beginning with an inside cross (forward) followed by an opening and ending with an outside cross (backward), or a sequence beginning with an outside cross (backward) followed by an opening and ending with an inside cross (forward). Changes of front can be either to the right or to the left (see figure below).
For a forward-to-back change of front to the right, do the following:
1. Stand on your left axis.
2. Execute an inside cross with your right leg while turning to your right.
3. Execute an opening to the left with your left leg.
4. Execute an outside cross with your right leg.
For a backward-to-front change of front to the right, do the following:
1. Stand on your right axis.
2. Execute an outside cross with your left leg.
3. Execute an opening to the right with your right leg.
4. Execute an inside cross with your left leg.
For forward-to-back change of front to the left, do the following:
1. Stand on your right axis.
2. Execute an inside cross with your left leg while turning to your left.
3. Execute an opening to the right with your right leg.
4. Execute an outside cross with your left leg.
For a backward-to-front change of front to the left, do the following:
1. Stand on your left axis.
2. Execute an outside cross with your right leg.
3. Execute an opening to the left with your left leg.
4. Execute an inside cross with your right leg.
As a general rule, an opening links each cross. If after the second cross you add a second opening, you are back where you started. You can repeat the same change of front again, completing a full circle. The importance of the change of front will become obvious as you use two consecutive changes of front to learn a fundamental piece of navigation that we call LA BASE (BAH-say).
View from above of the cambio de frente trajectories
In the first of four lessons, after the initial opening step of a salida, we use a pair of quick back ochos of the woman to move to an outside lane, then we proceed with a cross feet salida to cruzada and resolution.
In the second installment of this second session, a media vuelta is inserted after the initial double back ochos in order to lengthen the original sequence.
In the third installment of this second session, a different ending is presented, using a forward ocho, a freno and a giro to the left.
Here is the second week where after the set up, we use a circular cross feet salida to resolve and end the sequence.
Here is the third week where after the set up, we use a corkscrew and a circular cross feet salida to resolve and end the sequence.
Here is the fourth week where after the set up, we use a lapiz, a circular salida, an a planeo to create another mirror position.
—Vanina Bilous, professional dancer and teacher
In the new millennium there is some discussion and confusion about the different styles of embracing a partner in the Argentine tango. The embrace has erroneously been called “open” or “closed,” depending on whom you are dancing with, where you are dancing, and even what rhythm you are dancing to. Tango for export, openly loathed by the social dancers in Buenos Aires, has made a big impression on people outside Argentina. Show tango, with its acrobatic jumps, exaggerated flying legs, and extreme stereotyping of men and women, was the first imagery that caught people’s attention and fed into the naïve belief that anybody could do that in a social setting.
Gradually, the social dancing of the milongueros, the regulars at the Buenos Aires dance halls, began to transcend borders giving tango dancing an entire new framework. Devoid of the traditions, culture, and codes of the milongueros, idiosyncratic mannerisms and affectations have been packaged into a so-called close-embrace, milonguero-style, in which people are encouraged to imitate each other with preordained patterns and elitist behavior. Since the essence of tango is sheer improvisation, freedom to improvise is a hallmark of open minds. Style follows technique, and good dancers develop a personal style after acquiring solid technique. What identifies people as tango dancers is the unique way they dance Argentine tango: with a higher-than-average degree of closeness. Tango is the ultimate contact dance. The main purpose of the embrace is to establish points of contact between the partners.
When viewed within the historical context of the formation of the dance, space was and is scarce in the dance halls of Buenos Aires. The look of the dance today is a direct result of the environment in which it was developed. When dancing, it is helpful to hold the image of yourself as part of a couple carrying your own personal space around a very crowded dance floor. The couple is contained in a space that has the shape of a cylinder. Another metaphor is imagining that you’re dancing on one moving tile of a tiled dance floor. Unless
you dance in an urban place where there are hundreds of couples sharing the floor, it is difficult to imagine the need to dance close and only in the space your two bodies occupy. If you want the authentic look of the Argentine tango as it is danced in Buenos Aires, you should accept these images, even if you are the only couple on the dance floor.
