Central Texas Tango

AUSTIN SPRING TANGO FESTIVAL 2010
March 26, 27, & 28

Visit the ASTF Facebook Page
Brought to you by:
* Vance Rightmire & Margaret Loeb
* Austin Tango Community

FESTIVAL DETAILS
@ Dance Institute (6612 Del Rio, Austin, TX):
- Workshop classes + led practica
- Friday and Saturday Milonga
@ Esquina Tango (209 Pedernales St., Austin, TX):
- Sunday Asada Milonga

WHO'S TEACHING:
Great Master Teachers and Dancers.... This year, as always!!
* Ines Muzzopappa y Federico Naveira
* Florencia Taccetti y Somer Surgit
* Ariadna Naveira y Fernando Sanchez

WHO'S DJING:
* Robin Thomas * Sabah Chammas * Ramu Pyreddy

An Amazing Value!

REGISTRATION OPEN SOON!

Full Pass (all 6 classes+all 3 milongas):
- Early Bird: $165
- After Feb 26th: $190

Classes à la carte:
- Early Bird: $25
- After Feb 26th: $30

Full Milongas package:
- Early Bird: $57
- After Feb 26th: $65

Friday Milonga:
- Early Bird: $20
- After Feb 26th: $22

Saturday Milonga + performance
- Early Bird: $25
- After Feb 26th: $27

Sunday Asada Milonga:
- Early Bird: $20
- After Feb 26th: $22

(Fee includes food. Vegetarian dishes will be available)

First let me say that I really love my neighborhood. My home base is centered around 182 and Spicewood Springs. On the southwest corner of that intersection is the greatest strip mall. It has the best coffee and cupcake shop, Cupprimo, an amazing cajun place, Sambets, several restaurants, locally owned shops (plus a Big Lots, Dollar General and a hardware store.) When I talk to owners, buy things in their shops and generally shoot the breeze - I'm talking with my neighbors. The same people I see walking their dogs and getting groceries at our local grocery store. That's my neighborhood.

One new gem (well, new to me anyway - they've been there about a year actually) is Lovey's Loot. A vintage (as well as new merchandise) boutique that has everything a fashionable tango dancer would adore. Skirts and dresses with tons of style - but still completely danceable, plus evening gloves, scarves, fishnet stockings, fedoras, jewelry, wraps, ladies hats, slips, corsets - and so much more. But there's one more exciting feature at Loveys Loot - the gallery adjoining next door, In'Trigue, a fine art gallery of paintings, sculpture, imports and home decor. The space is already used for fashion shoe, live music and art exhibits. Soon it will also have "Jungle Boogie Cafe" which will serve food and tea. Which got me thinking . . .

In'Trigue is a large rectangular space with a wood floor, tables and chairs - and they'll soon be serving food and drinks. There's only one milonga on my end of town at Uptown Dance near 183 and Burnet and it's only once or twice a month. They already stay open late occasionally for other events . . .

What do you think? Milonga material? (Click on the pictures to see full size.)

Fandango de Tango
Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark

"An Immersion in the Art of Argentine Tango"
Over 135 hours of Tango Dancing Fun!
Over 100 hours of Classes & 35 hours of Social Dancing.
**6 Levels of Classes **No Partners Required **

6 Milongas
Wednesday, Thanksgiving Brunch, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday All-Night, Sunday

Our All-Star Cast of Teachers
Fabian Salas y Lola Diaz
Guillermo Merlo y Fernanda Ghi
Diego di Falco y Carolina Zokalski
Nito y Elba Garcia
Pablo Pugliese y Noel Strazza
Facundo Posadas y Christy Cote
Donato Juarez y Carolina del Rivero
George y Jairelbhi Furlong

For more information go to Fandango de Tango's Website

Composer and musician Glover Gill and Tosca String Quartet are two of the best reasons to visit Austin's Argentine tango community. While Austin can boast some fantastic tango dj's at many local milongas, there's nothing like dancing to live tango music - music that Gill seems to tailor to the venue, the dancers, the mood - to create a beautifully unique experience every time.

From Glovertango.com: "Drawing on arrangements from the Golden Age of Tango, the group combines faithful renditions of early 20th century tangos, milongas, and waltzes with original compositions in the classic style.

"A self-taught accordionist, arranger, and composer, Mr. Gill has accompanied Luciano Pavarotti with The Austin Lyric Opera and provided arrangements for Ian Moore, Alejandro Escovedo, Russell Crowe, Tina Marsh, Double Trouble, Jon Dee Graham, and the Tosca String Quartet, among others."

From the Austin Chronicle: "Glover Gill is justifiably one of the best-known pianists in town, gracefully melting jazz, Western, classical, ragtime, and tango."

Gill's website can be found here: http://www.glovertango.com . Scores and CD's can be found on the "Music" page of that site.

Tosca String Quartet's site is here: http://www.toscastrings.com/

Mardi Brown and Stephen Shortnacy teach Argentine tango classes in Austin and Georgetown. Mardi and Stephen each have over 10 years dance experience. Both share their knowledge of the Argentine Tango with others in the local community by teaching beginner and intermediate classes at the Georgetown Recreation Center.

More information, including class schedules, can be found at www.GeorgetownTango.com.

I was sent this very informative article by a friend. It discusses the expectations and guidelines of tango in social settings, including dance flow, inviting and declining invitations and more.

