Penktadienio vakaras Vilniuje už 0 centų

Penktadienis , pasibaigė milonga prospekto pube ir kaip dažnai būna tangistai renkasi prie išėjimo ir kartu eina išgerti kur nors, šį kartą atrodo į Dublino barą , nes ten vyksta salsa vakarėlis. O aš nusprendžiau išsiaiškinti kaip galima praleisti penktadienio vakarą Vilniuje neišleisdamas nė vieno cento, tad nusprendžiau kartu neiti su visais, nuėjau link rotušės, pamačiau viena faina kepyklėlę , į kuria visada pastebėdavau , bet nedrįsdavau įeiti , tad norėjau įeiti, bet pamaniau juk aš negaliu nieko ten pirkti , bet persigalvojau , juk apžiūreti nieko nekainuoja. Įeinu pasiveikinu su padavėję ir užkart pasakiau , kad aš tik apsidairyti , klaida , nes tada ji pradejo skersai į mane žiureti , nusprendžiau kai kita karta eisiu į kokią kavine apsidairyti nesišsiduosiu , nes tada personalas elgiasi pagarbiai su tavim , o kai nori padaryti gera , tada žmonės atsilygina "geru", bet tai ne esmė , o svarbu yra ,kad ten radau tango muzika, tai buvo lyg milongos pratesimas ir grindys buvo geros, bet gaila , kad vienas buvau.Paklausiau kito padavejo-barmeno ar čia visada groja tango muzika, jis gynybiškai atsakė , kad ne , o aš melancholiškai pasakiau , kad gaila , jis nustebo , išėjau toliau.

Pilies gatveje radau plakata prie amatininku turgelio uzrasas : "Reikalauju teisingumo", ant to pačio lapo užrašyta "pradėk nuo savęs, o aš noriu taikos" , šis vieno žmogaus akibrokštas tapo lyg dialogo lenta , kurioje kalbasi norai ir idėjos , labai pralinksmino mane, beja aš sutinku , kad reikia pradėti nuo savęs , o ne reikalauti iš kitų!

Einu toliau.Kažkaip pasidarė liudna žiūriu pro langus visi sėdi baruose maukia alu kalbasi , o aš vienas vaikštau gatvėmis, priėjau restoraną Lokys , jame radau labai faina vidiny kiemelį su atviru dangumi , pamaniau čia galima šokti tango , vasarą nakty labai jauku būtų , žvaigždės apšviestų.Išeinu iš Lokio šalia praeina du užsieniečiau pasijaučiau lyg esu restorano klijantas pavalgęs skania ir prabangę vakarienę, vien žo turiu jau alibi ir aplinkinių pateisinimą, nes vienam blūdyti penktadienį vakare jaučiasi kažkaip labai beviltiškai , atrodo lyg niekam nereikalingas ir vienas nusivylęs bastinėju, bet šis grūzas prėjo ir keliauju tolyn.

Praeinu tamsiame kieme geria 10 jaunuolių ir kalbasi tarpusavyję, vienas sako ką tu darytum jei turėtum miloijoną, atsakymo neišgirdau , toliau pirmasis tęsia juk tai ne tas pats kaip dabar turi 20 centų kišenėje, jaučiuosi labai artimas jų pokalbiui , bet nusprendžiu nekalbinti jų , visdėlto jų dešimt , o aš vienas tamsu, žmonių aplinkiui nėra , nesvarbu , kad mano piniginėje tik 1 litas ir 44 centai , bet jie juk nežino, tad nusprendžiau nebūti karosu ir eiti savo keliu.

Išėjau iš kiemo i vokiečių gatvę ir sutinku Livija su Andriumi , noriu pereiti gatvę šalia jų bet pradėjo mašinos važineti palaukiau pora minučiu pasakiau , kad nelemta ir nuėjau vienas toliau , nes pabijojau , kad eisiu kartu su jais i Dubliną.

Einu toliau link pylimo gatvės pamatau šimtą kartų matytą bažnyčią , bet nežinau pavadinimo , labai užsidegiau noru sužinoti jos pavadinimo , bet vartai užrakinti , eina šalia dvi paneles pagalvojau jų paklausti , bet iš išvaizdos nusprendžiau , kad bažnyčios tikrai ne jų stiprioji pusė , eina toliau dvi simpatiškos panelės , norėjau jų paklausti , bet pamaniau , kad jos galvos , kad bandau jas kabinti , o aš velnias žino kodėl nenorėjau . Tad apžvalgiau vartelius ir nusprendžiau lipti per tvorą , bet padla pasirodo su aštrais dygliais viršuje, tad pavaikščiojau aplinkui , pasiseke, kad esu kudas ir radau tarpą tarp groto pakankamai platų , kad pralysčiau , bet tyčia aplinkiniai atsirado kai jų nebereikia, pagfaloju , kur jie buvo anksčiau tai norėjau paklausti pavadinimo , bet tabar man jie po šimts pypkių visai nereikalingi tik trugdo, palaukiu kokia10 minučiu apsimetu , kad žiuriu i šialia esančio knygyno vitriną, bet neiškenčiau ir prisiminiau , kokie yra lietuviai juk kai kas ką nors žudo ar vagią niekas policijai neskambina, o aš net vogti neketinu , tad lipu pro grotas žmonėms matant, akurat visi apsimeta , kad nieko nemato , geri tie žmonės lietuviai yra :). Tad perskaitau , kad tai yra visų šventųjų bažnyčia , patenkintas savo "drąsa" išlipu pro grotas išdidžiai, šalia viską matę vyriškis su mergina praeina lyg niekur nieko, aš jį suprantu geriau eiti į viešbūtį ir išdulkinti 20 metų jaunesnę blondinę,negi klausinėti durnu klausimu , nes vietoj atsakymo galima gauti atostogų ligoninėje porą savaičių. Aišku aš taip nedaryčiau , bet jei būtų daręs tvarką papurkščiau savo pipirinių dujų, labai efektyvus dalykas ir mušti nereikia :)

Tai va kaifuodamas einu toliau.Prieinu bazilikos gatvę , praktikuojuosi gatvėje ar man geriau kairę ranka laikyti aukštai kaip Jorge mokė ar žemai ir plačiau kaip Rubenas, nusprendžaiu , kad aukštai tuo momentu prieš mane pravažiuoja raudona maža mažina du vaikinai ir rėkia man kažką, išsigandu ir supykstu vienu momentų aukštai parodau fuką, juk ranka buvo pakelta reikėjo tik piršta pajudinti , vėliau pagalvojau ko jie ten ant manęs rėkė , įsivaizdavau ką jie matę kai aš laikiau auštai pakeltą kairę ranką ir dešinę laikiau horizontoliai šalia, juk tai yra musų kultūros nepadorus gestas , pasirodo aš jų akyse buvau agresorius , nusijuokiau ir pamaniau va taip ir būna kai žmonės mato ta paty dalyką per skirtingas prizmes , aš sau tango , o jie :).