The posture of tango is formed by the image of a hug. When you see someone and greet that person with a hug, be aware of the position of your own arms and the other person’s arms. We don’t hug by pulling our heads away from each other, throwing our shoulders back, and offering a rigid frame of arms with elbows sticking out at right angles. Rather, our heads and faces touch, our arms are relaxed, our elbows are down near the waist, and our shoulders are softened. There is nothing rigid in our posture.
Lead and follow: a flawed partnership
The pure definition of a partnership states that both partners assume 100 percent of the responsibility for the actions of the partnership, and each partner is bound 100 percent to his or her own actions. The Argentine tango is a dance of full partnership, in which both members of the partnership, most commonly referred to as the couple, must contribute 100 percent of their skills, talents, and emotions and assume 100 percent of the responsibilities. By definition, then, the Argentine tango is not a lead-and-follow dance.
If it were merely a matter of semantics or a casualty of translation, the unique concept of la marca, which experienced tango dancers recognize as the profound body language that serves as a communication channel for the couple, could be replaced by ballroom dance’s terms of lead and follow. After all, what counts is the understanding of the concept that governs partner communication in tango dancing and not the desire to classify the dance as the 11th dance of the ballroom circuit.
According to Richard Powers, head of the dance department at Stanford University, Arthur Murray is credited with stating in the 1940s that dance floors were the one place where women preferred to remain submissive.
This was a natural consequence of a trend that began in the 1930s when the use of the expression lead came to be a synonym for command, and follow ended up being by default a synonym for obey. The emphasis on the pleasure of dancing for each partner had been lost for partners who began calling each other leads and follows, a subtle yet dehumanizing process of the dance experience.
The 1930s were a time when women’s views on suffrage and feminism were a threat to the male-dominated society, so rules requiring women to be gentle and submissive when dancing were ideas welcomed by the rule makers of ballroom dance. The role of the follow was defined as part of a duty for women to let the men lead on the ballroom floor. The role of the lead was then one of a guiding force; the leads were to be the pace makers, the follows their shadows. American views on these matters of dancing roles were mild in comparison to the more chauvinistic attitudes of the British ballroom establishment. Visibly annoyed with women’s protests for sexual equality, the male dancers took heart from the fact that, on the dance floor, they were still the masters. It was they who decided when and where any particular step was to be danced. They thought out the patterns of the dance, making it their business to do most of the work while their female partners just made a pretty picture.
The bottom line was that the ladies didn’t have much input regarding the male and female roles as a male-controlled dance establishment defined them, except perhaps in the extreme cases where the tightness of an embrace would betray an intention to break their backs. It is against this background of biased hierarchy that newer generations of dancers grew up with a mistaken sense of competition and an adversarial attitude toward each other.
Liberation came in the form of new dances that eliminated contact between dancers. Ironically, the elders of that generation and their descendants were the ones who took to the Argentine tango as an addiction, an obsession, and a way of life. It is for their benefit that the myth of leads and follows needs to be demystified. It is for your benefit that the myth of leads and follows needs to be placed into context, along with the exhilaration contained in the possibilities of full partnership in the tango. Be aware of hypocritical men who like to enunciate in patronizing ways proverbs such as “Men propose, women dispose” to appease what, in their perception, is an unhappy female population. Here is a proverb that can summarize the point we make: “It takes two to tango: one man and one woman.”
In summary, the woman has now learned how to hold herself on axis, how to allow the free leg to follow her body moving in one of three ways with respect to the support leg and in relation to her partner, and how to transfer her weight to establish a new axis on completion of a step.
The man and woman have also experimented with the techniques of the embrace and the principle of points of contact. This establishes the mechanics by which the man marks the direction, timing, and amplitude of the woman’s movements, while the woman manages her axis and allows her body to be carried in the embrace of the man. The man has learned how to make the woman dance around him to avoid colliding with other dancers.
We have now reached the point of introducing the fundamental concepts that define the way the couple moves along the line of dance and around the floor.
