After a wonderful time in the amazing city of Buenos Aires, Argentina,  I'm back to the world's friendliest (and I think the best) milonga. ​​​​​​​ 

As before,  loved my vacation, but I'm very happy to return to my dear friends at home. 

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, and cleaned up. I am very aware that my trip would be impossible without an enormous amount of help from the folks back home.  
 
 
The logistics - The Superhero Team
 
Special thanks to Terri Lopez, Steve Turi, and Fran Chesleigh for making the whole shebang such a great success.  Terri, with Steve's help, planned; ran operations; and coordinated setup and cleanup (and that's not all.)  Fran and Pat executed the lessons to perfection.
 
These folks fielded the problems and glitches that seem to arise every week.  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.   
 
 
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.  
 
The awesome duo (Fran and Pat) 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 was Clean-up Editor.

The Music -  Felix Pacheco DJ

Monica Paz

My amazing friend and teacher from Buenos Aires, Monica Paz, joined us at the Firehouse milonga last Thursday, April 19th.  Johnny Tablada, danced with Monica, and it was awesome.  

Almost all of Monica's  New Jersey schedule is filled.  For the few remaining openings, call (201-826-6602) or e mail me.  

Monica will be teaching the lesson at Los Pitucos Milonga this Saturday, April 21st.

She will also be giving private and group lessons in New York City. Here is the link for her schedule there: http://mptango.com/SocialTangoSchool/en/tour-usa-2018/#2

For New York registration, please contact Monica at: tangopaz@yahoo.com.ar 

www.mptango.com

About Monica 

Monica Paz was born and raised in Buenos Aires, and tango has been her full time profession for almost 20 years.  She specializes in Tango Milonguero style (with its strong tango chest-to-chest connection) which she loves to dance with the best old milongueros in the best milongas of Buenos Aires.  

Six years ago, Monica realized her dream of  opening her own studio in Buenos Aires (at 30 Riobamba near the Congresso.)   If you are in Buenos Aires, I highly recommend checking it out.  

Monica has taught extensively all over the United States and Europe, as well as in Australia and much of South America.  She is currently on a  tango tour of the United States. 

Monica's web site with interviews of old milongueros  

Monica is passionate about preserving the traditions, codes, and history of tango.  To this end, she continues pursuing her project of interviewing the precious few remaining old milongueros of Buenos Aires.  Their stories and the videos accompanying them, as well as other wonderful videos of Monica can be found on her web site at www.mptango.com   Scroll down for English or Spanish selection. 

Next week, April 26, Birthday of Walter Monteblanco

The Celebration

We are thrilled and honored to celebrate Walter's birthday at Firehouse.  Our wonderful friend Walter has been teaching Argentine Tango since way before I knew it existed, and he's my absolute favorite vals partner in the world as well as one of my favorite people. 

The birthday dance

Gay will start the celebratory dance, and I will try as hard as possible to be second.  Each of the tangueras can then have her turn. Since Walter follows as flawlessly as he leads, we invite the tangueros to cut in as well.  I will play music as long as there is a line.  ​

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, we talked about the difference between the way people learn to dance in Argentina versus the way we learn here in the United States. The focus in Argentina has traditionally been on spending time (lots of time!) in the milongas, developing dance skills by means of emulation and experience. In this country, the way we learn to dance (during the present day, at least) is to take lessons, usually in a dance school, during which we concentrate exclusively on memorizing steps or figures. As I mentioned last week, our focus is on what to do rather than on how to do it.

I think it’s important to point out that that this was not always true. When I learned to dance, for example, I did so by going to clubs, bars, and dance halls — trying my best to pick up whatever dance skills I had by watching and imitating my elders and friends. No one I knew took dance lessons. In fact, we very proudly bragged that we had never taken a dance lesson in our lives. This was a badge of honor among “good dancers” at the time. People of my generation learned to dance in pretty much the same way as our counterparts in Argentina. During late 1940s and through the early 50s, we still had a somewhat robust dance culture here in the U.S.A., and if you wanted to learn how to dance, all you had to do was head for the clubs. However, as our home-grown dance culture virtually disappeared by the end of the 1950s (for a wide variety of reasons), people who wanted to learn to dance had no recourse but to rely on dance schools in order to develop their skills.

And dance schools teach steps.

Sign up for lessons with any dance school in New York today, and what you can expect right from the start is a series of prescribed figures. Most schools offer 10 easy steps for beginners, 10 more for intermediate students, and 10 for people who are (theoretically) advanced. Truth to tell, all it takes is time and money, and you can become the best dancer in your neighborhood, village, town, city, state, possibly the entire world.

Well ….

Long after I had become a professional dance teacher, I discovered Tango, when that magnificent show, “Tango Argentino,” came to Broadway. I had never seen anything like it. I was nothing short of breathless. I had to, had to, had to learn this life-changing dance. Please, please, please — show me the steps!!!

“Sorry, Charlie (or in my case ‘Fran’),” admonished my teachers, “there are no steps in Tango.” And as my friend, the late Carlos Gavito used to say to his students, “Tango is a way to walk.”

Okay, okay. After years of working my butt off to learn Tango, after attempting to (secretly) memorize figure after figure after figure, I finally get what they mean. Carlos was right: Tango is definitely a way to walk, and, yes, yes, I see it now: there are no steps.

However —

Because I was not born and raised in Argentina, because I am not a seasoned milonguero who has spent most of his life in the dance halls of Buenos Aires, because I can only slavishly reproduce a poor imitation of what they do, what they know, what they feel … I humbly confess that when I dance Tango, I still rely to some extent on (yes, you’ve found me out) — steps.

Whew! I always feel so much better, when I come clean.

If you can bear with me after this embarrassing (but I hope refreshingly candid) revelation, next week, I’m going to offer a rationale for teaching/learning steps. I’m going to tell you how and why I use them in my dance, and why I teach them to my students as part of my own pedagogical approach. (Oh, and by the way, why pretty much every Tango teacher in the known universe, be they Argentine or other) happily and profitably teach steps as well!!!!)

In the meantime, gentles all, let’s kick out the blocks, and dance!

Every Monday at 8:30 p.m., Fran and Pat teach a one-hour class entirely devoted to the study of adornment for both leaders and followers. We focus on the precise way in which dancers should use their legs in order to move in the appropriate style of Tango. We also help you build a powerful vocabulary of exciting adornments, which you can incorporate into your dance.

People have been asking us to teach this class for years – and now, at last, we’re delighted to offer it. Be sure not to miss this opportunity to learn the art of adornos right from the ground up! And while you’re at it, why not enroll yourself in our 7:30 p.m. Intermediate Tango Class. This will give you a full Monday evening of Tango.

See you then.

If you like the idea of keeping American social dance alive -- not competitive or performance dancing, but real social dance the way it was traditionally done -- we invite you to join us every Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. for a fun-filled 2-hour social dance fix.

Class One

Concentrating on authentic American Foxtrot, Triple Swing and Salsa

Class Two

West Coast Swing, Waltz and Rumba

Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Studios 353, 2^nd floor

353 W. 48^th Street (between 8^th & 9^th Avenues)

New York City

The longest-running and friendliest practica in NYC! Come join our happy group of social tango dancers, whose sole purpose is to enjoy dancing and to practice what they’re learning. Everyone dances! Essential Tango Therapy! Pat and I will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, and help you with material you’re working on. Plus you get a new “must-have” move each week! No partner required, all levels. Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46^th Street, 11^th floor, (bet. 6^th & 7^th Aves) www.franchesleigh.com

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

Thanks to all who helped throughout the night.