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Digest from 13 Jun 1999
to 14 Jun 1999
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Subject: TANGO-L Digest - 13 Jun 1999 to 14 Jun 1999
There are 8 messages totalling 411 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Fabian Salas & the New Tango (2)
2. where to dance AT in Argentina? (2)
3. Michael Ditkoff Subject: Tango in Washington
4. question for DJs!
5. Radio Tango Player
6. DJ's & Re-recorded Music
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 00:15:39 +0000
From: Larry Carroll <larrydla @JUNO.COM>
Subject: Fabian Salas & the New Tango
Fabian Salas is in Los Angeles for a week, thanks to Mark Celaya & Joan
Yarfitz. They arranged his visit, got studio space, are publicizing his
classes & are helping schedule private lessons. Cherie Magnus also
deserves thanks for giving him a place to stay & driving him when needed.
Salas along with Gustavo Naveira & Pablo Veron are behind what they call
the New Tango. What is this? Here's my view. I'd love to hear others.
First, it's not something else labeled "tango." It looks & feels like the
tango that most of us saw & fell in love with. True, there are
differences from the styles of other major tango personalities. But tango
is a very individualistic dance, which is one of the reasons why I love
it. Dancers are freer to express themselves because there's no official
rulebook, no tango dictator, no tango police.
So to some extent the label is an advertising tool - old wine with a new
label. Most of us want to know what's at the leading edge, many of us
want to be fashionable.
But it's more than that. It's an attempt to deconstruct the way we view
tango - to strip our ideas of the superfluous, break them down to their
most essential elements, & create them anew. Instead of learning
hundreds or thousands of step patterns, we only need to learn a very few
very simple ones & a few simple ways to vary & combine them. Then we can
create our own "steps," moment to moment, instantaneously, in tune to
the music & our partner & our mood of the moment & the ever-changing
flow of the crowd.
This sounds like it's useful only to leaders, to (mostly) men. But the
New Tango is also liberating for followers. Here's an example, although
it may not be easy to understand put in words rather than shown.
As s/he brings her feet together after taking any step she nears what
some people call the "Neutral" position, & I call the "Ready" position.
For a tiny fraction of a second, more imagined than real, she waits for
the lead. When it comes, (being human) she has only one foot free. With
it she can only go forward, backward, or to the side. If the lead is to
the right side (if she has her right foot free) she can only step
straight right. If it's to the left she can either step right foot
across in front or right foot across in back. Five choices, & only five,
& the kind of choices she already has decades of practice making in an
instant. It takes practice to choose correctly in a dance setting, but
not that much.
Further, she has a cue from the leader to help her to decide whether to
cross behind or front. If he turns his upper body to the left, she turns
left & automatically crosses in front; if they turn right she crosses
behind.
At the next step she has the same choice. She also has a hint (aside
from the turning of the leader's body) whether to cross front or behind.
If she has just done part of an ocho she'll be predisposed to cross a
certain way. Or she may have just done a conventional Grapevine (or
Chain) pattern. This pattern is: step to the side, then step across
behind, then to the side, then step across in front - in other words,
alternating cross-behinds with cross-fronts. The Grapevine can be done
straight or in a curve around the man, him being like the hub of a wheel
& she the rim. This, of course, is the Molinete (Wheel). Or the Molinete
can be done with her acting as the hub & him the rim.
(Incidentally, the conventional Grapevine & the Molinete made from it
are not the only way to do Grapevines/Molinetes. In other dances they
are sometimes done side, front, side, front or side, behind, side,
behind. In tango Sebastian Misse & his brother Gabriel do this
Grapevine/Molinete variation & make it work well.)
Stated in words, of course, it's hard to understand these principals &
how they are used. Shown, & explained, & done in the exercises that
Fabian suggests, it quickly becomes evident how powerful, & liberating,
is the simplicity of the New Tango.
So, is the old wine of tango really in a new bottle? Perhaps, but it's
not that new, nor is there only one "new" school. A few years ago at
Stanford Tango Week Daniel Trenner was espousing similar principals, &
even similar techniques. I've done the same in my online tango book.
There are probably others as well which I haven't heard about. Details
vary, or the same principal may be expressed differently. But the
bottom line is much the same, because ultimately the reality of moving
& dancing is the same.
Also, Salas & Company haven't forsaken all of the "old" principals.
They still teach that the lead is mostly in the upper body, for
instance, that a man leads by positioning his body so that a woman is
moved easily & naturally, almost as if by a horizontal gravity-like
force.
But ultimately these "new bottles" signal a movement away from
viewing tango as a difficult, mysterious dance. Instead, learning
tango is becoming more an easy process that starts simply & develops
complexity naturally, freeing us to put more attention to the music
& our partners.
