Vibrational Effervescence

Three days ago my brother left Naples to go abroad for an undetermined amount of time for his work and to reconnect with friends and colleagues.  He's gone to an environment very different from that of SW Florida.  I miss him already, but I feel excited for him, and I can already imagine the "vibrational effervescence" (I made that up) that can fill one's life when traveling and when living in another country.  

A new vibrational effervescence can occur when one goes away on vacation or on a business trip, which is why traveling can be so exciting and stimulating. But what I'm calling "vibrational effervescence" (what would YOU call it?) can take on even greater meaning when we are not a tourist, a short-term house guest, or a hotel guest on business, but when we  become a temporary or occasional resident who seeks to integrate into the everyday life of the place.  When we take an apartment in another country with its different language, customs, and products, where the air in the street smells different, where the people have a different way of composing their facial muscles when at rest or when they talk, where they keep a different degree of closeness or distance when they speak with each other, where idioms in their everyday talk reveal the deep values of a people  . . . in our experience changing location for an extended period of time, for us, whether we're a newcomer to the place or one who returns, the new quotidian can either be exotic or a familiar recollection brought back to life. 

I wanted to share with you my excitement for the creative opportunities opening up to my brother now just because he got up and moved to another part of the world for a while.  

It dawned on me as I was writing this message that I am particularly excited about my brother's decision to relocate and integrate into a different culture for a chunk of timebecause it foreshadows my own establishing a seasonal residence in Buenos Aires at the end of the year!  And it reminds me of the creative life that this will make possible for me, and for some of my now and future North American students.  I chose to work with Nancy Landi, a porteña - a Buenos Aires native, to help me and later my students with the logistics of living in Buenos Aires, and thereby minimize the touristic aspect of the experience and maximize the vibrational effervescence that will come from our authentically participating in another culture, specifically the culture that over 100 years ago gave birth to Tango.

Nancy wrote me in an email this week:

". . .  you must know and live the road and the motor of Buenos Aires if you are dancing tango. Same for your pupils. To be in contact with the real culture (kind of glasses, plates, services at the apartments, maid service, neighbors, door man: all of them from BA) is not to be in an American hotel where everything (employees too) are Americans.  So, for sure I recomend an apartment to drink the culture and show it in your dance because the culture is in your skin . . . " 

Nancy, for starters I'd like a sunny kitchen and a balcony with a view, please, close to a great produce market. :)  

I just found this delightful blog by a young Asian, relocated to Buenos Aires, who calls herself"Buenos Aires Foodie", and shares her discoveries of the culinary world of this city.  If you're wondering about life in BsAs and want to see gorgeous photos of mouth-watering foods, accompanied by witty comments, please go here:  http://aayudame.wordpress.com/category/the-piglet-oinking/eating-out/.  I suggest you visit all the sections of her blog.

The Second Tango Sin . . . and its antidotes (part 2 of "The Two Sins in Tango")

Last week I wrote about how the first "tango sin" according to my maestra, Graciela Gonzalez, is the woman's anticipating, and I talked about how developing an attitude of curiosity is one way to eliminate that habit and enrich one's tango experience.  To read the article again, scroll down to the preceding post (below).

Graciela said that the men's "sin" is hesitating. 

Men have the opposite problem to the women's: when they fear making a mistake, they may hold back before deciding their next action in a tango, or do the action tentatively. Hesitation sends a message of insecurity to the woman!  It's not the best way to express your magnetic masculinity, nor does it help your self-confidence!  So here's what to do if you can relate too well to this discussion. 

There are two things that I recommend that men do to stop hesitating: 

1) PAUSE OFTEN, deliberately, as often as the phrasing of the music suggests, and during the pauses strategize your navigation and your potential next moves.  I say potential because there will inevitably be unexpected occurences that will, in addition to your own creativity, affect your improvisation: a) what's happening in the music, unless you know the piece like the back of your hand, b) the woman's response to your invitation, and 3) changes in the "traffic" around you.  When you have mastery over your balance*, by the way, you can always stop abruptly, yet calmly, on a dime, making the lady (who's in the vulnerable position of walking backwards) feel secure, and when you can always pause calmly and in balance, you'll never step on her feet!

