This is what. TangoHell. Looks like.

This is actually nauseating. DO NOT WANT, children. DO NOT WANT. It is satisfying though, that after a period of tango blitzkrieging, one actually can discern between a video of good or bad tango. Watching someone dance live always allows for a better form of judgment, but getting to a point where one can actually understand what is going on in a video of tango is a real sign of skill improvement.

But evidently not in this case.

I am most most MOST certain that you all, realise that this is bad bad bad tango. Pat on the back. Sit back, and bask in the fact that none of us, even in the first lesson, have ever danced this poorly.

Thank you Toby.

And thanks to Ricardo Peixoto and his lovely tango blog for this gem.

Firbush!

It's the time of year to start saving up your pennies, begging mommy over Christmas and New Year to let you go to Firbush again. It's our annual Tango weekend away trip to the Highlands. Firbush is a sports centre owned by the University that has variant sorts of sports facilities located on the stunning location of Loch Tay. Sound like I'm from a promoting this commercially? I kind of am. I wouldn't promote something unfantastic though.

The weekend's going to feature Edinburgh's two professional resident Tango teachers : Jenny and Ricardo. They've been teaching professionally at DanceBase, featured on BBC, and have been involved in the UK tango scene for many years, and are, quite frankly, brilliant brilliant teachers. This will be a great opportunity to have a weekend chock full of workshops that are guaranteed to bring your tango skills to the next level.

But aside from that, to give you a good breather, you'll have plenty of opportunities to be one with nature, zen out on a kayaking trip, canoeing trip, or a good hearty hike. All equipment will be included in the price, and all the food will be too! There's always delicious food up there, and comfortable accommodation, so no worries about that.

The nights generally feature milongas (social dances), so you can practice your Tango rebellion and refuse sleep for the greater graces of dance.

But moreover, it's also a tremendous amount of fun with a great great bunch of friendly people from the Tango Society, and something you won't easily forget.

Here are our pictures from last year....


We had a 'TanGothic' themed milonga last year... SO MUCH FUN.


Live Music!

Weez Been Snubbed!

Having been excited by the Filmhouse Cinema website with a Dance:Film07 festival, I was sad to discover that their escapade into the fabulous dance movie world has decided to bypass Argentine Tango. What travesty.

But instead, you'll have to endure the cheesy lines and greasy looks of Patrick Swayze instead. I'm not a fan. But viva dance movies. If you're interested, here are the details whilst I go put baby in the corner.

Dance:Film07

iTango.

I discovered this yesterday, and I've found it as a pretty useful supplement just to go over many of the things we teach over the course of a lesson. I find that my mind gets a bit too cluttered with trying to think of and do everything at once, and these help me to get some key concepts and moves down to pat.

It's a bit difficult to follow if you're still fresh to tango because it's hard to fully see and understand what he is doing. But immersing yourself in tango is always a good way to start.

So enjoy folks! You can either find him on Youtube under: Dario's Tango Guide.

Or, for those of you who are on the dark side (like me) and enjoy the use of iTunes, you can subscribe to it here:

feed://feeds.feedburner.com/DariosTangoGuide

Abrazos!

Love for Sale.

I'd take them for myself if it was in my size, but since they aren't, you girls can take up on this deal. It's a size 4 1/2, and it's going for only 25 pounds!

Contact me at stina.is.irked@gmail.com . And you'll have them.

And weep with joy.

This is What We Do On Thursdays.

I don't know about you, but I'm utterly amazed by this video. It's not uncommon for men to dance tango with each other in Buenos Aires. In fact, this tradition has been established in the dawn of tango. Men often practised together in anticipation of dancing with girls, or it could be seen as a 'dance off'.

Note that they're changing leads every so often..!

So... we'll do this on thursday? See you then...

Tango? Yes Tango!

Hello! Curious about tango? Fear and trepidation much? Well let's start off by saying it's easy. Don't believe me? Those lucky individuals who were there to delight in our taster session today were tango-ing within the hour!

Tango is a walking dance, and if you can walk, you're halfway there. It's completely improvised, without long sequences of moves to learn, but just some basic principles to adhere to. So how hard can it be?

More curious now?

Then come to our free first lesson on Thursday the 20th of September!

The details are as follows:

Venue: Teviot Debating Hall (large room at the very top)
Time: 6:00
With: A Performance by Tim and Julieta, a couple within the local society that competed in the 2007 Tango World Championships.

