DNI Midday on Saturday, Tan Piola on Saturday, PracticaX on Tuesday

Thanks to B for the anonymous comment about my blog! I'm glad people are out there and enjoying it.

I haven't been that active recently, but two things are of note: the first is that on Friday I had a class with Cecilia Gonzalez, who is doing some of the organization of Lady's Tango Week (she works with Johana Copes) and the class was great. Then after we walked down to where Lady's Tango Week is being held, where we hung out with Miguel "Negro" Romero, who is one of the organizers of Tan Piola (you have to live in Argentina for a long time to care who you hung out with and what important thing they do, I think). Anyway, nice guy, but the point is that I was going to go to Tan Piola on Saturday night anyway.

DNI at Midday on Saturday
I love Hector and Silvina and the class was pretty cool, but the women were either dancing with other women (just one), or dancing with their boyfriends (I know, I should say dance partners, but that just wasn't the base) or they just weren't that good. But whatever, classes go up and down: DNI is generally better in terms of demographic than other places.

Tan Piola on Saturday Night
Was amazing. It was expensive--20 pesos--but there were three couples who danced: Alejandra Mantinian y Gabriel Missé, Guillermina Quiroga y Roberto Reis (el cachorro to everybody here) and Maricel Giocomini y Maximiliano Cristiani (www.maxiymaricel.com). Maxi and Maricel were my first Tango teachers, so that was cool, and I really liked Gabriel Missé and Guillermina Quiroga. They would make a great couple, I think, although Alejandra Mantinian and El Cachorro were great too. Anyway, it was hard to tell because I watched everything from above and that changes your perspective (hopefully I'll put a photo in here soon). The point is that the show was amazing: they did three sets in which each couple danced one "number." These are probably some of the best/most-well-liked people in Tango no-moderno, and it was a sight to behold.

PracticaX Tuesday
Information exchange in Argentina is folkloric as usual, so people got confused and went to PracticaX last night when in fact the show they wanted to see is next week. It was amazing: great people, great vibe, and a decent amount of space. Now that I've been doing Tango for over a year, I also know a ton of people, which is fun. Although my cynical side cannot accept it, I really like PracticaX.


Daniel Rosenstark
www.DVDs4theSAT.com
SAT tutoring you can rewind

Tango at Canning on Thurdsay Midday?

It's been a crazy tango ride recently. I've been faithfully attending Practica X on Tuesdays, and I've been at Malcom a few times (www.tangocool.com) and I've made it to the Viruta a bunch of times too. PracticaX is probably the coolest scene in the entire world in Tango, in my opinion, because it's a relaxed atmosphere where there are some of the best dancers in the world (and some of the worst).

The places I'm studying at the most are DNI, which I still like, Copello, and... oh yeah, I started studying privately with the BEST private teacher in Buenos Aires for my taste, Cecilia Gonzalez ("no la famosa, la otra") who is turning my tango around (slowly but surely... if you want to get in touch with her, send me a comment here and I'll respond to you personally).

Adrian and Yanina's course on Wednesday nights in Copello on Milonga (at 21.00) is great, but I can't study much in Copello because of some historical issues (basically they fired everyone and then all the bonos expired). Ah, if I manage it I want to get to Grisel on Saturday's to study with Alejandro y Marisol (man, if my chica would come with me it'd be amazing).

On Monday nights at 19.30 I'm at Tango Brujo in the body movement class or whatever it's called. It's a great class to get your movement together. Cecilia (not my private teacher), who teaches the class with Santiago (go for his English if nothing else), also teaches on Thurdsays at Canning at 15.30 and then they have a free práctica. The práctica is BRILLIANT, although there were only 8 people in total... but I got to dance a lot, and got to meet the other teacher, Magdalena, who is brilliant. I'll probably go to the class next week and not just the práctica, but it would be better with a partner.

Anyway, I know you're out there so if anybody has any questions or aspects of Tango here in Buenos Aires they want me to investigate/talk about (or both), I'd be glad to.

