Milongas of the Bay Area

16 May

Hello Everyone,

I’ve been back in the Bay Area awhile now and I’m enjoying it.  The food is way excellent, the city is quiet, and the air is clean.  But enough of these trivial things…what about the tango?  Today I’m going to props (proper respects) to the milongas here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Props to Abrazo Dulce for the friendliest crowd, a vinyl spinning dj (Daniel Peters) and the best food ever at a milonga.  Seriously.  I would go back just for the food.  I had some rosemary popcorn, goat cheese, toasted oatmeal cookies, some palenta, some awesome crackers…dang, it was good.

Props to Cell Space for having a huge number of dancers.  I saw people relaxing and doing their own thing which was good to see.  It didn’t feel restricted at all.  Its an “alternative” milonga…interpretative dancing is allowed…encouraged? Note: I try not to be negative but this is important.  The floor (the floor itself, not the dancers) is dangerous.  Holes, dips, bows, and cracks abound.  No bueno.

Props to Verdi Club and Milonga El Arrabal for having the best dancers, best floors, and best dressed.

Props to Tango Magdalena for having a commitment to live music.  Live music the standard?  Way to go.  I’m very much loving that.  They have the best Bay Area bands come in and play, like Trio Garufa, Seth Asarnow y su Sexteto Tipico, & The Redwood Tango Ensemble.

Props to El Valenciano and the attendees for actually using the cabaceo.  Wow!  I also really enjoyed the “lack” of space.  Being in closer quarters made me dance in a way I have missed since Buenos Aires.  This milonga is also a great place to meet new people, there always seems to be someone I haven’t seen before in attendance.

See you on the floor.

-Nicholas Tapia

An Experience

12 May

This is from a student of tango.  Enjoy.  -Nicholas

 

24Apr2011

We danced a Tanda. I was very nervous, and saw that I approached this as a test rather than as an opportunity to enjoy. 

There were moments in that Tanda where I completely relaxed and gave myself totally to the musical partnership. There were times I didn’t know what to do, but also times when I was really tango-ing without having to know what I was doing, relaxing totally into the Tango embrace. 

One moment I particularly remember was transcendent. Hard to describe. We had adjusted our embrace. I was aware of the wool of his jacket and the humidity of our bodies. Being in the essence of that, not being afraid of the intimacy of the contact. Not being afraid to perform some gestures with my feet to the music without having to know if it was the right thing to do — no “knowing”or “not knowing,” just being in the moment with another human being with complete trust. 

That experience was entirely contained in the dance and when we stopped to talk in the breaks between songs, we were no longer in that universe — not that the sublime moment was lost and distance returned, just that the dance was one kind of relationship and two people talking was another.

 

Musical Breakdown

17 Feb

Wonders of the Internet! ExuberantFilms has shared with us his musical breakdown of La Melodía de Nuestro Adios by Francisco Canaro.  To those of us who don’t speak music, ignore the numbers and do your best to hear his description in the music.  For example if he describes a part of the music where the “violin drives the beat,” do your best to hear that.  Also, don’t worry about counting, keep your place by tracking the “transitions” that he describes.  If you have trouble hearing/understanding any of this, please don’t hesitate to schedule a lesson!

-Nicholas

4/4 time per measure
32 beat major phrase (i.e. 4 x 8). * I like to count the beats in a major phrase like this:
<1>,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,
<2>,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,
<3>,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,
<4>,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Major Phrases (32 beats)

Major Phrases 1 & 2 are similar
1. Staccato. Violin drives beat
1 – 16 baseline energy
17 – 32 elevated energy
Last 8 beats:
* Pause on 6
* crash on last 5-8, horn transition

2. Staccato. Violin drives beat
1 – 16 baseline energy
17 – 32 elevated energy
Last 8 beats:
* Ease on 1-4
* No pause on 6
* Rise on last 5-8, Piano transition

Major Phrases 3 & 4 are similar
3. Smooth melodic. accordian melody
1 – 32 even energy
Last 8 beats:
* Piano crash 1-4
* Violin lift 5-8

4. Smooth melodic. Violin melody
1 – 32 even energy
Last 8 beats:
* Piano transition 1-4
* Violin lift 5-8

Major Phrases 5 & 6 are similar
5. energized melodic. orchestral melody
1 – 32 even energy
Last 8 beats:
* Accordian crash 1-4
* Violin lift 5-8

6. energized melodic. orchestral melody (This is an unusual Transition 1:45 timecode almost like end of song)
1 – 32 even energy
beats 17-24:
* silent 5-6
* falloff 7-8
Last 8 beats 1-8:
* 1-2-3 highlight
* 4 quiet
* beats 5-8 skipped

=== these following phrases are basically a repeat of the song

Major Phrases 7 & 8 are similar and similar to Phrases 1 & 2
7. Chorus. Staccato. Violin drives beat and accordian melody
1 – 16 baseline energy
17 – 32 elevated energy
Last 8 beats:
* No pause on 6
* crash on last 5-8, piano transition

8. Chorus. Staccato. Violin drives beat and accordian melody
1 – 16 baseline energy
17 – 32 slightly elevated energy
Last 8 beats:
* No pause on 6
* Rise on last 5-8, Piano transition

Major Phrases 9 & 10 are similar and similar to Phrases 3 & 4
9. Verse. Smooth melodic. oboe melody
1 – 32 even energy
Last 8 beats:
* horn lift 5-8

10. Verse. Smooth melodic. horn melody
1 – 32 even energy
Last 8 beats:
* accordian transition 1-4
* Violin lift 5-8

Major Phrases 5 & 6 are similar and similar to Phrases 5 & 6
11. Verse. energized melodic. orchestral melody
1 – 32 even energy
Last 8 beats:
* piano crash 1-4
* Violin lift 5-8

12. Verse. energized melodic. accordian melody (This is an unusual Transition 1:45 timecode almost like end of song)
1 – 32 even energy
beats 17-24:
* silent 5-6
* falloff 7-8
Last 8 beats 1-8:
* 1-2-3 highlight
* 4 quiet
* beats 5-8 skipped

More Photos!

29 Jan

I talked with an instructor here and he gave me some interesting advice.  He spoke of the rhythm of Buenos Aires.  He asked, “How can you dance like an Argentine if you don’t know this rhythm?”

Your Milonga

26 Jan

Buenos Aires has lots of milongas.  (Milongas are the social/dance events for Argentine Tango.)  And they all have their own character.

Some milongas are snooty.  While some are relaxed and fun, others are far too relaxed (think flip-flops, tattered jeans, and body odor).  Each has its own flavor for you to taste and enjoy.

Tango has its own social codes and every milonga has its own interpretation of these codes.  It’s very important that you are fluent in these social norms.  Or at the very least make an attempt to respect them.  If you notice people glaring at you and whispering to each other…its not about how you’re doing your ocho…its you breaking the milonga’s social codes.

News from Abroad

12 Dec

Hello Everyone!

Upon arrival I promptly got sick.  I went out anyway and got worse…stayed in and got worse…went to the doctor, got antibiotics, and got better.  These photos are the touristy things from the day time during the recovery period since dancing all night long can be a hinderance to your health.  They are of a Folkloric performance at La Catedral, La Boca, San Telmo, and a Palermo Jazz Club.

-Nicholas

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Video Lesson #1: Finding and Dancing to the Beat

27 Nov

Hello Everyone,

Delmar Tango happily announces its first instructional video!  If you have suggestions, please let us know.  This is a long term project so your feedback is extremely important.

If you like it, please share it: spread the word!

 

 

 

Enjoy!

-Nicholas

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