Pralinksmėjęs einu toliau ir šalia pamatau zen galerija, ten moko zen kaligrafijos ir tapymo ant šilko ir daug dar visko , toliau mano žvilgsnį pritraukia didelis užrašas ant mediniu vartų :

"Rodos nieko neįvyko, tik audra nuplovę kiemą"
gili mintis man toks požiuris labai patinka ir su juo sutinku 100 procentų, apsidžiaugiau , kad ne vienas taip žiuriu į gyvenima einu toliau.









Priekyje eina panelę, noriu užkalbinti , bet buvo nejauku , nes tamsu pagalvojau , kad išsigąs , tad leidau jei greitu tempu praeiti pro mane.

Prienu viena siaurą senamiesčio gatvelęęę, ten ant seinos daugelis Lietuvos ir ne tik dailininkų vaizdavo lietuvių poezija , man labai patiko Vytauto Mačernio eilės :

"Preinančiam pasaulyje preisiu, kasdien suduždamas, bet išdidus",

Preinu prie kito V.M. eilėraščio pradedu garsiai deklamuoti :




aš laimingas esu,
laimingesnio pasaulyje nėra,
netikėkite mano skausmu,
aš laimingas esu

tarp nakties valandų
svaigulingos kančios ugnyje...
aš laimingas esu
laimingesnio pasaulyje nėra.

Deklamuoju 3 kartus stengiuosi mintinai išmokti, nes šios eilės labai tiksliai apibūdino mano busena ir visa penktadienio vakarą, labai susijaudinau ir susigraudinau , pasijaučiau labai pažeidžiamas , ir padla vėl šalia kažkoks vyriškis su kažkuo pradėjo garsiai kalbėti , sugadino visą momentą , labai pasimečiau ir norėjau dingti nuo eileraščiu lyg būčiau daręs kažką gėdinga, bet prisiverčiau sugrįžti , bet polėkis buvo dingo . Buvo toks nuostabus jaudinantis momentas , liko tik prisiminimas, džiaugiuosi , kad leidau sau jį pajausti tada.

Melancholiškai einu toliau.

Bet grįžtam pusvalandi atgal juk buvau subačio apžvalgos aikštelėj prieš eileraščius , eidamas lin jos praėjau pro vieną porelę, pasijaučiau nejaukiai , kad esu vienas be mergos , lyg kažkas būtų man blogai, bet prejau galų gale antą pagal gražumą apžvalgos aikštelių Vilniuje, ten stovi limuzinas su pilna girų fifų ir keleto bachuriuku , mergos rekia daina noriu vyro , savanorio ar dar kazka iš tų dainuškų , bet priedainis patuninguotas :
"gaidžių daugiau nei vyrų"

Pralinksmino , pamaniau visiem yra aktualu susirasti porą juk išgyventi ir daugintis yra pagrindinai žmonių inkstinktai :) !!!
Pasigeriu puikiu vaizdu ir jaučiuosi pranašesnis už tas poreles, nes aš čia esu nes man tikrai čia patinka, o ne dėl to , kad reikia nuvesti merga i kokia romatišką vietą , kad po to būtų galima ją mašinoje užlaužti. Einu toliau ir pamačiau kaip tik tokia porele , bet kieik supratau , iš mergos mimikos , nepasirašė vaikinui ir tyliai gėrė kava , pamaniau ,kad mašina yra gerai gali nuvažiuoti kai šalta paspoksoti gražiu vaizdu ir turi plota ant ratų kur merga gali užlaušti , nereikia rūpintis ar kambariokas grįš anksčiau namo.

Grįžtu i pilies gatvę matau kaip du vaikinau kita vijasi pagavę rėkią kažką ant , pradėjo jį daužyti , aišku lietuviai nebūtų lietuviais , nieks nekreipia dėmesio :) , aš prienu šalia pasiruošiu muštis , turiu juk dujų balionėlį tad prieš du galiu rautism, bei policijai maniau paskambinti , bet lygtais jie pradėjo tryse rekdami kalbėtis , pasirodo , kad jie pažįstami , pastebėjo mane ir vienas iš vaikinas kita nuramino savo draugą nemušti to prasikaltusios, nes žmonės mato. Pastebėjau , kad visai nejaučiau baimės , keista nes dažniausiai kai reikia muštis mane užpuola toks adrenalinas , kad raunkos sustingasta ir nežinai ką daryti , čia yra kuno reakcija į stresą vadinasi sustingimas. Tikriausiai padėjo, tai ,kad spontaniškai prieš tai rekiau prie žmonių , rėkimas paruošia kūnaą kovai, gal taip ...

Prieinu prie katedros ir nusistebiu ką vienas iš šventųjų veikia su kalaviju, nesupratęs nuėjau toliau. Nusimaunu pirštines ir abiem delnais priliečiu medi ,jo žievė vėsi ir dregna, pamaniau lyg žmogaus oda, man medžiai yra gyvi ir šventi , kaip buvo manoma paganių Lietuvoj , nes aš romatizuoju 13-15 a. LDK.

Pamatau karaliaus Mindaugo statulą.
Aplinkui apėjau pamačiau pagoniškas šventes su krikčioniškom užrašytos , ant skulpturos , kuri yra kokia 1,5metro aukščiau pamčiau įdomius ornamentus tad sukaupęs drąsą bandžiau užbėgti , iš trečio karto pavyksta, dvi mergo praeidamos juokiasi iš manęs , o man nusišikti , nes man labai buvo idomu apeiti aplink šią skulptūrą , net nežiūrėjau į jas.

