Re: [Tango-L] Finding tango in out-of-the-way places
if you are from such a small community and want to tell about your existens you can create an article in the wiki like they exist for http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Los_Angeles http://wiki.tango.info/mul/San_Diego or for a state, with links to smaller towns http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Florida The top category for the US is http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Category:US with subcategories for each state http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Category:US-FL http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Category:US-NY http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Category:US-CA ... For many cities there are city categories http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Category:USLAX http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Category:USCHI http://wiki.tango.info/mul/Category:USNYC If this is too complicated for you, just write a plain article under the name of your city http://wiki.tango.info/mul/My_Townname and mention in the article where it is located. Categorization can be done by others. if you don't have an account yet: http://wiki.tango.info/mul/create_account best regards Tobias -- Tobias Conradi http://eng.tango.info http://festivals.tango.info - Ursprüngliche Mail Von: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] An: tango-L@mit.edu Gesendet: Freitag, den 23. Mai 2008, 23:46:34 Uhr Betreff: [Tango-L] Finding tango in out-of-the-way places Finding tango in small towns is hard. There are several ways to go about it, aside from TANGO-L and such which usually don't work too well. One way is bring up Google.com, select Maps, and enter city state milonga. Put the city and the state in double quotes if they are two or three words. You can also use Argentine tango instead of milonga, but you will get a lot of unwanted references if you do. Failing that, try a search for state Argentine tango. Many states have a society for the entire state and pointers to individual cities. I had no success with either of those approaches. Using the next largest metro area, Tom's River, about 25 miles north, just gave me The next step is to look for a larger city close by. Long Beach City is on the coast about 25 miles south of Toms River. All a search there did was to find links in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Trenton, New Jersey. Both of those are about 45 miles to the east. Can you get there? If so, try my search suggestions for those two cities. Larry de Los Angeles _ Click to create your dream holiday in Florida. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2111/fc/Ioyw6iifFNH2EeBiLYaEiRt01DtuE5rbM2SrvaZtTRJxYFo6SLSh3c/?count=1234567890 ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l __ Gesendet von Yahoo! Mail. Dem pfiffigeren Posteingang. http://de.overview.mail.yahoo.com ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
[Tango-L] Tips for Followers?
Recently I went to Lynn Lewin's practica here in L.A. for ladies who lead (www.casadepractica.com). There were six women and two men, counting me, at the practica, which is held in a garage turned dance venue with a beautiful wooden floor which has just enough give to feel soft but not like a trampoline. Before I went I scanned the last couple of years of TANGO-L archives for pointers on following, since I went to learn how to follow. I found enough on leading to fill a doctoral dissertation but almost nothing on following - unless you count followers complaining about bad leading! Here are some of the things I learned, most given me by those I practiced with. From past experience learning many different dances I know that I may have to change or even discard what I'm learning now. Following is not passive. It includes communication using the silent language of our bodies, with followers doing much active listening. Leaders also must listen to their partner's body language, so I'd had plenty of practice doing this. Some of those skills helped, but I didn't instantly become expert at doing it as a follower. At first with each partner I was a bit tense but as we became acquainted and I found I could trust her my body relaxed. With a couple of partners later on in the evening I began to feel a, perhaps quietness is the best word, from my body. Yet it wasn't the relaxation that comes before sleep, but a very awake feeling. I had trouble with my right hand at first. I was tense and pushed with it. Later (under my partners' urging) I began to learn to simply leave where she placed it in the beginning, supported by my arm, letting it flex a little but returning to a central position. Different partners wanted my right hand oriented differently and I had to learn to match their desire. Luckily none wanted it oriented in a painful or awkward arrangement and I didn't have to resist their preference. My left arm rested along the top of her shoulders in close embrace. I had to fine-tune how heavy or light I rested it. Too little and our connection was poorer; too much and the weight would become painful. A couple of leaders positioned me further away and had me place my left hand just above her biceps. With this I had to learn not only to keep my arm from drooping but also to grasp firmly but not painfully. I had some trouble leaning into my partners the way they wanted and still need to work on this. I always thought that my slight forward lean as a leader would be the same as a follower, but there seem to be subtle differences that go beyond mere physics. I suspect that only experience will fine-tune this. And I wonder if women's jokes about men followers needing to wear high heels are more than jokes. I always thought heels were just for looks, but maybe they give followers some real benefits. When moving a couple of my partners urged me to step back straighter and stretch my toes a bit to reach the floor. This helped keep our knees from bumping together. It seemed to have other benefits that I felt but don't understand. But then intellectual understanding is not the only kind. Our bodies also have kinesthetic smarts, which don't go through the higher brain. I've long looked down on the 8-count basic. As a beginning follower I appreciated it because once my leader started it I knew just what to do, unlike the nervous uncertainty when any step could bring a surprise. I suppose it's a matter of using it to learn, then being able to discard it when I gain skill at taking each single step with confidence. Any experienced followers out there who can give us newbies pointers on how to follow? AND how better to learn to follow? Larry de Los Angeles _ Click here for great computer networking solutions! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2111/fc/Ioyw6iighEHnLgivjRrExZoVChuL7aKe6sBXcNSkx71jQNExuvILcu/?count=1234567890 ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
[Tango-L] Milonga admissions in Buenos Aires
Each year prior to the Campeonato Metropolitano de Baile de Tango, the city publishes the program for a month of qualifying rounds in the milongas which includes the cost of regular admission for each milonga. Entradas aren't included in magazine advertising, so this is annual review time of entradas. Only the milongas participating in the qualifying rounds are considered in this evaluation. In 2005, the entradas ranged from 2-8 pesos, with only one milonga charging 10 pesos. In 2006, the entradas ranged from 3-10 pesos with only one milonga charging 12 pesos (the same one that charged 10 pesos in 2005). In 2007, the entradas ranged from 5-10 pesos with only one milonga out of 40 charging 12 pesos. This year the entradas range from 8-15 pesos with one milonga charging 20 pesos (Tango Ideal). One milonga organizer recently asked me why I don't attend her milonga regularly. I explained that the entrada, taxis, drinks, and tips makes it economically impossible for me. I go regularly to a place I can walk to, where the entrada is affordable, and I know there will be good dancers. Many locals are unaware that 20 pesos is being charged by some organizers. They gasp when I tell them and respond it's crazy. Is it any wonder that some places have more foreigners than locals? ___ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
Re: [Tango-L] Tips for Followers?
