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Argentine tango blog
/ with Interaction Design interludes / by Oleh Kovalchuke |
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October 2005
Oct. 18, 2005 - Who is Sadie Hawkins?
Tango Colorado is going to have two Sadie Hawkins nights at this week practicas. Who is Sadie Hawkins?
She was "the homeliest gal in the hills," and she grew tired of waiting for men to court her. So her father declared a foot race in which unmarried women of the town of Dogpatch pursued the single men. If a woman caught a man, he had to marry her.
High schools across the United States adopted the fictional concept and held light-hearted events during "Sadie Hawkins Day" where girls would ask boys on dates to dances.
He had to marry (to dance with) her? Well, if roles are reversed, which is perfectly reasonable and quite educational (by the way, why should not both men and women invite to dance all the time? - any feminists out there?), the reversal should be complete and man has to have the right to say "no, I am resting" or some such. Otherwise the fun would be clearly lopesided.
Random
Cold, expensive winter is coming. Required reading for today: New York Times promotion of McMansions as it is seen by Clusterfuck Nation (read comments too) and of course the comprehensive review of imminent Peak Oil. But wait, Times has it's take on doomsday too. And another informative read: Car culture and the landscape of subtraction.Oct. 14, 2005 - Tango trip to Italy (Rome and Palermo) - useful info
Palermo milongas: http://www.palermotango.it/pagine/english.htm and Sicilia Tango Festival: http://www.siciliatangofestival.net/english/index.html
Calendar of Rome milongas: http://it.calendar.yahoo.com/tangoromaserate
Online maps of Europe from Michelin: http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Maps and another online map of Rome.
Rent Bed & Breakfast anywhere in Italy: BB Planet Italy and Craig's List (Craig's List has even better listings for Buenos Aires)
Public transportation maps in Rome: http://www.atac.roma.it/linee/index.asp?COD=330&LNG=2 (type in origin and destination in two boxes - it will give you public means to get there).
Buy your intercity train tickets online: http://www.trenitalia.com/it/index.html (and on how to travel in Italy by train)
Weather in Italy: http://www.weather.com
Translate Italian pages in English: Google and Alta Vista.Recommended milongas in Rome (Fall 2005) (based on recommendations of four different people):
Tuesday
10.30-2.30 - Oficina Tangopolis (at 5 Via Cupa - ph. 06-30.89.41.52 / 339-14.67.003 / 06-70.14.517)
A milonga pretty bare but with a friendly atmosphereWednesday
9.30-1.30 - The Garden of Tango (at 7 Via degli Olimpionici- ph. 06-97.27.50.65 / 339-45.14.568)
RECOMMENDED, especially in the SummerThurday
9.30-1.30 - Gallery of the Snakes (at 32 Via dei Serpenti - ph. 06-48.72.212 / 339-23.46.185 / 338-74.40.845)
The only downtown milonga. A traditional milonga in the hearth of Rome. Almost everyone is dancing apillado.Friday
10.30-2.30 - Tanghèra (at 146 Via degli Angeli - ph. 06-24.30.09.64/ 333-81.50.608)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It's a milonga organized inside a sporting club. Felix Picherna from B.A: is DJ. It could be difficult to get there by taxi. Get bus 105 (day), 50 (night) from Termini.Saturday
9.30-1.30 - The Garden of Tango (at 7 Via degli Olimpionici- ph. 06-97.27.50.65 / 339-45.14.568)
RECOMMENDED, especially in the Summer. Il giardino del tango is more crowded, but Tangopolis looks great. Better dancers go to il giardino del tango, beginners like Tangopolis.Sunday
17.30 -22.30 - Tangobar (at 9 Via Macerata - ph. 06-70.30.11.01)
1st tango place in Rome. Tangobar is a beautiful place to drink a tea and dance a few tangos. Dancing could be a bit hard, because it is full of beginners of the local school.
22.30-2.30 - El firulete (at Via del Commercio - ph. 06-55.26.27.33 /339-71.02.917)
El firulete is organized at Alpheus disco. It is like in B.A. Wonderful music.
Monday
There is no Milonga on Monday.Note: The Garden of the Tango holds milongas every day of the week, except Monday
Get travel guides in the library and don't forget to email yourself copies of your docs.
