Then it's up to the leader."
Pupi Castello died in 2007. Those of us who knew, respected, and learned from him try our best to carry his wisdom forward. But as I look around at our current Tango scene here in the Big Apple, I can't help but thinking, "I really, really wish Pupi were here."
Next week, we'll begin to discuss some of the long-standing conventions, which define how dancers behave in the
milongas of Buenos Aires, and what effect these distinctive traditions have on us.
See you then.
Super Sunday is almost
here!
Only $35 for 3 hours of Tango bliss
SIGN UP NOW
Sharpen Your Tango
Edge
By mastering parada, paradita, and barrida
A special workshop with
Fran Chesleigh and Pat Altman Sunday, April 24, 2016 12:30 -- 3:30 p.m. Pearl Studios 500 8th Avenue
(between 35th and 36th Streets) 12th Floor, Room 1201 All levels
welcome
Sharpen Your Tango Edge is a fast-paced, three-hour workshop, designed to spotlight three of the truly classic elements of the Tango repertoire, take your dance to a new dimension, and bring you closer to becoming a more complete social Tango dancer. With Fran and
Pat's Sharpen Your Tango Edge you can now transform your social Tango into the polished, seriously authentic dance you've been working so hard to achieve. Don’t miss it! Register online: $35 per person at franchesleigh.com by Saturday, April 23rd $40 per person at the door on Sunday, April
24th Checks and cash also accepted. No refunds. No exchanges. 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
View Monica Paz' terrific tango Facebook posts - my pick from
this week is below - Link to New Interview for February, 2016 |
Every day, our dear friend and teacher in Buenos Aires posts a historical tango fact of
the day. These interesting and informative tidbits always include English, Spanish and Italian information and a relevant recording. You can see all of them and listen to the recording by simply joining Monica Paz PractiMilonguero Facebook page. Below is a link to the Facebook page, where you can hear the music:
Calendario Milonguero
March 27th, 1901
Calendario Milonguero
Birth of ENRIQUE SANTOS DISCÉPOLO. Poet, composer, playwright and actor. Son of a Neapolitan musician. He was educated under the guard of his elder and only brother, Armando, a distinguished playwright. Enrique soon became a great tango artist. He writes the lyrics and gives the melody he imagines, to someone else to be written.
This is the case of the theme we are now listening to, although it was almost never sung.
♫ MELODIA PORTEÑA. Juan D’Arienzo (1937) ⊙ CD Nº40 Colección Natucci (40 CDs) +info
Below is a link to Monica's interview with Juan Carlos Pontorielo from February 8, 2011. He passed away recently. How wonderful to have this video history and othes like it that Monica has preserved! Un bello recuerdo
Juan Carlos Pontorielo Q.E. P.D.
https://youtu.be/CiEib0rZ92Q
Simply Social Dancing - April - This Tuesday, April 26 La Havana 59 |
Dinner & Dancing at La
Havana's *Tuesday, April 26th from 7:00 to 10:00 pm
The evening will start off with an Argentine Tango lesson, followed by dancing.
Salsa, Argentine Tango, Rumba, Bachata, Merengue, Samba and Cha Cha.
An event for those of you who enjoy Latin food, music and
dancing.
The $20.00 cover includes 2 house drinks, or 1 house drink and an appetizer from La Havana's Latin Night menu.
You can, of course, order dinner from the main menu as well.
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La Havana 59 110 Moonachie Avenue Moonachie New Jersey |
*******************************
Lisa Skates
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.
- Steve Maisch -
- Bob Brillo
- Steve Turi
- Lynn Gross
- Jesse Barton
- Rafael and Hilda
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 - - Jack Block -
Fruit Platter
- Eve Roth - 2 Birthday Cakes
And these people brought wine
- Barbara Lombardi
- Bill Auer
- George Ngo
- Edna Negron
- Bob Brillo
- Francis & Marie
- John Barous
- Cathy &
Jesse
- Diane Langmuir
- June Stahl
- Eduardo Campos
Tango in New Jersey and New York |
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