Our schedule throughout the semester is as such:

Tuesday

Counting House Milonga (Social dancing by Edinburgh Tango Society)-
When: 7:00-11:00
Where: The Counting House (Next to the Peartree)
How much: 3 pounds.

Wednesday

Lunchtime Practicas-
When: 12:45- 1:45
Where: Highland Room, The Pleasance
Free guided practices with Toby, our friendly and esteemed teacher.

Thursday

Lunchtime Practicas-
When: 12:45- 1:45
Where: Highland Room, The Pleasance

Improver's Class-
When: 5:30-6:30pm
Where: Teviot, Debating Hall.

Beginner's Class-
When: 6:30-8:00
Where: Teviot, Debating Hall.

Social Dancing-
When: 8:00- 8:30
Where: Teviot, Debating Hall.

Friday

Tangolab (a night of tip exchange, a chance to put your questions about tango to more experienced members, and lots of space to dance and socialise the night away!)

When: 8:15- 11:00pm
Where: Highland Room, The Pleasance
N.B. This will feature special intermediate workshops taught by Tim and Julieta on announced dates.

Sunday

Counting House Milonga (Social dancing by ETS)-
When: 7:00-11:00
Where: The Counting House (Next to the Peartree)
How much: 3 pounds.

Fees:

It's the cheapest and best way to start off your journey into tango! Look!

3 pounds membership fee for the year for students.
6 pounds for non-student membership (but 5 pounds for returning members!)

Then...

It's only 1 pound per lesson after that for students, and 2 pounds for non-students!

Improvers can pay 1/2 pounds and stay for the rest of night for free!

Practicas throughout the week are free. And Tangolabs are free.

Intermediate Workshop fee is to be announced.

And this is only a smidgen of what's going on in this society. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on tango action with our lovely society secretary's emails.

If you have any other inquiries, please contact our secretary at: sandrasaidyes@gmail.com

Or me, your president at:
stina.is.irked@gmail.com

See you all soon!

Not Here To Be Loved

This is a new movie out featuring tango! I haven't personally watched it so I can't vouch for it, but the embrace sure looks proper alright.

Here goes the plot:

As his 51st birthday approaches, divorcee Jean-Claude (Chesnais) seems destined to spend the rest of his life alone and loveless. As a bailiff in a family firm, his only day-to-day contact is serving court orders to people who hate and fear him. His weekly visits to his monstrous father (Wilson) at a nursing home are marked by resentment and aggression, while he struggles to hold a conversation with his adult son (Couton) who has reluctantly joined the business.

Yet Jean-Claude still yearns for something different - and when his doctor suggests that his heart needs exercise, Jean-Claude crosses over from his office to the tango school opposite, where he meets thirtysomething Françoise (Consigny), who had long ago been babysat by his mother. She also has a longing for change as she drifts inexorably towards marriage to self-absorbed would-be novelist Thierry (Abelanski). With little in common besides resigned disappointment, Jean-Claude and Françoise dance up a restrained sort of romance together - but is it too late for them to overcome their strong sense of fatalism?

The suspense!

Tango World Championships 2007

The Tenth Anniversary Ball. A Reportage.

The night was beautiful. It was a pure distillation of tango in terms of the music, the dance, the evident friendships and fervour of the society of tango within Edinburgh. I walked into it knowing that it would be a great night, but had hardly concocted an expectation of what I would see and encounter. I gave myself room for surprise, and I was duly fulfilled. The venue, The Hub, itself was resplendent, and I was dazzled enough by the colour and detail of the place.





But before I could fully register my surroundings, I was plunged into a flurry of beautiful people. Dancing, not dancing, chatting, observing, relaxing, gesticulating, laughing, enjoying: entranced. The chatter of voices melded perfectly with the glorious tango that the Sexteto Canyengue were playing. There is indeed such a grand difference between a recording and having the music fleshed out by the passion of the musicians.



The dancers reciprocated the effort, and the dancefloor was as remarkable to watch as it was to step onto.







But the call of tango shoes in the other room cried out to me, and what can one do but to gratify their wishes to be seen? I made a trip to the bar/shoe stall, and was transfixed. A giant screen flickered with videos of days past from ETS. It was as if we were watching family videos and remarking on the growth of this baby of collective efforts.



