Mundial de Tango Salon 2007: La Final

WOW - Who is Couple #209?! Tiger likes - mucho gusto!!!

El Buenos Aires Tipico...

gracias Andres :)

Mundial Salon Tango Competition 2007

Wow the dancefloor looks so elegant. This was Day One of the competition. There is no tango like tango in Buenos Aires. I wish Kumi and I had made it to dance there!!!

Kumi y Lexa dance di Sarli

gracias to Zeo for the great camera angles!

July 17 2007
La Boca Milonga
1st round of 1st US tango salon competition.

We Can Tango to this!

Primitivo - Learn the Origins of Tango

Saturday, August 11th, 2007 4:00 to 5:00PM
Tango History Video presentation:
PRIMITIVE TANGO STYLES (Origins of Tango Dance)
An in depth look at the old and fascinating primitive styles of tango including Canyengue and Tango Orillero with rare images of canyengue dancers from the 1930s and 1940s. Images of El Cachafaz, Sofia Bozan, Los Mendez, Victor & La Rusa, El Pibe Palermo, and many others.

Learning from the past Workshop:
5:10 to 6:30 PM
EL CACHAFAZ & LOS MENDEZ FIGURES
Through a unique experience combining old and rare video projections and live teaching, you will have the chance to learn from the past. Various figures from El Cachafaz and Los Mendez will be shown, broken down and explained, analyzed and practiced. This is a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of the primitive styles of tango.
Don’t miss it!

Sunday, August 12th, 2007 4:00 to 5:00PM
Tango History Video presentation:
CHILDREN IN TANGO
Before Mad Hot Ballroom, there was Mad Hot Tango! Amazing images of young tango dancers: from Gabriel Misse to Geraldine, Sebastian Arce to Johana Copes, from 5 year olds to 15 year olds, these are the young pioneers of tango. Images from their early careers in the 1980s and 1990s.

Learning from the past Workshop:
5:10 to 6:30 PM
COMING BACK TO THE CHILD WITHIN
Bring the innocent fun back into your dancing! Through a unique experience combining old and rare video projections and live teaching, you will have the chance to learn from the past. Various figures from these young master dancers will be shown, broken down and explained, analyzed and practiced. This is a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of the playful side of tango. Don’t miss it!

Conducted by the tango historian, dancer, author and choreographer ANTON GAZENBEEK, (NYC Tango Festival, World Tango Festival, Boston Tango Festival) assisted by Sergio Segura

Ripley-Grier
520 8th Av (btw 36 & 37), ROOM 16E
New York, NY 10018, 212...

Lecture: $17 in advance, $22 at door,
Workshop: $30 in advance, $35 at door
Daypass: $42 in advance, $50 at door
Two days: $75

Tango Traveler members $3 OFF www.tangotravelercard.com

RESERVE AND BUY IT ON INTERNET AT
WWW.SERGIOSEGURAPRODUCTIONS.COM
Or call "917-373-7446" or "917-373-7444" or send an email to:
sergioseguratango@yahoo.com.ar

Available TEACHING DVDs: Tango Salon - Fundamentals (Beginners) Advanced Figures and Sequences Vol. 1 (Intermediate) Advanced Figures and Sequences Vol. 2 (Intermediate - Adv.) Tango Al Reves Vol. 1 (Intermediate and Advanced)
Get them through www.sergioseguraproductions.com/teaching_dvd.htm
Special discount to Tango Traveler members www.tangotravelercard.com


Sergio Segura
Artist representative & Argentine cultural event producer
www.sergioseguraproductions.com

NYC has the best milongas in USA

I've heard horror stories about what happens to US communities after their TangoFest is over. A dark cloud of depression falls over the city and all its occupants become tango deprived. That never happens in NYC. Just like our city, the tango here never sleeps. (Of course all the festival organizers become comatose for a few days after the Celebrate Tango Festival ends) yet the pulse of tango goes on. One of the very special elements of the tango festival this year was the film portion. We had some great tango films and I'm happy to say that in NYC, even tango on the big screen goes on...