2) ERR BOLDLY! I always advise my students that when in doubt about a movementyou're about to make, as long as you maintain your balance*, go ahead and do it anyway. Because there are almost no mistakes in tango.  You can incorporate almost any "error" into your improvisation, if you do it decisively.  By moving boldly and decisively, rather than hesitantly, you'll stay in balance much more easily and you'll discover an increased feeling of confidence. You'll also discover how "mistakes" fuel creativity, and how accidents that ruin your plan can produce delightful new results. "Erring boldly"  will increase your improvisational skills! And finally, would you rather boldly make a mistake and laugh with your partner about some ridiculous result because you took were playful enough to take a risk?  Or would you prefer to timidly venture a movement and sheepishly say "sorry" to your partner? :P

Here is a video example of a man moving boldly and decisively as he dances tango, and pausing often with the phrasing of the music.  In fact his dancing is so clear and simple, that I'll bet anyone reading this with 6 or more months of tango training (or less) can analyze this tango structurally from the man's point of view. Go ahead and see how many structures Jorge's using that you can recognize or understand.  He's being very playful, using his own variations on traditional movements, and this could only have come from prior experimentation!  

Please enjoy this video of Jorge Dispari and Maria del Carmen: 

http://youtu.be/JsAXhKt48jM

If you found these comments helpful, and would like to go deeper, Modules #1 and #7 of my "Permission Seduction™ Tango Learning System" will help you accomplish my suggestion 1) above, "Pause often".  Modules #1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will help you accomplish my suggestion 2), to err boldly!

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Would you like to know more about my Tango programs?

You may set up an appointment with me for a free, 30-minute in-person or telephone Get Acquainted Session, using my online self-scheduling system.  The Get Acquainted Session is the best way to learn all about my programs, and to discuss whether and how I can best help you meet your goals and desires! 
Better yet, sign up for a 90-minute introductory lesson, with the special summer price through August 31.

Visit http://naplestango.com to for easy online enrollment and scheduling of your Introductory Lesson or Get-Acquainted Session! 

The Two Sins in Tango (part 1)

I once studied with a famous Argentine maestra, Graciela Gonzalez, who told our class on our first day with her, "There are two sins in Tango:  for the woman it's to anticipate, and for the man it's to hesitate!

Now, after teaching for so many years, as well as dancing in milongas even longer, I've figured out that women and men "commit" their respective "sins" for the same reason: anxiety on the dance floor.

Two years ago, I gave a fun seminar called "The Tangueros' 14 Deadly Errors" to an audience of 30-40 men and women in the Palm Beach area.  I told them about how when I discovered tango, I loved it so much because at no other moment in my life did I feel so free, and so able to be myself!  I asked who else in the room felt that way, and not one hand went up!  Everyone in the room agreed that they suffer from some degree of dance anxiety or feelings of inadequacy on the dance floor!  

In honor of Mother's Day ;) let's talk this week about the woman's "sin", and what she can do about it.  

Anyone who dances Argentine Tango already knows, at least in theory, that when the woman anticipates - that is, moves before receiving the man's lead - she prevents him from proposing his spontaneous improvisation to her.  It puts him in the position of constantly altering his creative interpretation of the music to accommodate her unexpected and premature movements that come from what she thinks the lead will be.  

So the tanguera's anticipating the lead eliminates the possibility of a creative dialogbetween the partners, and puts the tanguero in the stressful situation of constantly being on the alert for and accommodating her guess-driven movements. A really good tanguero and gentleman will never let his partner know she's made a mistake; he quietly adapts and incorporates the error into his improvisation, so the dance flows smoothly and his partner feels like a Queen.This is one skill that tangueros should start to develop early on! However, if dancing with a woman becomes stressful because of she frequently anticipates, he may avoid inviting her to dance in the future.  (Women who complain that they're not often invited to dance often don't understand that their anticipating may be the reason.)  