In the meantime, if I don't write much... I'm promoting my brother's product DVDs4theSAT, which is a full-length SAT Test Prep Course on DVDs for use in your DVD player (computer not required). He's probably one of the best SAT tutors in the country (I mean, the US), and he put a lot of love into it. It's a great product and I hope to get it to make big money so I can dedicate myself to being a rent-a-tango-partner :).

Clases Con Firpo

Well, I took a Tango Milonguero class on Thursday (quite by accident) with Jorge Firpo and it was fun, though very basic. But at the same time, those little movments are pretty useful in a crowded milonga. Firpo says that in the 1950s Tango changed to Milonguero Style (apilado, shared axis) because the dance floors got crowded. Now his history may be quite doubtful, but the class was fun. Also, it was different than the modern Tango that you'll see everywhere else (well not everywhere).

I also went to a Milonga class on Wednesday night at Copello with Yanina and Adrian at 9pm. That was great! My first class in Milonga Traspie. Cool stuff.

Then... let's see: I was Práctica X on Tuesday night which was probably my best tango night ever. My Tango is getting better, somehow.

Anyway, I wanted to write a schedule here for Firpo before I go paperless, again:

Tango Milonguero
Martes 12.30 to 14.00 Escuela argentina de Tango Rodriguez Peña
Jueves 17.30 to 19.00 Escuela argentina de Tango Center

Técnica de hombre
Jueves 19.00 to 20.30 Escuela argentina de Tango Center

Tango Salón
Viernes 17.30 to 19.00 Escuela argentina de Tango Center
Viernes Milonga Lisa y con Traspié 19.00 to 20.30  Escuela argentina de Tango Center

Vals
Martes 14.00-15.30 Escuela argentina de Tango Rodriguez Peña

Do I think his classes are good? Well, they're definitely a pretty good tie-in with Tango Milonguero. He's a guy who's been around for a long time. The only problem is that, with the exception of the Thursday class for men's technique, the classes are all for beginner, intermediate, and advanced. So the level was quite low. Actually, it MIGHT be a great place to start learning tango.

I have had some new breakthroughs with my Tango, and I'll write about them soon.

Grisel Results

Wow, so I made it to Grisel for the Saturday 7pm class (interestingly, the bus back takes a totally different route. Leave it to the Argentinians to do stupid shit).

The teachers were pretty good. However, there were not a lot of general corrections (although the woman did correct me on my overuse of brazos instead of torso). Alejandro and Marisol are good but they are very chicho like (although really pleasant to watch, but enanos).

Anyway, I spent pretty much the entire class planchando (that's what you call it when you're on the bench) because I didn't have a partner. And there you have it folks. Marisol told me at the end of the class, "deberías buscarte a una compañera." Yeah, I know. Soon I will begin the busqueda.

Anyway, there were 5 couples and if you don't have a partner, don't go (woman, man, or child). Good dancers, though. But not very tango salón. More nuevo, really.

How To Get To Club Grisel

So I'm back to Tango again, although I don't have any clear explanation for where I was in the meantime. Partly, working on Tango with my novia and partly not working on Tango much at all. But I'll have some new software up on my site soon (www.confusionists.com), and I'll have the site redone with Adobe Flex and deep linking... sorry, I digress.

So anyway, on Thursday night I went to take Tango Intermedios II at Mora Godoy (20.30) which was actually quite nice. Then on Friday I took Tango 3/4 at DNI with Hector and Silvina. I love them as people and I respect them as dancers, and they worry about my Tango. So I'll hold any other comments I might have.

And then I had a little chat with Dana from DNI. Might I mention for the record that Dana seems to be a ditz, but in fact she's lucid, intelligent, and buena gente. Props to the DNI people, who I still like better than just about anybody in Buenos Aires on a personal level.

