Milonga - Tango in Belgium

Photos: first Tangueria of 2012

Peter — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:44:57 +0000

My first Tangueria of the year: meeting a lot of friends, taking pictures of some of my favourite models, and some nice dancing to the music of DJ Stephan. Life is good.

Full album here: Tangueria

Photos: Gran Milonga in Brugge

Peter — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:04:28 +0000

In the beautiful foyer of the 1869 Brugse Stadsschouwburg, there was an equally classy milonga, organized by Pasos de Brujas. The planned demo by Alma & Aldo had been cancelled, but we were lucky to have Sonja & Sven and their mentors Marisa & Oliver in the milonga, who gave us a double demo.

DJ Marie-Jeanne entertained the dancers with a mix of classics and some alternative tango, in an absolutely stunning venue.

Full album is here: Flickr – Tango in Brugge

Most popular milonga.be photo of 2011

Peter — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:52:40 +0000

Thousands of pictures of people dancing on milonga.be and the most popular seems to be one of a lady waiting for a dance! Not sure what the message is there. Should I take more pictures of people that are not dancing? Or do a lot of the female voters sympathize with the feeling in the picture?

If the lady in the picture would step forward, that would be nice because I have no idea anymore who she was, and the ring itself is not enough information.

For info, this is the rest of the top 5 of 2011:

Photos: Tango for Life 2011

Peter — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:47:40 +0000

The first edition of Tango For Life was a big success. In an authentic chappel dozens of tango dancers were being rented for a tanda at a time to raise money for StuBru’s Music for Life.

At the end of the evening, the organizer Ivo was auctioned off for a multiple of the normal taxi price.

The full album is here: Tango for Life

Last Bruxelles Aires @ Kafka of 2011!

Peter — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:43:52 +0000

Tonight at 21h: the last Bruxelles Aires Tango Orchestra concert of the year! In café Kafka, four musicians will bring you a mix of tango, theatre and a bit of opera. No one has ever asked you for a tip the way Lola can!
And while you’re at it, maybe give them some views / comments / favs on Flickr? Maybe they make it to the Most popular pics of 2011!

15 years of Marisa & Oliver

Peter — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:26:25 +0000

This weekend Marisa & Oliver celebrate their 15th anniversary of tango together. The Tangueria salon on Sunday welcomes lots of invited maestros and promises to be a party filled with nice demos and sweet memories!

Marisa and Oliver met in the tangoscene back in 1994, when tango was still kind of “underground” in Brussels. They started to work together and became a (tango) couple in 1996, teaching in the mythical “Rue de L’Argonne“, a tango place run by Vincent & Maryline. During 5 years they combined their tango work as teachers, performers and milonga organizers with a regular job at dance company Rosas (Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker). Then, in 2001, they became tango professionals. Another important milestone was the opening in 2006 of their own tango place and school, La Tangueria, which is renowned until today as one of the main milongas in Brussels.
At the 15 year anniversary, they have invited 2 couples who started their careers together with Marisa & Oliver and are still regarded as 2 of the most important tango couples in Belgium today: Sergio & Gisela + Maryline & Vincent. For 15 years these 3 couples have been working together and next to each other in the best understanding, and a solid friendship has grown. Two other couples who have been very important for Marisa & Oliver will also perform on 11th December: Andrès & Nathalie (co-organisers of the Brussels International Tango Festival, together with François Pettiaux), and Birkit & Muzaffer from Utrecht, who have been dancing together with Marisa & Oliver in 4 international tango shows.

Fri 23 Dec: Tango for Life

Peter — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:22:18 +0000

The Flemish radio station Studio Brussel (STUBRU) organizes for the sixth and last time “Music for Life“, a charity event under which flag anyone can organize a fundraiser, the proceeds of which go to this year’s cause: fighting child diarrhea, the most important cause of child mortality worldwide.
So this year there will also be a Tango For Life fundraiser: on Friday 23 Dec, you can go to the Altena chapel in Kontich, and pay to dance a tanda with one of 50 tango teachers from all over Belgium. There will be a cava lounge and music by DJs Ben, Stephan and MJee. Afterwards you can keep dancing at the after-party in La Luna, Antwerp.
So put it in your agenda! Friday 23 Dec, come spend your money for a good cause!