The tanguero is not the only one who may feel stressed in this situation.  While many men have accused women who anticipate as "trying to lead", and "being presumptuous", the real cause of the problem is that women with this usually temporary flaw in their tango dancing are, consciously or not, eager to please the man, trying too hard to understand what he wants, and wanting do the right thing.  A less experienced tanguera, who may be accustomed to dancing other social couple dances with fixed structures, may want to know "Well, which figure that I learned is next?"  And when the man pauses, potentially the most romantic or provocative moment in a tango, she may wonder, "What am I supposed to do now?", because she has not yet understood that every single movement or non-movement in tango is part of a unique and intimate dialog! 

On the other hand, a more experienced tanguera, who knows what tango's reallyabout, may still anticipate because she's concerned about what the man, or anyone watching, thinks of her dancing.  She's partly focused on herself, and like the beginner, she's also, maybe unconsciously, worried about what she's supposed to do.  In other words, when a woman dances self-consciously, she is likely to anticipate.

For women who want to eliminate the anticipation habit, I'm going to recommend a solution that, as I mentioned at the top of this issue, was inspired by Gainesville tanguero David Chayes' email a few weeks ago.  David (in a totally different context) wrote about how important CURIOSITY has been to him in developing his own tango.  And I realized that curiosity was indeed an element that had also helped me enjoy tango very deeply and become a better dancer!   Thanks, David, for initiating the discussion (and we can continue your original discussion in another private thread).

So here is my advice to women who want to stop anticipating and get much moreenjoyment from their tango.  (I think David will agree.)   When you go to dance, enter every tango embrace with an attitude of curiosity - with an open mind and the desire to discover something about the man in your tango embrace, whether he is a stranger, an old friend, your regular dance partner, or the love of your life!  When you "listen" with your body and mind to every nuance of the intention of a partner's proposal of movement to you, with your main desire being to discover what he wants to say to you in this private and unique nonverbal dialog, you will automatically shift your attention off yourself.  You will no longer feel self-conscious.  By being so intensely present in the tango embrace, focusing your attention on what you can discover about your partner during this song, you will no longer anticipate. You will get more joy from your tango life and from every tango encounter, and you will become a more enjoyable and desirable partner. 

I'll share with my readers again this passage from my journal in my early days of tango:

“In tango I found a pause, an oasis from stress, an island where I could livein brief but intense intervals with a man. It’s a world in itself where time doesn’t stop, but is decidedly different. When I dance tango I enter an oasis where nothing exists but:  the music . . .  the full presence of the man within my embrace . . . his breathing and mine . . .  the beating of his heart and of mine . . .  our contact together with the floor. Within this embrace I can discover intimate aspects of the man through his interpretation of the music, and allow him to discover intimate aspects of me.”

* * * * *

May I also suggest to our tangueras while you're practicing being curious as you dance, that you also go to every tango event with an attitude of curiosity about how this experience will be unique and will enrich you!  Whether or not your favorite tangueros are present, and whether or not everything is to your liking that evening, by practicing open-minded curiosity, you will enjoy every milonga!

If you found these comments helpful, keep in mind that Modules #8 and #9 of my "Permission Seduction™ Tango Learning System" - respectively, "Master the art of the Dynamic Dialog" and "Feel like a radiant Queen at every milonga" - go much deeper into the subjects I discussed here!

* * * * *

Would you like to know more about my Tango programs?

You may set up an appointment with me for a free, 30-minute in-person or telephone Get Acquainted Session, using my online self-scheduling system.  The Get Acquainted Session is the best way to learn all about my programs, and to discuss whether and how I can best help you meet your goals and desires! 

Better yet, sign up for a 90-minute introductory lesson, with the special summer price through August 31.

Visit http://naplestango.com to for easy online enrollment and scheduling of your Introductory Lesson or Get-Acquainted Session! 