—Allegra Kent
Anyone who uses movement for expression knows that the fundamental skills are the tools used for a lifetime in the pursuit of effective movement. Fundamentals are not to be discarded during the passage from a beginning to an accomplished product—that is, you, the seasoned dancer. The more you use and practice the things you learn in this program, the more confidence you will have and the more substance your dancing will have. As you begin to execute the various movements presented here, you might find that your body is a bit tense and not prepared for the flexibility required for dancing tango. You can do many exercises to help you incorporate this unique way of walking the tango into your body memory. Here are some exercises you can use frequently to keep you tango fit.
To develop a natural way to move and respond to the music, make tango fitness exercises a part of your daily routine. As an individual, you will always hold yourself in a balanced position and then send your body in the direction you want to move. This will force you to “fall” off your axis and use the free leg to receive the transfer of your body weight to the next position, where you will assume a new axis and a new balanced position.
With a partner, you must know how to move the other, and you must know how to be moved. You can alternate roles as an exercise or you can hone the particular skills for each role. In either case, the man moves and holds the woman on axis as he moves and holds himself on axis. The woman maintains an axis and allows herself to be moved from axis to axis.
Since most of the dancing is done with your partner to the right, you must be aware of established conventions within the structure of the dance.
1. The first forward step is always an inside cross with the right leg.
2. The second forward step is always an opening with the left leg.
3. The first back step is always an outside cross with the left leg.
4. The second back step is always a diagonal opening with the right leg.
5. Side steps or lateral openings to the left are “long.”
6. Side steps or lateral openings to the right are “short.”
7. The woman dances around the man.
8. The man dances around the floor.
The material here contains the set of basic tools that both men and women will need in order to dance together. We can’t stress enough the importance of exercising, practicing, and developing the skills to use these tools to your benefit.
Buenos Aires 2006
During the establishment of the tango at the onset of the 20th century, things happened that formed the historical circumstances. The population of immigrants and their descendants had grown in such substantial num- bers to take away the country from the conservatives, who had been ruling it at will. The immigrants won the first secret-ballot elections in Argentina, establishing the first populist administration. The people of that generation projected themselves toward the future with the wisdom of their neighborhoods as their most valuable tool. They read from the best texts and studied from the best professors from Europe. Meanwhile, on the street corners, the music and lyrics that had become tango were accompanied by studied steps that sent immigrants and new citizens alike looking for partners at the milongas, the fabled gathering halls of early tango dancers.
In 1930, a military takeover snatched the homeland away from the majority and overthrew the government that had protected them. Martial law and a state of siege were the tools used for persecution and repression. That is when Creole wisdom and cleverness resulted in the founding of the social clubs, havens where people could meet during that stifling political reality.
To better disguise their activities, the Creole society hired musicians who, at the same time that the social clubs grew, contributed to the growth of musicians, composers, lyricists, and dancers. There, the milonga was protected while the participants spoke freely of politics and businesses.
Then Carlos Gardel arrived and forged into one all the nationalities. And when much later it seemed that everything succumbed to governmental order, tango was the popular thing that came to save the people. My father, the immortal poet Homero Manzi,* showed me a view of the world of the tango at the apex of its golden age. At no other time did musicians, composers, poets in the form of the lyricist, and dancers converge in one wonderful rush of originality and influence. That is the way my father described the events, as we look at them turning toward the present, with many couples joining their efforts toward education.
Many have reinvented the Argentine tango, and it has even reinvented itself. Just when it had been written off as passé, pronounced dead in newspaper headlines, and ignored by a couple of generations, it came back full force and full circle. There has been a revival, a reinvention of sorts, of the tango in all forms. The golden age is surpassed in sheer numbers of dancers, because the tango has had a global explosion. Credit for this is often given to the most glamorous catalysts in the form of tango shows and tango movies. But a more grassroots influence exists in the form of a handful of protagonists who preserve and foster the tango for the love and respect of it.
