HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The Firehouse was all aglow last Thursday, when we rang in the New Year a few days early. Sue Dallon was away for the week, so hosting duties fell to our stalwart back-up team of Terri Lopez and Steve Turi – who, as usual, did a magnificent job of keeping us well fed, convivially disposed, and very happy
about being part of the celebration. Al Ko stepped in as DJ for the evening, and treated us to a memorable evening of wonderful, non-stop dancing pleasure. Things will get back to fun-based business as usual, when Sue returns from her Maryland/Florida trip this week. If you don’t have other pressing plans, we’d love to have you join us!
The Turi Report
Firehouse helpers this week were Terri, Terri, Terri -- with assists from Tsipoyra, Barbara and Lynn. Happy New Year greetings to all our wonderful tangueros who so wonderfully clear away the
evidence of good times!
Thank you all,
--Steve
TangoTip of the Week
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Recently, Pat and I had the pleasure of being guests of honor at a special Tango event, held at the Argentine Consulate in New York City where Alicia Cruzado and I have been teaching every week for close to 18 years. (Pat joined the team several years
ago after retiring from her job.)
Lots of people who have studied Tango with me over the years were on hand for the festivities. One fellow — let’s call him Ralph — made a point of coming up to let me know how much his Tango had improved. I listened intently to Ralph’s detailed description of all the things I regularly tell my students
(assuming, of course, that he was crediting his improvements to my teaching). I decided that when he was finished praising my skills as a teacher, I would tell him that, on the contrary, it was really the perseverance of the student in assimilating the material and practicing diligently that made the difference.
Modesty is so attractive, don’t you think?
Then, Ralph mentioned in passing that he actually owed all his improvements to a young martial arts teacher, whom he had recently met.
What?????? I sputtered. He hadn’t even noticed all the things I had been telling him for years. His life had been suddenly (miraculously!) transformed by a non-dancer, who didn’t know anything at all about
Tango.
Agh!
I watched Ralph as he demonstrated his newly discovered prowess as a dancer. He was obviously very proud of his achievement, and couldn’t wait to show everyone in the room what he had
accomplished.
The problem was that Ralph, who used to dance like a wild man out to stuff every possible badly-led performance sequence into his repertoire, had now replaced his previous modus operandi with a ponderous, stiff — yet somehow obsequious — overly simplified vocabulary of junk movement. (Sort of like a martial
artist who was unsuccessfully trying to look like a Tango dancer.)
I briefly thought of suggesting to Ralph that he consider taking a few lessons from a qualified Tango teacher. But I was certain that he wouldn’t listen — at least not for the time being. Ralph was on a
roll.
Oh well. Time to move on.
Pat and I want to wish all of you a very joyous holiday season, and a wonderful New Year, glittering with all the goodies you could possibly ask for. Oh, and by the way, if any of you would like to take a few free classes at the Argentine Consulate in New York, please join us every Wednesday at 12:00 p.m.
We look forward to seeing you.
