Tangodurians

Off the back of a weekend that required me to leave work early and sleep cray hours to finally get back into a semi-human mode of work and sleep. Thoughts? When I first started tango, I jumped straight into a Fire & Ice festival in Ann Arbor January of 2010. That was my first taste of a tango festival which was relatively social and a good scene in hindsight. Coming back to Malaysia I've participated in the KL Festival every single year, Singapore festival twice, Taiwan festival once (24 hour on a whim - fuck it all flight), Shanghai festival once. Other than that the flavour of the day nowadays is definitely geared more toward marathons/encuentros, and for a good reason. Festivals in this part of the world are seriously so tipped toward a certain "type" that it is far more worth my money and sanity to go for the social dancing rather than the festival format. Granted, lessons were good, always learning, picking up new things. Competition was, so-so for me, was...

It's been eons since I've written anything about Tango, even though it has now become so ingrained in my life and travels. Tango at this point to me is being used as an outlet. It's my yoga, it's my meditation. It's me traversing the world in 12 minutes, in receiving and transmitting, of letting my body become the channel through which the music flows through, of expression. Tango to me is at this stage, everything that I want it to be. Of course there's plenty of things to work on, but there comes a point where you are balanced in yourself and your awareness of this dance that allows you to express your truest "self". It opens different facets of yourself to you and I continue to hone how I communicate. It is true that only certain people "get it", or "stick with it" and more or less these are the people that end up being people I get along with. It's a bit of a screener for me too in terms of figuring out who I actually w...

Tango often gives conflicting messages – go left but lean right, be strong and yet soft, be present and yet follow, give and yet yield. No wonder half the time it’s such a mess to sort out when you first start. And yet, what draws you to the dance is the first steps you take, hands stretched out in front of you with the other clueless beginner. Just, moving and trying not to step on the others feet. That is the Tango you first encounter and it is neither technically, nor visually appealing. But what draws you to it is the mode of communication. The ability to say everything without words, the ability to deliver an idea with the body rather than talking or thinking of something. That is what drops us into the whirlpool of time, effort, frustrations and elations that is yet to come…if you stick with Tango. See, Tango picks its characters, its lovers, its haters, its obsessives and its preachers. It’s entirely a love hate relationship, whether you never want to dance it because ...

Tango communities tend to pop up in a fashion that is rather ad-hoc. In areas where there are dedicated teachers, it'll be in a space as a business, as someones livelihood and dealing with the mundane of rental - overheads and operating cost. In Malaysia for the longest time, Tango was like the pop-up that happened anywhere and everywhere, from Changkat to Bangsar, from restaurants to houses. Even now, this is quite the essence of it, Fame studio is currently the only true dedicated space to Tango and growing it as a hub will be the challenge we will face in the coming year(s). What is it that makes Tango such an underground scene? The awareness of it is minimal if you take the average Malaysian off the street, and yet with such little following, you will see us going to milongas on a regular basis, looping in the temporary or long-term visitor into the scene and making them a part of its core. My first memory of Tango in Malaysia will inexplicably be linked to Tuesday night...

Tango often feels like a loop, as though you keep revisiting things over and over and over again, except continually through a new lens, through new insights, through new understandings. It's like having the tools to pass a level at a rudimentary level at the first go, then once you've covered the breadth of the landscape, going over the level again, this time with a deeper level of sophistication, ever shaping and shaping and crafting and toying with new ideas and refining that skill on the pottery wheel. Is something ever shiny enough? Probably not, it's a continuous and continual process.  An area I would want to explore is the concept of a conversation. Dance is a conversation, we have good conversations, bad conversations, moments of silence and moments where you can't get the words out of your head or mouth fast enough. With each partner you see this range of what is being said, sometimes we even dabble in other languages, if you're at that level.  ...

Headed to Paris over the course of the new years for the Tango Marathon. Was interesting, small-ish marathon, not the nicest venue and limited number of dancers, but was quite impressed by the quality in general. By the last night left foot so out of whack that really wasn't enjoying dancing anymore, but that's quite normal! That being said, I would have rated this one a B+. Atmosphere was ok, could have been nicer, dancers were a mixed bag too, music was all round good.  Other than that was nice travelling with the Tango girls, gossiping, eating, sightseeing, The funny thing is, once coming back, a regular dancer exclaimed - from the first embrace-, "is this how they embrace in Europe?" Turns out that I had become far more comfortable with the close embrace than I had realised, and it probably boils down to more "rolling" which was something taught by T.C. sometime mid this year. That is to say you're always seeking for the chest, even in ...

Some performance really make their mark - Noelia y Carlitos - Una Vez; Chicho y Juana - Milonga del Ayer; Mariaangeles y Tombari - Invierno I've always been someone who hooks onto a song because of a particular phrase or particular enunciation of the melody. Recently this one caught my eye because of the pauses. That sheen of sweat on the back of her neck, his momentary eyes shut moment. Perfectly timed, perfectly expressed without movement. Top 5. For sure, and the next maestra I would love to learn from. There's something about Italian men and French women combinations. Explosive!