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Modern Tango World: Autumn, 2015 — Neolonga Syndicate, Via Maestra Riva 124, Riva da Pinerola, Italy
M o d e r n Ta n g o W o r l d Caribbean Special Edition Editor
Percell St. Thomass Table of Contents Caribbean Special Features Tango in the Crystal Isles Percell St. Thomas & Raymond Lauzzana ...... 03 Tango Cubano Maria Roumpalou .................................................................. 08 Tango on the Costa Caribe Raymond Lauzzana ...................................... 12 Cruising the Caribe Percell St. Thomass..................................................... 14 G u i d e to Ta n g o i n t h e C a r i b b e a n ............................................................ 18
Cuba’s Special Painter Pedro Álvarez Castelló ................................... 24 Interview with Martin Delgado Marco Buso ..................................... 28 Top Ten Ways to Get Asked to Dance Karen Kaye................................. 32 100 Years of Recorded Tango Raymond Lauzzana ............................ 34 New Tango Music Arndt Büssing ............................................................... 38 Tango Moves: Promenades (Paseos) Raymond Lauzzana ................ 42 Letters to the Editor ....................................................................................... 46
We are always looking for tango news and stories from around the international tango community. If you would like to join us, send us your stories and news from your tango group. We welcome your participation in this exciting adventure. —3—
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Tango on the Crystal Isles
Percell St. Thomas & Raymond Lauzzana Tango has been alive for many years in the Caribbean, although not always well. The islands have rather small populations.You can find enthusiastic tangueras and milongueros if you look for them. Tango, though enjoying an ever-growing audience of enthusiasts and aficionados, is still very sparsely situated throughout the Caribbean. Small and isolated groups such as the Puerto Rico Tango Marathon, Tango Milonga in Santo Domingo, Tango en Cancun, Tango St Lucia, and Club de Tango Flores in Trinidad, are doing what they can to help foster the dance. Visiting artists help as well. Winter and Spring bring notable dancers, such as Emilie & Pablo Tegli, Martinique and Ricardo Luis Gallo & Carla Maria, Dominican Republic. As long as there are dancers ready to dance and cruise ships ready to sail, the tango will grow, live, and prosper in this Crystal Paradise. On the islands of Aruba and Curacao can be found a group lnown as Tango in Paradise founded by Mady & Rafael Oliana. You can hear tango emerging from the trees, the breezes, the sun, and the beaches of these two beautiful, Caribbean islands. This is a small but growing group of tango enthusiasts who are dedicated to cultivating the dance here.
In Barbados. an island off to the southeast corner of the Caribbean, the Argentine Tango Dancers of Barbados are a group of tango enthusiasts residing in Barbados The group includes Maj-Britt Waagenes, Randy Payne, Rosemarie Layne and Lalu Hanuman. They meet irregularly at the BooGaLoo Recreation Studio in Bridgetown.
This group of tango dancers are intent on spreading the art of the porteños of Buenos Aires throughout the Caribbean. With regular weekly classes, milongas and outdoor artistic events, the tango is building a presence here. They continue to bring reality to the dream of dancing the tango in the idyllic Caribbean islands, Tango in Paradise includes evenings of tango with orchesta tipicas from Argentina, a presentation of the International Argentine filmmaker Daniel Mitre, and a performances by the prestigious choreographer and expert tanguera, Susana Red. Each night ends with enjoyable, traditional milongas. In the Fall, they hold the Petit Tango Different Festival. Mady and Rafa headline the event. Their hope is to continue promoting and spreading tango on the islands.
Cuba is home to Casa del Tango, a popular tango venue in Havana. Owners Wilki and Adelaida have turned their home into one of the more distinctive and eccentric venues in Havana, offering dance classes in tango, along with a floor show and dancing. The main room is a shrine to the dance, packed with old posters, sheet music and other memorabilia.
The Bahamas are not quite in the Caribbean.They are in the Atlantic, north of Cuba, east of Florida. But, there is a small native tango community there. They hold milongas with free classes on Friday nights through the Summer at Sunny Side Restaurant in Nassau.
Everyone agrees that tango arrived in Havana in 1920 when Argentinean tenor José Muñoz, member of an opera and zarzuela company, sang three tangos to save the day when the show seemed doomed to failure. Perhaps because it was influenced by the Cuban habanera, tango has been a favorite in the island, reinforced by old movies still shown on TV of famous Argentine movie stars and singers Carlos Gardel and Libertad Lamarque, radio shows dedicated to this genre.The perseverance of Cuban musicians and singers, including Berta Pernas, Santiago Marrero, pianist Rey Díaz Calvet and young trovadora Liuba María Hevia.
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The Casa del Tango, which developed spontaneously and has no link to any Cuban state institution, has for decades preserved recordings, posters, documents, photographs, sheet music, and other memorabilia, all related to this music genre. Every Monday evening, from 5 to 7 pm, tango devotees attired in scarves and fedora hats in pure Buenos Aires style of the 1940s, defy the torrid Cuban climate to attend this legendary music venue.
In Grenada, Tango Grenada holds regular latin dancing classes at the Dodgy Dock bar and restaurant, Classes include salsa, bachata and tango at the True Blue Bay Resort. Thursday is tango night. Jamaica is the home of raggae and reggaeton. It is also home of Tango Jamaica .Currently, there are no tango instructors living in Jamaica. But, on occasion, some instructors do visit. Cruise ships make port in Ocho Rios, bringing with them tangueros and instructors. When that happens, this small tango community organizes milongas and classes with their visitors. These events are often held at the New Kingston Conference Center.
In Curaçao, Gilles Vicrobeck & Rafael Oliana hold bi-weekly open air milongas on Sundays in the Brionplein Otrabanda in Willemstad. Also in Curaçao, Mundo Bizarro Restaurant in Willemstad hosts irregularly scheduled milongas called Tango Bizarro. The Teatro Luna Blou is a venue that hosts tango performances. TuTu Tango is a bar restaurant that hosts latin music dancing, mostly salsa, but one=ce in a while tango. The Curuçao tango community may be small. But, it is dedicated and growing. In the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Milkeya Melo hosts an irregularly scheduled Monday evening milonga. She is the only tango teacher in their small community, and do not have regular milongas. But, they do hold practicas after their dance sessions. The classes and practice is every Thursday at the Syrian-Lebanese-Palestinian Club from 7:00pm to 9:00pm in Santo Domingo. They are a tango community of about thirty persons. Milongas are held every two or three months. They also organize special milongas when a maestro or maestra comes to visit. —6—
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In Martinique, the Vaya con Tango Exole de Dance in Saint-Pierre offers tango dance classes with José DésiréFaula. He has trained with Argentine maestros Hernan Villegas, Gaston Torelli, Raul Bravo and Olga Uralde, as wellas the French masters Gerome Lefevre and Dominique Lescarret. He is convinced that the tango will lose its richness if it is limited to a single style,. He teaches three main styles — traditional tango, tango salon and tango nuevo. Tango soirée are sometimes held at the Ô Tango Bar in Saint-Pierre, Martinique. They are organized by the Association TangoFelino which holds practicas in Fort de France on Thursdays. Their school has a full range of classes, and is located in Le Lamentin. In January, they hold a festival called Madin’ Tango. In Puerto Rico, Rut Riv organizes a regular Wednesday milonga, called Milonga Realenga. It is held on the Condado at El Barril Bar. Rut also organized the October Puerto Rico Tango Festival for five years. However, the 2015 festival was the last. There may be another someday. But, none is planned now. In October, they host the Puerto Rican Tango Festival. It began in 2010, when Juan Rosa and Rut Riv traveled to the Istanbul Tango Festival, while Carlos Riverea Burgos and his wife traveled to Miami Tango Festival. They all wanted to do something similar in Puerto Rico. Then, they met Emily Ortiz who was teaching workshops in Puerto Rico at that time. She was thinking the same thing. They started dreaming about the possibility to do it; and in 2011, they did! When they started the festival, hey were focused about the Puerto Rico tango community. The goal was to recreate the experience for the local community of what they had experienced at other tango festivals. They wanted to inspire the community. They wanted to give them the feeling of being transported to another place without leaving the island. At the same time, they wanted to let the world know that on this little island there is a group of committed tangueros.
The festival has contributed a lot to put Puerto Rico in the tango map. Throughout all the years, they have received plenty of emails asking them about tango in Puerto Rico. Most people are surprised to find how vibrant the tango community here is, The festival has done a lot to maintain that sense of community. Puerto Rico are part of the USA. But it is also a Caribbean island. US citisens can travel to the island without a passport. When people get to the festival, they can expand their horizons, have a cultural infusion. experiencing the Puerto Rican culture, music and food. This is not your usual tango festival. The Puerto Rico Tango Festival mixes tango and culture in a friendly atmosphere. All of the venues are historical places, like old barracks and castles in the magical city of Old San Juan. There are free salsa workshops for the participants and a beach milonga. They dance in magical venues, filled with history. San Juan is a beautiful setting - the sun, the ocean, the antique and the new....
