Learning tips, essays & classes
1) How Cabeceo Works
2) Pretend You Never Saw It
3) Don’t Stand Up Too Soon
4) Avoid the Awkward Moment
5) Not This Tanda? Try Later
6) Find The Right Angle
7) Too Much Pressure
8) The Right Person, Right Now
9) Positivity Wins
10) Women Set the Standard
11) Glasses
12) Which Way Do You Prefer?
• Poster Vol. 1, 2 & 3
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In 2004, I saw the late great Carlos Gavito perform in Buenos Aires. I still cannot forget the emotion I felt. At that time he was so weakened by illness and surgery that he needed assistance just to walk.. There was no trace of the poise and elegance he once displayed as the star of Forever Tango…
“‘Competition dance’ and ‘milonga dance’ are not the same.”
I have heard this quite a few times lately. Is it true? Probably. Many teachers offer competition-preparation classes. If the two are the same, we will not need these specialized classes…
A friend of mine came to Seoul to dance. He had visited many times before, so he knew us well. Afterwards he said to me the tango here has somehow gone backwards. Now on the dance floor, there is more hugging and less dancing…
My mindset was rather simple when I started dancing. I found a teacher I liked and learned from him. I was aware that different teachers taught in different ways, but I did not worry about not being able to dance with students of other teachers. I thought if I were good enough, I should be able to dance with anyone. Later I discovered that I was learning “Tango Nuevo,” which was the fashionable way of dancing at the time…
Yombom is an avid tango dancer. He goes to milongas five to six times a week. He takes tango classes from many teachers, including us. In class, he genuinely tries to understand what we say, practices hard, and asks questions. Somehow we started talking online. He asks me more questions about tango, and I try to answer him as best I can…
I have already danced for 20 years. It is only appropriate to call myself tango middle-aged. I no longer watch tango videos every day, nor go to milongas five or six times a week. I miss those days on occasion…
“This place sucks. I have been to many milongas but I haven’t seen such a snobbish place. They never even look at the newcomers,” he said with an angry voice. “It can be a little rough if you don’t know anybody,” I replied…
Once a student asked me for help. I danced with her and gave her some advice. At the end I felt she was worrying too much about her technique, so I said, “Technique takes time. It’s ok if you don’t do it perfectly…
“Can you check if I am pushing you when I do giro?” I tried some medio-giro with this student but there seemed to be no problem.
“It seems fine. Why are you asking?…
I met Andrea Missé and Javier Rodriguez right before I moved to Seoul. How did they change my tango? Why did we invite them to Korea to teach? Andrea passed away a few years later. What does her legacy mean to me?
I have a Korean friend who lives in San Francisco. He comes back to dance from time to time. Recently he came back again and visited many milongas. Before he left he said, “Tango in Seoul is no longer a community, it is a society…