Private Classes

Now I'm basically stuck in Argentina for the forseeable future.

Some people have asked me what classes I recommend and so forth, and I really don't have any easy answers. I like the classes at DNI, but I think that for most people Tango Nuevo is like driving an 18-wheeler before you can ride a bicycle (well, something like that). I like the classes with Jose and Viky (http://www.nuevotangosalon.blogspot.com/) and with Alejandro and Marisol (also very modern) and I do take an occasional class in DNI. But personally, I've been taking a lot of private classes with Cecilia González, who is awesome for what I want to do (tango salón).

I went to a Tango party the other night (have fun in Canada, Maral!) and there were a lot of modernos there. I think the women do quite well in Tango Moderno, since the same concepts of lead and follow apply. But the men suffer, because they are leading complex stuff and sometimes you have to modify your arms and you can't lead everything from your torso. The real deal is that Tango Moderno is true dance: the torso moves the arms, the arms move the hands, the puntos de apoyo (connections) move the woman. But before you get to that point, it's much better, I think, to focus on moving the woman from your torso. Tango Moderno is basically a relaxing of more traditional tango, meaning that many of the rules can be broken. So if you don't have those rules ingrained in your body, it's a terrible looking free-for-all.

But I was watching one of the guys at the party who women have told me dances quite well at moderno. And he sucks: hips going in any direction, torso going in any direction, hands moving independenly of torso which is basically always moving with the hips... obviously, if you never learn to dissociar (separate? disconnect?) you will forever move like an inelegant putz in tango.

While I'm rambling, they were showing that terrible Duvall movie on TV the other day. Man, Duvall actually dances tango! I mean, he's not a great tango dancer, but he's quite good (or at least in those choreos that they did). Sally Fields or whatever her name is in that other movie with Pablo Verón is an absolute yutz, and the movie isn't much better than Duvall's hitman bullshit.

But yet, Tango must advance... hopefully soon I'll comment on Zotto's show, which I saw over a month ago...