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Participants in the festival includes tangueros from Canada, Switzerland, United States, Spain, Martinique, Tortola, Aruba and Dominican Republic among others. The majority of the milongas will be at the Hotel Condado Plaza, located right by the beach and only 5 minutes away from Old San Juan. There are daily milongas by the beach and by the pool., with live music from the famous bands, like Otros Aires and over five international DJs. People get to dance both alternative and traditional tango in a relaxed environment in the beautiful place. In February, the Puerto Rico Tango Marathon holds daily milongas on the beautiful San Juan Isla Verde beach. This great event is known for its laid-back and easy-going island feeling, warm receptions, and entertaining activities. It is promoted as a relaxing Caribbean vacation where dancers from all over North America and Europe meet. But, the atmosphere is one of serious dancing and sharing passions for tango. The Puerto Rico Tango Marathon is five days of wondrous opportunities for tango aficionados to watch others, learn new moves and improve old ones, and to simply dance, all day and all night. Tia Maria Helfeld is the organizer of this event. She organizes local milongas and practicas, teaches at Y Entonces dance school, passing on her enthusiasm to build a more active tango community. Three years ago, she started organizing Puerto Rico Tango Marathon because she wanted all of the wonderful dancers and friends to come visit Puerto Rico.
She wanted to share with them the magic of dancing on the beaches of this beautiful Island. She also wanted to give the Puerto Rican community the possibility of experiencing a tango marathon, and to have the opportunity to connect, to share abrazos, tandas with dancers from around the world, making lots of new friends and to reunite with old ones in an awesome party. Afternoon beach milongas, followed by all-night indoor milongas. The weather is usually absolutely beautiful, and the tango energy is spectacular every day. There are yoga classes in the morning followed by a delicious brunch, with dance performances.The weekend, ends with a sail on an epic after-party boat trip! For a short while in 2015, Luis Pena and Christin Neisler taught tango at the Harmony Suites Resort in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia. They left behind an enthusiastic group of dancers looking for instructors. Saint Lucia lies between Martinique, Barbados and Saint Vincent. Throughout these crystal islands, tango has lived for many years. It has a rich history of mixing with those special Caribbean rhythms.
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Tango Cubano Maria Roumpalou Tango is not widespread in Cuba. But it is still alive! It is mainly found in Havana and in Santiango de Cuba. On this Caribbean island where music and dance have always been a creative expression of the heart and soul of its people and their culture, whether happy or tortured. It was back to the early decades of the twentieth century that the beautiful and fascinating music of tango reached Havana from Buenos Aires and gained significant popular acceptance. The peak of its popularity was in the 1940s. The remarkable and sustained growth of the tango culture in this socialist island has a lot to do with the steady stream of Argentine artists and extensive tours to this Caribbean country. However, it needs to be stated, that, although enjoying popularity around the world, Tango has Cuban roots! The Tango was derived from the traditional Cuban dance called the Habanera and even though many people associate the tango with Argentina, many Cubans claim it to be theirs. Habanera rhythm and a couple of closely related variations are the quintessential tango syncopations. The habanera rhythm is central in tango music. In some version, it is used to create the pulse of the music, or as syncopated rhythmic accents in the accompaniment or melody. It can be found in all tango forms, tango, milonga and vals.
In Argentina, candombe, canyengue, milonga still exhibit their black roots — up-beat, lively and joyous. The tango took a turn about a century ago and became whitewashed. The more staid and less life-positive tango survived. In the warmer island atmosphere where tango was introduced at the 20s, it eventually fizzled out, while the habanera rhythms lived on. After 1959, a few artists still performed in scenarios on the island or on the radio or in theatres, among them were Maizani Azucena, Tita Merello, Alberto Castillo, Hugo del Arril, Libertad Lamarque, Rosita Quiroga, Eladia Blazquez, Susana Rinaldi, Enrique Santos Discepolo, Astor Piazzolla, Angel Vargas, Osvaldo Pugliese, Horacio Ferrer and others/ They incorporated nott only Cuban rhythms, as well as other foreign genres that had more acceptance and sympathy than the tango. During its peak, many Argentine musicians settled in Havana and spread the tango trend, promoting the formation of many groups — Conjunto Rio de la Plata, Los Romanticos Gauchos, Orquesta del Rey Diaz Calvet, Trio Landa-Llerena-Tabranes, Duo Los Camperos and the orchestras of several radio stations — Mil Diez, Radio Havana Cuba Cadena Azul.
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Without a doubt, the participation of the media immensely contributed to tango’s popularity. Cinema and radio were the greatest drivers of the tango activity in Cuba. The almost mythical Argentine cinema of the 40s and 50s, with its sumptuous décor, and splendid blond artists like Zully Moreno moved to admiration and imitation. A musical films proliferated in the small cinemas of the barrios of Havana. The films of Carlos Gardel, , Hugo del Carril, Luis Sandrini and many others were financial successes.
However, currently tango has no regular schedule of lessons and no music playing most of the times. It seems that lessons and performances depend on tailor-made tourist demand.
Another place where the tango reigned was the Neotango Pena Tanguera with its familiar atmosphere. In the 80s had mushroomed into one of the most popular clus in Cuba. However, tango remained unusual in Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Santa Clara and other more traditional parts of the island. In March 1984, Casa de las Americas organized the Festival Ayer y Hoy del Tango, the biggest event dedicated to tango on a worldwide scale. Some of the biggest Argentine names gathered and performed in Havana. Citing a few of the performers, gives an idea of the significance of the show: Osvaldo Pugliese and his orchestra, Eladia Blazquez and her musical group, Nelly Vazquez, Sebastian Piana and his musical group, and other.s The Cuban branch of the Academy of Tango Argentina was inaugurated in December 1994, in the presence of the Argentine maestro Horacio Ferrer and Dr. Bernabe Ordaz, director of the Psychiatric Hospital and tango lover. They invited a group of musicians to the opening of the Cuban subsidiary, including Astor Piazzolla who premiered his Freudian suite. In recent years, there are many tango-themed events at the Centro Cultural Rosalia de Castro, National Theatre, Theatre Lazaro Pena, Sociedad Cultural Rosalia de Castro, Museo de la Musica, Asociation National Promotora del Tango, Theatre America, Caseron del Tango, Ballet de la Television Cubana and Teatro Mella.
In Havana Vieja, Old Havana, just off the Plaza de Armas, the Caseron del Tango is a welcoming place to enjoy shows, take dance classes, meet people and relax. It has tango mlongas, featuring amateur performances aiming for cultural promotions on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday featuring tango all-stars Emilio Alvarez, Katy Angel and Jorge del Cambo. There are also afternoon tango classes on Thursday and Saturday.
The Casa del Tango in Havana is another important institution and legendary tango venue. It preserved thousands of treasures and memorabilia from almost of a hundred years of tango history in the city. They promise to hold weekly performances on Monday night, tango dance classes with a practica afterwards. They share the space with salsa and rumba.
In Centro Habana and Cerro, there is another Caseron del Tango with a live tango music. It is a cultural centre dedicated to tango music and dance, hosts tango mlongas on Monday. It is home to a mass collection of tango records, tapes, trophies and other memorabilia. Also in the Centro, Union Arabe de Cuba hosts occasional milongas.
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La Academia del Tango of Agustin Garcia offers well organised, regular tango classes, practicas, milongas and, whenever possible, hosts professional dancers and instructors from Buenos Aires who are visiting for performing and teaching. There are several other smaller organizations that hold regylat milongas.
It is the only milonga that can be extended until the very early morning hours but the space is small. El Ojo de Ciclon is very most important. It is the glue that holds tango in Havana because it is always at the disposal of the milongueros. Tango classes are taught here three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The Milonguita is organized by Emma Barreras with the support of the embassy of the Republic of Argentina in Cuba. It holds a milonga on the first and third Friday of each month in the Jerusalem Room of the La Union Arabe on the Paseo del Prado in Old Havana, near the Hotel Sevilla. There is an hour of free class, before the milonga.. During the evening, it is customary to take a pause and enjoy a guest singer or a tango performance.
When speaking about tango in Havana, there is worth mentioning La Compagnia Neotango, a professional group organized in February 2007. It is composed of eight dancers and one singer and claims to be the oldest tango group in the city. The company is under the general direction of professor Rosa Elena Alvarez Fernandez, the artistic direction of her daughter Carolina Balmaseda and theatrical advice of her husband, the renowned actor Mario Balmaseda. It is mainly a group formed by well-trained young Cuban dancers and teachers. They are mostly performers but they could provide private, tailor-made t Plaza de Armas utoring.
Milonga La Annunciata, organized by Saul Seijo and Olivia San Roman. With the support of the Jesuit Fathers, it is held on the first Saturday of each month at the Pedro Arrupe Theater of the parish of the Corazon de Jesus y San Ignacio de Loyola. The Theater is located at the bottom of the La Inglesia de Reina, with an entrance on La Annuncita. Milonga La Racha is organized by Leo D’Lazaro, an important plastic artist in Cuba. The milonga takes place once a month, the fourth Saturday, in El Ojo de Ciclon, his own gallery-studio located in Old Havana
While they maintain the tango tradition and defend gaucho dance presence in Cuba, they also try to modernize it through merger with various other types of dance, such as: habanera, son, bolero, popular Cuban rhythms, jazz, flamenco, classical ballet, contemporary dance as well as theatre, with tango rhythm as predominant in song and dance. In 2014 they staged their more recent presentation at the Mella Theatre. In December 2008, La Compagnia Neotango was invited to participate in the Cambalache Festival, one of the most important in Buenos Aires, where they presented the performance Life is a Dream. The following year they produced their Barrio Tango Show, the first of its kind in the Cuban theatre. Since then, there have been others like Tanguendo, Miradas, Todo Tango that have followed in their path. Their milongas are held in the Paseo del Prado every Sunday. They meet in the park to dance tango, and local people and, foreign visitors often go by and start dancing!