The festivities did not stop at live music, dancing, and shoes however. Food was laid out for those who had committed to the full experience up to 4 am. Or, just to those who were peckish. Mashed potatoes and beef! I heard, but cannot attest to for myself, as I was mostly preoccupied by the glorious dancing and conversation of the night. Night had faded into day, and hunger fell to oblivion without me really knowing it.

Then the performances began. And my attention was fully arrested. Who can really say otherwise when Jenny and Ricardo take the stage?











The performance that followed was by Birkit Wildenburg and Muzaffer Demiray, two wonderful tango teachers and dancers. I particularly enjoyed their third dance, the amount of skill and precision in how slow it was was astounding. (The photos of their performance will be uploaded as I recover them!)

But the throng wasn't quite finished with the night after the performances. The dancing ensued, and the crowd did not dissipate until the last moment. And as soon as the night drew to its close, I knew that the fervour and magic in that room wasn't ready to die out. And as anticipated, people were already discussing the Counting House milonga to take place, well- that night.

All in all, it was a magical night. Well worth the price of the ticket, and it'll remain in the fondest of my tango memories.

It's not every night you get to tango until 5 in the morning.

Happy birthday ETS!

Dance. Stuff face. Dance. Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the party.

End of term Tangolab Party!








= mad fun.

And as an extra treat, here's a glimpse of Los Dinzels at their performance during their visit:

The end? Nay!

Yesterday was our last lesson, yes, but tango's far from over.

First of all:

There's the End of Term Tangolab Party!

We're taking up the usual Tangolab timeslot: 8:30-11:00, and turning the Highland Room at the Pleasance into a party pad for one night, replete with food, drinks, and awesome dance of course. We're not just going to play tango though, so be prepared to break it down with some new tunes.

Then:

There's the tenth anniversary celebrations! I'll be around with my camera, so I'll snap up photos and compile a good reportage of it for those of you who sadly cannot attend.

For those of you who can attend, get mad excited about the fabulous ball that's going to take place at The Hub on the Royal Mile. It'll be gorgeous of course, and well worth the 20 pounds. You can get the tickets from Brian, or ask around at the Counting House, or just talk to any of us, and we'll sort that out for you.

Anyways, keep checking this space. There'll be more up now that I have nothing but idle days before me. =)

Christina.

Joey Fatone on Dancing With The Stars 4/2/07

Star Wars (Ballroom) Tango. Shows you what NOT to do. Please don't show up to class in a jedi costume... please? We'll still love you. But it'll hurt to.

EUTS, awake!

Okay, so this is a fledgling thing. But I felt that something needed to be done in the absence of a functioning official website, due to a vacancy in the IT post of our committee. This (hopefully) will be remedied soon, as it is of much grievance to me that we can't use our website to the full.

But then I thought to myself, well why not start a blog? It can provide the most up-to-date news about EUTS without having to spam your inbox constantly, and extend other information about tango in and out of Edinburgh for those who want a bit more. Most importantly, your opinion can also be heard, and perhaps we may even get some dialogue going!

I'm dreaming big.

I hope all you lovely tangosoc members will embrace this. Good things could happen here!

Much love,

Your enthused president,

Christina.

Virginia Tech.

This is something we should all show our concern and care for, and I'm glad that our university is doing something in remembrance of the victims of this horrific event.

This is from Tim Goodwin, and I hope that you'll show your support in this:

On Monday 23rd April the Students´ Association and the University
Chaplain will be jointly hosting an event to mark a moment of reflection following the heartbreaking events earlier this week at Virginia Tech University in the United States.

The event, which will begin at 1pm and will be held in the Dining Room of Teviot, the students´ union building, will be open to all students and will be entirely secular, welcoming people of all faiths and none. During this time a short poem will be
read and those in attendance will be invited to light a candle to commemorate those who have passed away. The aim is to provide a quiet space for staff and students to take some time to reflect on this terrible tragedy, as well as to provide an opportunity for all members of the university community to come together to show their support and solidarity for Virginia Tech at this difficult time.

The event will last for about 20 minutes, but the Dining Room will remain open for the rest of the day to allow students and staff to come and go as they please, take as much time as is necessary, and to sign a book of condolences and reflections that will be available.

For more information, please contact Tim Goodwin, president of the Students´ Association, on president@eusa.ed.ac.uk or 0131 650 2648.

Thanks very much.

Tim Goodwin
President, EUSA