The "Wax on, Wax off" of Tango

Two weeks ago, I started off my monthly "Transformational Introductory Tango Experience and Argentine Wine Tasting" by introducing myself as being different from other tango teachers.  I asked my tango novice guests if they had seen the original "Karate Kid" film. I then suggested that they think of me as the "Mr. Miyagi" (Mee-yag-ee) of Tango! 

Please click the link just below to watch this Youtube clip from the film.     It's the famous "wax-on, wax-off" scene, in which young Daniel is led to finally realize why his trainer, Mr. Miyagi, has been making Daniel do manual labor on the elder's house and vintage cars all weekend, rather than providing the karate lessons for which Daniel's mother has paid.

Here's the clip . . .  HHHHAAAAAIIIII !!!:

http://youtu.be/eWMtUDJQfYs

Does anyone else find that scene very moving?

At the start of his training, Daniel performs repetitive tasks all weekend that seem to have nothing to do with karate, but which Mr. Miyagi knows will instill precise habits of movement into his student's muscle memory. We see in this clip that Daniel has unknowingly and very quickly acquired the correct movements with which to spontaneously defend himself under attack!  This part of the film reminds me of the rigorous drills through which I regularly guide my students throughout Module #1 of my 9-Module "Permission Seduction™ Tango Learning System".  I call Module #1 "Master your balance, to move securely and solidly whether walking or pivoting", and it includes the 5 basic skills I consider fundamental to tango: 

1) understanding your own axis and returning to it with every movement

2) walking forward correctly

3) walking backward correctly

4) stepping correctly to the side

5) pivoting forward and backward

With a mastery of these basic skills, usually acquired slowly at the beginning of my programs, my students find next that Module 2 (Master the powerful and penetrating(m.)/ powerful and alluring (f.) tango walk) becomes a pleasure, and they work enthusiastically and voluntarily on refining and beautifying their walks. Even more notably, they are able to quickly conquer the more complex structures of Module 6 (Understand the language of tango / Excel at an essential vocabulary of 7 walks and 25 figures and their variations), while maintaining excellent form!

Then the real fun begins. Because they have already mastered their balance and can cleanly execute the basic movements from which almost all figures are comprised, about halfway through Module 6 my students experience a breakthrough, as they begin to creatively connect figures and to improvise more freely. They are usually ready at this point to confidently learn additional figures from almost any tango workshop they might attend, or to "steal" a figure from a video, in both cases requiring just a little help to polish the forms, for men - to clarify the lead and navigate more strategically, for women - to follow with more precision and sensitivity, and for both - to begin to embellish elegantly and musically!  

My students may seem start out like the tortoise in the "Tortoise and Hare" fable, with their peers in other cities zooming through lessons about figures, week after week and year after year.  But in the end they have stronger skills after just 6 months to 1 year than do many 5-10 year tango dancers elsewhere, and they suffer almost none of the frustrations on the dance floor (such as dance anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, being unsuccessful at getting to dance with more advanced dancers) that I hear about so often from tangueros and tangueras in North America and Europe.  

Because of the success of my "Patiently and methodically master the most simple basics first" approach, I never dive into teaching figures at the beginning of a tango program, although that's the most common method of teaching tango around the world, and that's what many students and novices think they want. (But only when you've mastered the basics, can you begin to really focus on the quality of your dialog with the intriguing person in your embrace!)  And this is why I admire the teaching method of the film's Mr. Miyagi character, and why I identify with him!

A legendary couple, and the Tango Fantasy Festival in Miami

Here's a photo of Gloria and Eduardo Arquimbau (AR-kim-bau) more than 25 years ago in the show "Tango Argentino", which opened in Paris in 1983 and went on to be a hit on Broadway in 1985 and around the world.

