Visiting teachers in Tampere in November 2015

Marjo Kiukaanniemi & Timo Hakkarainen will teach the weekly classes of Tango aMoroso 2.-4.11. and 9.-11.11. They will also animate the weekly milonga with LIVE cortinas on Tuesday 10.11.!!! 

And for the last two weeks in November we have the pleasure to welcome back our almost local teachers, Daniela Feilcke-Wolff and Raimund Schlie from Berlin! Take the chance to study also Alexander-technique with Daniela, ask for privates! 

The grammar of tango

We can analyze the steps and basic movements of tango in many ways.
1) There are only two kinds of steps: cross and open. Always considered in relation to the partner.
2) There are three different steps: front cross, back cross and open/side. The follower's steps can go only to two directions: the leader's right or left. The leader's steps go either with or against the turn. (Yes, I know, especially the last sentence does not make any sense if you don't know what it means…).
3) My steps can go forward, back or sideways in relation to my own body, and they can be cross steps or open steps in relation to my partner.
4) The Mingo Pugliese system, based on the giro caminado (could not find the link, a great article!!!).
5) There is the walk, the ochos, and the giro. And then we add the extra elements like paradas, boleos, ganchos, sacadas, colgadas etc…
6) Linear movements and circular movements.

And these are just the systems that come to my mind right now! There are a million ways to analyze the tango dance, maybe even some that I don't know yet…

And all these systems want to explain the grammar of the body. The physical feeling of how the steps forward, backward and side connect to each other by rotation. How does it FEEL to make an ocho, and how does it feel to be led to a side step and into another ocho. How does the giro, the turn around the partner, connects to the walk.
I think this is the grammar of tango. You need to learn it with the mind and the body. And then you can play with it. Or you learn by playing...

Workshop in Helsinki, Finland 29.-30.03.2014

We will be teaching in Helsinki in one week! A whole weekend!!! Amigos del Tango ry is organizing a workshop weekend for us at El Atico 29.-30.03.2014. Please register quickly; we will not be teaching so many weekend workshops this year in Finland, so take
this chance!!!

The topics of the classes are : 

Lauantai/Saturday 29.03.2014

1) musicality (all levels) 12.00- 13.30

2) tomas, pasadas y barridas (int) 14.00- 15.30

3) vals turns and the musicality (int-adv) 16.00- 17.30


Sunnuntai/Sunday 30.03.2014

4) colgadas and steps around follower's axis (int/adv) 12-13.30

5) back sacadas for him and her (adv) 14.00- 15.30


And of course, in every class the connection to the music and the partner are an essential part of the training!


Register with a partner via e-mail info@tango.fi

Hinta 15eur/ workshop

Tiedustelut info@tango.fi


MISSÄ? WHERE?
El Ático, Kumpulantie 1 (Itä-Pasila), 8. kerros/ 8th Floor
Soita numeroon 045-8560608 kun olet etuovella, jotta voimme ylhäältä avata oven.
Call us on +358-(0)45-856-0608 and we'll open the front door for you from upstairs.

Keskustasta raitiovaunu 9 suoraan oven eteen ja Pasilan asemalta kahdeksan minuutin kävely El Áticoon. Myös linja-autot 22, 59, 505 ja 518 pysähtyvät edessä.
Best connection with tram number 9 that stops in front of the building.

Tervetuloa!!! Bienvenidos!!!

On the importance of milongas

Wow, what a nice Sunday milonga we had! As one friend said, there seems to be a market for Sunday milongas!!! Nice to see new dancers, beginners, babies, all coming together for a lovely Sunday social event!

I have been thinking of how important it is to go to milongas when you want to learn to dance Argentine tango. In a milonga you have the chance to dance with many different people, and with the people you want to dance with. You get to meet people with different dancing experience and style, and you also get to dance with more experienced dancers. More experienced dancers take you to a level where you can never go just alone and not just by practicing. 

Our goal as teachers is to help people to become great social dancers. We want everybody to enjoy dancing. To be able to dance with everybody. To really lead and follow, to dance the way you like, and take into account the common rules and codes that give Argentine tango its special character. To listen to the music, and to learn to move to it. In every class, we want to create a learning environment for exploring different aspects of social tango. 