Tada nusprendžiau eiti namo ne buvo jau puse pirmos, pakeliui buvo daug įdomių įvykiu , bet mane jau užkniso rašyti , noriu pailsėti taip jau 3 valandas prie kompo sėdžiu visdėlto šeštadienis noriu pailsėti :)

Pamačiau tris gražias raudonas rožes prie namų, kažkas praleido vakarą vienas taip pat kaip ir aš, tad nufotkinau jas.












Tai va parėjau namo jau buvo 2 valandą , pažiūrėjau internete apie karalių Mindaugą ir totorius , daug idomių dalykų suradau apie totorius Lietuvoje.

Ar aš daugiau būčiau patyręs nuėjęs į kabaką ar klubą kaip dauguma mano amžiaus piliečių ir pirkęs alkoholį ir maistą , kurio man nereikia , nežinau ...

Ispudziai is Jorge personalines pamokos

Vakar teko garbe ir malonumas mokytis Tango pagrindu pas Jorge Rodriguez. Tai labai siltas ir labai malonus zmogus, retai sutinki tokius :) Tikrai turintis ne tik sokejo, bet ir mokytojo talenta , kas man kaip mokiniui gal net yra net svarbesnis aspektas.

Tad trumpai noriu pasidalinti naujai man atrastus senus dalykus apie tango.Tango yra artimas , tikrai labai artimas sokis,ne tik vyras turi laikyti motery prie savo sirdies, bet ir moteris turi tvirtai spausti vyra salia savosios. Vakar patyriau kas yra istiruju artimas apsikabinimas!

Svarbiausia pastaba man buvo ta, kad koja prasideda nuo klubo ir , jog ispradziu eina klubas, o koja pasiveja ji. "Negalvok apie kojas nuo siol , galvok apie tai kaip klubas eina i prieki ir visada galvok i prieki" Jorge sake. Nes man iki siol nesiseke vaikscioti paprasciausiai i prieki, tad sis paprastas patarimas, tikiuosi palengvens mano gyvenima.

Why Do I Only Get 1 Dance with Guys?

Dear Maleva,I'm a beginner, and recently went to Montreal to check out the milonga scene. I mostly just sat and watched, and enjoyed a semi-private lesson before the milonga at a practica with an excellent teacher.But, when people - really good dancers whose style I really admired - did come and ask me to dance, I would say always yes, since I'm anything but shy, but I would ALWAYS warn them upfront that I'm a beginner. And, to my surprise, they would dance the way they normally dance, and I felt that I was led into things that were above me, that I either (a) didn't understand(like ocho cortado, which I know now, since I subsequently learned it in a class, or where the leader slides my foot over, then waits for me to slide his foot back) or (b) were badly led (like a *badly* led gancho, one that I couldn't feel with my thigh). I also felt that I would get moved too fastwithout enough warning, not enough signal for me to lean forward slightly in order to push off more with my supporting leg; and so I would often lose my balance. In sum, with these "one dance" guys it just didn't FEEL right, we didn't connect. This is my question: is this a question of me being a *bad* follower, or just a question of incompatability, or them being bad leads, i..e not reading me, feeling where I am? Is an appropriate analogy here similar to the fact that I won't like everyone's personality, that I'll click better with some people than with others? Is it the same way with dancing? I'll like dancing with some people better than with others?One of my friends who dances a lot says that it's not my inability to do colgadas and more advanced moves and improvisation, but rather my posture, how I hold myself that's unpleasant enough to a leader to only want one dance. Perhaps I'm too heavy, or not present enough? Perhaps I'm not relaxed enough?Any insights?Cheers,
One Hit Wonder

Dear One Hit Wonder
I would say that the biggest things that make a follower nice to dance with are being relaxed and having good balance. Of course, these things are interrrelated with other qualities, for instance you must have nice posture in order to be on balance and a comfortable embrace will make you feel more relaxed. Sometimes when I dance with a beginner in a class and she is very relaxed I will forget myself and try to lead a turn or ochos before she knows how. It is easy for someone to feel more advanced than they are ifthey are very relaxed. Try not to tense up and remember to breathe. For balance, I think that practicing ochos is one of the best exercises. When I was learning, I would go into the stairwell at my office whenever I got bored (which was often) and holding onto the banister in the landing I would practice ochos with 180 degree pivots, forward, then back. I must have done thousands of ochos there; there's probably a figure 8 burned into the floor there!
The biggest things that make a follower not-as-nice to dance with are being heavy, off balance, and hard to 'steer'. If you are guilty or any, or God forbid all, of these things you just may hear 'thank you' after 1 dance.
I think that most likely you are just inexperienced and therefore missed a lot of leads, and the guys didn't have the patience for this. (Although if you warned them you were a beginner they should have been sensitive to this and not led ganchos etc on you.) Lots of practice and more lessons will take care of this. And yes, there will always be people you find more compatible, and the funny thing is that the more you dance, the people you once had a hard time connecting with will suddenly become your favorite dancers and the people you once loved dancing with may suddenly seem hard to dance with. It always changes.
Also, from your description, it sounds like you might have to take care that you don't wind up falling into the 'heavy' category. Being heavy has absolutely nothing with your actual weight. Some of the biggest ladies are the lightest. There are a couple of ways to feel heavy to your partner:
a. Pressing forward into your partner with your muscles to give him 'resistance' and a feeling of connection. Make sure your connection, or compression, is totally relaxed and a result of surrendering a fraction of your weight towards your partner (not so much you are off your axis). Do not press into the floor with your legs or feet to get this slight pressure. As one of my first tango teachers would say, 'Ladies, release the brakes!'
b. Taking too long to prepare for the steps or interpret his leads. You must be very light on your feet and react without thinking. You shouldn't have to take time to make an adjustment before taking the step. Try to step at the same time as him instead of lagging behind him, and don't let his chest get away from you, especially in turns. Don't make him drag you with his arms, you should be right there with him.
c. Failing to push off your standing leg to get yourself to your own axis. If you make the leader push you on top of your own leg you are making him do the work for two, and you will also have less control over your balance. You know best where your axis is, so put yourself there.
d. Waiting for the leader to put you onto the beat instead of stepping there yourself. You are listening to the music too and if you step on the beat yourself you will feel like you are dancing with him, not slightly behind him. This is also a big factor in feeling 'musical' to the leader.
e. Not having good balance so the leader has to literally catch you and hold you up after almost every step.
f. Pulling down with either or both arms - ie hanging around his neck like a weight or not supporting the weight of your own right arm.
Dancing with a 'heavy' follower is uncomfortable by the end of 1 song and literally painful by the end of a tanda, so many leaders will choose to end the tanda early.

