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Kizomba pisses me off & so does ignoring tango’s african heritage

17 Mar

The truth is, I don’t hate Kizmoba.  I met a few of the originators of the dance from Africa (so I know they’re “authentic”) and we talked about it…albeit in a mishmash of Spanish/Portuguese/English, but they made themselves clear. Apparently they’re all about connection.  All about connection??  Sweet! I can hop on board with that!

These gentlemen were explicit that they didn’t invent Kizomba.  They said that they just grew up with it, and have brought it over from Africa. They were super humble about their dance, and seemed a little bemused by all the fuss.

When I saw these guys dancing they were doing nothing complicated and really groovin’.  Like…focusing on the connection…you know?

But a lot of the newer Kizomba peeps? With all the fancy moves? It makes me a little crazy when you talk to me like your dance is “the only one,” and the “be all end all,” just because it has something that looks like ochos, disassociation, and crosses.* Often times you talk a good game about connection, but your dance seems to have become an exercise in how to wow the crowd or show off a new move.

I’m sure if you seen Kizomba you could imagine it as every old school tango.  There are probably strong historical connections between the two.  The African influence upon tango is HUGE, but is (surprise surprise) not really talked about that much.  It isn’t a huge stretch for my imagination to think that kizomba today, and tango’s roots at the turn of the century, would have looked very similar.

Kizomba is also rapidly changing.  I’ve seen demos that look suspiciously like milonga and others that are drifting to the Tango Nuevo zone.  I’ve seen people add in salsa and bachata-like grinds, spins, and hips.  It will be exciting to watch what happens in the future.  Will Kizomba people start coming to Tango? Will Tango people go to Kizomba?  Will the two sides begin a dance war, then be locked in a gymnasium and finally realize that we have a lot in common, beginning a new dawn of dance?

Here are some other dances that look like they might have something in common as well:

American Balboa — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQXKEMkGIPw

Mexican Quebradita — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18o3YzwZkCE

For more info the on the African-Tango connection check out:

http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-blackness-of-tango/Content?oid=1197334

http://www.amazon.com/Tango-History-Robert-Farris-Thompson/dp/1400095794

*Do people feel like that about Argentine Tango dancers?  Probably. But Argentine Tango really IS that awesome.

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Announcements: Classes Starting & Kitty for Adoption

6 Jan

Hello Everybody!

School is back in session!  Which means I’m starting to teach group classes again.

Thursdays, 8pm, Tango, 251 Hearst Gym, UC Berkeley.  Starting January 24th.  This is a one hour progressive series, part of the weekly DeCal tango class.   This is a great class to start with.  We start from zero.  No experience necessary.

After, there is THREE HOURS of Open practice/dancing that continues until midnight. Free (donations VERY welcome) and open to the public.

BUT for both of these events you MUST send in your name and the names of anyone else planning on attending to ucbtango@gmail.com by Wednesday night.  Once you send your name/s you won’t have to send them again.  Be sure to bring ID for the front desk.

Also!

This wonderful kitty is currently in foster care and is looking a good home.  Her name is Koko.  She’s extremely gentle and loves attention.  Likes men.  A bit of a princess.  A trained indoor cat.  Has all her shots.  4 years old.  Sometimes she meows at the wall.  I don’t know why.

coco2

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Why Some Leaders Never Get Better and How To Be a Great One (in just 233 words)

26 Dec

“The interaction between every leader and follower is a relationship, and all relationships either add to or subtract from a person’s life.  If you are a leader, then trust me, you have having either a positive or a negative impact on the people you lead.  How can you tell?  There is one critical question: Are you making things better for the people who follow you? That’s it.  If you cannot answer with an unhesitant yes, and give some evidence that backs it up, then you may very well be a subtractor.  Often subtractors don’t realize they are subtracting from others.  I would say that 90 percent of all people who subtract from others do so unintentionally.  They don’t recognize their negative impact on others.  And when a leader is a subtractor and doesn’t change his ways, it’s only a matter of time before his impact on others goes from subtraction to division.

In contrast, 90 percent of all people who add value to others do so intentionally.  Why do I say that?  Because human beings are naturally  selfish.  I’m selfish.  Being an adder requires me to get out of my comfort zone every day and think about adding value to others.   But that’s what it takes to be a leader whom others want to follow.  Do that long enough, and you not only add value to others – you begin to multiply it.”