Larry de Los Angeles
http://home.att.net/~larrydla
PS. I see that I haven't talked at all about Fabian. So: In person
he's attractive & has a ready smile. His English is better than that
of most native English speakers. He uses English colloquialisms
naturally & has a slight accent that one quickly stops noticing.
He's funny, organized, but able to adapt to circumstances. He won't
allow students to talk while he's talking, is firm about that but in
a nice way. (I appreciate this; I hate to have my attention to a
teacher spoiled by other students). In class he's not afraid to
explain fully, but mixes this with frequent exercises. He helps
students during exercises. When demonstrating something he uses many
of the women students, those that seem comfortable with that. At
milongas he dances with many women, talks to people, seems to have a
great time. At Mark & Joan's Friday night milonga he performed with
two local dancers, neither of whom he'd danced with before, giving a
good show that fit the music & the abilities of his partners, all
improvised.
Detailed LA schedule of Fabian Salas:
http://home.att.net/~mark-joan-tango/fabian_salas.htm
___________________________________________________________________
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Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 08:59:20 -0700
From: Phil Seyer <Phil_Seyer @ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
Subject: Re: where to dance AT in Argentina?
Please recommend some places to go dancing in Argentina
(AT of course)
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 09:07:13 -0700
From: Phil Seyer <Phil_Seyer @ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
Subject: Re: Fabian Salas & the New Tango
Does anyone know where to do Argentine tango in Spokane WA (USA)?
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Record all your dance steps in MagicBrain. Write to
MagicBrain @SendFree.com -- or see http://www.ilovemusic.com/shareware.htm
and http://www.visual-prolog.com/
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 12:29:38 -0400
From: Christina Burtis <Cburtis @IFC.ORG>
Subject: Re: Michael Ditkoff Subject: Tango in Washington
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Hello Everyone,
The attached entry is misleading.....
Is true, the hotline has the most very current info of Arg. Tango in th=
e greater
Washington DC.-VA & MD area.
202 546-2228 x36
Web sites are the second best source.
The Capital Tangueros: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4=
119/
Baltimore-DC: http://www.geuni.com/baltimore_washington_tango/
Now for "constant locations" milongas, the weekly staple of the communi=
ty is
Diversity on EVERY Monday night. It has been since our community start=
ed up 3-5
years(?) ago. Its neutral, i.e. no tango personality runs it. Most ev=
eryone
shows up there. It has that sort of strange cabaret feeling of what th=
e tango
bars must of felt like long ago. You can also do dinner or drinks if y=
ou just
want to check out the tango scene. It can be showy but its also an exc=
ellent
place to go and work on your tango. Its got to be because only the har=
d core
can be dragged out on a Monday evening for this sort of thing. The Tan=
guero
that initially got me to go was always saying, "you just HAVE to go....=
its where
the truly dedicated go to sharpen their knives...." (he was speaking o=
f skill).
Also, there is Leon Harris's tangos on EVERY Tues. and Thurs.
And there is the Levison's DuShore tango EVERY Wednesday (also a good p=
lace to
work on tango technique).
I know the pretty Tanguera who recently started the Pines of Florence S=
unday
tango. Though I have yet to go, I know that she is a wonderful and del=
ightful
instructor who has worked with many well-known tango personalities in t=
he U.S.
and abroad. Its probably very good and she's definitely worth checking=
out.
We have a super community and gobs of other tangos that are once every =
two weeks
or once a month. Check out the hotline and the websites. Its not hard=
. If you
have questions, the people on the sites are friendly and will be glad t=
o answer
your inquires. The Old Stone House tango is also worth mentioning, but=
difficult to get to without a car.
"Readily accessible" Metro access, I believe, is available for our Mary=
land
tangos in Bethesda (DuShore studio) Bethesda Metro Stop; Chevy Chase (=
Chevy
Chase Ballroom) Friendship Heights Metro Stop .
fantastic tangos to all,
G.H.
"golden hair" (...a tanguero's kids gave me this nickname......)
:)
Diversity Milonga
- Monday 7:30 pm-midnight, $10.
- Diversit=E9 Club, 1526 14th Street NW.
- 7:30-8:30 intermediate tango lesson $5.
- 8:30-9:30 free beginner lesson.
- Lessons by Leon and Ruth.
- For more information, call 202-234-574
=
>Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 10:09:00 -0400
From: Michael Ditkoff <Michael.B.Ditkoff @USDOJ.GOV>
Subject: Tango in Washington
=
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James Rohman wanted to know where to tango in Washington, DC.
