Written 3 YEARS AGO in Buenos Aires

15 days of lessons- then Johana Copes


All the figures run together in a blur and the worst part of this is that I HATE figures.

Johana was so kind to take Mike and I into a separate room at the Museum of Tango and work with us on basic walking for an hour.The floor was slippery , newly waxed, and I kept sliding nervously off my axis.

Julio wet a towel and put it in the corner where we could plant our feet every few minutes. My dancing has NEVER been worse and Mike was no better. All the skating lessons we had before our pairs competition didn’t help -the slippery floor worked under us like a sheet of ice. The 2 ½ years of hard work since we started with Johana in November of 06 fell away into awkward nonfeeling tango- the tango I hate. The more I thought about what she was thinking the worse it got. Side srep, short step, l-o-o-o-ng step. The V. Reach back, push back. Finally the last dance and we were free to stare at beautiful Antonella. Mike held her for a picture then we went to the street and better days ahead. Giving up the skating was easy. After this lesson I think giving up the tango might be the best choice for my old bones.

On a Different NOTE

Junior Cervila's thinking:
It could only be a coincidence but Tango and Freud's psychoanalytic
theories were born at the same time.
Ever since 'Libido' has been the force of human sexual energy.
Freud described the Super-ego (what is taught to us by our parents and
society at large), the ego (our personality) and the It ( our instictive
unconscious forces).
He initially thought that there were two basic forces motivating the human
psyches. One erotic and the other non-erotic.
he later came to revise his view when it became clear to him that it was
impossible to maintain that distintion.
He was finally was convinced that sexual drive was the main force motivating
human behavior and action.
Sex is then what moves us, not only us; it moves animals and plants as well.
We are here to grow, have sex and reproduce.

The individual comes and goes, the species remains.
Tango for me is the sublimation of that view, there is an encounter, an
embrace, a dance of passion and love, a sublime orgastic force that is
expressed by the dance, the end of the music and the encounter.
Another tango and another experience, for ever and ever, birth, love and
death.
Have nice tangos everybody. The people that can live with their own
sexuality
and those asexuals.

Junior

http://www.latindancecarnival.com/

Gayle Gibbons Madeira

Looking through Sid Grant's Facebook page I found this quote from his partner- winners of 2011 National Salon Tango Championship


Artists Statement


I believe that painting and dance flow from the same source and the viewer is a participant in the choreography of my paintings. The fragility of life fascinates me and through the creation of extreme close-up portraits I search for intimacy and connections.
 - Gayle Gibbons Madeira

SIDNEY GRANT!!!!!!!

Why would I spend my day dusting cobwebs out of the downstairs dance room, planting yellow flowers, hanging a hammock, dressing a mannequin and dressing an enormous plastic elephant, buying mini Milkbones? Also worrying about the food, the music, the extra pounds- all this- when I know the 2011 National Salon Tango Champion does not wear white gloves.
SIDNEY GRANT.

The Magic Kiss

Eduardo Saucedo, a bear of an instructor, has almost dropped me to my knees with what I now call the "Eduardo Kiss". The kiss starts on the cheek and stays there as it deepens into another place down inside. It's what Eduardo explains is the feel of the perfect tango. That tango happens along when the mood is just right or the music is just right. Mike and I experience the Eduardo tango when we least expect it and look at each other and say maybe we should quit right now. If you experience the "Eduardo Kiss", pass it on. If you experience that intensity in a tango remember it forever.

Walter- Tango Tent Opening -34+ turned out to dance!

Walter comes early, never says a word, digs in and prepares food, helps Mike with the drinks and ice.
Walter stays to the end, visits and cleans up the mess- puts the food away. Often he hauls in the chairs and rugs. Mat and Suzanne do the same. What would we ever do without these wonderful support friends who just show up and help us.
Our opening was JOYOUS! New faces and the tango was alive with Mike's selection of music. Strong beat.  There is a tango addict in the making- WAB could that be you?
When will I ever get to dance with Mike again? New faces need to get a start somewhere. HELP!

A Month Off

Haven't posted for a month. Our tango tent opens tomorrow- Sunday June, 5th.
The list of outdoor projects was long. Mike and I dug in and worked almost every day. I can't believe at 76 he could spread 4 tons of gravel.
Finally we hired a lawn service to mow/weedwack.
People popped in to help. Mike Andrews and Vince Gallo with the tent raising.
Vince Gallo came back to put down the floor. Walter Paduck painted the new chairs. The support to get this monster going keeps US going.
Tomorrow at 5:30- rain or shine- we DANCE!