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!