I don't know if he is familiar with Washington so giving a lot
of street addresses might be useless.
I'll start by giving you the Capital Tangueros telephone hot
line: (202) 546-2228 x36
I forget their web page, but go to Net Search on the Internet.
The magic words are "Tango in Washington, DC." The search
engine will locate the web page.
The only constant location is the Pines of Florence
restaurant, 7151 Lee Highway in Falls Church, VA. EVERY
Sunday, lesson from 6-6:30 and milonga until 10:30.
Other locations are based on 2nd and last Friday (Silver
Spring, MD); 3rd Saturday (Kensington, MD), 2nd and 4th
Saturdays (Washington, DC). You need to have a calendar to
figure it out.
If you have a car, access isn't a problem. If you don't have a
car, only the milonga in Washington, DC is readily accessible.
Good luck!
--0__=v1mVnewd2E5lKEHh8XDhkYiHIclIIhTIpweRGy0yrNcv56Ck17zaigpt--
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 14:07:11 -0700
From: Manuel Patino <manuelp @MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject: Re: where to dance AT in Argentina?
Phil,
There must be dozens of clubs. La Estrella (Fridays 23:00),
and La Viruta (Wed 22:30, Sat 23:30) are at Armenia 1366.
They also have classes there earlier in the evening. Gricel
at La Rioja 1180 Fri, Sat 22:30 and Sun 20:00. Almagro Tue,
Fri, Sat, Sun Medrano 522.
There many, many more. After you go to one of them try to
pick up a copy of "B.A. Tango" or "Tangauta". Those are
magazines that publish all types of info about tango,
Milongas, teachers, events, etc. The above are just a couple
of places to start. There are many other salons like Salon
Agusteo, Region Leonesa and others around downtown where
many milongas are held through the week. Good luck in your
trip. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. I cannot wait for my
next rtip to Bs As.
Regards,
Manuel
Original Message -----
From: Phil Seyer <Phil_Seyer @ILOVEMUSIC.COM>
To: <TANGO-L @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 1999 8:59 AM
Subject: Re: where to dance AT in Argentina?
> Please recommend some places to go dancing in Argentina
> (AT of course)
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 19:50:47 +0200
From: "Gabriella C. Marino" <gcmarino @IOL.IT>
Subject: question for DJs!
A few months ago we had a discussion about preparing minidiscs or tapes with
tandas when DJing at a milonga in order to be able to put the minidisc or
tape on and just let it play and be able to dance too.
I have recently bought a CD-writer and wanted to make CD compilations to use
at our local milonga but my friend who is the DJ there says he can only play
original CDs, not pirate compilations, even though he owns the original CDs
that make up the compilations, because someone from the copyright office
might come by and fine him if he finds us playing pirate CD or tapes.
Any suggestions? Don't you have the same copyright laws in the US?
Just curious,
Gabriella
Parma, Italy
BTW, you're all invited to our new Outdoor Summer Milonga at "Circolo
Quaresima", Codemondo, Reggio Emilia, Italy, every Friday from 10 p.m. to
1,30 a.m.
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 23:18:23 -0600
From: Robin Young <rdcuer @MICRON.NET>
Subject: Radio Tango Player
Hola !
My techno wizzard, Tango partner, Bob found an MP3
Player/Encoder/Decoder that seems to be more powerful than WinAmp. It is
called 'MusicMatch' and can be found at: <http://www.Musicmatch.com> It
is also free and easy to use. And eliminates the glitches. Robin
--
IdahoWebSite http://netnow.micron.net/~ryoung
"People don't stop dancing because they get too old;
People get too old because they stop dancing." ANON
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 23:30:39 -0600
From: Robin Young <rdcuer @MICRON.NET>
Subject: DJ's & Re-recorded Music
Hola !
The copyright laws differ from country to country. And there are many
kinds of liscenses for playing music in public places. We are
liscensed twice as a Round Dance Teaching Unit and a Square Dance
Caller to play music that we have re-recorded on a mini-disc only for
our Club Dances and Lessons, provided we own the original recording.
ASCAP and BMI contracts with our international associations: RoundaLab
and CallerLab to collect fees annually along with our membership dues.
Presently, for about 50 dances per year, we pay about $150 for each.
Fines for not holding a current liscense can be in the thousands of
dollars. So your DJ friends may not be willing to play your home-made
musical recordings for good reason. You may play them in your car and in
your home, but probably not at a public
dance. Robin
--
IdahoWebSite http://netnow.micron.net/~ryoung
"People don't stop dancing because they get too old;
People get too old because they stop dancing." ANON
End of TANGO-L Digest - 13 Jun 1999 to 14 Jun 1999
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