Valentine's Day Celebration
 
Our Valentine's Day Milonga this year will be smack dab on Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14.    Don't miss it!  Come with or without your valentine - Oh, and try to wear something red.  It's sure to be a great evening.  

 
Special Cortinas - Valentine's Love Songs
 
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

That week's cortinas, as promised, will be love songs as a tribute to Valentine's Day.  

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.  

Our friend Norman has moved to Hawaii, and Walter brought a few pair of his tango shoes;   size 10 1/2 and 11.  Pay what you like - the proceeds (and Firehouse Tango's match) will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.   Walter will bring more the next time he comes.   You can ask Pat Altman about this wonderful organization, or you can check out http://www.bcrfcure.org/ 


Dear Sue,

It is so very generous of you to choose BCRF as the beneficiary of any proceeds from Norman's tango shoes! This is such a wonderful, unusual and unexpected "special benefit event" and BCRF will send 91 cents of every dollar we receive to our research programs.

 

Thanks so much,

Pat

Our mission is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness about good breast health. Currently, 91 cents of every dollar spent by BCRF is directed towards breast cancer research and awareness programs. BCRF remains one of the most fiscally responsible charities in the country.  For the tenth time since 2002, it has earned 4 stars from Charity Navigator.  Additionally, BCRF is the only breast cancer organization rated an "A+" by CharityWatch. For more information, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

Sue

Last Thursday, January 24 - Rose Whitehill

Rose is a great dancer and lovely lady who has been a Firehouse fan since our Firehouse # 4 days.  She has also been to Buenos Aires with us seven times.  We were thrilled to be able to celebrate her birthday.  As for the birthday dance, Francis started and the Firehouse tangueros continued to cut in for as long as we would let them. See Rose's letter below:

 Dear Sue,
     
    How can I thank you for such a wonderful celebration.  The warmth of our Firehouse people can't be beat, and I can't remember having a better birthday.  Love to you all.
    Rose
 
And my response:

Dearest Rose,

Sentiments like those you express are the reason that we do this.  We are thrilled to be able to contribute to your wonderful birthday.

Sue

Pick up a flyer at our front desk to order Terri Lopez' new book about coming of age in Spanish Harlem in the 40's and 50's. It's also available on Amazon. com. Here's the link:

We welcome readers' contributions about Argentine Tango in general and Firehouse Tango in particular. Send your thoughts to firehousetango@gmail.com



 

You've just led a beautiful back ocho. What's your next move?

In this fast-paced, information-packed 3-hour intensive workshop, you'll discover and master the crucially important classic Tango techniques that will maximize your options in building on the next back ocho you lead.

o    Change the dynamic with Parada/Arrastre

o    Build the drama with Gancho/Sentada

o    Create excitement with Sacada de la Pierna

o    Reverse direction with Boleo

o    Punctuate the moment with Cunita

o    Personalize every moment with Adorno

Fran Chesleigh's Maximize Your Tango Options! offers you a unique opportunity to propel your tango repertoire into a new dimension. This workshop will help transform your tango into the polished, seriously authentic dance you've been working so hard to achieve.

Register today at 212-807-0802

Pricing:
$35 per person standard
$30, if purchased by Friday February 15th.

No refunds. No exchanges.

Dance Manhattan
39-47 West 19th Street, Fifth Floor
New York, NY

Hello everybody, Pat here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Continuing with our discussion of specific problems that leaders and followers consistently have at the fundamental level, today we'll talk about difficulties that followers often have in responding to the lead for la cruzada -- the cross.

Follower's Problem #3:

When I take my follower to the cross, she quite often has a number of different problems.

In Tango, the 'cross' is one of the most common movements in the dance. There are different schools of thought as to whether this movement is actually lead or not, and we will not go into that debate right now! Fran and I prefer to teach la cruzada as a movement that is automatically executed by the follower when her leader goes (and stays) outside partner, on the follower's right.

When done correctly, the follower will perceive that her partner has taken a step to her right side, thus changing the front-to-front position of their torsos. If the leader remains 'outside partner' for his next two steps, the follower will cross her left foot in front of her right as soon as that foot is free (typically on the leader's 3rd step) thus producing la cruzada. Her feet and ankles will be as close together as possible, with her balance on both feet. She will wait in this position for the next lead.

But this is in the ideal - and there are many things that can go wrong! Because la cruzada is such an unusual movement, many beginner followers have trouble with it, and many intermediate level dancers have developed bad habits!

Here are some of the issues that can arise:

1.     The novice follower has not yet learned about this movement and doesn't cross.

2.     The novice follower doesn't notice that her leader is 'outside' partner, and does not cross.

3.     The moment her leader takes a step 'outside partner', the beginner follower panics and tries to cross immediately.

4.     Some followers go up on their toes when they cross...this is incorrect; the heels should be gently on the floor, with the weight slightly forward.

5.     Some followers, beginner and intermediate, will uncross their feet immediately - beginners because they're not fully familiar with the convention, and the others because they are not listening to their leader and racing to take what they think is the next step!

6.     When the leader is ready to move forward after the cross, beginners will sometimes release their left foot instead of their right, creating a very awkward movement that is guaranteed to throw everything off balance.

7.     Some more experienced followers get so used to being led around the floor at breakneck speed, they habitually will do a "quick' cross (i.e. double time) even if it is not lead. Again, this can create an uncomfortable break in the embrace and flow of dance. Followers, please be aware that it is the leader's job to lead a quick cross if that is what he wants. Otherwise, the cross is "slow", i.e. in time to the primary beat of the music.

Note to followers: Finally, here is a handy tip that should take care of the all-too-common situation in which a leader is almost on top of his follower, and there is no room as she is trying to cross her feet: followers, when going to the cross, make sure that your 3rd step - with your right foot - is a nice, BIG step, creating additional space to comfortably cross your feet.

For Firehouse dancers who might enjoy a day in the Big Apple on Saturdays, Fran teaches from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. every week. He offers a beginner class in Milonga & Argentine Waltz at 11:00 a.m. as well as an intermediate class in Tango at noon. From 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Fran and Pat host a special beginner/intermediate practice for bringing your skills up to speed. The cost for the practice is $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) Fran and Pat are always on hand to answer any questions you may have about your dancing, and to help you with figures you're working on. If you want to take Fran's classes, call Dance Manhattan at 212-807-0802 to register. For the practice, all you have to do is arrive with $10 and your dance shoes in hand.

See you every Saturday for a full day of Tango!

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 our cell phone 201-826-6602 (Sue) and 201-913-8504 (Joe). Feel free to leave a message on any of these lines. We cancel only when absolutely necessary (only about six seven times in all these years), 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.

Last week, Carl claimed his lost shoes and Terri her black sweater.   We have a pair of men's dance sneakers.  If you lost something, we probably have it. We have a few ladies' scarves. There are also various items of clothing and jewelry in the closet. Ask Tibor at the front desk.

The following folks helped set up, break down and clean up before and after the milonga. Without them, there would be no Firehouse Tango.

• Terri Lopez 
• Tony Mele
  
• Tsipoyra Sartan 
• Stephen Maisch 
• steve turi 
• Jesse Barton 
• Joseph and Nonna
  
• Debbie Glaser