Angelina's Tango Blog

Yoga and Piazzolla

2012-01-27T14:38:00.000+11:00

I came to yoga and tango at the same time - about 12 years ago! At a time when I was going through a crisis and needed to find a way of looking after myself - after years of neglect! And I have continued to practise them both regularly - I haven't become an expert at either but I love the experiences they both give me and I believe strongly that they complement each other. This morning I went

Chaplin didn't dance tango - did he?

2012-01-26T18:46:00.000+11:00

I have just spent a glorious afternoon on a wet Australia Day trolling through the channel for La Milonga de Treno. Thank goodness I am going dancing tonight or I would have to watch them all. The person behind this channel has spent hours putting some of the best tango music to old film clips - many of them famous. I hope that they don't all get taken down by Youtube... just in case - take a

Giving instruction on the milonga floor

2012-01-19T10:11:00.000+11:00

This has always been an issue as there seem to be some who think it is okay to instruct on a milonga floor, rather than reserving it for a practica or a private lesson. Recently I have seen this happen openly and covertly. When it is done openly it can disrupt the dance floor - and upset the vibe as well as the other dancers. When it is done 'undercover' as it were, it can also disrupt things -

Ironing out the problem of sitting out

2012-01-09T18:49:00.000+11:00

I have discovered a new term (to me). La planchadora - the woman who sits out all night at a milonga and isn't asked to dance - literally the ironing woman. (Out of curiosity I need someone to tell me if there is a male equivalent). In English this is the wall flower. Confessions of a Tango Addict wrote in April about la planchadora. Sitting out at a milonga is something every woman has to get

Happy 2012 - let us dance with joy!

2012-01-01T15:29:00.001+11:00

Yes I will dance today - tonight actually on one of the best floors in Sydney at the Marrickville venue of Tango Entre Amigos! Can't wait... it is a week since we have been to a milonga and it is funny how much you miss it when you can't go! Australians are really set on closing everything down over Christmas New Year - and for many into January and I really don't like it!! My yoga classes take

Wow... Fabulous end to a sad week

2011-12-23T22:16:00.000+11:00

I've been meaning to post this all week but haven't yet got my head around the loss of one of our most revered tangueros. Eduardo Massey was much loved in the tango community as his funeral showed - the chapel was packed! He left this world suddenly after a brief illness and we will miss his smile, his friendship, his jokes, his knowledge of tango music and his deft footwork on the dance floor

The Smallest of Dance Floors

2011-12-16T22:03:00.002+11:00

Floorcraft - or the lack of it - comes up frequently in conversation. As a follower I don't have the issues of having to deal with the swoopers and blockers and I do feel for my partner when his frustrations are spoiling his enjoyment of the dance. Sydneysiders have been told by many - including Jorge Dispari and Javier Rodriguez - that their floorcraft needs work. We also need to work on our

New to tango? - please stay awhile

2011-12-06T22:12:00.001+11:00

For a while there it looked like the tango scene in Sydney would keep on growing - new people came and more left than stayed but those who got hooked just couldn't stay away and became part of the scene. But this year it seems that the tango scene has gone rather quiet… some might even say stale. Few new people have come along and if they are women they will frequently go back where they came

Bad manners in Tango

2011-11-15T10:30:00.000+11:00

There's a thread on Tango-L that goes way back to 2003 and begins with the following: "tango seems to attract some of the rudest people in the world. I have NEVER run into such rude behavior in any other social situation. Why is it that tango tolerates it?" I couldn't put it better. How do you describe the DJ who abandons his partner and dashes across the dance floor when he thinks he sees

Shazam - an almost magic way of identifying tango music

2011-11-12T09:30:00.000+11:00

Would you like a friend who could identify just about every piece of popular Golden Age Tango music for you - and even tell you the orchestra and sometimes the year and the CD you will find it on? I have such a friend and he is Amazing! I love listening to tango music with him because I learn so much. However when my friend is not around he has recommended an iphone App which is almost as good.

Tango in the Chateau as it snows - so beautiful

2011-11-10T17:42:00.001+11:00

I started to write this post the night after the Tango Ball in the Chateau Tongariro on New Zealand's North Island, but for some reason those little gremlins that work in mysterious ways in a Cloud were not going to allow it - so it has had to wait until I got home. It was a wonderful night... and I hope for the sake of all the Aussies who cancelled - or just weren't interested - that they do

Terrible dearth of hand washing

2011-10-23T10:00:00.000+11:00

I just heard a radio announcer say that there is 'a terrible dearth of hand washing'! I suspect this applies to tango dancers at times. Apparently I'm too late for Global Handwashing Day - it was October 15. But given the information it seems that Global Handwashing Day should be Everyday. A search of the internet will reveal that washing hands with water alone before preparing a meal

Elegant - and not elegant - tango dresses

2011-10-20T13:38:00.000+11:00

Could someone tell me why the short tight club dress is being worn for tango performances? Perhaps they could also explain why some tangueras dress as if they are doing a latin ballroom performance, or even worse are working as a nightclub entertainer? Dresses that look as though they are held together by safety pins, or there is so little of them that not much is left to the imagination,

Where were the Sydneysiders at the Tango Festival?