Šaltinis : www.close-embrace.com

Tango plague

There exists a plague within Tango, found in Tango communities around the world, and perpetuated in blogs and by many tangueros alike. It feeds on the very notion that Tango, unlike every other dance, is more special, more elusive, and more unique. Death is slow and painful.
Symptoms of The Tango Plague
Those afflicted with the Tango Plague show signs of confusion. They begin to believe that they do not need to practice or take lessons. They believe that the best place to better their craft is on the dance floor of the milonga dancing with the best “Milongueros” (read: the only persons willing to dance with them in their community). They don’t believe that there are dancers that range from beginner to more advanced even though it is often plain to see which dancers are better and which are worse (musicality, embrace, posture, and movement). Finally, the infected are often the first to say, “You never stop learning.”
Treatment
The Tango Plague can be remedied very simply. First, the infected must realize that like ANY hobby, sport, or interest, one must learn and practice in order to maintain and better oneself. They must remember some people are good at their chosen interests and exhibit a talent for it, while others struggle to acquire the basics. The aftermath of this plague leaves us with communities full of dancers who stopped learning after taking their one 8-week Tango course; dancers whose dance is infected with little more than bad habits.
We were traumatically reminded of this topic when we went to a neighbourhood matinee Milonga here in Buenos Aires. The dancers were respectful when navigating the floor and were quite musical. However, most men shuffled along the floor even though there was space and their bodies were able (EVERY teacher here from the young to the Milonguero has instructed us to take bigger steps when there is the space), and most had embraces that were visibly of the death-grip variety. K danced with six men, two of which repeated the EXACT SAME PATTERN for FOUR WHOLE SONGS!? Jorge danced four tandas with three different women, two of which decided the steps for him (if these women danced with the men K danced with, it’s no wonder they anticipate/decide the movement before it is lead). These women, although appearing to be average dancers, could not maintain their own axis or even follow at the most basic level. Why? Because they dance with the men of this milonga who lead by force rather than by invitation and have a non-existent vocabulary of movement. K would have preferred to walk to the beat for four songs than repeat Ocho Cortados the whole time. That said, we have come to the realization that most men here cannot walk and that the walk is one of the most difficult concepts in Tango. It is far easier to lead and follow variations of ochos than walk.
We are not suggesting that these Porteños start taking lessons. Our point is only to open people’s eyes to the MYTH that dancing in the milonga (even and especially the milongas of Buenos Aires) will in itself (or at all) a better dancer make. Those outside of Argentina with the financial means have no excuse to stop learning and/or practicing. The whole point of taking classes (learning technique) and practicing in practicas (applying technique) is to SET YOU FREE. When the embrace, musicality, leading/following, maintaining your axis, and maintaining your posture, are no longer challenges, you are able to experience Tango in the realm of absolute FREEDOM.
Our plea to the Tango Universe: Stop telling people that they do not need to take classes, that they don’t need to practice outside of the milonga, and that they will learn everything by dancing in a milonga. Tango is no different from any other dance or skill. The ability deteriorates without proper use and practice, and updating one’s skill is necessary to maintain even a stagnate level.

Posture Exercises

As a Physical Therapist I'm often asked “What are the best corrective posture exercises?” I am often surprised by this question. I get the feeling people think there is one magic exercise that will fix everything, kind of like a magic potion.To be honest, I wish there was such an exercise unfortunately there is not. Why? Because everyones posture is different.Our body is constantly changing and adapting to the daily demands placed upon it. Everyone already knows that if you work out a muscle it will get stronger. But what people don’t realize is that if you maintain your body in certain positions for long periods of time your muscles can also adapt by becoming tight or over stretched. Common examples of daily activities that can affect muscles include slouching on the couch, sleeping on your side, holding the phone between your shoulder and ear, etc…So before being able to decide which posture exercises are best for you, you need to know what an ideal posture is and how close to it are you. Basically you need a road map of where you currently are and where you need to be. Sticking with the car analogy, you wouldn’t let a mechanic start working on your car without first figuring out if it is the brakes, engine or shocks. Likewise you shouldn’t start posture exercises before determining what specific body areas need work.So what’s the best way to quickly assess your posture?The best and easiest way is to look in a mirror.

What do I look for?Facing the Mirror* Do you notice a difference from left to right?* Are your feet pointing straight ahead or out to the side?* Are the arches of your feet high, medium, low or non existent?* Are your knees directly over the top of your feet?* Are your hips directly over the top of you knees?* Is your pelvis rotated?* Are your shoulders level?* Is one shoulder more forward than the other?* Is your head tilted to one side?Standing Sideways to the Mirror* Is the middle of your knee directly over the front of your ankle bone?* Is your hip directly over the top of the your knee?* Is your lower back flat, have a slight inward curve or a large inward curve?* Is your upper back flat, have a slight outward curve or a large outward curve?* Is your shoulder directly over the top of your hip?* Is the back of your ear directly over the middle of your shoulder?At this stage I’m just asking you to observe.Next read the posts on good posture and the 4 common bad postures.Which one are you most like?By identifying your posture type we can better recommend the most appropriate posture exercises.

