Firehouse Tango will celebrate all the  holidays on Thursday, December 13th.  

As usual, expect wonderful friends, door prizes, food, and dancing; but dress for a party.  Holiday cortinas and the decorated hall will set the mood, and we'll give you an extra half hour to celebrate.  Keep your eyes open for the yearly visit from Santa.  I heard that he will travel all the way from Colorado to join us.  

As always, our $15 admission charge will also include beginner (7 - 7:30) and intermediate (7:30 - 8:30) lessons taught by Fran Chesleigh and buffet dinner.

Bring a dish to the Holiday Milonga on December 13th

Here are the contributions so far for our holiday milonga.  Please let us know if you would like to bring something:

• Sue Dallon - Brisket with potatoes, carrots, string beans, Turkey
• Mike Porro and Debbie Kim - Their traditional huge and delicious salad
• Georgina Blitzer - Something good
• Flo Salierno - Dessert
• Ingrid Jacob - Tiramisu
• Steve Maisch - Home baked holiday breads

 If you would like to make something for the Christmas/Hanukah/New Years milonga, please let me know.  It doesn't even have to be home made.

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Today, I’m going to continue with our discussion of what I am now referring to as the “invitation/response cycle for lead/follow.”  (We started this thread back in the middle of November, so you might want to go back and look at the Tango Tips of November 8th and November 15th in order to bring yourself back up to speed.) As stated in those Tips, we defined this cycle as consisting of four distinct phases:

1.      I invite an action.

2.      The follower responds to my invitation by executing the action.

3.      I monitor her response.

4.      I become the follower as I accompany her action.

In the November 15th Tango Tip, we talked about phase one of the cycle: “I invite an action.” This week I want to turn to phase two: “The follower responds to my invitation by executing the action.”

Assuming that a follower understands the lead/follow mechanism (or what I’m now referring to as the invitation/response cycle), she is well aware of the body language cues, which she can expect from her leader for producing movement within the dance.

For example: If the leader lowers his torso slightly (by flexing at the knees), and immediately thereafter takes a traveling step to one side, the knowledgeable follower understands that she has been invited to join him in also moving to the side. She also understands that it is not his traveling movement that produces her side step. Rather, it is his initial indication of intention to her that a side step has been invited, which actually instigates her movement.

To be more specific, the leader does not invite her to take the action, and then proceed to carry her through that action (as might be appropriate in various American/European Ballroom disciplines). Instead, both the leader and follower fully expect that she will act on her own in executing the movement all the way through to balance — without in any way being helped or carried by the leader.

What is important to recognize here is that the follower’s response to the initial invitation (which is interdependent) belongs completely to her. It is totally independent. This does not mean that she has a choice in whether or not to response to the lead. Her job in the invitation/response cycle is to receive — and execute (respond to) — each invitation as it is offered. What it does mean is that when she receives the invitation, she is no longer under the control of the leader in delivering her response. She correctly says to herself, “okay, I know what you’re asking me to do, and I’m going to do it now.”

This idea is misunderstood by many unknowledgeable leaders and followers. For instance, a leader might offer a half-hearted or in some way inadequate invitation, and then expect his follower to wait until he actually carries her through the invited movement. On the other hand, a follower might feel the lead, but think that she needs further encouragement to take action.

Both these notions are false. Once the invitation has been given, it is up to the follower to take action no matter what. Furthermore, it is completely up to the follower to bring herself into balance at the end of any action. It is never the leader’s responsibility to provide assistance in bringing her to a stop.

In many actual dance situations, of course, many leaders constantly try to control every aspect of their followers’ movements, including their end-of-step balance. At the same time, many followers chronically lean on their partners in order to hold themselves up in the misguided idea that this is what is meant by the dance connection. Both these false notions constitute inappropriate dance practice.

Next week, we’ll discuss what the leader does as his follower is responding to his lead.

Now, you can download Fran and Pat’s exclusive Tango Workshop Video Collection to your computer or handheld device.

If you’ve ever attended one of our Tango Workshops, you know just how much fun they are, how much solid information they offer, and how important each one can be to your progress as a social Tango dancer!

·      Starting now, you can access any technique, any figure from any or all of these great Workshops anytime, anywhere – all at a single click.

·      You can call up your favorite Tango moves whenever and wherever you want to see them.

·      All you have to do is to download Fran and Pat’s Workshop Videos to you PC or handheld device, and you’re good to go.

Check out our Web site to find out more about our exclusive Tango Workshop Video Collection. It’s quick; it’s easy; it’s priceless!

Download Now: www.franchesleigh.com/videos

QUESTIONS? Send Fran an email https://www.franchesleigh.com/contact/

           A little bit of Buenos Aires in Oakland, NJ 

Please join us for another great Milonga on

Saturday, December 15th, 2018 

This month special guest instructors are

Carolina Jaurena And Juan Alessandrini

Tango skirts for the ladies as well as hand made dance
shoes for men and women will be available for sale!

        Workshop starts At 7:00pm

Milonga at 8:00pm

Plus performance, raffle, Chacarera and more

Milonga Los Pitucos is the first and only Milonga to offer gourmet refreshments, prepared fresh,
by our chef "El Tordo".  

Chef Tordo takes pride in creating a home made dish

 for every event -

Couples, singles and beginners welcome! No partner necessary. 
Bring a friend and enjoy great music, floor, "delight"(dish) and of course friends!

Admission $15, including the workshop and home cooked "delight"    

                                                                                                                                                                       Location:

THE AMERICAN LEGION

65 Oak Street 
                  Oakland, NJ 07436                 

For directions click here

Los Pitucos Milonga brings the best of Argentine Tango to Northern New Jersey.

                                       Experience the finest of Buenos Aires at our Saturday night Milonga at the American Legion.

Los Pitucos is a Monthly event which is held on the Third Saturdayof the month...

                                        Find yourself engulfed in the spirit of Buenos Aires, circa 1940.  Mingle with other delightful Tango dancers.

                                        Allow the romance of the period music to move you.

                                        Your evening's hosts "El Tordo" and "El Zurdo" are dedicated to an authentic and enjoyable Tango

                                       experience.  Our DJ (and instructor) El Tordo, incorporates composers from the

                                       "Golden Age of Tango" to replicate the best of the Milongas of Buenos Aires.

                                      Milonga Los Pitucos is the first and only Milonga to offer gourmet refreshments, prepared fresh,
 

                                      by our chef "El Tordo".  Chef Tordo takes pride in creating a home made dish for every event.

                                      We have been bringing the finest Tango events and music to New Jersey since 2009.

                                        ● Beginners Welcome... no partner necessary.

                                        ●  BYOB

                                        ● Munchies & Finger food (Feel free to bring a dish to share...)

                                        ● The evenings "delight" is made fresh before the Milonga by chef "El Tordo"

Facebook Members: Please join Los Pitucos Milonga group by clicking here