In a milonga we can enjoy a lovely mix of danceable tango music, milonga and vals. The old rule for dancing in a milonga is to do only the steps you really know (I think this is especially important for the man's role). We can learn to use the steps we know in a comfortable way, and we learn to improvise new combinations in a real live environment. In a class we can never practice all the possible combinations that we need on the dance floor. And we all have to find on our own the most natural way of moving. When we use the most simple steps we can, we give space to feelings - physical and emotional feelings. Like the great dancer and teacher, Diego "El Pajaro" Riemer said: "Tango cannot be taught. You learn it."

End of Summer, inspiration for Autumn

Wow, what a couple of weeks it has been!!! Something to write about. A training week, a festival and a full two hour tango show in Riga, a week of Ashtanga yoga and Anatomy of Wholeness on a remote island with vegetarian food and outdoor toilets, and to top it off, an experimental workshop on learning tango. 

I'll start from this weekend. We had a very special workshop with a very special teacher. David Gorman is an anatomist, Alexander-technique teacher and a creator of the Learning Methods system. He is teaching people to learn in an efficient way, and to use these methods in any field, like dancing, music, sports, or even communication and relationships. We met him on the yoga retreat last summer, and got fascinated about his approach to learning and training and teaching; he could solve problems in yoga even though he does not practice it himself! We even took two tango lessons from him, and were very impressed - yeah, he does not dance tango either. 

We knew immediately that we want to use these methods in learning and teaching tango, and already during last season we did it to some extent. We wanted other tango dancers and tango teachers to know his methods too, to know what they think of them, and to work together with them to improve tango teaching. And this summer after the yoga week the tango weekend became true!

For the workshop David wanted the group (not me or him) to bring up the subjects, and he did not want to plan the program beforehand. The problem was of course that the students did not know yet what kind of problems David and the Learning Methods are able to tackle. All kinds of problems, I tell you, I know from my own experience that it works even on colgadas!!! During these two days we saw many different situations where the Learning Methods can be used, and now we know more of what works for us as humans and as tango dancers and teachers!

First David introduced his concept of flow and wholeness, and then we talked about those moments when the flow is disturbed in the dance. It seems those moments were familiar to everybody! And everybody had more or less successful ways to cope with them. But what were you doing when you were still in the flow??!!! 

David was very interested in the communication side of this couple dance, and it seems that there was a need to talk about it. The students brought up a lot of questions, some very personal, and with David's patient guidance we discussed them. A big revelation for many of us was how different is the leader's and the follower's view on what is happening when dancing or trying to lead and follow certain things. "The Experiment" was introduced as a tool to find out solutions. 

The role of the follower was also big question, and what a relief it was to let the leading come to you, instead of focusing and narrowing down on the following, and forgetting yourself, loosing the wholeness…  In the end of the day we actually ended up practicing active following when dancing tango, and I saw many smiling faces, both on men and women!!! 

As a teacher I think one important thing to remember from this first day, is to be open to this kind of questions and concerns. The role and responsibilities of the leader and the follower, disappointments and successes with dance partners, confidence in your role, confidence to dance… I don't know how much they have to be addresses directly in the classes, but at least notice them and give them time and attention when they come up. One helpful idea was that the tango etiquette takes care of some of these problems  - when the etiquette is followed!!! Dancing the 3 or 4 tangos, making a nice build-up during the tanda, following the line of dance or la ronda, and including your partner AND the whole dance floor into your focus!  The etiquette seems to have a much deeper meaning than just a bunch of rules that you can decide to follow or not! 

And of course it helps if you allow yourself and your partner to have the ups and downs, the good, the better and the not-so-good days… Any level you dance, you will always have the whole range of emotions and experiences!   

On Sunday David decided to start the day with introducing the concept of the Centered Support, and how we can use it to stand and move freely. This was exactly the thing that I wanted David to teach at the workshop!!! I think it is a very very  useful thing to tango dancers - and humans. Tango dancers are quite familiar with this type of body work, and this idea was easy to integrate into actual tango dancing. For me the centered support brings the idea of wholeness to a very physical and practical level. 