There is one very special milonga and organizer that I'd like to mention and that is Lucille of Esmerelda Milonga at Session 73. This milonga takes place every Sunday night and there is always great music, good tapas, a full bar, and at least once a month, Lu features a film or lecture on tango music in the backroom. It never disrupts the dancing but it's just an added touch of tango culture and class added to the milonga. This Sunday Aug 5 there will be a screening of "Tango Solo Mio" at 7:30 pm.

If you loved “Tango, La Obsesion”, and “Tango, Baile Nuetro”, you will love “Tango Solo Mio”!

says Lucila. The film comes to us from Jaime Davidovich’s extensive Argentine film archives. Jaime is amazing and has been a welcome addition to our annual Argentine Tango Pesach Seder. (That's right, once a year we tango our way out of Egypt!)

The following is a description of the film in Jaime’s words:

“The program is around una hora. It was made around the early 80's by a group of gringos (not Argentinos) but it captures the real tango. Features many scenes in the tenement house (birth place of tango) and the real tangueros ( no for export). It is half fiction half real...It has the usual suspects (Carlos GArdel), some fights and a real milonguera,,, married to the same guy for 60 years. She felt in love because he was the king of the milongas and also he asked her to press his pants (old fashioned courtship style of poor people in Buenos Aires). Anyway, the film is funny, is 100 per cent tango (all tango, no fat) and no sex but a lot of lunfardo.”

Make sure to wear your tango best on Sunday night because not only will you SEE a great film, you will be STARRING in a great film. Lucila has been taking stills of her milonga for years and on Sunday night she will capture some special moments and all the stills will be compiled on a DVD. Nos vemos en las milonga Esmerelda!

Session 73
Tango and Tapas@ Session 73 1st Ave (73rd St), 212 517 4445
hosted by Lucile (212) 777 6053
dancing 6:30 to 11:30 or later.
Lesson also at 6:30.$10 (dinner optional)


Tiger y Nina dancing at Esmerelda milonga
photo by LU

Kumi and Lexa Warm UP

This was the warm up for the semi finals in the US Tango Salon Championship. (July 17, 2007 at La Boca Milonga) Kumi and Lexa took 3rd place and were the first same sex couple to compete and to be officially accepted by the Mundial in Buenos Aires. Suerte! to Eduardo y Cyrena who won 1st place and will be competing next month in Bs As!

"Sacred Monsters"

I've been reading Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought Down the Kennedys by Peter Evans. I even traded in a few nights of milongas to stay home with this great read.

Ari immigrated to Bs As in the 20's after his family was forced to leave their home in Smyrna (I believe the Turks refer to it as the "citizen exchange" of Izmir?) O, already this is becoming more touchy than a Tango L discussion (war) on whether one steps with the ball of the foot or the heel. Anyway, Onassis made his first million in the city of Porteños selling Turkish tobacco and he marketed his cigarettes to women who were just beginning to smoke in public. He also took tango lessons every day and frequented the milongas. Unfortunately the book doesn't delve too deeply into these years of his life but it certainly sparked my imagination. Onassis was a ruthless man. Those must have been the days of the REAL malevos in the milongas. Not the wanna be bad boys of the barrio we have today. These guys in shorts would never have made it through the rough night. Back then the rooms were full of MEN in LONG PANTS!

Of course there are still a handful of evil ones among us. There's that fellow* who used to be a gynecologist but unlike Alberto Castillo the ladies do not fall in love with him. Neither his voice nor his manner are sweet. His dance is dreadful. The word is that he used to ask his female patients to undress and put on a robe that opened in the back. Then they were instructed to lay face down on the examination table. He then pressed a button causing the table to lift their bottoms high in the air and the robes of course would part and open. Then at the right moment - meaning the derriére was raised in the most exposed and compromising spreadeagled position, he would snap a Polaroid of their vaginas. He even had the gall to snap two and present one to the ladies while informing them that the other copy was for his files. Carlos Gardel knows how many women accepted this behavior as normal. Finally one woman sued his pants off and he was forced to close his practice for good. He continued on to take up the favored Argentine occupation and become a psychiatrist. I am told that most of his patients are women. This is scary stuff. Real malevo material. This guy is not even a charming sociopath like Onassis! And what's even worse is that he could pass for the twin of one of the most evil men in America. Fuckin' malevo!