Random
One of defining traits of an enterprenuer is the ability to inspire specialists to work for him (the other two are accounting skills and ability to sense customer demand) - Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko's. It follows then that the most successful group of enterprenuers over the recent milenea were women. Well, the demand is pretty strong so they didn't have to work too hard (which is another trait of successful enterprenuer according to Orfalea).Oct. 7, 2005 - On modesty, Part 2.
Astrid has posted an interview with Faruk Ruzimatov, famous classical ballet dancer where he says that he always needs to work hard to be in presentable shape and without ballet he would probably be a street sweeper or a repair man.
Well, it is true. To become an accomplished ballet dancer one needs to have able body and to submit himself to decades of rigorous training since tender age of 5 - in other words to become a finely polished, highly specialized tool in the hands of decision makers (choreographers and trainers). He recognizes that without constant practice, without ballet his life would become senseless. That's not humble, that's realistic. The real test of modesty would be to ask how much does he charge for his performances. If he thinks of himself as a world class dancer he charges world class fees.
The modest would be "I will work even harder" without realizing that you are been ridden philosophy (the horse in Orwell's farm). Pigs find it very accomodating. On the other hand the horse was without doubt the happiest animal in that story.
A bit busy with Glenwood Springs workshops, interviews and travel plans for Italy. There are some curious observations gleaned from responses to my previous post though.
Oct. 2, 2005 - Ignorance about religion
Skip the first three paragraphs if long sentences glaze your eyes.
My recent comment on dancing style of Nito and Elba has exposed my incurable ignorance about these two dancers. In valiant attempt to help several people have informed me that Nito grew up with some well known people, taught tango at some point to some other well known people, traveled around the world, dance for really, really long time and overall very, very nice person.
This effort to make a dent in my vast and offensive ignorance regarding Nito’s dancing style while well intentioned has ultimately failed because the information is clearly incomplete. For instance I remain flagrantly clueless as to what is Nito’s shoe size, who is his favorite tailor and how is it his hair is always in such an impeccable shape as well as answer to this perennial favorite in the highly relevant trivia “Boca or River?”.
Moreover and most unfortunately deep mystique still surrounds exact locations of “Nito and Elba” temples. Obviously this last bit is available only on the need to know basis to stringently selected inner circle. Fortunately a hint has been generously offered by important people “in the know” that I might be let into this highly privileged sanctum at some point in undefined future since the following piece of info has been dispensed due to my annoying probing efforts – my comments are sacrilegious. I guess I need to strengthen my willpower and probe some more if I wish to eradicate my ignorance about well established Nito-and-Elba religion.
Anyway it must be obvious by now that none wrote anything specific about Nito’s dance style except Sergio in passing that this is how they danced in the provinces in the forties. This is indeed relevant information. Before I address it I would like to elaborate on what I mean by closet ballroom dancers. These are dancers who dance figures to single beat oblivious that there is also melody and more rhythms (that’s why they have drums in ballroom tangos). Gavito, who grew up in the same town as Nito (thanks Astrid for this bit of trivia – it was useful since I have used in this sentence) has said the following: “I step on the string bass, I lead the woman on the violin; if tango was supposed to be danced on the beat, then one drum would be enough, no need for a full orchestra.” Nito does not dance like that hence my comment. I bet though that more people were aware of this possibility of dancing in more complex way in the forties – after all many of the best danceable tangos where recorded in that period.
A bit more about how they danced tango sixty years ago. We have several ballroom couples who dance tango ballroom style at milongas in Denver. If they still dance in sixty years from now they will be able to say that this is salon tango how it have been danced sixty years ago. Who would be able to argue with that?
Should I admire Nito’s dance style because of that personal longevity? I might if I were ignorant enough to not have seen other, very different examples danced by milongueros. Gavito, Osvaldo, Ricardo, El Flaco, Tete, El Gallego just to name a few of them I have seen dancing. These are the dancers who indeed express music to the fullest Argentine tango has to offer.
Manuel wrote about Nito and Elba:
"They are very good dancers and teachers, and most of all they are extremely decent and dignified people, generous to a fault, loyal, etc."
Curiously "stately" and "dignified" are also the words I would use to describe Nito and Elba style (goes to illustrate that you dance who you are). However these are hardly flattering attributes as far as dancing is concerned.
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