During the day we did very nice exercises of concentrating on the whole couple or on some detail, and I think that at this point it became very clear to all of us that it really is worth while to concentrate on the wholeness and presentness and not to narrow down on some detail. When given some time, our bodies unconciouss coordinating system will take care of the details, as long as the intention is clear. 

In the end of the day we got a short glimpse of how David starts to work on actual tango problems of students. Unfortunately there was very little time left; I would have loved to spend more time on that, especially from the teacher's point of view. For me it has become very clear that the way to learn and teach is to refine the intention and not the details! As a teacher I can try to help the student to refine the intention - this Autumn will be an interesting experiment for us and our students to find the intention in all kinds of tango movements!!! Of course it helps if the teacher also knows the details, but the skill of a teacher is to know when to say something and when NOT to say it! And an important thing is to give the student (and the system) time to make it work!

Thank you everybody for joining the workshop, I really hope to get some feedback to find out what was useful for you, and maybe already some experiences in using this knowledge! We will have an interesting Autumn!!!

Shoe shopping

Links and info about tango shoe shops! Let me know if your favorite shoe shop is missing, or if you find that the contact information has changed!

* My favorite brand: Comme Il Faut at Arenales 1239, door 3, apt. M.  Open Monday-Friday 11-19, Saturday 11-15. Shoes only for women. Heels 7,5cm and 8,5cm are recommendable; nowadays they have some models also with a lower heel. Prices around 750-790 pesos.

* NeoTango at Sarmiento 1938. Shoes for men and women; men's shoes also in small sizes. Also sneakers. Cool designs for both sexes, comfortable heel, clear shop: low heels on the right hand side and high heels on the left. Low meaning 7 cm and high 8-9 cm. Price around 750 pesos.

* The new hot shoe brand for women: Souple at Parana 348, 2 A. Open Monday-Friday 13-19, and could be wise to call first to make sure lady Souple is there (11-4371-6813 or 15-5327-3424). The sole is very soft, flexible (hence the name) and well cushioned, the heel is very distinctive, well placed, and you see many professionals wearing this shoe. The fit seems to be for a normal foot. They have several models, and the heel height is 8,5 or 9,5 cm. In one shoe they have a 7cm heel, but the style is more ballroom or salsa and not so much a tango shoe. We are praying for a 7,5cm heel and a wider fit... Prices around 700-800 pesos.

* DNI tango store at the DNI tango school on Bulnes 1011; also a web shop. Open Monday-Saturday 13-20. Great shoes for women: one comfortable heel height, 7,5cm. Three models. Two widths. I love the rubber sole; great for slippery floors and performances! Also several types of sneakers with different heels. Price 630 pesos for the heels, a bit less for the sneakers.
Men's shoes: 3 different models + sneakers. Fun designs and colors. Price 630 pesos.

* 4 Corazones have great sneakers for men and women. Av. Callao 257, 3rd floor.

* Alanis at Diagonal Norte 936. Women's tango shoes with different heel heights, bright colors, flexible sole, padding. Monday-Friday 10-19, Saturday 11-13. Some people swear by these shoes; did not convince me.

* GretaFlora, Acuña de Figueroa 1612, in Palermo Soho, Monday-Friday 11-19 and Saturday 14-19. 

* A Swedish girl who makes the shoes herself!!! Three models of high heels and the famous flat dance shoes from Katrinski; check also the Facebook page. Women's shoes.

* 2x4 al pie: men's shoes with interchangeable sole. Very soft construction, almost a sneaker, soft heel. Scalabrini Ortiz 1753, Dpt 3. Monday-Friday 14-19, Saturday 15-19. They used to have a women's shoe also, but not any more. 

* Fabio shoes: sneakers for men and women, and maybe also high heel shoes again. Showroom on Riobamba 10, piso 10 A. Monday-Friday 11-19, Saturday 11-16. 

* Tango Leike on Sarmiento 1947. Women's shoes, also with a lower heel. 

* VB tango shoes in San Telmo, Independencia 389. Shoes for women and men. 

* Traditional tango shoes on Suipacha street: Flabella on Suipacha 263 and Darcos on Suipacha 259. Check also Suipacha 256 on the other side of the street; that's where I bought my first (5 pairs of) tango shoes!!!. Shoes for men and women. And they still have the amazing full glitter shoes!!! I think I need one pair...