Two such persons come in the names of Alberto Paz, an Argentine, and Valorie Hart, a tanguera from the United States. Having made the Argentine tango the leitmotiv of their lives, both personally and professionally, these two have promoted the tango to the thousands of students they have touched in the scores of cities and countries in which they have taught their classes. Add to that the thousands of words they have written on the history, the poetry, the music, and the dance in their magazine El Firulete and on their Planet Tango Web site, and you come to realize the profound influence these two have proffered to the benefit of the Argentine tango.
Through their exploration, Alberto and Valorie have made the dance form something teachable by expanding on old ideas and codes that permeated the world of the tango when they and others found it languishing for lack of interest and understanding. They have influenced the very language used in teaching the dance. Taking the ideas offered to them personally by proponents of the golden age, they have worked tirelessly to present a clear and accessible construction of the dance. They do this to empower one and all to embrace the enjoyment and benefit of it and to understand the culture and history that formed its music, poetry, and, of course, the dance.
Gotta Tango offers a concise, complete, and clear compendium of the dance of tango, a gift to you, the social dancer, and a must for anyone inclined to become a teacher of it. Nothing like it exists, and it is destined to become a classic, much like the tango itself. This is the fruit of Alberto and Valorie’s labor of love and a delightful result of their intelligence and expertise as master teachers.
—————————————————————————————–
*Homero Manzi (1907-1951) was a critically acclaimed poet, filmmaker, author, and lyricist of such classic tangos as “Malena,” “Sur,” and “Barrio de Tango.” In his 44 years he also reached into journalism, teaching, labor, and political militancy with mixed success. The tango lyric was, nevertheless, his true claim to fame and is what keeps his memory alive.
H omero Luis (“AchoManzi”) Manzione was born March 6, 1933, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is an elected member of SADAIC (Society of Authors and Composers in Buenos Aires) in a supervisory capacity on the auditor’s commission. He is well known as a composer of both music and lyrics of tango and folk songs. Acho is the author of tangos such as “El Ultimo Organito” (in cooperation with his late father, Homero Nicolas “Manzi” Manzione) and the lyrics for Cuarteto Cedron’s CD, Para que Vos y Yo, produced in Paris. He is also a compiler of poems dedicated to the tango and its influence in the broadcasting and film industries in Argentina. Acho has compiled the prose and short stories of his father, presented and displayed at the XXIV International Book Fair in Buenos Aires in 1998. He has worked in television production and participated in the movie Los Guardianes del Angel (2004).
A
abrazo—Embrace. The tango hug.
aguja—Needle. An adornment for the man. It is done with the free foot vertical and the toe into the floor while pivoting on the support leg.
amague—From amagar. A deceptive motion such as stepping in one direction and immediately going in the opposite direction. The man uses it to mark a lady’s boleo.
apilado—Piled on. A form of embracing that resembles the way a jockey is “piled” on top of his horse when racing—hugging the neck.
arrastre—From arrastrar, to drag.
arrepentida—A change of mind. Evasive actions that allow a couple to back away from a collision or traffic jam in a minimal amount of space and on short notice.
B
¿bailamos?—Informal for “Shall we dance?”
bailar—To dance.
bailarin—A dedicated dancer.
bailemos— “Let’s dance.”
bailongo—A tango slang word to describe a place where people dance (a milonga).
bandoneón—A concertina looking reed musical instrument originally created as a portable pipe organ for music for outdoor religious activities in Germany. It has the appearance of a box with bellows with two sets of buttons, one for each hand. It first appeared in Buenos Aires toward the last decade of the 19th century and gradually began to replace the flute and clarinet in tango trios, becoming the lead instrument of choice for expressing the sound of the Argentine tango.
barrida—A sweep. A sweeping motion in which the dancers’ feet travel together during the opening that follows a back step of the person whose foot is being “swept.” It is an illusion, and feet don’t actually push each other. They follow the action of the upper bodies.
base—A figure that consists of the three unique steps each leg can execute: a lateral (opening), a forward, and a back with either leg. When done in the dancing position, it renders a parallelogram pattern similar to the baldosa.
boleo—The action of interrupting an outside cross, converting it to an inside cross, or vice versa.
