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