* Raquel at Bolivar 554 in San Telmo. Shoes for men and women. One model of a lace up practice shoe with 5cm heel. Also custom made shoes for a higher price.

* A new shoe shop on Estados Unidos in San Telmo, Alma. They have several models with different heels, a nice shop, and they also can build an arch support or an olive in the shoe if you feel you need that. The fit seems to be for a normal foot (with long toes). Only women's shoes.

* And the best shoes for men come from Señora Leo. Shoes made to measure, you choose the model and leather and the heel, and get a shoe that fits like a glove and last for years. Pasi has already written about this. The small shop Artesania AR-SIL at Avenida Juan de Garay 908, on the border of San Telmo and Constitution. I usually take the subte to San Juan and then walk along Tacuari street. Open Tuesday-Friday 12-18, Saturday 11-16. Very reliable and friendly people, a family business, making shoes for 27 years! Price around 600-650 pesos, depending on the materials used.

They make shoes also for women, and I recommend it if you need a special fit, like much wider shoes or feet very different sizes or shapes, or want a special design. They also make normal street shoes, sandals and lace up shoes, so if you have the dream shoe in your mind, with pink and glitter and leopard, go for it! If you find easily ready-made shoes from the regular shops, then this process of shoes made to measure might not be worth the trouble. I have had some shoes made, and I use them as summer sandals, because for tango they are not the best for me. I'm getting one new pair tomorrow, let's see how they fit!

Even though the shoes are made to measure, there might be problems about the fit, especially with the first pairs. So don't hesitate to tell them the problem and they will fix it. Sometimes it is best to use the shoes for a couple of days and then you know if they fit or not, and then you still can take them back to be fixed.

* Shoes made to measure, for men and women, also from Fattomano, Guatemala 4464, Palermo Botánico, just off Scalabrini Ortiz, tel. (5411) 4832-3156 or 4832-9633
and PH Tango,  Grito de Asencio 3602, Pompeya, tel. 4911-0925.

* Another list of shoe shops in BA!

Surviving in BA

This is still a work in progress: I will collect important links for everyday life in BA to have notes for myself and to make your stay in BA better! If you have any questions or good ideas, please let me know!

TRANSPORT

* I love the taxis in BA! There are millions of those black and yellow cars circling around the city, just waiting for you to wave for one! Make sure that you wave for a RADIO TAXI, they are the safest. How to recognize one? On the taxi it is written somewhere Radio Taxi, and there are usually two antennas, one long and thin and one short and thick. Those cars are connected to the taxi center or something, and they can ask for directions and help if needed. Inside they usually have a sign of the driver's name and the prices. Nowadays the taxis are not so cheap anymore; the base price is nowadays around 10 pesos, and usually a trip in the city costs around 30 pesos. Always check that the meter is running, and in the end of the trip you can ask for a receipt, un recibo or ticket. Usually you don't have to tip the taxi driver, only maybe round up the sum to the next full peso like 26,40 -> 27. If you want to go very far, like outside the city, the taxi driver may not want to take you there, or you have to pay also for the return trip to town, even though you are not coming back in that taxi.

* Get yourself a SUBE-card!!! Works for the bus = collectivo, the metro = subte and the train = tren. You can get it on kiosks marked with a lilac and green SUBE sign, it costs 15 pesos, you have to fill a form and fill in your ID-number, and sometimes they ask for your passport or ID-card. Then you need to charge it with money, either in the kiosk or the office at the subte. Then you just show it to the reader in the metro and the bus. In the bus you have to tell the driver where you want to go, because the price can be different: sometimes it is 1,10 pesos and sometimes it can be even 1,25 pesos! One ride at the subte costs 2,5 pesos. From the boletería at the subte station you can also buy tickets with 1-10 trips.

* How to know how to get somewhere on public transport? Use the guides on the internet! My favorite is the trip advisor at Comoviajo: write your address and where you want to go, choose how many blocks you can walk, and you get several options, also with combinations of the subte and colectivo. The bus lines you can check at Omnilineas: mark on the map where you are and where you want to go, and you'll see the bus lines that work the best. There is also the interactive map of Buenos Aires.