Before I went I scanned the last couple of years of TANGO-L archives for pointers on following, since I went to learn how to follow. I found enough on leading to fill a doctoral dissertation but almost nothing on following - unless you count followers complaining about bad leading! The reason for this is that followers don't seem to have much of a voice on tango-l. I have met some lurkers in private mail who never post a word because they are too well known in their community and are worried, the word will get around and men won't dance with them anymore, or something like that. Those women that do have a voice and use it, often either get flamed, ignored, or, as I have also been told, a number of men here simply do not read postings from females by principle on this list. I have never seen you answer any of my postings either over the years, Larry. So, after having men tell everybody how women feel and teaching us women to feel the way they told us we are supposed to feel if we don't, we now have a male poster learning how to dance as a follower and telling the other list members what following is really like. Isn't this great? ; ) At least you will get some attention, Larry. Following is not passive. It includes communication using the silent language of our bodies, with followers doing much active listening. this is true. At first with each partner I was a bit tense but as we became acquainted and I found I could trust her my body relaxed. You were lucky. My left arm rested along the top of her shoulders in close embrace. I had to fine-tune how heavy or light I rested it. Too little and our connection was poorer; too much and the weight would become painful. The left arm is also for fine tuning your distance from the partner, the way you want it. I have on a few rare occasions had to put some force into my arm to keep a man from closer than I wanted him to, and a number of interesting times I have rested it more lightly than the man expected, raised my elbow a little and soon he would, different from his usual habit, slide into the embrace and hold me closer than anybody else. ; ) A couple of leaders positioned me further away and had me place my left hand just above her biceps. With this I had to learn not only to keep my arm from drooping but also to grasp firmly but not painfully. Yeah, the stage dancers, those who feel uncomfortable, or cannot lead you otherwise (without using their arms?) and those who have not mastered enough tortion in their bodies for coping with close embrace. I had some trouble leaning into my partners the way they wanted and still need to work on this. I always thought that my slight forward lean as a leader would be the same as a follower, but there seem to be subtle differences that go beyond mere physics. Yep. Also keep in mind that you are, after all, a man leaning on a woman who is probably also shorter and lighter than you, so the physics mauy be very different from the real thing. Find a man who is taller and stronger than you to get the idea. If you see some Argentines, the angle of the woman's lean is at times much wider than that of a man. But it takes plenty of skill in following AND in leading to dance like this. Men who walk with their weight on their heels or heels first and body straight up would make you extremely uncomfortable in this position. I suspect that only experience will fine-tune this. And I wonder if women's jokes about men followers needing to wear high heels are more than jokes. I always thought heels were just for looks, but maybe they give followers some real benefits. The high heels of the shoes give the woman contact with the floor while she is walking backward on the balls of her feet and her heels, obviously, are up in the air. Without heels, her walk gets a bumpy, bouncy quality we don't want, unless she constantly wants to be suspended on her toes (rather tiring in the long run) which is not very stable. The heels however also present an additional challenge to keeping our balance and make the arch of the foot and the back very sensitive to injury if a man decides to bear down on our shoulders with his weight, something that many men are blissfully unaware of or don't want to know. (Get your balance and your body tone together, woman, to become more user friendly!, seems to be their idea) I've long looked down on the 8-count basic. As a beginning follower I appreciated it because once my leader started it I knew just what to do, unlike the nervous uncertainty when any step could bring a surprise. Yes. however, the uncertainty is the whole point in tango. A good leader can lull a woman into a dance trance while making her follow his body's moves without thinking into whatever direction. However, I have spent evenings at milongas where every single leader used exactly the same steps until my body almost went into automatic pilot, and this is counterproductive and also very boring.