The best thing about Friday's class in DNI is that I met a woman named Silvina (a glitch in the Matrix?) who dances quite well. She told me she studies "tango salón" which is the keyword for what I'm looking for these days. So I asked where she studied, and I have to say that over and over again these people say that I need to study with Carlitos Pérez at Sunderland (I've lost the horario, but I think it's somewhere in my blog. Ratoncito Pérez...). Anyway, I DO like the people who have studied with Pérez, but in the three classes I took there he didn't help me much at all. And the comments he did give me were sort of anticuated. I'm not talking about Tango Nuevo, I'm just talking about Salón. For instance, Perez says that the hand is in the middle of the back of the woman and guides like that. That is not really compatible with Tango Salón these days, in which EVERYBODY is talkinga about an abrazo flexible where the right hand slides right and left on the woman's back.

So I don't know about Sunderland and Pérez. I hope to find another way to do this Tango Salón thing.

Meanwhile, my new friend said that the best thing on Earth (although still a bit moderny) is Grisel at 7pm tonight (Saturday). She told me the name of the teachers like 4 times, but por más que mi español va de puta madre, nunca entiendo palabras nuevas sin verlas por escrito al menos una vez. So I'm off to Grisel for tonight and later I'll tell y'all who the teachers are.

Last night at Villa Malcom was good, good vibe, and too many people. I may never learn to dance in a crowded milonga.

Now for those of you who are not just here in Buenos Aires taking cabs everywhere (which is totally lame), figuring out the buses is a torture because the Guia T is made by idiots (by the way, somebody pointed out to me that GUIA T is really guiate meaning, er, get around or literally, guide yourself). So anyway, so as not to lose my precious research on Club Grisel, I will put it here for all eternity.

Club Grisel is at La Rioja 1180, which is currently on Map 24 of the Guía T in the B1 box, right to the North of Avenida San Juan (North being closer to Córdoba, if you prefer). So anyway, to get to Club Grisel from Barrio Norte (and many other places if you have a 101), take the subte to estación Jujuy and you're done. But that's for wimps. Real men and women grab the 101 when it turns lefts from Córdoba to Pueyerredon. Then it will keep going (street name changes to Jujuy), then it will turn right onto Venezuela, go two blocks, and go left (resuming the South direction) on Dean Funés (Funes?). Now that's all you have to know, because you have to get off at Dean Funes 1000, which is after crossing Independencia but before crossing San Juan. Then you should walk right a block and now you're on La Rioja and ready to find Grisel. Now, for those of you who wanted to go and gave up and took a cab... well, if you're here for more than 4 days you should really use the buses. It's fun, cheap, and you get to see the people. Cabs are annoying and a cab driver told me last night that some guys move the taxímetro ahead while you're not watching. Is that true? I don't know, but I prefer buses because they keep you real.

And being real is what Tango is all about. Or is it?

Fwd: Si a alguien le sorprende es que no conoce nuestro Pais

Hey I just received this mail from Jose and Viky (who are in tour in Europe right now! www.joseyviky.com.ar).

Basically, the La Ciudad de Buenos Aires is cancelling the next Festival de Buenos Aires Tango. I don't know about Macri and the political ins and outs, but here here is the letter from María Carolina Simón, una grossa del mundo del tango (er, I think).

I've been in Buenos Aires for two years and for personal reasons I know a lot about how the State deals with The Arts in Argentina (for instance, ever heard of the Ballet Folklórico Nacional de Argentina? No one has, because it's an organismo del estado). In so many aspects, if the goverment of Argentina would only stop fucking things up and take care of what they have, Argentina would again be one of the best countries in the world (instead of being a cheap tourist destination, meat restaurant, tango practice spot, and place to set up cheap call centers).


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Dec 13, 2007 2:52 PM
Subject: Si a alguien le sorprende es que no conoce nuestro Pais

Estimados músicos, bailarines, profesores, organizadores de milongas, fotógrafos, dibujantes, docentes, medios de prensa y todos aquellos que desde 1998 han sido parte, cada uno desde su lugar, del Festival Buenos Aires Tango, de los Campeonatos Metropolitano y Mundial de Baile de Tango, y de la web Tangodata :


El próximo Festival Buenos Aires Tango, ocasión en que la ciudad celebraría por décima vez nuestro género ciudadano, no será una ocasión de festejo, como muchos habíamos imaginado. Las autoridades de Cultura de la gestión que asumió el último fin de semana nos han comunicado la suspensión del evento. Lo hicieron justamente el 11 de diciembre, aunque dudo que sepan qué debía festejarse ese día.