Posted by Dave Delaney

Petroleo

Interview by Sergio Criscolo
Dancer(1912 - May 1995) True name: Carlos Alberto Estévez
t the time of this interview, Petróleo was nearly 80 years old, born in 1912 he started to dance in 1928.
He was a bank clerk for 36 years and lived in the neighborhood of Villa Devoto.
In 1988 he gave up dancing because of an ailment in his knees, since then he is living of dreams.
«I was called Petróleo because I used to drink too much wine. I was a drunkard. It´s been a time I´m having fizzy drinks, but it is worse, it rusts.
«I was always fond of uncomplicated tango. I changed tango dancing.
«I invented the turn, the contrafrente, the change of postures, the boleos.
«Furthermore, I separated sex from dancing. Some time before, a man was after a leg not a female dancer, to squeeze not to dance. I was after dancing.
«Getting to know your dancing partner through rehearsals is very important, in such a way one knows the handling.
«I met my best partner, with whom I later lived, at a ballroom, it was in 1930, her name was Esperanza Díaz. We rehearsed a lot. We danced together until 1949 and one year later she was gone. Congratulations!. I didn´t want any other.
«When there was some show I got on together with la negra Martita who used to dance at the Agusteo, on Sarmiento and Uruguay streets, also at Unione e Benevolenza, which was round the corner and the owner was the same person.
«In Villa Devoto I danced at the Club Rosa de Abril and in Villa Urquiza, at many ones: Pinocho, Sin Rumbo, etc.
«At the club Atlanta I met Juan Carlos Copes who then was around twenty.
«In the dancing parlors dancing with corte was forbidden, if we did somebody would come near and tell us: "Go to the ticket office" and there we were recommended or dismissed. We were called compadritos.
«There were times when we, the dancers, organized balls for prisoners when they were released. In reality, those who danced tango were all thieves or would-be thieves. If one had been imprisoned for a year, each one put ten or twenty pesos until collecting five hundred and handed them to him so he could start walking again.
«When the police began to appear at those parties we stopped organizing them.
«Around 1930 there were made parties which lasted a week. For la Parda Lucia´s birthday, Nicolás "El Buchón"´s partner (because of his breast shape like that of a pigeon) a milonga was held in Parque Petricios. As usual, there they went cirujas (tramps), pickpockets, cart drivers and milongueros. The dancing ground was made with a canvas stolen from the railroad company, one of those used to cover the train cars. We stretched it on the floor and scrubbed it with a candle to wax it and to achieve a better sliding. Everybody helped with some peso for the wine and meat for the barbecue. The women were cabaret covergirls, whores, shop thieves. When somebody was sleepy, he lay down on a mattress of those we placed there and slept a couple of hours. The seventh day we held a tango tournament.
«Among us there was too much competition, we did not talk to each other. The dancer is selfish, he thinks he´s the best. I thought I was the best.
«I liked one called Mendieta, he was phenomenal. El vasco Orradre was the best to interpret D'Arienzo´s orchestra. A guy called Méndez stood out with the figures, he was very fast with his feet. El Cachafaz was good, but there were better ones. Virulazo was also good, he danced in Antonio Todaro´s way, who is the same teacher who taught Miguel Ángel Zotto, the one I like most among the new because he has a handsome posture.
«I met Gardel at the 25 de Mayo theater of Villa Urquiza, undoubtedly, the best singer. He was good because he told you what he felt. But he didn´t know dancing, he made a few steps, he was "maleta" (clumsy), besides being somewhat fat.
«One can learn to dance, but there is a lot of work to be done and also one has to feel the music. Tango does not come all of a sudden. I was taught by a professional, Navarro, he gave me his steps, later I made up mine.
«Tango is a refrained emotion which later bursts. It can´t be said tango is danced this way or the other, one dances it as one feels it, it´s a creation.
«Tango is a sad feeling, it´s true, but at times it depends on how the orchestra takes it. My preferred orchestra was Carlos Di Sarli´s and, when Anselmo Aieta had his, he was a terrific musician.
«I never went out on tour because I had my work at the bank, but even though I made about two thousand exhibitions.
«My dream always was to dance better than anyone. I invented many figures, I transformed tango, but I ought to have made more. I lacked inspiration to create true tango. Today I would do it differently. As each tango lasts three minutes, I would divide it into a prologue, a development and an epilogue.
«Besides tango I had a craze for playing the horses, I was going to the races everyday, I won a lot and lost a lot.
«When I retired from the bank I sold my house and with that money I went on betting on horses. What did I want it for? Tangos, races and some woman. You don't have to take life seriously. I lived as I wanted to. You can live seriously with work and honesty, but it's not so funny.
«One has to live his dreams, there´s the truth».

Fred Astaire

Biography:
Though on screen Fred was most often associated with a top hat, white tie and tails, in real life he detested formal dress and looked on his signature costume as work clothes.
FREDERICK AUSTERLITZ was born on May 10, 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska to Frederic E. Austerlitz, an Austrian immigrant and traveling salesman, and his wife Ann Geilus Austerlitz. His sister Adele, older by eighteen months, showed a talent for dancing at an early age, and although only four years old, young Fred accompanied his sister to ballet school. In 1904, Mrs. Austerlitz moved with the children to New York where they were enrolled in a performing arts school run by Ned Wayburn, one of the pioneers of modern tap dancing. The following year Fred and Adele made their vaudeville debut on a stage in New Jersey as a miniature bride and groom, and began touring on the Orpheum circuit in an act called "Juvenile Artists Presenting an Electric Musical Toe-Dancing Novelty." Though Fred sporadically attended public school in New Jersey, most of his schooling came on the road under his mother's tutelage.
With the advent of World War I, the Austerlitz's anglicized their name to "Astaire" and the teenage brother-sister hoofers began to make the new name famous. In 1917 the pair made their Broadway debut in a musical revue called "Over the Top," and although the show itself didn't fare well, the Astaires received very positive notices. Though they seldom had any lines, Fred and Adele danced their way through a number of musical revues until in 1922 they were cast in "For Goodness' Sake" with songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although they had sixth billing, they stole the show.
Throughout the 1920s, the Astaires danced their way to stardom by way of such triumphs as "Funny Face," "Lady, Be Good!" and "The Band Wagon." However in 1932, Adele retired from show business to marry Lord Charles Cavendish, and Fred was left to fend for himself. Because his sister was usually regarded as the better dancer of the two, and the plots of most of their shows together accommodated the fact that they were siblings in real life, Fred was not regarded as a much of a romantic leading man. In 1932 however, he struck out on his own with a new partner, Claire Luce, starring in Cole Porter's comedy musical "The Gay Divorce" in which he introduced the song "Night and Day." "The Gay Divorce" would be Fred's last stage musical.
That same year, anxious to escape his reputation as Adele's brother, Fred made a screen test for RKO and was signed by studio head David O. Selznick despite doubts about his physical appearance and acting ability. Because RKO had no projects ready for him, Fred made his film debut on loan-out to MGM in DANCING LADY (1933) with Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. He had one number. Still without work at RKO, Fred went to London to tour with "The Gay Divorce." When he returned, he was cast as an accordion player in a musical love-triangle story starring Gene Raymond, Dolores Del Rio and Raul Roulien called FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933). His female counterpart in the film was an up-and-coming RKO contract player named Ginger Rogers, and after their one dance number together stole the picture from the three stars, Fred and Ginger became the silver screen's most popular dancing duo.

