Merde! Miles of TangoBliss tagged me and now I have to play this game and tag 7 other tango bloggers. (Do I even know 7 other tango bloggers?) Ok here goes. First I have to post the rules and the joker who tagged me. I was tagged by http://www.tangobliss.com
The Tango Tag Rules:
1.) Post the rules on your blog 2.) Link to the person who tagged you (see above link). 3.) Share seven random and/or weird things about yourself. 4.) Tag seven people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. 5.) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Seven on me:
1) I will never turn off my iTunes or c.d. player in the middle of a tango. I always listen to the end otherwise I think it's bad luck. So I can sometimes be found hovering over the stop button to make sure I catch it in time before a new tango starts. Once I was an hour late to an appointment because I couldn't seem to stop the player before a new tango began playing.
2) I can't wear a watch because I make them stop.
3) I'm a witch and a psychic. A lot of people think that's weird but to me it's perfectly normal. Once a month I tell fortunes in the milongas.
4) My ears are very sensitive. Don't ever touch them.
5) I hate it when people muss up my tango hair.
6) I used to work in a tree in Central Park reciting poetry and dancing with a 13 ft python.
La bailarina Argentina Rhea Volij,hará su debut en los escenarios Estado Unidences, los dias Noviembre 1 y 3 a las 7 pm , en la muy íntima sala del WOW Café Theatre, con La Huella de la Espuma.
Reconocida como una de las mas grandes bailarinas de Butoh en su pais, Rhea Volij nos trae este maravilloso trabajo a la escena del arte experimental de la ciudad.
La Huella de la Espuma es una busqueda dentro del territorio de lo inaprensible, lo fragil, aquello que bordea la desaparición. La intrincada delicadeza de La Huella de la Espuma nos revela en Rhea Volij, una artista de gran integridad y técnica, con una presencia escenica impecable.
El diseño de vestuario esta hecho por Líbera Woscensenczuc y Daniela Murcia; el diseño de luces por Eduardo Safigueroa y musica de The Residents, Leandre y Chronos Quartet.
Rhea Volij estudio Butoh, principalmente, con Sumako Koseki en Francia, durante cinco años y fue miembro de su compañia; ademas tomó algunos seminarios con Carlota Ikeda, Leone Cats Baril, Tadashi Endo, Minako Seki, entre otros. Rhea ha estudiado diversas tecnicas del cuerpo como el Kung-Fu, Tai-chi-chuan, Técnica Alexander, Body Mind Centering, danza moderna, danza Africana (en Malí), y el sistema de energía conciente de Fedora Aberasturi. En la Argentina, Volij a creado seis solos: "Flor de arena", "Bolero Inmóvil", "Contrastes para una bailarina y dos músicos", "Arbol sobre agua", "La huella de la espuma" y " Resplandece, Sangre. (Lear y Cornelia) ". Volij tambien ha coreografiado trabajos para varios grupos en diversas ciudades de su pais.
Where: WOW Café Theatre, 59-61 E. 4th St, 4th Floor (between Bowery and 2nd Ave), F to 2nd Ave or 6 to Astor Place When: Thursday, November 1 and Saturday, November 3, 7pm Tickets: $8. For reservations, call (212) 777-4280 or go to www.smarttix.com Web: www.wowcafe.org .........................
Nationally acclaimed Argentine butoh dancer and teacher Rhea Volij makes her US debut on WOW Café Theater’s intimate stage with La Huella de la Espuma (The Trace of Foam) November 1 and 3 at 7pm.
Widely recognized as one of Argentina’s most gifted butoh artists, Rhea Volij brings this stunning new work to the downtown experimental arts scene.
La Huella de la Espuma balances on the border between the seen and the invisible, searching through the realm of that which may just barely be apprehended. It creates a fragile reality that shimmers on the verge of disappearance. For all La Huella’s delicate intricacy, Rhea Volij is a fierce performer of unerring skill and precision.