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Outside Havana, the Festival del Tango de Gibara, Holguin\ is the most important international tango event in Cuba. Under the presidency of Elisa Hernandez, it has attracted a wide range of Argentine tango dancers as well as local performers. During the festival, there are tango classes available from both Argentine teachers and their hosts, practicas, demonstrations, tangothemed performances. Santiago de Cuba, the second city of Cuba is the undisputed home of traditional Cuban music and dance, Circulo Amigos del Tango Argentino Ledesma is the oldest and most well established tango club in the city with regular classes, practicas and seminaries. Founded in 1984 by Don Hugo Sagredo Jimanez, it aims to develop among its members practice, promotion and dissemination of the tango music and dance. Classes are held every Friday. Cuba offers many opportunities to practice and dance, from the El Ojo de Ciclon galeria of Leo D’Lazaro to Del Prado on Sundays, in front of La Union Arabe. If it rains, there is always the Academia del Tango on Calle Agustin Garcia. On Fridays, Pedacito de Cielo hosts evening practicas and milongas at the Academia del Tango Agustin Garcia. Gion Santana has begun a relatively new milonga called Ensueno that is also held there. So, dancers have a choice. Cuba is, without question, the leading Caribbean island for the teaching and preservation of the tango. Here is where it all began for the peoples of the Crystal Isles. The Cubans are very proud of their musically inspired heritage, as can be noted by their deep immersion into many other world famous Cuban music and dance genres, such as danzón, rumba, and cha cha cha. With the reopening of travel opportunities for Americans, they will able to share their love of music and dance.
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Tango on the Costa Caribe
Raymond Lauzzana
The Caribbean coast stretches from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, around Central America and across the Northern coast of Venezuela. It contains a diverse population and some very dedicated tango communities. There are festivals, regular milongas and port-of-call for tango cruises. The Tango Maya Festival is held every year in Cancún, Mexico. It is organized by Alejandra Orozco and Luciano Brigante. Tango Maya is an all inclusive packaged concept that includes hotel accommodations for four days of refreshing milongas, shows and master tango classes with international artists. Cancun, a global central location, is the ideal place for the alliance between the different tango communities. Also in Cancun, Alfonso Olimar and his wife, Liz Mary López, hold regular tango performances at the Hotel Marriott Casa Magna, They hold regular milongas with free classes on Fridays at the Terrazas Parrilla restaurant. ON Wednesday and Sunday, they hold classes and milongas in Playa del Carmen at the Parrilla MuchoGusto Argentine steakhouse.
The Puro Tango dance troupe toured Belize in 2016. They gave performances at the National Institute for Culture and History and the Bliss Center for Performing Arts. While they were there, the company offered classes to learn tango. Hopefully, they reached the hearts of Belizeans and that a tango culture will grow in the country. Inland from Belize, Victor Melchor’s Guatemalatango holds regular Wednesday and Thursday milongas at the El Centro buiding in Guatemala City. Victor’s partner, Rocío Trkman studied folkloric Argentine dance with Luis Guillon and modern dance with Mario Morales,. Claudio Crecciente also holds occasional milongas at the ArteCentro Paíz in Guatemala City. In Honduras, Isadora Paz organizes La Milonga Tango en at the Museo para la Identidad Nacional de Honduras in Tegucigalpa which include classes.
Furher down the coast in English speaking Belize, cruise ships stop at at the port city of Belize. However, there is no Belize tango community. On rare occasions, milongas are held at the San Ignacio Hotel.
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Moving further South along the Carbbean Coast to Nicaragua, María F Navarro holds monthly Saturday milongas in Managua. They are organized in cooperation with the Academia Pasión Latina Nicaragua. Occasionally, they hold special milongas at the Hotel Seminole. In San Jose, Costa Rica, there is a milonga held at the Centro de Artes Promenade, on the first Saturday of the month. It is called Milonga Promenade, Pamela Camacho organizes the Festival de Tango Costa Rica which is held in April. It always features live music and visiting instructors from Argentina. Tango Panamá is a non-profit and voluntary organization with the mission to encourage and inform people to enlarge the tango community and to support everybody who helps on the growth of this art in the region of Panama, They hold regularly scheduled milongas on Wednesdays at the Hotel Riu Plaza Panama. Classes are given at the Academia de Danza.
Along the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, in Caracas, Tango Caracas holds milongas at the Centro Uruguayo Venezolano, on Saturdays. On Sundays, Ivan Martinez organizes a milonga at the Nuevo Circo de Caracas dance school. An open-air milonga called La Mariposa is held at Parque Santa Cecilia, This milonga is organized by Zoraya Baliache. On Wednesdays, its Milonga del Uruguayo at the restaurant Parrilla Uruguaya, organized by the Milagros Hance association. Earllier in the afternon, the Arrebato Gotan holds a practica at the Discovery Bar. On Fridays and Saturdays, Milonga del Ungaro is held at the Casa Hungara ballroom, organized by Elena Spakosky. All along the Caribbean coast, there are pockets of tango, some large, some miniscule. But, tango is living along the edge this incredible sea, Each community is unique, and worthy of attention, as tango evolves here.
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Cruising the Caribe Percell St. Thomass
Today, there is no better way to discover the tango, its music and dance, than cruising; and, there is no better place to tango aboard a cruise ship than sailing the beautiful Caribbean islands. After the resurgence in popularity of the tango, it quickly became a highlight of many of many cruises. Throughout the Caribbean from the United States to South America, the tango has been rediscovered Of course, dance cruises of all sorts had been common. Many cruise lines offered theme cruises which highlighted a particular dance genre. There were ballroom and Latin dance cruises, and swing dance cruises, but not tango. One of the first groups to specialize in putting tango on the high seas was Tango at Sea. They conducted their first tango cruise to the Western Caribbean in March 1998. Their primary focus was in bringing on board the top names of the day, such as Gabriel Misse, Leandro Palou, Miguel Zotto, Milena Plebs and others almost exclusively from Argentina, to providing classes and showcases.
It didn’t take long for the idea to catch on, Today, there are several cruise lines and companies, including Tango at Sea, Bailando Reisen, Greek Island Tango, and Tango-DanceKinesis which continue to create one of the greatest ways to visit these and other island paradises. Tango and cruising were made for each other. Both tango and cruising combine to provide a special kind of escape. Dancers can lose themselves in the fantasies of a life from the pages of a novel. Tango is, at its core, a highly social dance. Dancing with a foreign strangers for the first time is the norm. Tango cruising the Caribbean in particular, offers the perfect setting for a daring, warm ocean intrigue, set beautiful moonlit romantic evening.. Dancers may take classes and attend milongas, held weekly around their home cities. But, the exotic escape of a Caribbean cruise can create a tango fantasy. This is a fantastic way to mingle with people from around the world. What could be more exotic, romantic, alluring, mysterious, captivating, joyous, and personal than the warm moonlit oceans of the Caribbean, and the palmed cooled, white sandy beaches of islands? Finding the right cruise line and/or cruise can be like finding the right dance partner. There are many cruise lines offering dance and even tango only cruises in the Caribbean.
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There is always dancing on cruise ships. It is one of the most favorite pastime for passengers. However, on most cruises, there is not much tango. Increasing., tango’s popularity has made many cruises now offer at least a tango bar where a tango performers entertain nightly. The most popular cruise lines for Caribbean travel for the tango aficionado are the Norwegian Cruise Line, the Holland America Line, the Royal Caribbean Line, and Celebrity Cruises. The Holland America Line, once was the tango leader, with top-of-the-line teachers, classes, and shows. One group known for its tango adventures is TangoKinesis. It has unofficially become a staple of the Holland America Line and Norwegian Cruise Line for teaching and choreography.The teachers are very familiar with the ships, their types of clientele, and the islands. In February, TangoKinesis, a division of the body movement and dance training group, DanceKinesis, conducts on their tango dance cruise. TangoKinesis is dedicated to the teaching of tango, not only as a concept or dance, but as a way of life. TangoKinesis teaches pupils to dance tango by the principles of natural movement and energies, and how to relate those principles to its concept and to partnering.
TangoKinesis instructors prefer the morning hours, allowing dancers to be free to explore the ship and the beautiful Caribbean during sailing and docking times. In the late afternoon or early evening, the first practica/ milonga is held. Fore some, this is first time that they have the opportunity to discover the unexpected joys of dancing aboard a cruise ship. The cruise is planned to allow dancers time to relax, visit other dance venues, and take in walks in the Caribbean moonlight The third day is pretty much the same as the second — classes in the morning. This will be the day for docking at the first port-of-call in the Caribbean. Although there are many islands where tango is popular, don’t expect to find tango activities during the early hours. And, don’t be surprised to discover that there might not be any tango on a particular island, at all.. TangoKinesis tries to hold their practica-milonga around 5:00PM. Cruise ships are not very flexible to changing times. On days four and five, the schedules are generally the same as the previous days, save for one days, except without classes. TangoKinesis offers a day of rest for allowing the instruction to settle in.