Most popular photos of 2011

Peter — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:50:37 +0000

Just like last year, I would like you to help me choosing the best milonga.be picture of the past year. For that, you should go through the list of all milonga.be favourites and ‘favorite‘ and ‘comment‘ (see further) on pictures that you like! I will give you the top 20 and the most popular photo in the beginning of January!

Some more details on how to improve the scores of the pictures you like:

If you DO NOT have a Flickr account

go to the overview page and click on each photo you like to see them in full size. Every click counts as 1 view!

post the link of a picture you like a lot (like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pforret/6447405305) on your Facebook profile or Twitter feed. Your friends might click on it and every click counts!

you can see the counted views on the right of each picture

Pro tip: if you really want to influence scores, get a (free) Flickr account. You just need a (free) Yahoo account, and it’s easy if you already have a (free) FB or (free) Google account. Did I mention it was free?

If you DO have a Flickr account (now we’re talking)

for every photo of the overview page that you really like, press the Favorite button on top. Favorites count more than just 1 click!

If you want to explain why you like the picture, leave a comment. Comments are worth even more than Favorites!

I’m not telling you how much more favorites and comments count in the scores, but: it’s significant!

Extra tips

Check if the picture is from 2011! I won’t take older photos into account!

if there are pictures of mine that you really like, but that for some reason, I did not put in the Milonga.be Favs group, let me know, I can add them. The top 20 will ONLY contain pictures from that group!

All the numbers I will use to calculate scores are only on Flickr: views/favorites/comments, everyone can see them. Don’t send me emails with URLs, don’t try to bribe me. If you want a certain picture to score higher, use the tools above to improve the score!

To start with: here are 50 popular photos from 2011:

Photos: El Pibe Sarandi in BRYC

Peter — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:43:05 +0000

Last weekend Brussels welcomed El Pibe Sarandi, a Buenos Aires maestro with more then 50 years of tango experience. Benedicte and Jens-Ingo invited him to the Brussels Royal Yacht Club. He gave a demo together with Benedicte of his smooth milonga style.

The BRYC is a beautiful place to dance; check out the collection of flags on the wall!

This is the BRYC album.

Announced: 2nd Tango Solidario Gala

Peter — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:06:49 +0000

Next week Sunday October 30, Nosotros organizes their second edition of the “Tango Solidario Gala”, a tango fundraiser, collecting money to buy instruments. Last year’s edition was a succes, allowing Nosotros to buy 17 instruments for the Orchestra School Ingeniero White. This year should be interesting too, with DJ Philippe and a demo by Andrea & Sebastian.
Sunday 30 Oct, Bouche à Oreille (Etterbeek), 17h – 22h!

Photos: Bruxelles Aires at Kafka café

Peter — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:00:56 +0000

After I had met them at Musicometro, I was curious to see the Bruxelles Aires Tango Orchestra at the Kafka café in Brussels. And indeed, the cosy setting adds to their cabaretesque performance.

Check out their next concerts:

More photos here: Bruxelles Aires album

Photos: La Tentation

Peter — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 18:17:40 +0000

Every now and then Dante & Monik organize a milonga with performances in La Tentation. This weekend it was the Enrique Nicolas Tango Quartet performing, as well as a demo of both Monik & Dante (tango) and Julio Garrido (zapateo).

The light was low and very red, therefore most pictures are black and white.

All pictures here: Milonga @ La tentation

Maryline & Vincent @ Garage 29

Peter — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:05:27 +0000

It’s always a pleasure to see Maryline & Vincent perform, and so I didn’t want to miss the demo they would give after their workshop at Garage29.

It was also the first time I went to this … garage, and I rather liked its character. The light was a bit difficult on the dancefloor, but thanks to the softboxes close to the bar I could actually take some nice portraits.

DJ Andres, aided by the cutest cortinas, kept spirits high and we danced until way after we were supposed to leave. The two cats that live there, allowed us to stay, although slightly reluctantly, as cats do.

Full album here: Garage 29 at Flickr

Looking for tango extras in “Mr. Morgan’s Last Love”

Peter — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:27:47 +0000

Pour le tournage du film “MISTER MORGAN’S LAST LOVE“, avec MICHAEL CAINE et CLÉMENCE POÉSY, nous recherchons des FIGURANTS-DANSEURS pour une ou plusieurs journées entre mi-novembre et décembre 2011 à Bruxelles.