This quote is from the 10th Anniversary Edition of, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” by John C. Maxwell.  In this chapter he’s talking about The Law of Addition, explaining how adding value to peoples lives is an essential quality in a leader.  While he’s talking about the type of leading we know from corporate seminars, this passage jumped out at me as explicitly applicable to leaders in dance.  In the first paragraph Maxwell explains how leaders and followers interact and then explains one of the great mysteries of the dance world: why a leader would be bad, not realize it, and not want to get any better.   In the second paragraph Maxwell succinctly sums up the process of how to become a good leader.   Nice.

-Nicholas

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A Debate: The Cross, Parallel or Turned-Out?

31 Oct

Hello Everyone,

I was recently discussing the cross and realized that there are some different opinions/ideas floating out there.

Here is my position: The cross should be done with turn-out and weight on the inside (toward the big toe) edges of the feet.  The other major idea I’ve heard is that the cross should be done with parallel feet.

I present 6 screen shots from various performances as evidence.

All of these crosses have open heels and closed toes, demonstrating turn-out . The first screen shot with Sebastian and Roxana gives the best view of where her weight is placed, on the inside edge of her left foot.

As far as I’m concerned, debate settled…except for one little thing.  I used that terrible word, “should.”  What I… “should” have said is this: The bad-ass dancers of our time do the cross with turn-out and weight on the inside (toward the big toe) edges of the feet.

Whether or not you should too?  It is ultimately your choice.  But, I’ll hang with Virginia, Roxana, Mariana, Rui (my instructor), Natasha, and Lorena.

-Nicholas

Watch the full videos here:

Fabian Peralta and Lorena Ermocida, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exGtOqpeJAQ&feature=related

Gabriel Misse and Natalia Hills, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82hBG0tiuMg

Javier Rodriguez and Virginia Pandolfi, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G2aWM8cliM

Alejandro Beron and Rui Saito, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqpVASvQptc&feature=relmfu

Sebastian Acre and Mariana Montes, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLIN5m3gM7g&feature=related

Sebastian Archával and Roxana Suarez, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rJTEM_FvUs

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Tango, Athletes, Yoga, and Updates

24 Oct

The day you stop saying, “I dance tango,” and start saying, “I’m a tango dancer,” you become an athlete. NFL, NHL, MLB, FIFA…you name any high level athlete, heck, even high school level, and they all work out, stretch, and take care of their bodies to achieve a higher level of performance.  It is oft forgotten (until you look at a ballet dancer flexing), but dancers are athletes too.

All the group classes, private lessons, and milongas in the world aren’t going to get you there.  Does an NFL player only train by playing football?  Even if you don’t say, “I’m a tango dancer,” at cocktail parties, your dance and your body will hugely benefit from a little bit of training.

I’m currently enjoying yoga as my training of choice and  I could go on for days trumpeting the virtues of my teacher Simone Olsen-Varela , but I’ll keep it concise.  I have taken both privates and group classes from her and in a world filled with Yoga instructors she is exceptional.

I’d also like to make a quick update about my current classes and upcoming performances.

Upcoming Performance:

Open House Show as part of Oakland’s First Friday! Nov 2rd 5:30-9:30pm at Studio 1924 and I’ll be dancing West Coast Swing! Yes, WCS!  With Stephanie Berg.  You’ll have to see it to believe it!  AND It’s going to be an awesome party.

Current Classes:

Tuesdays, Noon, Salsa, Studio 1924. Yes, Salsa! (Didn’t ya’ll know I dance everything?) I’m teaching at Studio 1924 as part of the Take 5 Lunch Program.  $15 gets you a bad ass lunch from the adjoining Coco Cafe and a dance lesson.  Best dance deal ever.

Tuesdays, 7pm, Tango, 100 Wheeler, UC Berkeley.  A study hall practice session, reminiscent of the group classes I regularly attended in Buenos Aires.  3 hours for $9.  Note: We don’t always stay in the same room so try to be prompt and meet us 10 minutes before class in front of Wheeler.  If/when we move it is usually to room 110 then to 30.  Call 510 761 1445 if you can’t find us but I won’t guarantee an answer.

Thursdays, 8pm, Tango, 251 Hearst Gym, UC Berkeley.  This is a one hour progressive series, part of the weekly DeCal tango class.  Open practice/dancing follows the class and continues until midnight.  Free (donations VERY welcome) and open to the public.  BUT you MUST send in your name and the names of anyone else planning on attending to ucbtango@gmail.com by Wednesday night.  Once you send your name/s you won’t have to send them again.  Be sure to bring ID for the front desk.

 

That’s all folks!

Best,

Nicholas

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The Bay Area Is Way Better Than Los Angeles*

1 Oct Bay Area

Hello Everyone!