It is a well sought after program, and is becoming increasingly more popular. The concept is simple — If the definition of dance is natural movement put to a specified rhythm, timing, and styling, then just walking can be a graceful dance. A typical TangoKinesis tango dance cruise experience includes five days of classes with two well known and respected instructors, four milongas, and seven days at some of the most beautiful places in the world. On the first day, boarding day, the instructors meet and greet the boarding passengers, getting to know what their expectations for instruction and dance are. They spend time with them so that everyone knows where the classes and milongas are to be held. The second day is usually a day at sea, a sea-day. It is the perfect time for the guests begin with lessons typically held after breakfast. Although many cruise lines hold their lessons in the afternoon hours.
On the fourth day, TangoKinesis has a relationship with the Norwegian Cruise Line that allows them to hold classes at a very nice little dance hall on one of the islands. Most other cruise lines do not offer this. It provided a great opportunity to dance on the island with the local tango dancers.
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All cruise lines and all cruise ships are not the same. Carnival Cruise Line and Princess Cruises have begun operating more and more in the Caribbean. They are both known for their fun dance cruises and entertainment. But, neither offers as many opportunities for ballroom, Latin, or tango dancers. Single ladies are more likely to find dance partners with dance hosts than single men, although some ships provide dance hostesses, as well. Wendy Olsen’s Dancers at Sea is in its 19th year. It is the longest running program, offering dance lessons, parties, and more formal or controlled, mostly ballroom-style dancing. But, it is an industry leader in the nontraditional genres including nightclub social dance, salsa, salon tango, bolero, etc. They organize roughly ten dance cruises a year. They are also known for having contracted teachers for their tango themed cruises, rather than having the classes taught by lesser qualified dance entertainers.. These cruises have one of the best ratios: one dance pro or host/hostess for every three passengers. John Ranivand, founder of Dancing at Sea, organizes four to five dance themed cruises a year for sixty to ninety guests on a variety of cruise lines. Some Dancing at Sea cruises have a special tango focus, Tango. All are taught by the group’s instructors, typically two to four per cruise. Most Europeans love to dance, so you’ll find the dance floors busy on European lines like Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises. These ships feature more dance space, too. While American lines tend to have larger casinos than dance clubs, European ships divide up their space the opposite way.
America Line regularly sails the Caribe offering dance hosts, but not alwayss dance hostesses. These partners are not always experienced dancers, although all of the ships do require at least a knowledge of the basic steps of the social ballroom dances. Mostly, they dance standard ballroom variants of foxtrot. waltz, tango, swing, rumba, cha-cha, and sometimes salsa. The salon tango, Argentine style, is not a high priority on most cruises for the hosts or hostesses, even when there is a live band playing tango, Tango, on the Holland America Line ships, is considered featured, or special entertainment. Crystal Cruises offers more upscale Caribbean cruises with a Ballroom at Sea program. The evening dance is set at various lounges with orchestras. Dance classes are mostly American ballroom style. They have had tango teachers on board. But, they are not part of the normal program. They are contracted for special Dance Theme cruises. Although Crystal Cruises does not have as many of these cruises, they do offer one of the highest rated, and longest, music and dance cruises to the Caribe. Tango is enjoying an ever-growing audience of enthusiasts and dancers. And, it is growing throughout the Caribbean. Visiting artists are helping expand the number of dancers and the audience for tango. As long as there are tango dancers ready to dance, the cruise ships of the Caribbean will be ready to sail them away to the crystal isles.
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Caribbean Tango Guide
Milongas
Bahamas Friday 17:00 - 22:00 Costa Rica Sunday 17:00 - 22:00 Wednesday 20:00 - 01:00 Saturday 20:00 - 01:00 Cuba Wednesday 10:30 - 01:00
Tango&Beyond
Sunny Side Restaurant
East Bay Street
Nassau
Milonga de los Domingos
Casa del Arcoirism Hospital Calderon Guardia San Jose
Milonguita de los Miércoles
Costa Rica Tango Estudio, Setena Barrio Escalante
San Jose
Milonga Promenade
Centro de Artes Promenade
San Jose
El Ojo de Ciclon
Estudio Leo D’Lazaro
Calle O’ Reilly
Habana Vieja
Pedacito de Cielo
Academia del Tango
Calle J
Habana Vieja
La Milonguita
L’Union Arabe
Paseo del Prado
Habana Vieja
Friday
10:30 - 01:00 Saturday
13:30 - 16:30
Dominican Republic Thursday
19:00 - 21:00
Milonga Milkeya
Lebanese Syrian Palestinian Club
Santo Domingo
La Milonga Negra
156 rue de la Chapelle
Baie-Mahault
Noche de Tango
Hotel RIU Plaza
Calle 50
Kimgston
TangoFelino
Espace DD
Hauts de Californie
Le Lamentin
Madin’ Tango
Centre de Danse Zecler, Bellevue
Guadaloupe Thursday
19:00 - 21:00 Jamaica Wednesday
21:00 - 23:00 Martinique Wednesday
20:00 - 21:00 Saturday
19:00 - 22:00
Fort-de-France
Annual Events February June September October November November
Puerto Rico Tango Marathon Festival de Tango de San José El Tango Abraza a Honduras Puerto Rico Tango Festival Encuentro Nacional Caracas Tango Maya Festival Cancún
https://www.facebook.com/PUERTO-RICO-TANGO-MARATHON-138700429658044/ https://www.facebook.com/TangoCostaRica/ https://www.facebook.com/events/302133633504744/ https://www.facebook.com/PuertoRicoTangoFestival/ https://www.facebook.com/tango-caracas-22063971470/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/932457080119684/
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Milongas Mexico Wednesday
20:00 - 00:00 19:30 - 22:00
Tango en Cancun Tango del Playa
Plaza Nayandei Parrilla Muchogusto
Avenue 25
Cancun Playa del Carmen
Tango Nicaragua
El Garabato
Hotel Seminole
Managua
Jonkanoo Milonga
Jonkanoo Lounge
77 Knutsfor Blvd
Panama City
Milonga Realenga
El Barril, 1302 Ave. Ashford, Condado
San Juan
Milonga La Victrola
La Casa del Tango
Calle Domenech
San Juan
Milonga Tropical
La Casa del Tango
Calle Domenech
San Juan
Milonga del Nuevo Circo
Nuevo Circo de Caraca, Zona Metropolitana
Caracas
La Mariposa
Parque Urb Santa Cecilia, La Carlota
Caracas
Milonga del Uruguayo La Practica Discovery
Centro Uruguayo Vernezolano, Av. Calvani 14 Discovery Bar El Rosal, Chacao
Caracas Caracas
Milonga del Ungaro
Casa Hungara, Av. Alvarez Michaud
Caracas
Milonga del Uruguayo
Centro Uruguayo Vernezolano, Av. Calvani 14
Caracas
Nicaragua Sarurday
20:30 - 23:30 Panama Wednesday
20:30 - 23:30 Puerto Rico Wednesday
20:30 - 23:30 Friday
20:30 - 23:30 Saturday
20:30 - 23:30 Venezuela
Sunday 14:00 - 19:00 Monday 19:00 - 22:00 Wednesday 20:00 - 01:00 18:30 - 22:00 Friday 20:00 - 02:00 Saturday 20:00 - 01:00
WebSites Caribbean Tango Events.................. https://www.facebook.com/groups/246889562067869/ Milonga In America ......................... http://www.milongas-in.com/milongas-in-america.php Tango Info ..................................... https://tango.info/ These are some of the Internet resources that were used to build this guide.It is a consolidation of information Please. check these resources in the future, as we all know - things change. — 21 —
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Caribbean Tango Guide Classes Bahamas Tango & Beyond Via Caffe, Parliament Street Nassau https://www.facebook.com/TangoBeyondBahamas-769542383166376/
+1 242 322 7209
Barbados BooGaLoo Studio 1 Rockley Main Rd,, https://www.facebook.com/BoogalooRecreationStudio/
Bridgetown
+1 246 263 2040
San Jose
+1 506 2253 2794
San Jose
+1 506 8311 1070
San Pablo
+1 506 8345 7060
San Jose
+1 506 2221 8480
San Jose
+1 506 8869 6899
San Jose
+1 506 82283 6421
San Pedro
+1 506 2280 3173
San Jose
+1 506 2280 3173
Costa Rica Café Cambalache El Portón Rojo ,Avenue 16 https://www.facebook.com/cafecambalachecostarica/ Le Chateau Parque de Guadalupe https://www.facebook.com/events/283134618529357 Boga Dance Studio Heredia Province https://www.facebook.com/bogadancestudio/ Malajunta Tango Casa del Arcoiris . Avenida 9A https://www.facebook.com/groups/599711200048819/ Costa Rica Tango Estudio Setena Barrio Escalante https://www.facebook.com/crtango/ Prometango Entrelazados Centro de Artes Promenade , 113 del ICE https://www.facebook.com/prometango Fantasía de Tango Costado este Outlet Mall , Calle 59 https://www.facebook.com/fantasiadetango Tango Saudade Academia Ave Shanti , Paseo Colón https://www.facebook.com/TangoSaudade/