Exactly 10 years ago, in April 2001, Gloria and Eduardo were guest instructors at my new Tango Center in Umbria, Italy.  It was my 3rd month of operation. For several years prior, I'd been assisting more expert male friends I had invited to teach the first tango beginners' workshops around Umbria, but I didn't feel qualified to teach by myself. Finally in February 2001, after my second trip to Buenos Aires (and the end of my 20-year marriage), I started teaching regular tango classes in the loft-like, new apartment I had rented. Accustomed to organizing intensive seminars in the art school I had founded in 1988 and was soon to leave, I began inviting tango professionals from Argentina, whom I knew from my 6 years of study, to teach workshops for my new tango students, and later that year to workshop attendees from all over Italy.

When the local students went home each evening, MY "Tango University" would begin!  The maestros would make coffee or mate (MA'-te) at my house, or open a bottle of wine, and they'd tell me stories about their own tango lives of many years, and about the history of tango. They'd make me listen to music and guess the orchestra, the singer, the pianist . . . and, praise the Lord, they'd get me into the middle of the living room floor and teach me how to teach!  And so I began to build a sound pedagogic foundation. I still cherish the experiences I had in that first year of my tango center, learning each month from a different great tango man, woman or couple, all guests in my home.

My memories of 6 days with Gloria and Eduardo are still very strong.

Though they were my house guests, they seemed to have taken me under their wings. They introduced me to an exciting early period of music of Carlos DiSarli's wonderful orchestra, a period I still love today! They helped me discover the great tango singerAngel Vargas, and taught me to recognize when Miguel Calo's orchestra featured the pianist, Osmar Maderna, who gave so much flavor to the Calo' sound.  They also taught me some teaching essentials I still use today.

The Arquimbaus were famous because they were one of the three legendary coupleswho decades earlier were the first to take their style of tango abroad and started making people want Tango   For Gloria and Eduardo in the early days, that style was mostly"Tango Fantasia". (The other two couples were Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves, and Rodolfo and Gloria Dinzel, "Los Dinzel". You can look them up on Youtube.) Gloria and Eduardo did their first show abroad in Japan, when Gloria was only 14 years old.

Here is a recent photo of them, and a link to a video that shows them dancing, in 2007, at the 5th anniversary of a milonga in Buenos Aires:http://youtu.be/HhjWqh8RQbI  The first of the two pieces they perform here is of the style I mentioned, called "Tango Fantasia". It is not the style of tango that I prefer, but I enjoy watching it, and I admire them and am grateful for their contribution to the interest in tango worldwide over the last 50 years! 

Why am I telling you about them today? Because they are currently celebrating the 50th year of their tango career together, and they will be special guest performers and instructors the week of May 24-30 at the 15th annual Tango Fantasy Festival at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach. http://www.tangofantasy.com/

I would urge you to attend the festival, if only to meet and learn from the legendary Gloria and Eduardo Arquimbau. Other great tango artists, such asClaudio Villagra and Romina Levin, will also teach and perform.  On Sunday, May 29 there will be TWO shows (a matinee and an evening gala) by the 7 professional couples, including Naples Tango's favorite guest instructors,Jeremias Massera and Mariela Barufaldi. 

The festival features 16 classes per day from which to choose, and milongas every night! April 15 is the deadline for the Early Bird price of $499, which encludes all festival activities, except the Sunday shows.  The price goes up to $575 after that.  Or choose your days and activities "a la carte"! 

Festival organizer Lydia Hensen (also the "Grande Dame" of Milonga "La Ideal" in Hallandale, FL, which I consider the best milonga in Florida), knows what quality is in the tango world, and she knows how to put on a festival! Tango dancers of every level of experience have been comingto the festival for 15 years from all over this continent and abroad. 

  

You can find all the information about the festival here; the exact schedule of classes will be posted soon:  http://www.tangofantasy.com/

For those of you seeking beautiful tango shoes, there are usually 4-5 vendors of the best Argentine shoes present throughout the festival.

I have been attending this festival as regularly as I could, living overseas.  Sometimes I'd make it a point to be in Florida in May, to make sure I didn't miss it.