Two events in the San Francisco area this last week deserve special mention and appreciation:
On Friday, March 23, dancers at the Peninsula Tango Society's milonga in Los Altos were treated to lovely demonstration dances by the two local couples who won the Argentine Dance Competition in Los Angeles earlier in the month, Count Glover and Heather Bryan, and Santiago Steele and Ylva Wintzell. As mentioned in a previous post, this competition was sponsored by the Argentine government (among others), and both couples will go to Argentina to represent our state, to dance and to study, while fully hosted by the government there. Congratulations again, and thank you for your preformances in Los Altos. (Peninsula Tango Society milongas are on the 4th and 5th Fridays of the month - see the internet lists for times, address.) Then, on Sunday the 25th, at the Verdi Club in San Francisco, we were privileged to enjoy a concert, a set of demonstation dances, and live music for dancing, that genuinely amazed and pleased the crowd as one of the best presentations we have ever enjoyed in California. The orquesta tipica, comprised of four of Argentina's very best and most renowned young musicians, played dramatic and passionate tangos, waltzes and milongas - both traditional and new - in a powerful and expressive manner (and so was the sound system!). Fernanda Ghi and Guillermo Merlo gave a very well-received 1-1/2 class on "Musicality in Tango", and then followed it with three spectacular demonstration dances, to live music, from their show called Tango Dreams which opens this week in Los Angeles. We are very fortunate here in the Bay Area to enjoy such excellent talent and opportunities, and we thank the performers and producers for their efforts. -s.h.