Cuba Casa del Tango Calle Neptuno No.309, Habana +53 7863 0097 http://www.lahabana.com/guide/casa-del-tango/ Caseron del Tango Calle Justiz #21 Habana +53 7861 0822 http://www.caribbeanlocalpages.com/listings/caseron-del-tango-in-la-habana53-7-861-0822/ Union Arabe de Cuba Prado, entre Trocadero Habana +53 7861 0582 http://www.unionarabecuba.org/ El Ojo de Ciclon Calles O’ Reilly y Villegas, N. 501 Habana +53 7861 5359 https://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Ojo-del-Cicl%C3%B3n/650757111628313 Academia del Tango Calle J, entre 17 y 19, N. 534 Habana +53 5361 0615 http://www.tango.bild-art.de/classes.html Dance Studios Canada 450 Rideau St Habana +1 613-884-9869 https://www.facebook.com/groups/26905865335/ Circulo Amigos del Tango Calle Madrid #74 Santiago de Cuba +1 613-789-9996 https://www.facebook.com/C%C3%ADrculo-Amigos-del-Tango-de-Villa-%C3%81ngela-1706460096284569/ — 22 —
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Classes Curaçao TangoCuracao Brionplein 1 Otrabanda Waterfort Willemstad https://www.facebook.com/TangoCuracao/ TuTu Tango Kaya Jombi Mensing Willemstad https://www.facebook.com/TuTu-Tango-204576411411/ Dominican Republic Tango Milkeya Melo Lebanese Syrian Palestinian Club Santo Domingo https://www.facebook.com/tangomilonga.milkeyamelo Grenada Tango Grenada Dodgy Dock, Old Mill Road, True Blue Bay, Saint George’s https://www.facebook.com/Tango-Grenada-352761218132933/ Guadaloupe Tango Guadaloupe 156 rue de la chapelle , ZI de Jarry Baie-Mahault http://www.tangoguadeloupe.com/ Honduras Tango en Tegucigalpa Lomas de Boulevard Centro Comercial, Tegucigalpa https://www.facebook.com/La-Milonga-Tango-en-Tegucigalpa-276757242003/ Jamaica Salsa Society Jamaica New Kingston Centre, Dominica Drive Kingston https://www.facebook.com/groups/salsasocietyjamaica/ Peppers Lounge n Gri 31 Upper Waterloo Road Kingston https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peppers-Lounge-n-Grill/1437429739806519 Martinique Vaya con Tango Ecole 80 rue Prof Raymond Garcin Fort-de-France http://vayacontango.e-monsite.com/ Tango Bar Place Félix Boisson Saint-Pierre https://www.facebook.com/otango97250/ Association TangoFelino Espace Dd - Hauts de Californie Le Lamentin https://www.facebook.com/tangofelino/ Centre de Danse Zecler Centre Commercial de Bellevue Fort-de-France https://www.facebook.cm/events/215695388867558/ Mexico Tango para Todos La Capilla Restaurant, Blvd. Kukulkan Cancún https://www.facebook.com/tangocancun/La Capilla Argentin Tango en Cancún Parque Sor Juana del Palacio Municipal Cancún https://www.facebook.com/TangoEnCancun/ Tango Playa del Carmen Av.25 entre calles 28 y 30 Playa del Carmen https://www.facebook.com/Tango-Playa-del-Carmen-212667272165521/ Centre de Danse Zecler Centre Commercial de Bellevue Fort-de-France — 23 —
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+599 9514 9933 +599 9461 7888
+809 840 2572
+1 473 415 6000
+1 590 6907 0157
+1 876 906 0856 +1 876 289 2487
+1 596 559 850 +1 596 696 373 102 +1 596 696 740 102 +1 596 696 937 609
+1 52 998 578 0509 +1 52 998 881 2062 +1 52 984 807 1549
Caribbean Tango Guide Classes Nicaragua Tango Nicaragua El Garabato, Hotel Seminole 2 1/2 al Sur Managua https://www.facebook.com/TangoNicaragua Panama Tango Panama Hotel Riu Plaza Panamá,Calle 50 Panama City http://www.tangopanama.com Puerto Rico Y Entonces Tango Escuela Casa del Tengo, 374 Avenida Domenech San Juan https://www.facebook.com/La-Casa-del-Tango-Puerto-Rico-160410362624/ Saint Lucia Tango St Lucia Harmony Suites, Rodney Bay Gros Islet Rodney Bay https://www.facebook.com/tangostlucia/ Trinidad & Tobago Tango en Trinidad Cafe Beyruti Tango Lounge, Santisima Port-o-Spain https://www.facebook.com/clubdetangoflores/
Cruises & Cruise Organizers Bailando Reisen ................... Celebrity Cruises ............... Costa Cruise Lines ............ Crystal Cruises ................... Dancers at Sea .................... Dancing at Sea ..................... Holland America Line ........ MSC Cruises ........................ Norwegian Cruise Line ..... Princess Cruises ................. Royal Caribbean Line ........ Tango at Sea ......................... Tango-DanceKinesis ...........
+49-821-31 96 570 +1-800-647-2251 +1-800-462-6782 +1-888-722-0021 +1-888-791-2918 +1-954-439-4444 +1-877-932-4259 +1-800-338-4962 +1-866-234-7350 +1-800-774-6237 +1-866-562-7625 +1-301-365-9285 +1-601-297-2185
http://www.tango-cruise.com/ http://www.celebritycruises.com/ http://www.costacruise.com/ http://www.crystalcruises.com/ http://www.dancersatsea.com/ http://www.dancingatsea.com/ http://www.hollandamerica.com/ http://msc.cruiselines.com/ http://www.ncl.com/ http://www.princess.com/ http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ http://www.tangoatsea.com/ http://www.dancekinesis.com/
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+1 505 2278 2944
+1 507 378 9000
+1 787 312 6760
+1 758 452 8756
+1 598 4364 2929
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Cuba’s Special Painter Pedro Álvarez Castelló
Pedro Reinaldo Álvarez Castelló (1967-2004) was a Cuban painter who rose to prominence during Cuba’s Special Period. Alvarez was a native of Havana, Cuba. He studied art at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro from 1980-1985 and the Instituto Superior Pedagogico Enrique Jose Varona from 1986-1991. He was a member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. He married a Cuban woman and had a child. When he wasn’t travelling to promote his work, he divided his time between Malaga, Spain and Havana, Cuba.
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Alvarez’s painting style, like those of many other Cuban artists of that era, was highly influenced by the development of popular culture in Cuba during the feverish Special Period. His paintings are shown in museums around the world, including the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana in Havana, Museo Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville, Spain, Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona, Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Museo de la Universidad de Alicante in Alicante, Spain. He has had more than eight personal exhibitions in Cuba and Spain and has been in more than fourty group exhibitions in Germany, Canada, Spain, England and the United States. Among his more notable personal exhibitions were Exposición de Paisajes (1985) at the Galería de Arte Universal, Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. His group exhibitions have included Arte Cubano en Boston (1988), Massachusetts College of Art, Boston; Misa por una Mueca (1993), Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana; Bienal de Pintura del Caribe y Centro América (1994), Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Álvarez died on February 12, 2004, just five days after the beginning of a major solo exhibition of his work, Landscape in the Fireplace, at the Arizona State University Art Museum.
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Martin Delgado — San Telmo Lounge
interview by
Marco Buso
San Telmo Lounge is a one of its kind Argentinian electrotango musical project, combining elements of tango, jazz, rock, and electronica in a unique and smooth way. We at Modern Tango World had the pleasure to talk with guitarist and composer Martin Delgado, founder and leader of the band, about his experience. MTW: Martin, first of all thanks for being here and talking a bit about San Telmo Lounge with Modern Tango World. Martin: Thanks to you Marco! It’ss my pleasure. MTW: Let’s start from scratch. We would like to know something about your musical background. Martin: Oh well. I fell in love with music as a teenager, when I enjoyed to tears listening to Sting and The Police’s music besides of classic rock, mainly from the 70s. At fifteen, I was moved by the influence of artists like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, and yes, Jethro Tull, EL&P, John McLaughlin and Al DiMeola, I started playing guitar and studying ear training and musical theory. After high school, I continued my musical studies at the University of Litoral in Santa Fe, where I graduated as Professor of Guitar and Composition in Traditional Classic Music. In that period, I got more involved into jazz and the work of composors, such as Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, Olivier Messiaen. I began studying classical guitar as well, playing Abel Carlevaro arrangements of Astor Piazzolla’s compositions among the others.This was my very first introduction to tango. Today I still get inspiration from classic albums from the 70s. I listen to all kinds of music. But, I always end up amazed by classic artists such as Miles Davis, Astor Piazzolla, Antônio Jobim, Anibal Troilo, and the Beatles.