C
cabeceo—A nod of the head signifying “Shall we dance?” prevalent at the traditional dance halls of Buenos Aires. The gesture is used by the man to invite a lady to dance from a distance when the lady allows eye contact to be made. A lady’s nodding of the head, or any other barely perceptible facial movement, indicates “Yes, you may dance with me.”
cadena—Chain. A series of sequences linked to each other and repeated several times.
cadencia—A swaying motion of the body following the cadence of the music.
calesita—Carousel. A figure in which the man walks around the woman, keeping her centered over, and pivoting on, axis.
cambio—Change. Cambio de frente, or change of front; cambio de dirección, or change of direction; and cambio de parejas, change of partners.
caminada—A sequence of three or four steps that results in the displacement of the couple along the line of dance.
caminar—To walk.
canyengue—A certain attitude displayed by young men indicating lack of interest for formalities and authorities circa 1900. A way to dance the tango mimicking the gait and posture of the canyengue demeanor of some youth. A rhythmic effect created by hitting the strings of the upright bass with the hand or the arch of the bow.
carpa—Tent. A figure created when the man keeps the lady on one foot and then steps back away from her, causing her body to rest at a soft V-shaped angle on the right side of his body. Sometimes affectionately known as adormecida, as the man “puts her to sleep, calming her down,” before continuing to dance.
chiche—Toy. An embellishment done in place with the feet close together in time with the beat.
club style—A way to dance in the crowded clubs in the center of Buenos Aires.
codigo—Code of The Tango. A repetitive and predictable way for the woman to dance around the man.
codigos—Codes. The set of demanding codes of conduct and courtesy that prevail in the milongas in Buenos Aires.
colgada—From colgar, to hang. A turn on a shared axis resulting in an inverted cone shape as the dancers hang away from each other.
compás—Beat. The main pulse that defines the tempo of the music.
contrapaso—Skip. Stepping twice with the same foot by changing weight when the feet come together.
corrida—From correr, to run. Also corridita, little run. A short sequence, usually done in groups of three quick steps.
corte—Cut. An interruption of movement, such as at the end of a salida, or thenthird step of the resolution when both feet come together for a change of weight in place.
cortina—Curtain. A brief musical interlude of a totally different genre between tandas.
cross-feet system—The couple steps together using the same foot instead of the opposite as in parallel system.
cruzada—From cruzar, to cross. The action of crossing the legs.
cunita—Cradle. A sequence of forward and backward rocking steps.
E
eight-count giro—A turning sequence consisting of eight body positions and displacements.
enrosque—From enroscar, to coil or twist the legs.
espejo—Mirror. Mirroring the body position of one’s partner.
F
firulete—Adornment; decoration; embellishment. A drawing or writing on the floor with the free foot.
freno—Stop and hold; brake.
G
gancho—Leg hook.
giro—Turn.
L
la marca—The indication used by the man of when, where, and how the woman moves into the space he creates.
lapiz—Pencil. An embellishment that looks like a number 6 drawn on the floor using the free foot as if it was a pencil.
lento—Slow.
llevada—From llevar, to carry. A displacement provoked by moving into the woman’s free leg that carries her leg to the next step.
M
media luna—Half moon. One of the oldest figures in the tango.
media vuelta—Half turn.
milonga—May refer to the music, written in 6/8 time, or to the dance itself, or to the dance salon where people go to dance tango, or to a tango dance party.
milonguero (masculine; feminine milonguera)—Refers to those frequenting the milongas and whose lifestyle revolves around dancing tango and the philosophy of tango.
milonguita—A diminutive word for a short tango dance party. Also a name given to a young woman who worked the cabarets in search of a rich man to take
care of her.
molinete—Windmill. An old turning figure in which the lady dances around the man who serves as an anchor or center axis for her rotation.
mordida—To bite. The woman’s action of clearing the man’s foot if he places it on the outside of her foot instead of the inside, in giro 6 to the left or to the right.
N
noche—Night.
O
ocho—Eight. Figure eight. The ocho, forward or back, is a direction change to the man’s left and right (or vice versa), provoked while the woman takes either a forward or a back step.
orquesta—Orchestra. An 11-piece tango ensemble.