Thanks for tolerating the political break. During the cortinas we really should take time out to Impeach Cheney and get rid of some of these culos destroying the beauty of our dance.

Now back to Ari... (according to Peter Evans) he did some of the most horrific things, like funding the hypnosis of Sirhan Sirhan to assassinate RFK. Kind of like a Manchurian Candidate thing because Ari needed Bobby out of the way to marry Jackie.

Onassis was also fond of saying "He who beats well, loves well". Ouch, that's about as milonguero as it gets. (Although nuevo tangueros say: "He who steps on the beat well, loves well".)

Nemesis is very compelling. It's easy to get caught up in the sordid lives of the rich jet set. Did you know that Jackie started her affair with Ari when JFK was still in the White House? That's right. He seduced the First Lady in Capri on his yacht, the Christina. Before that he had been sleeping with her sister Lee. O, and did I mention that Jackie also had an affair with her brother-in-law Bobby? I'm telling you, hands-down, this book outdoes our own tawdry little affairs and incestuous change of partners in the milongas. You can see why I've been staying home nights.

"Right" - some of you are saying - "hey Tiger, this isn't exactly news. All this Onassis stuff happened over 40 years ago. Even Evan's book has been out since 2004!"

Yeah, well that's what happens when you've been dancing tango for over 12 years. You miss stuff. Kind of get out of touch with the real world. Ok, give me a break here. I'm trying to catch up!

I'll just end with this. Onassis first seduced Maria Callas away from her husband by dancing tango with her all night. He must have had some good instructors. Maybe he took private lessons with El Cachafaz. Needless to say, he used all his prowess to woo and win her.

In The Queen's Throat, Wayne Koestenbaum writes:

Walter Legge, who produced many of Callas's legendary recordings, once peered inside her mouth and remarked that it was shaped like a Gothic Cathedral.

(No wonder Ari wanted to prey there.)
I don't think the divine diva of music would have fallen in love with a bad dancer. She was holy perfection. Although Koestenbaum also records that:

After the affair with Onassis began, she had a vocal crisis, retired, and then returned to the stage. She collapsed at the Paris Opera after the third act of Norma; she sang one more Tosca in London, and then she never sang an opera again.

The tango of malevos is powerful stuff.


*Characters are entirely fictional and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Some of the characters may have certain traits and/or mannerisms that may seem to suggest actual persons but I make no claim that these traits exist at all or in this combination in any person, living or dead.

Club Sin Rumbo. The Cathedral of Tango

The video collector Anton Gazenbeek opens his archive of rare footage (over 1000 videos, included the recently Juan Carlos Copes' career donation) about Argentine Tango dance to show a fascinating inside look at what really goes on in a Buenos Aires "barrio" or neighborhood milonga.
Rare and never before seen images of the Villa Urquiza milonga Sin Rumbo from the 1980s and early 1990s during tango's rebirth as a social phenomenon. Images of dancers Carmencita Calderon, Maria Nieves, Virulazo and Elvira, La Rusa, Pablo Veron and other legends will be seen.
Club Sin Rumbo milonga is one of the oldest milongas in Buenos Aires. It has 85 years of tango dance history.
This is a lecture not to be missed.

DATE: Thursday, June 14th, 7:00 - 8:30 PM

PLACE Chelsea Studios:
151 West 26th street. NYC, NY, 10001

PRICE: Reservation in advance $15. At the door $20
Tango Traveler Members $2 OFF.

CONTACT & RESERVATIONS: (212) 725-1078or (713) 893-1716
sergioseguratango@yahoo.com.ar
Conducted by Anton Gazenbeek: Tango dancer, choreographer & historian