After graduation in 2001, I continued studying guitar and harmony at the New Jazz School in New York City and attended many courses in Argentina and abroad in music production, tango, jazz interpretation and private lessons with Rodolfo Mederos, Manfred Swazrskopf, Marcelo Braga Saralegui, Pablo Lopez Ruiz, Dante Grela, Julian Peralta, Claudio Lluan, Gabriel Data, Pablo Deluca, Turco Josami and Cacho Hussein among others. MTW: How was the San Telmo Lounge project born? How did you meet, how did you start working on it? Martin: In 2001, I moved to New York city to study jazz. There I realized that my musical identity made me different from the american jazz guitarist. For some reason, my sound had something that had to do with tango. When I came back from the USA, I told myself: You got to do something with tango. On the other hand I couldn’t see myself playing in a traditional tango orchestra. In those years, there were not as much tango orchestras and musicians as there are today. I decided to build a project based on every kind of music I liked — rock, jazz, tango, combined with the electronica that I heard so much of in the USA. I did this without even knowing that there was a growing electrotango movement. It wasn’t until I started building the first San Telmo Lounge demos did I find out about Bajofondo and thw other electrotango groups.
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In 2003, the band was fully formed with bandoneonist Pablo Gaitan, keyboardist Lucas Polichiso and violinist Maximiliano Natalutti. MTW: Musically speaking, your project is very rich and dense, combining elements of tango, jazz, electronica, rock, pop. How did you set such an intriguing mix up, and how do you approach composition? Did you have any particular musical inspiration from other artists? Martin: I believe that in each composition, I try to merge diverse genres, but end up emphasizing one element or the other, pulling the music towards a particular aesthetic. In this sense, the influences are diverse, which is both a luck and a problem. What mixes all together is the tango thread, that comes in different doses. At the time of writing, I am approaching composition in the style of European classical composers, in front of a computer with guitar and piano at hand. I start developing a basic idea by playing around. Once a basic theme comes up, I proceed writing a first arrangement in digital score for quintet — violin, bandoneon, guitar, piano and bass. After that is done, I make a demo with a drum sequencer. Usually 95% of the composition is done and finished before I proceed to rehearsal. The composition may sound a lot more tango-like if the typical elements of this genre prevail, or it may just suggest an idea of tango with the mere presence of the bandoneon.
Anyway, I think that the main definition of genre is given by the rhythmic structure. For example, you can recognize tango looking at the bass patterns, at the accompaniments of piano and guitar, and at the melodic structures. A strong tango rhythm makes it possible to clearly identify tango even if there are no traditional acoustic instruments, such as the bandoneon, to incarnate that tango feel. In the case of San Telmo Lounge, I can identify the top tango influences in Astor Piazzolla, Anibal Troilo and Osvaldo Pugliese. Beyond tango, I am inspired a lot by English rock artists such as Pink Floyd and by certain elements of European folklore which you can find in Sting’s music. I sometimes find myself very close to the aesthetics of Tom Waits, Nick Drake and Fito Paez. From a jazz perspective, I am drawn to cool jazz. The idea is has always been to tighten a little the limits of genres. San Telmo Lounge originated as an experiment, and I think this innovative desire accompanies us in all our records. It is also true that all electrotango bands are beginning to sound quite the same. We want to differentiate ourselves from this trend, trying to always surprise our listener by expanding the possibilities of the musical genres we work with. MTW: What about your lyrics? Where do they come from? Do you get inspiration from tango classical lyrics subjects or those from any other musical culture? Or do they rather come directly from you and your life experiences? Or maybe both? How do you approach and develop lyrics composition?
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Martin: I am a fan of American Beat Generation writers, mostly William Borroughs. Starting from that point, over the years, I have discovered Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski and other self-biopic writers. I use to imagine the existence of a link between these writers and some cosmovision of the Bohemian tanguero. It could be that nocturnal character, those dreams suggested by the sunset, a lament for a lost love or for a wrong life. Sometimes, it is better for the story not to know the exact original sin. I have written fictional lyrics. I don’t take any inspiration from my real life. As for lyricists, I worked with Adrian Abonizio in my project TANGOMORFOSIS. Sometimes I try to steal ideas from him, because he’s by far the best lyricist I ever met.
We never ask our guest to sing in a style different of their own, and even less to sing as tangueros.We have also worked with Palo Pandolfo and Juan Subira, rockers with aesthetics very close to tango. As a matter of fact, I think that Palo was an important influence on the fusion of rock, song and tango at the beginning of this century. We have invited Laura Cardini on different occasions. Laura does not dedicate her life exclusively to singing, which we find to be an advantage. She is an anthropologist. She is also very theatrical in her live performances, and people really like that. MTW: What do you think about dancing to San Telmo Lounge songs? Martin: That is not so easy! I do not create the music of San Telmo Lounge with the idea of this must be danced, because I am not a dancer. I started to learn to dance tango this year, I think dancers have a very different approach from musicians. In spite of this, we used to play at many milongas, mostly in Europe, where people enjoy dancing to our music, maybe because of its mix of traditional and new ways. MTW: Today’s tango scene is complex, looking both at tradition and absorbing a lot of influences coming from contemporary musical styles. How do you feel about today’s tango and neo-tango scenes? Where do you think we’re going in the future?
MTW: San Telmo Lounge has featured many guest artists, especially singers. Can you tell us something about these partnerships? Do such artists have any tango or tango-fusion background, or do they come from other musical styles? How did they react to the experience with your project? Martin: Our two first guests where Noelia Moncada and Lidia Borda, two great tango singers. We then invited Sandra Corizzo, Adrian Abonizio, Fabian Gallardo and Coki Debernardi, rock and pop musicians. For each of them, we managed to arrange a song close to the aesthetics of what they usually sing.
Martin: Today’s tango scene is really big, with a great diversity of subgenres and formations. There are traditional groups trying to play as near as they can to the original styles of Anibal Troilo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Carlos Di Sarli or Horacio Salgan. Then there are the new songwriters like Acho Estol from La Chicana and Cucusa Castiello among the others. On the other hand you have more new orchestras like Astillero, Rascasuelo or Julian Peralta, which compose new repertoires of instrumental pieces for orchestra. Here in Rosario, there are many musicians engaged in tango who started studying more than ten years ago. Among the others, I can name guitarist Martin Tessa and pianist Gerardo Martinez Lo Re.They both teach at the Municipal Tango Orchestra, a project in which they prepared new tango musicians. All in all, this is a very good moment for the tango scene. The future is ours.
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MTW: What can you tell us about your future and the future of San Telmo Lounge? Do you have any particular short and/or long term projects for new albums or live concerts/tours? Martin: A few months ago we released our sixth album Doble Imperfecto with a partially new line-up adding to our members Ariel Aguilar (bandoneon), Laura Cardini (vocals), Sebastian Mamet (drums), and Tutu Rufus (bass). We played it at Sala Laarden in Rosario in November. The idea is to play in Buenos Aires in March and then to repeat the event everywhere we can. At this time we don’t have in mind any tour. Maybe in the second part of the year. Now I am thinking about our next album, which I am sure will not be a double one, no more than ten songs! MTW: We at Modern Tango World can’t wait to hear it, and to get more info about your future project. We’ll surely stay in contact. Martin, thanks a lot for sharing the San Telmo Lounge experience with us!
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Top 10 Ways to Get Asked to Dance Karen Kaye
I’m not getting asked to dance she said. And I could see why. She was a skilled follower and a beautiful woman with the warmest soul. But no one noticed because she sat buried in the corner of the room looking royally annoyed. 10: Stand up. If you REALLY want to dance, don’t sit down. It gives the impression that you are resting and taking a break. Stand up and position yourself at the edge of the dance floor. 9: Start moving. Whether you are standing by the dance floor or sitting down, moving your body and your feet to the music shows that you are feeling the song and want to dance to it. The fastest way for me to get asked is to go onto the edge of the floor and begin moving to the music. 8. Be less social. This isn’t the time to get into a deep conversation with a friend. If I am chatting with someone, I keep my eyes on the dance floor, and actively convey that my interest is not in the conversation, but on the possibility of dancing. I show this by smiling at people who walk by and being interested in what’s happening on the floor.
7. Be more social. Find someone you want to dance with and strike up a conversation with them. Comment on how much you love the band or DJ tonight. Ask if they like the wine they are drinking. Or simply go up and say, “I don’t believe we have met, I’m Karen….”. Making a new friend this way will almost always lead to them asking you dance – either then or later. 6. Check your attitude. You have to look receptive, so drop the crossed arms. Confidence is great thing, but don’t strut around and watch the floor with an attitude that suggests you are too good to dance with anyone there. Some people appear to be always judging what’s happening on the floor. Don’t be that person. It suggests you will do the same when you dance with them. Lastly, be gracious regardless of who asks you to dance. People will notice how you respond when asked to dance – and will watch your attitude while you are dancing with other dancers. Stay gracious! 5. Drop your ego. You aren’t entitled to being asked just because you showed up. Your 10,000 hours of lessons and practicing doesn’t guarantee you a thing. If you want to dance, sometimes YOU have to ask. Make a guy’s night and approach him or initiate the cabeceo. Some guys love this far more than we ladies realize. 4. Make it easy. Don’t play hard to get. Don’t make it difficult or awkward for the guy to ask you. Ensure you have plenty of moments when you are alone so he doesn’t have to awkwardly interrupt a conversation. Smile at them. Make eye contact. Even if you have to fake it, appear to be enjoying your night. No guy wants to take on the challenge of flipping an attitude from “bitter bench warmer” to happy dancer.
