The amazing Catherine and F.J.

Posing with our hosts, Catherine and F.J. Abaya, after a night of dance performances we took part in at their ballroom. These two are so unbelievable, athletic, artistic and precise. They display great elegance and truly raise the bar. Check out their website at http://www.abayasballroom.com/

The amazing Patricio and Eva

Hey Seattle, Look at this video of the amazing duo we had sometimes access to in Seattle, I truly miss them.

Gustavo and Giselle

The master is back! And he is going to give everyone a serious run for their money. Check out the unbelievable Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Ann. They raise the bar to a whole new level. It also proves that YouTube ratings are worth nothing.

Portuguese: Astor Piazzolla foi um grande compositor. Recentemente este vídeo foi mostrado na televisão brasileira como também uma outra obra sua ( não tão conhecida ) que é o concerto para bandoneão e orquestra. Piazzola passou e seu tempo acabou todavia sua obra ficou e certamente gizará pela eternidade como um símbolo do gênio.

Translation: A rare capture of Piazzolla on Brazilian TV. Enjoy!

Archive videos of Chicho and Eugenia

Tango-Vals

A beautifully choreographed Argentine tango-vals, I especially enjoy the technique with which they lead and follow a pre-determined pattern. The trick is to make look dynamic, musical and full of zing. This evokes emotions in the viewer, some choreographed numbers fail to deliver, however this one is a gem, my guess is Miguel Zotto's show segment.

Chicho and Lucia - Tango Ritual

Check out this beautiful video Chicho has made.

The Master!

Gustavo Naveira y Giselle Anne shine with this choreographed milonga performed absolutely masterfully. Watch how he is leading everything and how her right arm is the key connection making this level of complexity possible.

Chicho and Lucia

A couple of gems on YouTube: Carlos Gardel

Por Una Cabeza:

Is This Tango?

El Tangauta 2007 Subject: "Improvisation in tango", by Milena Plebs

We usually watch dance exhibitions at milongas when, at times dancers improvise, and other times they dance a pre-set choreography.
Improvisation in tango has a great mystery. There is certain laziness in the response of the movement to the ineffably beautiful music. I am not saying that they arrive late. The mechanism of on-the-spot creation takes time and that is translated in a dynamic of movement with more cadence to it. Something intangible ensues, trickles, as the dancers travel along the dance-floor.

I usually stop to observe the expressions of the dancers who are improvising. That "not knowing" what is going to happen generates some true and unique expressions. The man has several tasks to do almost at once: to listen the music, to imagine the sequence, to transmit it to the woman with enough time so that she reacts in coordination. There are parts of these that happen automatically and masterfully in couples that are great at improvising. Knowing the musical structure and listening to the tangos an infinite number of times gives them the capacity of pre-designing mentally some sequences or at least what type of combination they are going to do in a certain musical phrasing. But the surprise factor is always there. Letting themselves be taken over by the music allows some things to emerge that surprise even the performers themselves. For me this is tango, the spontaneous revelation, this is how it was born, it is eternally in the present. The challenge for the dancers is to do improvised exhibitions that are true creations with respect to the message, style, linking of sequences, use of the music, etc.

This can be developed and requires a special kind of work. On the other hand, choreography has the advantage of the dancers being able to imprint the desired intention and attitude in each instance of the sequences, since the dancers know them beforehand. It allows them to handle effect better, to put more or less energy into a movement, to prepare it, to seek orientation and directions. This benefits exhibition in a theater, where it is more complicated to give oneself to the risk of improvisation. Now I ask myself: is tango choreography tango? It is not in the present, it has already been created, thought out, put together and it looks always the same. It is in the past. It is like a representation of tango, a recreation.

Neither one of these options is better or worse, they are very different and each one offers its benefits. It would be good if the gap between them were smaller. How can one manage to maintain the freshness of improvisation in choreography? I value dancers who improvise their exhibitions. I recently saw Julio and Corina masterfully improvise at Parakultural. The way they gave themselves to the dance, their playing, allowing us to witness what they were discovering together, was a magical moment to remember. The audience is very grateful..

El Tangauta 2007

Claudia Codega & Esteban Moreno

PIAZZOLA:


DI SARLI:


ALL FOUR DANCE TOGETHER:

Practica X favorites

One of the best spots to dance if you like Nuevo Tango style of dancing, the music is 95% traditional Tango music. Practica X, every Tuesday could I please be transported magically to Buenos Aires for a few hours?

Mario and Anabella:

Ezequiel Farfaro & Eugenia Parilla:



Mario and Anabella:

Javier and Maria: I had admired Javier and Maria on a CITA 2000 VCR tape, some six years ago and this year I got to see and meet them at the "secretly infamous practica X". I highly recommend them (both Javier and Maria and Practica X). Just watch the detail and complexity of the musicality in the dance, too bad this was captured using a cheap camera so the resolution is bad.