Just a moment

London life, a dash of tango and a spoon full of sounds 
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May 8, 2009

Closed and open embrace

I really love the playfulness of this song and this couple. 

And this illustrate the tension in neotango between closed and open embrace. When you see them at first there is a lot of energy and torsion building up between them. When they open up their embrace, the dance becomes more fluid and the joyous stream of the music is more clearly embodied.
This is Alejandro y Marisol dancing to "Araca la cana".

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February 24, 2009

Tango legs

I won't deny that french people have a bit of a bias for beautiful legs, but I find these ankles mesmerising. There is a simple joy in Tango, it's not all gravitas and burning passion. Thank you Javier Rodrigues  and Geraldine Rojas.

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January 18, 2009

Walking with a friend in the dark is better...

...than walking alone in the light.

This is a quote by Helen Keller and somehow I think it speaks of Tango. Looking forward to Alejandro y Marisol dancing in London in March.

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October 29, 2008

A gentleman

If I would have lived in tango as a child, I probably would have said: "when I grow up I want to be like Carlos Gavito". His a way of delicately, tenderly illuminating the feet of his partner: frenadas y sacadas ever appear so delicious. I can try to put more words on this but somehow I think it is almost lacking respect when so much is being said on the floor...

I was always told that silence is the most important word in a jazz improvisation. In my mind Gavito is a master of silence.

"...casi fuimos enemigos por decirme la verdad." :)


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October 8, 2008

Légèreté et élégance


This is the tango that I long for and aspire to. These are the feelings that truly resonates with me. There is utmost tenderness in the embrace, there is grace and balanced energy in their walk. The musicality and emotions expressed by the dancers is incredibly touching. I love this video! 

The music of Francisco Canaro has this crackling flavour of decades gone, quand les hommes portaient le chapeau. The arrangement of this song is superb: the violins delicately blowing melancholia to the wind, the piano driving the paseo. I always picture the streets of Paris when the deep sound of the wind comes into the melody.

My favourite part starts at 1.33 on the clock: for a moment the dance becomes a hug, a tender and chaste hug, which flows and open into dance again. I would like to think that a true and connected embrace could and should always move seamlessly from hug to dance and back again. What do you think?

Merci Ezequiel y Eugenia, merci mille fois.

Un abrazo a todos.

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September 30, 2008

Tentative steps in Milonga

The addictive character of tango has been long described and documented. The absence of tango is easier to bear thanks to the web. Read, watch and listen: I can't wait to dance again!

So let me share with you a beautiful dance from Igor Polk and Teressa. Igor happens to write one of the best tango blog in my opinion and is definitely my inspiration for writing myself. Let's hope I will do justice to the wonderful words he has been sharing with us for years... In the meantime, get inspired: http://www.virtuar.com/tango/tango_weblog.htm

Now let's dance! I have always been slightly apprehensive of milongas: the speed, the elegance and the musicality seemed so hard to master at first. It's all about joy: joy to be here, joy to share, joy of the music too even if it is interlaced more often than not with melancholy. Watching Igor and Teressa there is a beautiful energy flowing through and true complicity. I like the supple rigidity and tension sometimes seen in the embrace. I love the simplicity of the little steps around the 50sec mark. Tiny little sliding drawers full of violins. Typical milonga steps so useful to get you out of a tight spot surrounded by swirling couples and snappy ganchos.

What is your dearest milonga step? Inspired by this post?

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September 10, 2008

Un moment

Light feet, tender embrace, a soul hug that lasts a dance... It's a gift. Thank you.

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