"If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it." --Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Since SFTX it's been a fairly constant stream of tango. Watching all the wonderful dancers reawakened something in me and got me to thinking that I could be--and should be--a lot better than I am. And so I'm making the effort, and so far it seems to be paying off. I still don't dance as much as some people, perhaps even most people. But the regularity of it appears to have had several positive effects on my dancing. It takes me less time to get warmed up, I feel a bit more comfortable navigating in a social environment, I'm adjusting easier to different partners, and I bounce back quickly after a dance that is less than ideal (and happily, even those dances haven't been that bad at all).
There is so much tango activity in the Bay Area this summer it's ridonculous. After SFTX, among other things, I took a fantastic class on boleos taught by visiting instructor Dani Tuero, checked out Trio Garufa live at Ashkenaz, assisted at the All-nighter in Berkeley, cheered on my friends at the Union Square milonga, did my weekly study at David and Mariana's advanced class, dj'd at CELLspace, and tonight I'm just getting back in from the kick-off milonga for Nora's Tango Week. Aside from the world class instructors at Nora's, other recent and upcoming guest teachers are Omar Vega, Jorge Torres, Donato Juarez, Tete and Silvia, Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas, Gato and Andrea... and of course, this is on top of all the great local teachers.
It's really an embarrassment of riches lately and I'm trying to take in as much as I can. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted already. But I'm finding that the barrage of tango is keeping my instrument in tune to a degree that is kind of new to me. I guess the question is how long I can keep this up.
Risk Guide for Partner Dancing Communities - Part 3
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https://youtu.be/ytgHMysHK7E?si=jgmGe7gRG5mxzqg6
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1 week ago
2 comments:
hi there malevito ~
[found you thru alex.tango.fuego] we are so very lucky to have so many tango riches here in the bay area and i'm so bummed i can't take full advantage of all of the summer tango splendor. with my big belly & swollen ankles, 4" stillettos & close embrace are becoming a bit awkward. so i've been sticking to my "tango vida" classes & not spending the time/money on the festivals. next year i'll be there to make up for it tho! so, thank you for sharing about the scene ~ i can sort of live vicariously..... ;o)
Hi SW, how are you?
My good friend and tango colleague/DJ extraordinaire Vijay recently posted on Facebook that he thought that SF had the best tango scene in the U.S. And our mutual good friend Ney recently exclaimed to me that the west coast in general is a particularly hot area for tango right now.
Sorry to hear you can't partake of it all but as long as you are getting a taste and are having fun that's all that matters. Although maybe you might think about investing in some heels that are a bit more forgiving? Not to get too deep in the subject of shoes, but I've found--perhaps contrary to popular notion--that a significant proportion of the advanced women dancers I know tend to generally prefer a lower heel because it allows them more of a range of motion and facilitates dynamic movement, and I'm sure they are physically less demanding in the long run as well. Of course, this is all relative to style. Sky high CIFs, for example, seem to work really well with styles such as Villa Urquiza which emphasizes relatively uncomplicated movements, long lines and rhythmic play.
Anyway, thanks for commenting, and I'm sure I'll see you in the scene somewheres :)
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