Besides my interests in tango, I have aspirations to become a city planner.  Since I don’t have an internship (yet) I’m working out my frustrations by mapping out the tango community.  I thought it would be cool to see all the locations that tango is danced.  I used www.tangomango.org as my source for data and used the first week of October as my scale.  I decided on tangomango.org because it is the main source of info for the tango community on locations/events and the info is easily available.

After mapping the Bay Area I realized I needed a point of comparison….so naturally I chose Los Angeles.  My visual discovery, which is kinda of a “no duh” if you look at the number of listings on tangomango.org, is that the Bay Area does way more tango then Los Angeles. *Maybe.

Because Los Angeles may not use tangomango.org as a primary source of tango information distribution I could very well just be measuring the level of use for tangomango.org rather then tango activity in our respective areas.

Still, it looks cool.  Then I put the two together to get a tangomango.org map of California Events.

I hope you enjoyed the maps and thanks for putting up with my city planning nerdiness!

-Nicholas

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New Six Week Series on Friday! Learn Tango Salon!

29 Aug

Hello Everyone,

I’m very excited to be teaching a group class in the Bay Area with Mirabai Deranja, starting 6:00 pm Friday, September 7th at Studio 1924 located on the 2nd floor of the 1924 Franklin Street building.

If you’re not familiar with Tango Salon, I would describe it as subtlety, elegance, and musicality with a breathtaking connection to your partner.  If you’re familiar with the “idea” of Tango Salon, but aren’t interested, I encourage you to try it out.  What looks easy, simple, and boring, can actually be quite difficult, complicated, and sexy.  Even if you prefer to dance styles like tango nuevo or milonguero, Tango Salon offers the techniques that have been the foundations for dancers like Gustavo Naviera and Mariano ‘Chicho’ Frumboli.

Mirabai and I have been working on a very progressive syllabus for this class and we’re excited to share it with you!  We start Friday Septemeber 7th at 6pm.  The location is 1924 Franklin, two blocks from 19th Street Bart. We’ll be on the 2nd floor of Studio 1924 on Franklin Street.

-Nicholas

Check out the tangomango listing and the Studio 1924 event page.

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Breaking from Tradition…Gasp!

30 Jul

Why should Tango Nuevo dancers get to have all the fun?  They dance to anything and everything but Tango Salon dancers are stuck in the golden age.

We decided to experiment and try dancing to “Leonel, El Feo.”   We’ve been getting a few comments.  So let me explain: Our idea behind performing to this song was to show that dancing a more Tango Salon style is possible to newer music.  It was an interesting experience.

Attempting to dance Tango Salon to Tango Nuevo music, I felt stuck somewhere between Milonga and Tango.  On many levels though, it worked.  There was plenty of musicality to express, there was feeling, and there was connection.  But it did change my dance.

One of the things that I began to understand is how powerful the constant beat of new music can be.  In golden age music the beat does not compel you to step-step-step.  You can take liberties and I’ve often heard that you should dance just behind the beat for the most unhurried and elegant look.  But when dancing to “Leonel, El Feo,” I had to consciously resist the urge to step-step-step to the pounding beat.

I won’t be requesting Tango Nuevo music at a milonga anytime soon, but the next time it plays, I’ll (probably) stay in the room.

-Nicholas

New Media! Check it out! Super Exciting! Argentine Tango, A Brief Introduction

10 Jul

Hello Everybody!

I’m very excited to show this to everyone.  It is made with a presentation tool called Prezi and it is just fantastic!

After clicking on the image below to view the presentation go to “More” and then “Fullscreen” for the best viewing experience.

A Teaching Revolution

28 Jun

Hello Everyone,

A new method of Argentine Tango instruction is starting to blossom.  The old method of teaching is filled with conventions that truly hinder a dancer’s progress.  Conventions like, “The cross is not led, the woman just does it.” And, “Everything must be led with the chest.”  Aside from being just plain wrong, it speaks to a very close-minded approach.  Fortunately I’m not the only one thinking about Tango instruction and how to improve it.

The following is a list of three sites where some very open minded and intelligent people are making some incredible leaps forward in the areas of dance instruction.  And while I may not agree with all of their styles or dance philosophies, I certainly do respect them as instructors and for what they’re doing.

Homer and Christina and their didactic videos:

http://www.theorganictangoschool.org/Didactic_Videos

Rusty Cline and The Tango Matrix:

http://thetangomatrix.com/join-us/

Tomas Howlin’s workshops for instruction:

http://www.tomashowlin.com/tl-home/

I’m looking forward to the future.

-Nicholas Tapia

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