Astaire and Rogers made a total of nine musicals together at RKO between 1933 and 1939, and though Ginger made several other comedies and solo musicals between her films with Fred, Astaire made only one film without Rogers -- DAMSEL IN DISTRESS (1937) with Joan Fontaine. It was the only film of his career to lose money at the box-office. More than just a dancer in his films with Rogers, Astaire proved himself an accomplished choreographer. With the help of RKO dance director Hermes Pan, he spent months experimenting with new moves and developing fresh routines for the films. The easygoing air that became his trademark both in his tap solos and tap/ballroom numbers with Rogers resulted from hours of painstaking work. Astaire was frequently described as a perfectionist, and Adele had even nick-named him "Moaning Minnie" for his workaholic ways.
The results spoke for themselves however, and Fred and Ginger's musicals were some of the biggest money-makers of the Great Depression. As their first starring vehicle, RKO adapted "The Gay Divorce" (retitled THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934)) which proved a huge success. And though the pair was second-billed behind Irene Dunne in ROBERTA (1935), for TOP HAT (1935) and subsequent films including FOLLOW THE FLEET (1935), SWING TIME (1936) and SHALL WE DANCE (1937), they appeared above the title. By the time THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE was released in 1939, Fred and Ginger's popularity had waned and both decided to go their separate ways. Fred was wary of the possible repercussions of being again known only as part of a pair, and Ginger was anxious to try her hand at more serious dramatic acting.
His contract at RKO having run out, Fred spent the next several years free-lancing at various studios, dancing with a variety of new partners. Though BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 with Eleanor Powell received mixed reviews, YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH (1941) and YOU WERE NEVER LOVELIER (1942) helped rocket Columbia starlet Rita Hayworth to stardom. However, after the lackluster box-office performance of YOLANDA AND THE THIEF (1945) with Lucille Bremer and BLUE SKIES (1946) with Bing Crosby, Fred announced his retirement from motion pictures and began to concentrate on opening a chain of Fred Astaire Dance Studios around the country.

Fred's retirement was short-lived however. When Gene Kelly broke an ankle playing touch football and was unable to make EASTER PARADE (1948) with Judy Garland and Ann Miller, MGM asked Fred to fill in. He did, and the film's success lead to a contract with Arthur Freed's musical unit at MGM and a decade more of Astaire films. The following year he was reunited with Ginger Rogers for their tenth and final musical, THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY (1949). During this second phase of Astaire's film career, though the quality of plots and songs varied, Fred continued to develop inventive dance routines. In ROYAL WEDDING (1951) with Jane Powell, he danced one number with a coat-rack and a second on the walls and ceiling of a hotel room. Other notable partners from this period included Cyd Charisse (THE BAND WAGON (1953) and SILK STOCKINGS (1957)), Vera-Ellen (THREE LITTLE WORDS (1950) and THE BELLE OF NEW YORK (1952)), and Audrey Hepburn (FUNNY FACE (1957)).
In March 1950, Ginger Rogers presented Fred with an honorary Oscar on behalf of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for "his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures." In 1959, Fred made his dramatic film debut in ON THE BEACH, and though he made one more musical, the unsuccessful FINIAN'S RAINBOW (1968) with Petula Clark, the remainder of his films showcased Fred as an actor. Most notable among these later pictures were THE PLEASURE OF HIS COMPANY (1961) with Debbie Reynolds and THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974) for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Fred also kept busy in television, appearing in his own special, "An Evening with Fred Astaire" which earned nine Emmy awards, and in 1959 he published an autobiography entitled Steps in Time.
Astaire stopped dancing professionally about 1970 when he was already over 70 years old, explaining that his age restricted his ability to perform at a level acceptable to him. He continued to make appearances however, and in 1976 teamed with Gene Kelly to host THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! II, a sequel compilation of film clips from the great MGM musicals. In 1973, Fred was honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in a two-and-a-half hour gala featuring 40 dance excerpts from his films which he picked himself. In 1981, the American Film Institute presented him with its ninth Life Achievement Award.
Married to Phyllis Livingston Potter (who had a son, Peter, from a previous marriage) in 1933, Astaire had two children: Fred Jr., born in 1936, and daughter Ava, born in 1942. Phyllis Astaire died of cancer in 1955, and in 1980 at age 81, Fred remarried. His second wife, Robyn Smith, then age 35 and a former jockey, shared with Fred a life-long interest in horses. Fred had been a stable owner and avid horse-racing fan for over 30 years. Astaire made his final film appearance in GHOST STORY (1981) and died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California on June 22, 1987 at the age of 88.