Class and Tango Etiquette from Tango 2 x 4.com There is also this article by Ney Melo from CloseEmbrace.com called Tango Etiquette: The Do's and Don'ts of Inviting and Accepting.

Another outstanding resource for all things tango and etiquette related, is Yale's Tango Club Manners Page on Tangomuse.com.

Picture: Milonga at Eastern Market, Washington (WikiCommons)

From: Sergio Vandekier - on the Tango List at tango-l@mit.edu

How Villa Urquiza style (Traditional Tango) differentiates itself from the other styles: (in this video).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roNnIkrkfAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXU9nojcFQo

Long Steps, Embrace in "V", use of a varying embrace (elastic embrace) close, with little light to open, profuse use of embellishments, elegant erect posture. Elegant formal dressing.

Tango walk with a narrow base, the feet brush heels as they pass each other, the foot lands either toe or heel first. Walking on a line with external rotation of the foot.

1 - Milonguero - Cacho Dante -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgWMs0rAcJk

Shorter steps, embrace more frontal (where the V is less evident), close embrace only, different degree of elegance, Tango walk with a wider base, the feet are right under the hips, the feet do not brush heels as they pass each other, the foot land flat on the sole, walking on two lines, no external rotation of the foot. Less use of embellishments.

2 - Milonguero - Susana Miller- Same as #1 except that here the embrace is more in V, and there is more play with the rhythm. Use of ocho cortado.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Any40gQTc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odl9DBOQsYQ&feature=related

3 - Nuevo Tango -

Fabian Salas - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6inw_V_a1W0&feature=related
Tendency to use non traditional tango music.

Very open embrace, colgadas, soltadas, volcadas, piernazos, changes of direction, changes in the embrace, profuse use of heel sacadas.

Mariano Chicho Frumboli

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-5Bxtck3Uw&feature=related

A very open embrace, profuse use of heel sacadas and changes of direction. Elegance is sacrificed in exchange for an element of "surprise".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lro4WfRpzM&feature=related

Tendency to use non traditional tango music (in this case Argentine folkloric music is used). Some piernazos, some volcada, a very open embrace, some soltadas.

If you need some extra practice during your lunch break, this is the way to go! Here are all the links for 12 of the original 20 lessons. 13-20 are not available on YouTube, unfortunately. Instructors are Mora Godoy and Osvaldo Zotto.

• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 1/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 2/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 3/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 4/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 5/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 6/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 7/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 8/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 9/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 10/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 11/20
• LEARN HOW TO DANCE TANGO IN YOUTUBE LESSON 12/20

Picture: Tango couple posing, Buenos Aires (Wikicommons)

BewitchingBlackLotus has posted several step and embellishment tutorials on YouTube that are extremely helpful in expanding your tango repertoire. See Jennifer Bratt's YouTube channel here.

Watching these videos makes me want loads more shoes.

LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Decorated Side Steps- Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Front Boleo
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: High Back Boleo
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Low Back Boleo
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Basic Tap - Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Tap on Forward Step - Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Tap on '2' - Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Tap on '3' - Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Beat in Front - Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Double Beat -Tango Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Caricias - Embellishment
LaMaleva Tango Embellishment: Ochos with Cha Cha Cha
LaMaleva Tango Tutorial: Rulo Loco - Embellishment

Esquina Tango
Monica Caivano, Instructor
209 Pedernales St.
Austin, TX 78702
(DO NOT park in front of houses on 3rd St)
Esquina Tango Austin Website

Khabele Studio
Laura Pellegrino, Instructor
701 West 7th St.
Austin, TX
Tango in Texas / Laura Pellegrino's Website

Go Dance Studio
Liz Garcia, Instructor
2625 W. Anderson Ln.
Austin, TX
GoDance Studio Website

Georgetown Tango
Mardi Brown and Steven Shortnacy, Instructors
Teaching Locations:
Southwestern University
Aralyn's Downtown Studio
9th and Congress
Run Tex
off Georgetown Square,
809 S. Main St.
Georgetown, TX
Georgetown Tango Website

University Argentine Tango Club (UATC)
Practicas: Usually in the Showroom at the Texas Union
First Saturday Milonga: Quadrangle room at the Texas Union
UATC's Yahoo Group Webpage
(See Austin Tango Google Calendars for dates and times.)

Shirley McPhail School of Dance
Angel Figueroa, Instructor
8018 Mesa Dr.
Austin, TX
Email: adswing@aol.com

Austin Uptown Dance Studio
8868 Research Blvd. #706
Austin, TX
Visit Austin Uptown Dance Website

MILONGAS

La Tazza Fresca Milonga
519 W. 37th St.
Austin, TX
Every 2nd Friday of the Month
From 9:00 pm to 1:00 am

Milonga Lo de Laura at Dance Institute
6612 Sitio del Rio
Austin, TX 78730
Every 1st Friday and 3rd Saturday of the Month
From 9:00 pm to 1:00 am
For more info visit Dance Institute Website

Esquina Tango Milonga
209 Pedernales St.
Austin, TX 78702
Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the Month, and now every Thursday 9:00-1:00am.
For more info visit Esquina Tango Austin Website

Uptown Milonga at Austin Uptown Dance Studio
8868 Research Blvd Ste 706
Austin, TX
Every 4th Friday of the Month
For more info visit Uptown Dance Studio Website