P
palanca—Lever; leverage. Describes the subtle assisting of the woman by the man during jumps or lifts in tango fantasia (stage tango).
parada—Stop. The man stops the woman, usually as she crosses back.
parallel system—When the dancers step with opposite feet. His left, her right, and so on.
pareja—Couple. The two partners in a tango.
pasada—Passing over.
paso—Step.
patada—Kick. pausa—Pause; wait. Holding a position or pose for two or more beats of music.
pecho—Chest.
pie—Foot.
pierna—Leg.
pinta—Appearance; presentation. Includes clothes, grooming, posture, expression, and manner of speaking and relating to the world.
piso—Floor.
pista—Dance floor.
planeo—Glide.
porteño (feminine porteña)—An inhabitant of the port city of Buenos Aires.
postura—Posture.
práctica—An informal practice session for tango dancers.
Q
quebrada—Break; broken. A posture in which the body breaks at the waist and uses a deep bend of the knees.
R
rabona—A lock step produced by crossing a foot behind the other with the intentof kicking.
resolución—Resolution; tango close.
ritmo—Rhythm.
rodillas—Knees.
ronda—The imaginary line of dance. Etiquette requires the dance couple to move around in a counterclockwise direction using diagonals in concentric lanes to facilitate navigation in proximity with other couples.
rulo—A curl drawn on the floor with the free foot.
S
sacada— From sacar. Displacement.
salida—From salir, to exit; to go out. Derived from “¿Salimos a bailar?” [Shall we (go out to the dance floor) and dance?]. Also a four-step figure done on a
diagonal to the man’s left side ending at the woman’s cruzada position.
seguidillas—Tiny quick steps used in a corrida.
sentada—From sentar, to sit. A sitting action. A family of figures in which the woman creates the illusion of sitting on, or actually mounting, the man’s leg.
suave—Smooth, steady, and gentle. Soft, stylish, and dense.
syncopation—The action of doing the unexpected, such as stepping when it is not expected or not stepping when it is expected.
T
tanda—A set of dance music, usually three or four songs of the same dance in similar style and often by the same orchestra or another orchestra in the same mode.
tanguero (feminine tanguera)—Refers to anyone who has a significant interest in any or all aspects of the tango, including the dance, the music, the poetry, the history, and the plastic arts.
trabada—Lock. A locked step as in the cruzada or the rabona.
traspie—Contrapaso. Stepping twice with the same foot. Usually used to change to and from the cross-feet system. As a matter of choice, the traspie can be
executed on a slow or quick step.
V
vaiven—As in va (go) y (and) ven (come). A change of front using a rock step.
vals—Argentine waltz. The music is referred to as vals criollo, and the dance as vals cruzado.
volcada—From volcar, to lean forward. The action of tilting the lady’s axis.
Z
zarandeo—Swing. A quick sequence of hip pivots with both thighs together, resulting in small swivels of the feet in place.
A commonly held belief is that good dancers prefer to dance on the periphery of the floor. Like most belief systems, this one defies the rule. Many dancers move to the inside to execute a fancy figure and then move out again into the flow. Many dancers get caught in the inner circulation and dance well there. The point is to dance well where you are and dance well enough to go where you want to go, inside or outside of the floor (or anything in between).
Full responsibility for circulation rests with the man, because he is generally moving forward, controlling the dance and marking the woman’s movement. Of course, the woman must do her part to have control of herself (balance, axis, and connection). She must be sensible and not do inappropriate embellishments on a crowded floor or back herself into a collision. Still the general consensus is that the man needs to have the skill to mark everything and smoothly guide and control the woman’s movements.
The idea is to carry the personal space created by the two of you as if it were all the space you have. Consider that the dance was formed in very tight conditions in Buenos Aires. You might reason that if the dance floor on which you are dancing has more space, why not spread out and do big movements? We like to think that the goal is to dance an authentic Argentine tango for the very reason that we are attracted to its unique posture and look. Lack of space dictated the formation of the shape and size of the embrace. Even if there is only one couple on the floor, Argentine tango is danced as if there were no extra space around a couple.