True Name: Jorge Martín Orcaizaguirre(10 October 1926 – 2 August 1990)
e was enjoying the full boom of the show “Tango Argentino” in Nueva York. He lived at a luxurious hotel on the Fifth avenue, when one morning his strong voice resounded along the corridors, he was angry: «Tell that old maniac that if he wants tango at ten in the morning he´d better dance it himself!... Ah! If he wants to see me he has to come to the theater...»
That old man, who had been at the premiere, moved heavens and earth so that a special show for the following morning was organized, and the disgust sprang out when Virulazo was told that due to protocol reasons, the special show had to be ad-honorem. And he added always shouting: «And tell him that for free I don’t dance for anyone!» And so it was, that old man was Henry Kissinger.
By then the dancer was 61 years old, he had 5 children and six grandchildren.
The nickname VIRULAZO appeared when he was 18 and played the game of bowls for money and the back of the grocery stores of his town, San Justo (a city in the Buenos Aires suburbs).
A little old Italian permanently encouraged him: «Mandale el virulazo, mandale el virulazo» («Give it the virulazo»), he had adopted that word as a synonym for “bochazo” (strike with a bowl).
His birth name was Jorge Orcaizaguirre, of Basque ancestry and Italian on his mother’s side. He was brought up by his grandparents because his parents separated very soon.
«I owe everything to my grandfather, he gave me the highest degree I achieved in life, that of man. I adored him.
«The few pesos he earned at the railroad company were not enough, I helped him by doing anything but three things: being a gossip-monger, vile and a creeper, the worst defects a man may have. I was a street vendor of any kind of things,I worked as a shoeshine boy at the whorehouses doors, I sold sausage sandwiches, I bought hair in Entre Ríos to bring it to Buenos Aires to sell it to wig manufacturers. Later I began as laborer at a slaughterhouse and ended as foreman and livestock buyer.
«Since I was thirteen I liked to dance tango at the clubs of the zone or neighborhood of Mataderos. Once “el Negro” Celedonio Flores (author of tango lyrics. See Section “Poets”) and the singer Carlos Acuña saw me dancing tango and they told me: “Boy, you can’t go on dancing for free”. The following day I debuted at the café “La Armonía” on Corrientes avenue, afterwards the cabarets “Chantecler”, “Tabarís” and all the classy places.
«In the year 1952 the Águila chocolate company organized a big national contest for tango dancers. 157 dancing partners participated and the finals were held at the radio Splendid auditorium. I won it. Thanks to that the tours throughout the country began and lasted until the hard times of the 60s when the rock programs on television made us terribly starve, we danced for a few coins. Only Juan Carlos Copes and I resisted. A life of bohemia is nice but you have to die of starvation.
«In the 70s we started to come out again, the first time it was a tour accompanying Hugo Del Carril. In the early 80s I made up my mind to give up dancing, but soon I was told of the idea of “Tango Argentino” and it aroused my enthusiasm.
«I am a professional only because I´m paid. Deep in my heart I keep on being an amateur, I don´t stick to a choreography, that´s what the dancers do and I am a milonguero, one of the few who dance tango-tango, that´s why they call me from everywhere.
«With the money I earned in the latest tours I bought three houses, a truck and two cars, for my kids, now I go out a few times more, I collect some dollars and, so long!, I quit. Each tour means five or six months and for me it is an ordeal, it´s like being “encanutado” (in jail) in Alcatraz. I suffer the worst a man can endure, to be alone in a crowd. In Japan I stood up on the corner of a street and I was surrounded by two hundred million “ponjas” (Japanese), and I didn´t understand a damn shit what the hell they were saying. I got into a restaurant, asked for a sausage and they brought it with honey, it was crazy! They eat uncooked fish as the indians do. Don´t pull my leg! I never ate so much chicken and spaghetti as in Japan. There are people who like that, but I don´t. I enjoy a good wine, a barbecue with friends, the little goldfinches I have in my own backyard.
«When I´m on tour, when I don´t perform, I sleep, I don´t care for anyone, I take with me a pile of pocket books of detective and cowboy stories and so I´m OK. They fucked me with Venice. But what´s Venice? The Chacarita cemetery but flooded, and please that Chacarita forgives me. I´m fed up by those who start shouting for the sake of status or snobism: Ay, how beautiful is Venice! The pampa is beautiful!, there you can see the trees, the animals, the colors of the grass in the immensity, it is not a city that is sinking and, each time that a gondola with an Italian passes by, it leaves such a smell of decay; then the Riachuelo (a bad smelling river), in comparison with that, smells like Atkinson lavender water.
«My weight now is 128 kilograms, but I don’t care; with a black suit, a bow tie in Gardel’s fashion and smart clothes I feel as I were relieved of that excess.
«In Broadway during a performance, I was hearing a voice that shouted at me: Bravo, gomina, bravo, gomina! (a sort of gel to straighten men’s hair). It turned out to be Nureyev. Anthony Quinn and Robert Duvall became friends of mine. The latter, each time he comes to Argentina, comes here to my place to eat some little barbecue.
«I love my wife Elvira, I idolize her, if I should lose her..., I don’t know, me tiro bajo el tren.
«I’m a sentimental, I can’t stand to be alone and even less without a partner like her. It means 28 years of going to bed and getting up together. But it’s more, because we have been lovers for 44 years. Elvira was my first fiancée, but I don’t know why we didn’t marry. Each one led one’s own life, but one day in 1959, I was already separated from my first wife, when I was riding a horse somewhere in La Tablada, I saw a bus passing by with Elvira in it, I made gestures for her to get off, but to no avail, then I galloped after the bus until she finally got out, otherwise I would have followed her up to her house. We talked and here we are.»
LOOSE PHRASES BY VIRULAZO
«Rudolf Valentino was a brazen faced guy, he didn’t know dancing».
«Tito Lusiardo, a good comedian, but as a dancer, he’s a scarecrow. But anyway, he was with Gardel, who’s gonna argue about?»
«Travolta. A sissy. Just like that Michael Jackson. Those things do not become history. That’s not dance, dancing is Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.»
«A tango dancer? Petróleo. Just a few know him, only those who go to the milongas.»
«The tango I like most is "Berretín", by Pedro Laurenz. And as for lyrics "El motivo" by Pascual Contursi.»
«I don’t listen to new Argentine music, not even if I were mad. Those are young guys who are empty. In tango you will always find something that portrays your life. Did it happen to any of you that your girlfriend fell into a cesspit? That’s what those boys say in one of those lyrics. Maybe no one has stories to tell. People who get up at six in the morning to go to work all day long, should not be cheated. Those people deserve art like the one Gardel offered to them. Those people are not touched by four assholes who don’t work and smoke marijuana.»
«I was never involved in politics, but I always vote for democracy. In this country the military men and the priests are a cancer... Ah, I have a dream, I wish I died dancing a tango.»
Originally published in the daily paper Página/12 of Buenos Aires.