About Anton Gazenbeek: Antón's passion for traditional tango lead him to start collecting all types of photographic and video material related to tango. After nine years, he has put together the largest and most important tango video collection in the world (now with well over 1,000 videos from all time periods). He has written articles for many magazines including those of the Asociación de Maestros, Bailarines y Coreógrafos de Tango Argentino, Explore Dance in the USA, and Tango Danza in Germany. Antón is a highly recognized expert on the show “Tango Argentino” and on the life of Antonio Todaro and is constantly consulted by different types of media including Balletin Dance and El Tangauta to collaborate on articles about those topics. Antón gives lectures on the history of tango with videos from his private collection and has been invited to give lectures together with big tango personalities such as Gloria and Eduardo Arquimbau, Maria Nieves, and Juan Carlos Copes. Recently he gave a presentation for the University of Carnegie Mellon, invited by the Pittsburg Tango Association. He is at the moment writing two books on the origins and evolution of tango and is finishing up two film documentaries filmed entirely on location in Buenos Aires. Juan Carlos Copes recently hired Anton Gazenbeek to compile a book with all Juan Carlos Copes' images career.
He is one of the starts of NYC summer Tango & Film Festival (July 15th to 22nd), where he will present his first book "Tango Argentino Show". The history of the show "who started it all"

Marta y Manolo

Marta and Manolo are amazing dancers and teachers and between the two of them, they have been dancing for 110 years! If you are interested in learning Canyengue, you can still catch a class with them at Dance Manhattan. 35 West 19th street 5th fl. NYC

Wednesday MAY 30
9:00-10:30 pm Level III **
Canyengue: Navigating with “Dobles & Corridas”

Also offered:
Wednesday MAY 23
9:00-10:30 pm Level I **
Canyengue: “El Enganche” – The Basic
Canyengue is a very special genre noted for it’s intimate embrace, brisk moves, and incredible interpretation of the music. The pure essence of the beginning of tango. Known as the happy style of tango, canyengue is the “swing” of tango!

Thursday MAY 24
8:00-9:30 pm Level II **
Canyengue: “Las Horquetas” –
Variations on Turns

Saturday MAY 26
2 :00-3:30 pm intermediate/advanced
Tango: Sacadas Made Simple
3 :30-5:00 pm intermediate/advanced
Milonga Fantasia: Alternative Embrace Explored
Milonga Fantasia is danced in the wee hours of the morning in Buenos Aires when the dance floor is less crowded. It is for those who are ready to explore new ideas and who want to experiment while continuing to build connection with a partner and to the music. Discover new ‘classic’ elements of tango to enrich your dance.

** Canyengue Levels I, II and III - we recommend you take all three but they can be taken independently and are suituable for Intermediate and above level Tango dancers.


Standard Pricing: $35 per class

Gallo Ciego con Carlos Gavito y Marcela Duran

dancing with the stars

Tiger's friend, Jan La Salle is a big star now. On a recent trip to Bs As, Jan was invited to dance on stage in a tango show at Confiteria Ideal. Tiger is lucky to still get a dance with her.

Here's Alberto Dassieu and Jan La Salle in the show "Milonguísimo" with singer Miguel A. Balbi at Confiteria Ideal in Buenos Aires on October 23, 2006. This video was posted on UTube by Jai Jeffryes

Gonzalo Cabrera y Roxanna Suarez UCP Women Who Care Luncheon May 4 2006

Introduction given at Women Who Care Luncheon: We have a very special treat for you today. We are pleased to introduce, a young dancer who happens to have cerebral palsy and one whose disability has not prevented him from striving to reach for the stars. Here, direct from Argentina is Gonzalo Cabrera and his cousin and dance partner Roxana Andrea Suarez to perform a traditional tango to the song Catamarca! (orchesta: di Sarli)

Loreen and I want to thank all of you in the NYC milongas for the warm welcome you gave to Gonzalo Cabrera y Roxanna Suarez. They danced a beautiful tango to open the United Cerebral Palsy's Women Who Care Luncheon at Cipriani and they were thrilled to be invited to perform exhibitions at the milongas every night of the week they were visiting here. Special thanks to Gayatri Martin of La Boca, Hernan of Tango Club, Coco y Juan Pablo of La Nacional, Dani Carpi of La Belle Epoque, Sandra of Lafayette Grill, and Jak and Metin of Baila Tango y DJ La Turca. For those of you who missed these wonderful kids, Gonzalo is sixteen years old and happens to have cerebral palsy, although you wouldn't know it when he dances tango. He and his cousin Roxy were an inspiration to us all! The GREATEST GRACIAS to Tanguero Productions for introducing these amazing dancers to the NY tango community!