So logic will tell you that if you are going to use figures involving boleos or ganchos, you must keep them within the space you have. This means no big kicks or movements that can affect another couple. You can do boleos and ganchos if you understand alignment and keep in mind that the man keeps the woman hidden within the embrace. This goes back to the formative years of the tango, when a man hid the woman from the eyes of other men and protected her from any other bodies touching her, whether on purpose or by accident.
For every tradition there is a contradiction; for every effort to preserve the intrinsic values of the dance and foster its values, there is a teacher or a dancer pleading young and pushing the envelope to promote changes in posture, embrace, and the look that is so unique to the tango. It is not unusual to run into couples who dance so separated that they occupy the space normally occupied by four couples. Some movements are exaggerated cone shapes with the partners breaking the embrace in order to fall away from each other. These movements and postures occupy much more space than movements and postures from the past. As new things come up, they make their way onto the dance floor. If you are attracted to these designer moves, by all means do them with a skill that will not disturb the space of other dancers. However, nothing can take the place of the tango truly embraced—dancing close is dancing Argentine tango.
Do you, as a paying consenting adult, think that these for profit tango promoters should decide which books you should be made aware of, or are you the skeptic type who think that maybe the organizers are not too confident of the qualifications of the teachers they hire, and they fear that you may find out that you’ve been paying for dubious material that can’t stand a fair litmus test?
THE BOOKS ARE HERE
After a long and anxious wait, the first shipment of the special edition of GOTTA TANGO has arrived in New Orleans! What a pleasure it is to see our photos on the cover. They are are beautiful! The publisher reluctantly agreed to print the special edition after going ahead against our objections to using young models to appeal to young college students. An unfortunate case of corporate arrogance.
But we are so excited! After nearly 4 years, we finally have the fruits of our labor in our hands! So now it was time for the book signing/book launch party…
We picked a Sunday afternoon (5 PM-8 PM), when there wouldn’t be a conflict with other tango activities, and folks from out of town might be able to come from Baton Rouge, Florida, and Mississippi.
Gracious hosts and tango dancers Edwin and Barbara Beckman offered their beautiful home in the Garden District for the occasion and we got the word fairly quickly. The house has just undergone major renovations and it was a pleasure to be part of one of the very first social gatherings in it.
The one thing we had not planned, was the torrential rain that poured since early in the morning. Sunday, November 25 witnessed the worst, wettest weather we have seen in New Orleans in a long time.
The hardy souls who braved the worst, wettest weather we have seen in New Orleans in quite a while were rewarded with readings by the authors, live tango music, played in piano rendition by Amassa Miller, the well known New Orleans musician, and a warm and friendly gathering of tango dancers and supporters from New Orleans and beyond.
Alberto read first from the foreword of the book, written by Acho Manzi, describing the historical circumstances that contributed to the establishment of tango in the 20th century.
Notably, he writes, “Credit for this (e.g. global explosion) is often given to the most glamorous catalysts in the form of tango shows and tango movies. But a more grassroots influence exists in the form of a handful of protagonists who preserve and foster the tango for the love and respect of it. Two such persons come in the names of Alberto Paz..and Valorie Hart… Through their exploration, Alberto and Valorie have made the dance form something teachable by expanding on old ideas and codes that permeated the world of tango when they and others found it languishing for lack of interest and understanding.“
Valorie then read from the acknowledgments…”What Katrina did to New Orleans and our four months in exile played a fundamental role in the way this book went through an epiphany of sorts…
What a difference the year after Katrina made in our lives. We like to think that it happened to us for a reason – that after our four month tour, teaching with a passion and inspiration that we had not experienced before, we wrote a better book….” and from the introduction, “There is something so human about the Argentine tango that grabs a primal instinct for human connection, to hold and to be held. All over the world, people are dancing this dance of the people of Buenos Aires with a passion that has been compared to a healthy addiction.“
In the blackened, wind swept evening, last night’s attendees were held, and connected in a circle of light, with the love, and lovers of tango at its center.