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3. Be the first to say hello. When you walk into a room or pass people, take the initiative to be the first to say hello. Greeting people shows them that you are friendly and receptive. Upon arrival, I do my best to walk the room greeting everyone I know in the room. At that point, I oftentimes say, “Save me a dance later” – which basically fills up my dance card right away. 2. Master the mirada. When I want to dance, I smile and make my intention clear in my gaze. I position myself where I have a clear line of sight to dancers and they have a clear sight to me. Gaze as much as you want; the contract doesn’t happen until the cabeceo (the nod), so don’t be shy with looking around. Gaze the room as if you are holding an amazing secret that you are simply dying to share with the right person. And if you really want to guarantee getting asked to dance all night…. 1.Take a private lesson. If people are still skirting around you and focusing on blank walls when they see you, find a pro who is a master at teaching social dancing technique. Find a pro who has the courage to teach you what you need, not what you want. There’s a tendency to believe our technique is better than it truly is, and it’s easy to get a little sloppy over time. Committing myself to regular coaching has made a massive difference for me. Lastly, some nights I’m simply feeling more demure or shy, especially if I am feeling intimidated by the skill level of the room. In that case, I ask friends, the DJ, host or promoter who they recommend I dance with. Most people are more than happy to make an introduction or point out a warm, friendly dancer who will put me at ease. At the end of the day, keeping your skills sharp is key. However, a big part of getting asked is simply about exuding good vibes. Change your vibe - and it will definitely change your night.
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100 Years of Recorded Tango
Raymond Lauzzana
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of recorded tango. Roberto Firpo’s La Cumparsita was the the first recording of a tango that was ever made. It was recorded in November of 2016 at the studio of Max Glücksmann in Buenos Aires. for Odeon Records. The record was released to the public in a performance at the café La Giralda in Montevideo where Firpo frequently performed. La Cumparsita was originally written as a march. It was composed by an 18-year-old architecture student named Gerardo Hernán Becho Matos Rodríguez.. Early in 1916, he showed the song to orchestra leader Roberto Firpo. When Firpo looked at the music, he saw ita as a tango. Originally, the song had two parts. Firpo added a third part taken from his earlier tangos — La gaucha Manuela and Curda Completa. He also added parts of Giuseppe Verdi’s Miserere from the opera Il trovatore.
Although it was among the few tango recordinsg, it did not gain much popularity until lyrics were added in 1924 by the Argentine Pascual Contursi. The song soon became an international hit, and is considered the most widely known tango song in the world. It is also the most widely recorded tango song of all time. It has been performed and recorded by small trios and large bands everywhere in the world. Having moved to Paris, Matos Rodríguez spent the nearly two decades in various court battles over royalties, finally succeeding in secure title to the rights for La Cumparsita. This year, there will be major events thoughout Uruguay celebrating this 100th anniversary. of La Cumparsita. Montevideo begins the celebration with a musical show in Plaza Independencia with the participation of numerous artists. An open-air event called Bienvenido Cumparsita, by Intendance, is followed by an event at the Salvo Palace, where the La Giralda Café used to be, where the song was first performed. Performers will include Ricardo Olivera, Valeria Lima, Maia Castro, Triple Nelson, Gabriel Peluffo, Néstor Vaz, Laura Legazcue, Roberto Herrera, Monica Navarro and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Montevideo. Admission to any of these events will be with free and there will be a fireworks! Uruguay can rightfully claim that the tango was originally made in Uruguay. Argentines, from the other side of the Rio Plate, surely will claim that that is Argentines that brought the erotic dance to the sensual music.
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This argument will never end. Tango exists. It is world music in the truest sense. It has incorporated or been incorporated into other musical forms around the world. Today, dancers enjoy dancing to tango from Sydney to Paris, from Rome to Tokyo, and everywhere in between. Tango, itself, is more than 100 years old.The first known tango was composed in 1886, by Angel Villoldu — El Choclo. Everybody knows tango when they see it — beautiful men and women in elegant dress with sensual movements. But, that is just the surface of the tango. There is a deeper tango. that takes you through the sadnesses of life — the River Plate Blues. Tango lyrics often deal withe the problems of life.
The power of tango laliesys in transforming these existential problems into pure energy and joy of life. They are filled with jealous women swearing revenge, men who have been betrayed; abandoned women crying for their lost loves . — love, hate, emotion, madness, fears, sorrow — passion. As with almost all popular dances, the tango was considered vulgar and not suited for polite society. It was a working class dance that was danced in brothels ond on the street, where the erotism of the dance was usedseductive strategy to increase sales. Honest women would not dance the tango. But, men danced tango with other men, perfecting their skills. After the advent of radio, recorded music and the Victrola, this all changed. By the twenties, the tango became socially acceptable, not only in Uruguay and Argentina, but in North America, Europe and Asia. It conquered all the dancing halls of the world. By the Golden Decade of the fourties, when tango was no longer regional. It was everywhere.
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New Tango Music
Arndt Büssing
El Cachivache Quinteto: Tango Punk Vol. II With their album Tango Punk Vol. I the El Cachivache Quinteto surprised their audience. They revitalized nine traditional compositions and underlined that each generation has to find their own approach to reconnect with their history and carry it further. Now their album Tango Punk Vol. II is out, and no, it is not a sampler with some more traditional tangos. They intend to convince us with eleven of their original compositions. Six tracks are from pianist Pablo Montanelli, four by guitar player Vito Venturino, and one by Argentine composer-guitarrist Julian Graciano. Again, the quintet plays with verve and enthusiasm and can easily convince a young audience. Of course, I have my favourite songs, namely the lively and propelling El Viajero and Se hizo de Noche which are irresistable. One of their strange compositions, Fetiche, is more post-rock than anything else. Transylvanika is a really beautiful vals that invites you to dance. Although, I didn´t care so much for the bottle neck guitar parts. Víto Venturino said that they wanted a live sound for this recording and all tracks were recorded simultaneously. However, this means that also several problematic moments of intonation on the violin were also retained, which decreases one’s listening pleasure in some tracks, such as Celosamente. Nevertheless, with their dauntless and forceful approach, the El Cachivache Quinteto will surely become one of the next influential ensembles in the contemporary tango scene. Definitely go and see this band perform! Overall Scoring (1-5 stars): **** Dancer´s pleasure = Listener´s pleasure Duration: 35 min. Artist´s website: http://www.elcachivache.info
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Orquesta Tipica Andariega: Balliamo This is the third album from Orquesta Tipic Andariega, featuring singer Walter El Chino Laborde with the rich sound of three violins, three bandoneons, a double bass and a piano. Compared to their 2014 album of new compositions, Andiamo, this time around the ensemble chose to play tangos from the past. With new arrangements, mostly from their director and bass player Luigi Coviello and one by bandoneon player Adrian Argat. All of these Golden Age tangos live through the contrast of rhythmically accentuated stride ahead parts followed by elegiac melodies, and the straightforward arrangements, reduced to the essential, support this impression. This clearly is the beauty of these songs. Listening to Esta Noche de Luna, composed 1943 by José Garcia and Graciano Gómez-Marcó, I like very much how arranger Luigi Coviello deals with the beautiful melody and contrasts it with the rhythmic orchestral accents with strict compass. Compared with Francisco Canaro´s version, they also have these accents. But Canaro seemed to be more interested in the elegiac melodies to please the dancers. In Coviello´s arrangement the melodies have more space to shine, and the accents are more aggressive. Luigi says that for him the balance of groove and rhythm is important, and that means having these clear differences between the rhythm parts and the melodic legato parts so that the musicians can be like an angel in the legato and a devil in the rhythmic parts.These devils are quite friendly but nevertheless seductive. Te Aconsejo que me Olvides, written in 1926 by Pedro Maffia and Jorge Curi, is a highly accentuated song with an attractive syncopated beat and a performance of singer Walter Laborde. Nothing against the Aníbal Troilo version with Francisco Fiorentino. It has its own charm. But, the Orquesta Tipica Anariaga version is more strict in its route. The singer El Chino Laborde plays his cards to phrase the lyrics, slowing the tempo, raising the dynamics and thus wakes the heart of this song. Outstanding! The same is true for Rodolfo Biagi’s well known Humillación from 1941. Laborde lives this song with an intensity that hurts. I hate this love! When it broke my will, it reduced me to begging for your warmth. Great. A clear recommendation to join their shows and listen to their music. Overall Scoring **** Dancer´s pleasure = Listener´s pleasure Duration: 31 min. Artist´s website: http://www.andariegatango.com.ar/
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Juan Pablo de Lucca Quinteto: Después de todo The quintet’s debut album has 8 tracks, most of which are written and arranged by their pianist Juan Pablo de Lucca, grandson of famous tango-singer Alberto Castillo. We hear Juan Pablo de Lucca (piano), Santiago Cirmi (bandoneon), Manuel Villar Lifac (contrabass), Mauro Caracotche (drums). Juan Pablo di Leone (transverse flute), Gabriel Wolff (viola), Emanuel Aguirrez (cello), Luis Caruana (bandoneon), Maia Perduca (flute), Emiliano Lorenz (bass), and Luciano Sellan (guitar) also appear on some tracks. The compositions and their arrangements explore the narrative textures of contemporary jazz and rely on the rich and vivid tango history, yet they remain in the usual spectrum. The transverse flute and bandoneon as solo instruments are played elegantly and avoid the annoying melodic patterns that can be found quite often in jazz-oriented tango ensembles. This is one of the strengths of this ensemble, they rely on their own music rather than making the 100th resuscitation of tango standards from the crypt. The musicians present these new compositions very cautiously and provide a beautifully relaxed atmosphere, even in the more energetic, drum-supported end of Nuestras ilusiones. No need to hurry. There is time to get down to the essentials. This music fits quite well to a comfortable café, but may be a challenge for non-professional tango dancers at the weekend milongas. For my part, I would prefer my café with the Juan Pablo de Lucca Quinteto! Overall Scoring **** Dancer´s pleasure < Listener´s pleasure Duration: 38 min. Artist´s website: http://www.juanpablodelucca.com
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Tango Moves
Raymond Lauzzana
Promenades —
The most common walk in tango is with the partners facing each other, with the leader walking forward and the follower walking backwards - caminando. However, this is not the only way in which tango dancers can walk. The dancers can both walk forward side-by-side, as in a walk in the park — a promenade or paseo. Normally, dancers would only walk in promenade for a few steps, more than four. But, in canyengue style, they may walk forward together, cheek-to-cheek, throughout the dance. As always, it is important to dance with the music. In more modern styles, promenade should be used to express specific musical phrases and always ‘in time’.
