Tangodurians

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...

2nd marathon for the year at HK - decent year of dancing so far with Dubai, Singapore and HK this year. Marathon was pretty good, still felt there were moments of real annoyance from myself in not getting certain dancers, however the ones I did end up getting were definitely memorable ones. Very unique leads in each of their own ways. Still searching for the elusive ingredient, the hows and whats of transforming my own dance so it becomes magical, grounded, reactive, enveloping and above all musical. I do feel there are certain partners that unleash that, and everyone's potion is of course varying. But paramount above all the need to have a conversation, to develop a certainty in the movement with assurance and an amount of elegance yet playfulness sprinkled in. What makes a dancer so beautiful to watch? What makes a dancer so beautiful to create movement with? These are the questions I'm seeking answers to at this point. 

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 ...

It's always interesting dropping in on beginners classes because with far more expanded vocabulary, a key understanding of what works and what wasn't and all the sufferings and experiences you've gone through in crafting the final, somewhat balanced you for now, you can see how trying to transmit this to fresh slates reflects on a teachers craft. What better way to test your own understanding then in trying to teach? A far more technical class than I have ever encountered on the fine art of presenting an intent and where to put your arms. Take all the rules, learn them. Then break them all. As long as it works :). On the Beat - Movement is required to arrive to a place, if you want to get to your right leg by the fourth beat, you already have to start the momentum moving BEFORE the fourth beat. If you are still thinking about this concept by the third beat, you're probably too late. The Compression - Send the intent forward, followers will have to respond by ex...

Made a holiday out of it this year by combining the Marathon with sightseeing. Istanbul has always had a strong Tango scene. Sometimes I wonder whether cities where "huzun" features so strongly in the DNA of a place creates such fantastic musicality. Do you really have to understand the death and decay in order to move and express yourself? Perhaps? It makes sense then that they hold their own dancing with such pride. If B.A. is the birthplace, then no doubt, Istanbul is its protege. It's fascinating watching the examples of what an advanced community looks like. The fact that there are so many schools, so many people dancing that no one quite knows everyone else makes you realise that in this community, there is no need to travel elsewhere to find new dancers. They're all here. Every night of the week. That being said, it was also highly frustrating wanting to dance but not being able to cabaceo. I really need to work on the eye contact thing and get over how ...

There's been a growing sense of discontentment that seems reinforced after 4 days of jostling around the dance floor, not getting too many dances and horrible floor craft. The more experienced people are often never seen anywhere near a large festival and I often think this is for very good reasons. If the intent is to dance then there's no where worse to do it than in a large festival because everyone will swarm to the dance floor, there's often bad gender imbalances and unfortunately the DI culture is quite strong here to the extent that it will suck if you go to a workshop where everyone has a partner already. Granted, there were sparkling moments, such as the devil may care dancing from Noelia y Carlitos, the personification of a hurricane from Sebastian y Maria Ines and the beautiful music from Solo Tango. These remind me again and again of the gems that exist in this dance and the reasons why I continue to want to perfect it. Why do you dance? I'm starting ...

Chalk up another Tango memory for the ages. Dancing. In the Rain. On Pavement. And a Speedbump. With a Crowd. The rain was the best part even though we all looked like drowned rats by the end with broken ankles and destroyed shoes, but wow. Gave life to the saying "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." Been immersing myself in the Sg scene since I'm down and I must say that it's different and much as I'm missing home, so am I missing the KL scene with my wonderful female followers and crazy banter and milongas with S. Sigh. Truly home. But it's refreshing not quite knowing anyone and being surprised in this dance again. That has been nice. That and the mamak sessions post Tango where I pay 2.6x more the price of KL and have seemingly MSG-less maggi mee goreng (NOOOO). Healthier I guess and a lot orangier for some strange reason! I like this plateau I'm on. Granted my feet still aren'...

  Mauricio y Javier The Singapore Tango Festival was magical. Absolutely magical, mainly because of the presence of Sexteto Milonguero for two of the nights. Dancing to live music is SUCH a treat and it seriously made me feel like my soul was soaring. Some amazing dances were had. I got told by a lead who I hadn't danced with in over a year that I had changed my dancing style (better I hope), and I agree with him. Very happy with how I'm dancing right now, but obviously more to improve! Taiwanese guy made me so so happy by saying that I danced really really well =P. Self promotion I know, but it was a very smooth dance and there was a particular move that fit the music so well and with so much precision that even I was surprised. The final saturday at UP from 4-7am took the cake though. Beautiful environment, soaring ceiling, springy wood floor, gorgeous and friendly hosts. One not to be repeated unfortunately since UP is shutting and they're moving countries. ...

Ruben y Sabrina -Separate the body into three parts, shoulder, hip and leg -Elasticated points at the hips to the knees and knees to the feet. Be grounded, use the floor, if you are too light overall then you are floating like a butterfly, as a result the guy has no clue where you are. Lightness in the sense comes from the top half and not the legs -Think of yourself as dancing in a cylinder, always circular, always containing the energy, dance along the wall in this sense Martin y Maurizio -To balance yourself within the giro, keep the structure of your top half, collect your ribs inward, like a corset sucking in -When following the chest lead in the motion, think of it as your right rib cage always seeking theirs (when rotating to the left) -Moving back into the sacada, foot should be placed big toe first, rather than little toe Virginia Pandolfi -When preparing for the embrace, hips should be above the heel and your chest above your toes -The bend in the back ...

First Asian trip for a festival! I guess May Madness in Ann Arbor counts as an international trip, but that was done in conjunction with a lot more goals in mind than just Tango. Super excited anyway! Shanghai last year looked amazing what with the venue and Sexteto Milonguero live! I am upset that this year doesn't seem to have such stunning venues and live music, however what makes it better is that Martin y Maurizio will be there and so will Ariadna y Fernando! Crazy that its been two years since lessons with them. Strong contingent of 10 going. Not confident about this gender balance though, but I'm sure it'll work itself out.