2011-10-11T22:40:00.003+11:00

I've already said it, but I say again, thank you to Anonymous (could you come up with a better pen name please?) has made some very interesting and pertinent comments in his critique of the Sydney Salon Tango Festival on my post about the tango music - you won't agree with them all if you went - hopefully you will tell us what you thought. One comment Anonymous did make was about the attendance.

Hidden Treasure at the Sydney Tango Salon Festival

2011-10-07T13:42:00.002+11:00

I missed Sunday night at the Festival because a friend I don't see often enough was in town. Big Mistake! Because I also missed the performance by Dante Sanchez and Angelica Avalos. Since like most of my tango friends I didn't know them - I had no idea what I was missing until I watched a few Youtube videos. But fate has played into the hands of those Sydneysiders who like me missed out - because

Two very different nights of tango music

2011-10-02T16:29:00.000+11:00

Here we are into our fifth day of the Sydney Salon Tango Festival - and I'm writing this for those who have missed out for one reason or another! It would take too long if I wrote about the classes - so I am concentrating on the milongas. Tonight the Milonga will be held at the South Sydney Juniors club in Kingsford as it has been for the last two nights. A vast area never before used by the

Ask a stranger to dance - please

2011-09-30T18:15:00.000+10:00

This is a plea to Sydney's tangueros! Here we are in the middle of a Festival that has brought tangueras from far and wide and we really need to show them a touch of how friendly Sydneysiders can be. This is not Buenos Aires - it is Sydney - and we have some of the best tango dancers here teaching us - and performing for us and a wonderful opportunity to embrace the community. Last night a

Sydney - a town of tango cynics?

2011-09-27T14:10:00.000+10:00

Sunday night was a horrible night - weatherwise. The temperature dropped something like 16 degrees (C), it was windy and wet - and the previous day it had been a balmy, sunny spring day... great for the charity running the Stay in Bed all day fundraiser, but not great for the Milonga Para Los Ninos fundraiser. Just over 70 people turned up for the event held at the Marrickville Hard Court Tennis

What makes a Wonderful Playlist

2011-09-25T17:03:00.001+10:00

Last night at the Milonga de Mis Amores we were treated to the music of my Favourite Tango DJ. This person has been my mentor since I began djing out of necessity (you can't run a milonga without a DJ!) and it was a very steep learning curve at the beginning and one that I keep climbing. He played tandas with many of what he calls the 'top pops' - but that is what people want to dance to. And he

The Tango Dress

2011-09-18T14:58:00.000+10:00

With the Big Sydney Tango Salon Festival only days away I am probably among many (women) wondering what to wear. I can't wear what I wore last year (can I?) I can't wear what I wore last week to the milonga at City Tatts - or last month to the milonga at the Russian Club... (no question)... and the tango budget is Tight. What with spending most of my tango income on updating the TangoAustralia

Fabian and Lorena are coming to Sydney

2011-09-09T17:42:00.000+10:00

And I can't wait! These two are superb dancers and excellent teachers. They will be here for the fundraiser - The Milonga Para Los Niños on Sunday September 26 (the day after our Milonga de Mis Amores at Gladesville) and will be staying here for almost 2 weeks so they can be part of the faculty of the Sydney Tango Salon Festival. . We have published a brief interview with both Fabian and Lorena -

Tango Cup or Tango Championships - the results are in

2011-09-02T16:25:00.005+10:00

It's over for another year! The Tango Championships, now known as the Tango Cup have been won. The Salon by a Colombian couple Diego Julian Nenavidez Hernandez and Natasha Agudelo Arboleda from Colombia after a tie-breaker with a Venezuelan couple, and the Stage by an Argentinian couple, Max Van De Voorde, and Solange Acosta. Until this competition gets itself a set of rules like the Soccer

New TangoAustralia website

2011-08-29T22:18:00.000+10:00

It's been a long haul - and we must thank antfarm for a brilliant job helping us with the backend... but we have a new look TangoAustralia website - after about 7 years of the old look! Our first day we went live our lead story was an interview with Ney Melo and Jennifer Bratt some 7 years ago! So check out our new look TangoAustralia... and let us know what you think - and if you like us use

Milonga Para Los Ninos

2011-08-16T10:34:00.000+10:00

The first weekend in August saw the Milonga Para los Ninos weekend in Brisbane. John Lowry organises on an elegant and classy weekend with workshops, milongas and a Grand Milonga with live music - this year featuring Joaquin Amenabar and his Australian quartet. The Milonga Para Los Ninos is an event held around the world to raise money to assist underprivileged children of Buenos Aires John has

Harem pants, comme il fauts and an international tango jetsetter

2011-08-11T09:55:00.000+10:00

I laughed at this because it is funny! But it is also sad because there are women in Sydney who actually behave like this... and even make similar comments. A regular partner of mine, who is a beautiful leader, once asked a new tanguera to dance - and got a similar response!! Thanks again tangocynic.