Monthly Archives: January 2011

Dancing and Crushing

Posted on January 28, 2011 by

First, I´ll admit it, I´m in love. And in my starry-eyed, oxytocin-fuelled state have been reflecting on the differences between tango crushes and the real kind. I’m going to describe three different cases: first, a guy who I think has … Continue reading →

Posted in Tango and Sexuality, Tango crushes | 7 Comments

Doppelgaenger

Posted on January 15, 2011 by

I have been longing for an opportunity to perform with the dancer I call The Pony ever since our first, late-night blissful Canaro tanda at La Viruta a few weeks´ago. He has the three qualities I most love in a partner: he´s musical, playful and snuggly. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Learning and Teaching

Posted on January 15, 2011 by

I´ve been participating in a learning-teaching exchange recently. My friend Pixie is sharing his considerable musical knowledge with me, while I help him to improve his tango technique. Our respective strengths and weaknesses complement each other in a deeply satisfying way. … Continue reading →

Posted in Frustrations, Learning and Teaching, Musicality, Solo technique practice | Leave a comment

I cannot stop listening to this beautiful Biagi tango, Hoy te quiero mucho mas  Do you have a favourite tango?

Posted on January 7, 2011 by | 2 Comments

The Pugliese tanda

Posted on January 7, 2011 by

The Pugliese tanda (set) of songs that the DJ of almost any milonga will inevitably play at some point late in the evening holds a special status among tango dancers. Osvaldo Pugliese’s orchestra plays arrangements that have the marked dramatic intensity and musical complexity … Continue reading →

Posted in Buenos Aires, Niño Bien, Rejections, Tango and Sexuality, The Pugliese Tanda | 2 Comments

My début in the provinces

Posted on January 7, 2011 by

I have landed myself a performance gig. My partner is not a professional dancer and wouldn´t exactly have been my first choice of person to perform with, but he sold it to me as a day out at an estancia, a country ranch, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Performances | Leave a comment

Musicality

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

Disclaimer: this is going to be a very geeky and navel-gazing entry: more of an opportunity for me to think aloud than a description of the tango lifestyle in Buenos Aires. You have been duly warned. I find it extremely … Continue reading →

Posted in Active following, Buenos Aires, Decorations, Musicality, Sunderland, The Sunderland Practica | Tagged , | 18 Comments

The World´s Favourite Milonga

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

It’s an unlikely venue for a milonga: a huge, echoey sports’ hall, complete with bleachers at one end; white divider lines to remind us that the dance space also doubles as a football and basketball pitch; and grubby blue-and-white walls … Continue reading →

Posted in Active following, Buenos Aires, Decorations, Musicality, Rejections, Sunderland | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Salon of Sleaze

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

It´s Monday night and I am heading for one of the best-known, most touristy milongas in Buenos Aires. It´s in the heart of the posh neighbourhood of Palermo. There is a shop selling the kind of red-and-black polyester and fake … Continue reading →

Posted in Buenos Aires, Parakultural, Sleaze, Tango and Sexuality | 10 Comments

Young Conservatives: the Sunderland practica

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

It’s a Monday night and that means that, after a day of lessons, I am nevertheless heading out on a long, hot bus journey in rush hour right across town to the genteel suburb of Villa Urquiza. I spend half … Continue reading →

Posted in Buenos Aires, Di Sarli, Learning and Teaching, Orchestras, Prácticas, Tango Salón, Tango Styles, The Sunderland Practica, Villa Urquiza Style | Tagged , , | 6 Comments