Cabe señalar que esta decisión fue tomada sin haber conversado con ninguno de nosotros acerca de qué era lo que estaba armado, a qué artistas se había convocado, qué espacios estaban involucrados, es decir, sin evaluar cuáles serían las consecuencias de la decisión ni quiénes resultarían perjudicados.

La instalación nacional e internacional de Tangodata y de los eventos de Tango que hasta el viernes organizaba el Gobierno de la Ciudad fue una ardua tarea que venía desarrollándose desde hace años, incluso desde la época en que el actual Ministro de Cultura, Hernán Lombardi, era Subsecretario de Turismo de la Ciudad.

Lamentablemente, hoy vemos que el vaciamiento del área de Tango y del resto de los Festivales es una estrategia planeada desde hace tiempo, lo que queda demostrado en la celeridad y la violencia con que implementaron este cambio, que se parece bastante a una demolición. El martes, primer día hábil de la gestión macrista, llegamos a lo que hasta entonces eran nuestras oficinas y nos encontramos con que los carteles que indicaban los espacios de los distintos eventos habían sido arrancados. Ese mismo día la flamante Coordinadora General de Producción nos comunicó que el Festival se suspendía, que cambiarían la estructura de la Dirección y que todos íbamos a ser reasignados a otras tareas y en otros espacios físicos. Ayer, miércoles, fuimos invitados a desalojar las oficinas, vaciar las computadoras y retirar nuestros efectos personales de ellas. Nos otorgarán "francos compensatorios" hasta el 15 de enero y temo lo que ese día pueda ocurrir.

No sólo se está despreciando un proyecto que llevó años construir, sino que también se desprecian los recursos humanos y el conocimiento que formamos a lo largo de diez años.

Pido disculpas a todos los convocados para ser parte del Festival que ya no será. Probablemente, haya pecado de ingenua y hasta de optimista, pero sinceramente este escenario no lo soñé ni en la peor de mis pesadillas. A su vez, agradezco que nos hayan acompañado todos estos años y que nos hayan permitido trabajar con ustedes, disfrutando de su arte, de sus conocimientos y de todos ustedes como personas.

También quiero expresar mi enorme gratitud a todos los que formaron parte del equipo, los que están y los que estuvieron. Les agradezco el trabajo, la entrega, el compromiso y la pasión que pusieron. El éxito y el prestigio innegables que logramos construir (y el macrismo viene a destruir) fue posible porque entre todos lo hicimos posible.

Espero encontrarme con muchos de ustedes en situaciones más felices. Muchas gracias,

María Carolina Simón

Not Tango Nuevo: Traditional Prácticas in Buenos Aires

I would say that any of the larger places -- especially the Viruta and Canning -- work as "prácticas" on off days and earlier in the night. Especially check out Canning on Monday nights right after the class or on Tuesday nights (but go early, that way you get more space and feel around the space more, so it's like a práctica) and on Thursday nights (check out the class with Damian Essel (?) on Thursday nights too. At the Viruta), one-stop-shop for all kinds of Tango, check out Sunday nights (at 12 or 1), Wednesday nights (I think there's a class first), and maybe Thursday night.

In Buenos Aires there's a lot of Tango but it's hard to say which place is going to be great what night, exactly. Práctica X, for example, explodes when someone well-known dances there, but sometimes it explodes when no one is dancing. The Viruta is totally unpredictable.

One rule of thumb: the Viruta, Canning and every other club in Buenos Aires follow the same pattern. So if you talk to a whole bunch of Argentinians and everyone is going out -- even if it's for Electronica -- you know that the cabs will be hard to get and the milonga will be crowded as well.

Well, at least that's my best sociological view on the thing.