With costumes by Líbera Woscensenczuc and Daniela Murcia, lighting design by Eduardo Safigueroa, and musical arrangement by Rhea Volij. Rhea Volij studied butoh, principally, with Sumako Koseki in France for five years, during which she was a member of her company; additionally, she has studied with Carlota Ikeda, Leone Cats Baril, Tadashi Endo, Minako Seki, among others. She has studied various body techniques such as Kung-Fu, Tai-chi-chuan, Alexander Technique, Body-Mind Centering, Modern and African dance, and Fedora Aberasturi System. In Argentina, Volij has created six solos: "Flor de arena", "Bolero Inmóvil", "Contrastes para una bailarina y dos músicos", "Arbol sobre agua", "La huella de la espuma" y " Resplandece, Sangre. (Lear y Cornelia) ". Volij has also choreographed works for various groups in cities across Argentina. Where: WOW Café Theatre, 59-61 E. 4th St, 4th Floor (between Bowery and 2nd Ave), F to 2nd Ave or 6 to Astor Place When: Thursday, November 1 and Saturday, November 3, 7pm Tickets: $8. For reservations, call (212) 777-4280 or go to www.smarttix.com Web: www.wowcafe.org
There's nothing like dancing tango in your own hometown. You've got the edge. You've got the home court advantage. Milonga One of Tango Sutra and I've all but given up. Relocated down the hall to the computers of Trinity College. Don't get me wrong. It's a wonderful milonga full of swirling couples, a beautiful hall, one of the best dj's I've heard in a while. I think her name is Julia. She's Russian. That's actually why I had to step out. My most cherished Di Sarli tango was played and I couldn't find a partner. Not being able to dance to it was just killing me. So I stepped out of the ballroom. I danced two tandas earlier with a woman I knew from years ago. She and another friend used to come to NY alot when D.C. didn't have much of a scene. They were beautiful tandas. I could have danced with her all night but I had to let her go.
I'm in a bad mood. An extremely bad mood. I haven't had this bad a milonga experience since the dreaded beginner days as a follower back in 1996. It's also parralleling my second time in Bs As which was a total nightmare. Listen, there are a lot of great men dancing tonight. Serious competition. And I don't know anyone. And I'm not clear about how they are making the arrangements to dance. It's not through cabacceo. It's not verbal. Something's going on but I can't quite catch the drift. I think my hunting muscles are soft to be honest. I am spoiled by NY and my home court advantage. Also my mind is kind of twisted up right now and I am convinced that these women do not really want to dance with another woman. They want to dance with men. As convinced of this as I am, utterly convinced, so convinced that I put it in writing put it in blog - a woman approaches me - Zoe. She asks if I am studying here. She wants to know if I am writing my dissertation or some sort of studies and on my breaks I come in and dance. I think this is kind of funny because I am nothing more than a criminal - illegally using the computers here because I am pissed off in the milonga. I tell Zoe that I am visiting and I don't know anyone here. Well that's not true. I know several people here but I am in a funk and I have given up on getting dances. Zoe tells me that she has seen what a wonderful leader I am and she would be happy to dance with me when I return to the milonga. So there we have it - my theory shot to hell! A woman wants to dance with me. She lets me know. Perhaps I am too used to having the women approach me for dance in NY. This happens alot. I am lazy and stupidly shy tonight. I am also pissed off that they don't have TANGO SUTRA TSHIRTS this year. That was one of the main reasons I came to this festival. Other than that, I guess I can't really complain. The weekend has just begun. There's a crowded room around the corner and Zoe waiting for a dance. Now that I've blown off some steam, maybe my energy and my tango luck will change. I will end on this note - for me - NYC and Roma have been the best cities for me to dance in as a leader. So D.C. I challange you to prove me wrong!
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.
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.
Don't have dental insurance? Afraid to let the dental students at NYU have at your mouth?
Go and see Dr. Margarita D'Urbano. She is the BEST TANGO DENTIST OF ALL TIME!! Of course you must call for an appointment 54-11-4382-2549 Rivadavia 1424 2nd fl barrio congresso B.A., Argentina (say that Lexa sent you)
Tiger's face is almost as white as her teeth here, after a visit with Dr. Margarita. Well, just as it is with the tango, dental work is intense and may sometimes cause you suffering and pain. But unlike American dentists, Dr. Margarita won't charge you an 'ARM AND A LEG' to fix your teeth and that's why Tiger is still smiling :)