The bus stops are usually very well hidden, there can be a postcard sized sign on a lamp post or even attached to a tree. The colectivo stops usually before and after a big avenue, and very often even in every block. Sometimes there are several buses with the same number, and they all go to different places, and somehow you have to know which one is the right one for you; this one I haven't figured out yet how to solve!

* If you are lucky enough to have a bike in Buenos Aires, check the new bike routes here!
The city's slogan for promoting biking is "Mejor en bici", and I think it sounds much better in Finnish: "Paremmin pyörällä"!

PHONE

* Take an old phone with you, or buy a cheap one from here, buy a phone card from a kiosk, and charge it, and voilá! you are ready to make those table reservations to the milonga! Recharging the credit is easiest in the kiosk with "carga virtual": you give them your phone number and money and they recharge it on the internet. You should then get an SMS announcing your new saldo. Often there are promotions that on a certain day for 40 pesos you get 80 pesos; at least my Movistar sends me these announcements about twice a week.

* Not so wise to walk around with your iPhone, so leave it at your BA home.

EATING

* Check the restaurants near you on GuiaOleo!
My favorite vegetarian restaurant is Artemisia in Palermo, Gorriti 5996.
My favorite place for beef = lomo is DesNivel in San Telmo, Defensa 855.

* In the supermarket, read carefully the packets. In very surprising places you find sugar, and if it says "sugar free" it probably means it has artificial sweetener. In most yogurts there is both sugar and artificial sweeteners, and it is very hard to find normal coffee without sugar!!! So read carefully if you want to take care of your diet. Or just enjoy the green, blue and pink breakfast cereals.
The fruits and vegetables are usually better at the Fruteria and Verduleria, the green grocer on your street.
There are some shops that sell organic products, especially in the Palermo neighborhood. Will put links later.
In the Dieteticas you find nuts and grains and sometimes also non-white bread.


LEARNING SPANISH

* A good web dictionary and translator here! Must be several good ones, let me know your favorite one!

* If you really want to learn Spanish, this is a good school! I was planning to go, but then did not have time, but many friends go and really recommend it, and I can hear them improving! There are several levels, from completely beginners to very advanced, there are more and less intensive courses, and you can start any Monday!


SAFETY

* This is a big city, so take care of your belongings as you would in any other big city. Have a handbag with a zipper, and hold it tight. Hold your backpack in the front, not on your back. Be aware in the crowds, like the crowded subway or a busy street, parks, markets, and La Boca area. In restaurants also always have your bag at hand, don't put it behind your back or on another chair. And don't go out with all your credit cards and all your money at once. Just don't.

* The classical BA way to get robbed is that somebody throws some dirt on you, or bumps into you with his ice cream, or smears your jacket with McDonalds ketchup or bird poo, and then wants to clean you, and then really cleans you off, also of your money. So if something like that happens to you, please leave and go to a safe place to clean yourself. Oh, and I heard that the new thing is that somebody pukes on you at the subte and then tries to rob you... eew...

* The crowded subte is of course the place to loose your money and phone, so take care of your belongings. Hold your bag if somebody bumps into you. A bag with a zipper is a must, hold it all the time, and have your backpack on your stomach and not on your back.

* Don't change money on Florida street.
There is also fake money around, usually 50 or 100 peso bills, so take it as an authentic BA experience when you get your first fake fifty!

* Don't walk from San Telmo to La Boca, take a bus or taxi. In La Boca, take care of your belongings.

MORE TIPS

* Take a flashlight with you, or buy one from here, and keep it with you. There are power cuts often, so you never know when you have to help a lady friend to open her shoe clasp in the light of your flashlight.

* Tips for the toilet or el baño.
1) It is common at least in the old houses NOT to throw the toilet paper in the toilet, but put it in the waste paper basket, because the plumbing is ancient and we don't want the toilet to clog.
2) In the traditional milongas, there used to be a lady in the ladies' baño, and she would hand out toilet paper, and sell mints and stockings and earrings and knitted shawls and even dresses, basically anything that a woman could suddenly need in the middle of a dance evening. On this trip, I met this phenomena only few times: in the milonga in Club Sunderland, one night in La Viruta, and in the restaurant Todomundo on Plaza Dorrego. So be ready to hand over some pesos in exchange of toilet paper.

* Join the group "Surviving in BA" on Facebook!!!