Basic Promenade (Paseo) In all promenades, both partners face the same direction, side-by-side. Typically, the follower is on the leader’s right side. The leader’s left and the follower’s right hand may be joined in front. In this case, the leader’s right arm would be around the follower’s waist, while the follower’s hand is on leader’s shoulder as in a normal close embrace. However, both dancers face the same direction towards the leader’s left hand. Obviously, there are numerous variations on this position. But, this is a good basic reference. There are many ways to get to this position from the zero position. Here are a few.
Sashay (Chassez) A casual normal walk in whch the active foot collects with the standing foot as it passes by. The dancers may walk may be either in parallel or cross system. That is, they may step together in parallel, on their right, then their left, or they may step together in cross system, , on the inside feet, then the outside. Weight is gradually transferred from the standing foot to the active foot. The next foot is lifted only after the active foot is loaded and the axis has been transferred to it. This is a slow smooth walk without a bounce.
American Start (el Americano) The so-called America Start comes from American Ballroom dancing. It occurs at the beginning of the dance, when the couple first embrace, with the leader is facing the outer rim and the follower is facing towards the center of the dance floor.The leader initiates the move into a promenade by stepping with left foot across behind to a toe tap, swivels 90° counter clockwise on right foot, before stepping forward with the left foot. The follower steps forward with the right foot in the direction of the line of dance, Their hips are engaged as they continue to step forward. Cut Sidestep (Corte a Lado) The leader sidesteps left. As the follower steps, the leader rotates 90° counter-clockwise. The follower opens clockwise rotating into a promenade position. The follower’s left hand remains on the leader’s shoulder., with her right hand at her waist. They both lean back and extend their legs and step forward. They walk with opposite feet, outside, with outside, inside with inside — cross system Outside Swivel (Giro a Fuera) The leader steps thru in front and across with right foot, changing weight to left foot that is crossed behind. and swivels counter clockwise. on the lft foot The follower swivels on right foot with upper body torque, and then brush steps backward to a cross. This leads to a promenade, in which both dancers step with same foot, side-by side — parallel system.
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Half Vine Promenade (Paseo Medeo Vid) The dancers step sideways to open, cross in front. step sideways, cross in front again, and repeats. They do not cross behind. This gives the opportunity for a variety of adornments and moves, such as sacadas or barridas, during the promenade. Crab Walk (Congrejo) A promenade mirror walk in which partners face each other. Cross step in front, rotate to promenade, side step to face, cross step again, and repeat. The walk is sometimes done with inside hip contact at the rotation. Closed Promenade (Paseo Cerrado) This is the most common form of promenade. It taken from canyengue style, but also popular in ballroom tango. In either close or closed embrace and in mirror image, the dancers step thru to the leader’s left. To lead the follower to walk in promenade, the leader may use a quick turn of the head, brusco, to indicate the direction of the promenade.The upper bodies of the dancers are torqued towards each other, as they walk in mirror image. In ballroom tango, the lead arms are extended forward. In canyengue, they are frequently lowered below the waist. Open Promenade (Paseo Abierto) More common form of promenade in modern tango or tango nuevo. Although the follower is usually to the right of the leader, the dancers may be on either side. The type of steps they may take vary widely and may be in parallel or in cross. The speed or pace of movement can me much greater in an open promenade; It is an excellent move to take advantage of available space on the dance floor. n the other hand, it is a bad move on a very crowded floor.. Promenade Rock Step (Cadencia Paseo) Just as in the caminando, any step can be turned into a rock step during a promenade, simply by reversing and repeating. This can be done to change the pace of the walk, if the tempo of the music changes, or as regular repeat to a syncopation. Reverse Promenade (Paseo Atras) Beyond a single rock step, any promenade may be danced backwards, but only for a few steps. Sometimes, this may be necessary because of traffic in the ronde, or that the dancers have reached a some sort impasse, either in the music or on the dance floor. This can be an excellent ocassion for the dancers to reverse sides, as well. Grapevine Promenade (Paseo Vide) This is the molinete in a straight line. Like the molinete it is a sequence of rour steps — step sidewaysl, cross in front, step sideways, cross behind, and repeat.The dancers walk in mirror image of each other. It is most appropriate for quick tempo music, for a maximum of two repeats. Once again, this should be reserved for ocassions when there is adequate room on the floor.
Serpentine Promenade (Paseo Serpeante) Similar to the grapevine or crab walk, but hands are held high as in a butterfly or mariposa. The steps are side,step, cross behind, side step, cross behind, repeat. During the back step, both dancers lower their bodies to make a large fan with their free leg as they move it backwards. Scissors Promenade (Paseo Tijera) The partners interlace their legs, scissoring as they walk. The partner that is behind sweeps their inner leg around so it is in front of their partner’s leg. The dancer that is in front must step wide enough to provide space for their partner’s step. They walk in a zig-zag pattern as they move forward. Running Crawl (Corrida Gateo) A promenade mirror walk in which partners start facing each other. They then lower their bodies and take a long cross step in front, rotate to face each other once again. This is repeated rapidly, but no more than three times. This is almost a running move. So, there must be adequate space ofn the dance floor. Spinning Promenade (Paseo Vuelta) As the promenade proceeds, the leader may take the follower’s hand and raise it above her head to spin the follower as they walk. This can be done from any promenade.
Hairpin (Horquilla Contra Paseo) From any promenade, the follower is led across the front of the leader. The follower ends up on the opposite side, facing the opposite direction. They may then promenade in rotation about their shared axis. Rolling Hairpin (Horquilla Rodante) From any promenade, the follower is led scross the leaders. The follower rolls and rotates over the front of the leader and ends up on the opposite side, facing the same direction. This is appropriate for any of the promenades. The rolling hairpin is a common way to change sides. Its obvious that there are many variants on promenades.The reader should definitely experiment with their partner(s) on other possibilities. These were just a few of them. One issue remains to be discussed — How to end a promenade.
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Switchback (Cambiando Paseo) From any promenade position, the partners rotate out away from each other, and then back towards each other in mirror reflection to an embrace. Natural Promenade Finish (Final Paseo Natural) Starting from any side-by-side promenade position, the leader steps left diagonal, right forward thru, left diagonal again, then to right collect in a touch instep. That is a full 360° counter-clockwise rotation by the leader away from the follower. In parallel, the leader sends the follower into 360° clockwise spin. The dancers finish facing each other in an upright position, with their feet collected, with the follower facing towards the center of the floor.
Promenades are a very fun wat to add variety to your dance from the usual caminando. However, they require more space and should be limited to musical phrasing that is appropriate to the feeling of the promenade. They are most appropriate with milongas.
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Letters Fabulous music! Graphic design is marvelous also. I’m subscribing to the internet version. Thank you. .— Beverly Reiser Bravo, some very good articles on the stage of tango in Montreal. — Katie Chaunier I am glad that my tapestry of CD of tango of Montreal has been able to find a place in your edition. — Daniel Saindons Thx so much. looks great...abrazos — Terry I love neo and the creative space and freedom partners get in it. — Tatiana Nigout It’s great. Awesome! — Mike Herrera I will always support to you. Always. For your important project — Cetin Yavuz Wow! What a great plan! — Anna Stąpór GREAT ARTICLES ...nicely written... — Mario Rinald Send me some postcard. I can distribute them. — Mauricio Salvador We are happy to send you a PDF to make postcards locally, and distribute them. In exchange for distributing our postcards, we will give you a free sixth page advertisement in the magazine. — MTW
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