Pour plusieurs séquences qui se déroulent dans une école de danse, nous recherchons :

Des danseurs de tous types et de tous niveaux (hommes et femmes, amateurs bienvenus…)

Des danseurs de Tango (en couples si possible)

Des danseurs séniors (à partir de 60 ans, hommes et femmes)

Des enfants danseurs (entre 10 et 14 ans, garçons et filles)

Si vous êtes intéressé(e)s par l’aventure, merci de nous faire parvenir quelques photos récentes, ainsi que votre âge, taille, expérience, numéro de contact, et disponibilité sur la période. Vous pouvez nous envoyer votre candidature par mail à : castingmmll@gmail.com

In English: there is a movie shoot for “MISTER MORGAN’S LAST LOVE” with Michael Caine and Clémence Poésy. This shoot will be in Brussels in Nov/Dec 2011.
They are looking for:

Dancers of all types and levels
Tango dancers (preferably in couple)
Senoir dancers (60+, men and women)
Teenage dancers (10-14y, girls and boys)

If you want to participate, send the following to castingmmll@gmail.com : some recent pictures, your age, height, experience, your availaibility in Nov-Dec and a contact telephone no.

Brussels Tango Marathon: the last days of summer

Peter — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:27:44 +0000

I don’t know how many candles they have burnt to accomplish it, but the organizers of the BTM, Elfje, Emilie, Laura and Oliver, got more summer in 3 days than we have gotten the three months before. With a lot of visitors from all over Europe, excellent food and fine DJs, this made it an exceptional event, and a comfortably warm ending of a less-than-warm summer.

Also check the full Brussels Tango Marathon 2011 album.

Photos: Bruxelles Aires in the metro

Peter — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:21:37 +0000

This weekend, in order to promote public transport, there were a number of concerts in metro stations all over Brussels: Musicometro. I had the pleasure to meet and accompany the Brussels tango quartet Bruxelles Aires, performing in Brussels Central.

An acoustic set in a big metro station is not an easy thing, but the four musicians did a great job in engaging the public and drawing quite a crowd. I certainly intend to go see them when they play in the Kafka cafe.

Photos: Final Milonga @ Kiosque of the season

Peter — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:49:22 +0000

Just when the logistics of organizing the Milonga @ Kiosque had become a routine, we were taught a lesson by the forces of Random Error and Elaborate Sabotaging. When we arrived, the gates were not open, so we had to carry everything by hand to the Kiosque, and when we had done that and tried to get the music going, we discovered that all options for electricity had been removed. So we had to scramble to find a battery and candles powered solution. This last edition can easily be called the most low-tech, tenebrious and romantic milonga of the summer.

DJ Mala and DJ Philippe, aided by a speaker with 4 AA batteries, made people dance to the light of a dozen candles big and small. Judging by the smiling faces, we didn’t do a bad job. But we might have some extra grey hairs since Saturday.

Photos: Milonga @ Kiosque #5

Peter — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:14:55 +0000

DJ Philippe did an interesting educational experiment last Kiosque: he had printed out all composers, orchestras and singers, and kept us informed during every tanda who was playing. It was a nice touch to a cosy milonga.

There was rain announced, but our own guardian milonguero from above kept it dry. We had cake and drinks and danced until the end!

Photos: El Flaco Dany in Brussels

Peter — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:00:17 +0000

The legendary Flaco Dany visited Brussels and we saw him at a very unique location: the Brussels Royal Yacht Club. It had been years since there was a milonga in this place.

Dany gave a demo of four milongas, and I don’t mean slow ones, in a row and, together with Lucia Mirzan, showed everyone how he earned his reputation.

And then there was lots of dancing next to the canal, with the excellent music of DJ Jens-Ingo.

“La Tubatango” in Patio de Tango

Peter — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:58:04 +0000

For those of you who like dancing to live bands, there is the concert of Tuba Tango this Thursday at the Patio de Tango. This is an rather unusual tango orchestra, with bandoneon, clarinet, guitar and, obviously, a tuba. They’ve existed, with changing musicians, since 1967. Catch them on their European tour!

La Tubatango’s objective is to relive the festive spirit of the tango from the 1900s; times when any celebration would have the citizens of Buenos Aires go out and walk down the streets following the bands, ‘fanfarrias’ and carnival groups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI7J-JQew-A