By Javier Firpo
Dancer and coreographer(May 31, 1931)
is feet, like wings, remind us of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, two kings of musical comedies. For Juan Carlos Copes, they were his paradigm, his masters, his models.
The dancer, eyebrows knit together, hair slicked back, glossy with hair cream, and wearing an impeccably ironed suit is sitting on the stage border, a symbol of his autobiographical musical, Copes tango Copes, where he makes a synthesis of his 50 year long career.
He appears together with his daughter Johanna, the "Copes Tango Danza" ballet group and tango singer Maria Graña. The musical shows the dancer's artistic development from his early start dancing at Atlanta football club, his participation in dancing contests in the Luna Park sports center, his trips through the American continent, his meetings with masters Piazzolla, Troilo or Pugliese, and even international celebrities such as Barishnikov, Liza Minelli or his very much admired Gene Kelly, who in Copes's words: «he was my idol, the person who gave the key to what I had to do, the one who made the deepest impression on me». Suddenly, he becomes silent. He sits quietly, staring blankly ahead, probably flying back to the moment he met Kelly in Broadway back in 1985, after his presentation of Tango Argentino. An anecdote comes to his mind: «One evening, after the show, Gene's daughter approached and told me her father was not very well, but he wanted me to go to his place in Los Angeles the following day. I almost fainted. I felt thrilled, just like him in "Singing in the Rain"».
Copes has put up innumerable shows, but butterflies are still there in his stomach, before each performance. «They are ageless. The older you are, the deeper the fear to go wrong». He doesn't want to appear arrogant, which he certainly is not, and is deeply concerned about the fact that for the first time his name is the name of the show. «Even though I've already accepted it, it sounds like a trademark, as if it meant something beyond the words», explains the dancer.
Copes knows that in Argentina he is "the" tango dancer, but he vigorously rejects the nickname. «It's too old and conservative to say such a thing. It takes two to tango, and a lot of passion. The rest is mere technique and it comes alone».
Endowed with a profound energy, Copes looks like a man without age, but he does not deny his age. Quite the contrary: «I was born on May 31, 1931. It's in every dictionary», he comments with a smile.
A pro tango dancer, as he likes to introduce himself, he has been awarded many important prizes such as the Toronto and New York Awards, the Argentine ACE, for "Entre Borges y Piazzolla", and the American Choreography Award for the best choreography for a film called "Tango" (directed by Carlos Saura).
«Many people believe that legs and feet are most important when dancing. I don't think so. I believe it all starts above, in the mind, and it goes down to the heart. The feet are just the consequence», is the explanation that this 70 year old Porteño gives when he describes how to dance tango. And it surely is like that, for Copes's legs and feet have a very exclusive language capable of drawing silent shapes that reveal what words fail to do.
«It's the only dance that gives full vent to imagination and creativity to tell in only three minutes a story of love or hate. But it's a portion of time that makes you forget about all problems whatsoever, if there is a close body connection». This is what he feels when he dances the tango, which certainly has some other virtues. «I believe its virtues are many, but if I had to mention one, I'd say it is its capacity to adapt itself to any time».
Many years have gone by since the time a thin young man dazzled the girls in Mataderos and Villa Pueyrredón, two traditional Porteño quarters. At that time, in 1951, this young man who doubted between taking up tango or electronic engineering won a dancing contest at the Luna Park sports center, out of more than 300 couples. That night proved to be a turning point in his life. The time to make decisions. It was early in the 1950s and his partner was the woman who would dance with him most of his career: Maria Nieves Rego. They were the perfect couple, the prototype which imposed its image and started the legend of the quickest legs. Copes and Nieves were partners, mates, lovers. They loved each other, later on they divorced and hated each other. He married somebody else, had two daughters, but kept on dancing with Nieves. Until they could not stand it any longer, they separated professionally and he found a new partner in his daughter Johana.
A most coherent professional, open minded and reasonable, the artist explains he would never change his way of feeling tango. He is loyal to his essence and does not believe in tango for export. A creator in the vanguard, whether people like it or not, Copes does not stick to stereotypes. Even though he defends traditions and the "old times", he is not a conservative, he also expresses his modern perspectives.
He is one of those Porteños who believes that tango lovers need not live with their hats on and a white scarf round their necks to be considered porteAo malevos, some kind of fearless rogues. «If I thought that way, I would be dead», he states. When asked about for how long he is planning to dance, Copes answers with a touch of mischief: «Until my hucklebones let me. Dancing is for me the best therapy ever».
Published in "Argentime. The Argentine Review", Sidus laboratory, May 2001.

Organic Tango

The Organic Tango Cookbook and Homer's personal philosophy...This section contains bits and pieces of basic ingredients and recipes that may help you on your road to tango self-discovery. Eventually we all must answer the question - "What is Tango to me?" -

i.e. discovering your own tango structure & style, musical taste & interpretation, social intentions & interactions, etc.
"Homer's" Philosophy:
To help build an open-minded and strong social dance community.
Offer very affordable group and private study (especially for those interested in multiple lessons) while maintaining a high standard of teaching quality.
Simply stated, Homer's three goals in life are to be a good social dancer, a good teacher of social dance and a good husband (not necessarily in that order!).
What is Organic Tango?
(Homer's long-winded version!)
Organic Tango is more of a philosophy and approach to learning and dancing tango then it is a structure or a style of dance. The need for a title of "organic" came about after over five years of involvement in the dance and trying to understand what it really meant to me. I realized that each teacher had their own interpretation of how the dance should be done (which is not necessarily a bad thing)!
What really got to me is how a few members of the tango community (teachers and dancers alike) negatively influenced the growth and interpretation of this dance in the United States. Out of my desire to discover my own tango - several key points kept making themselves more and more appearent...
To this day, there is no clear distinction between "structure" and "style." Furthermore, some folks try hard to contain tango in a box and enforce their views on others. And lastly, the lines between stage & social dancing, past & present, and the Argentine vs. non-Argentine way are not very clear and, unfortunately, on more than a few occasions - have been abused.
My reasons for using such a title (Organic Tango) will one day, hopefully, not exist and new students will just simply learn the "Tango" - or whatever our society is calling this social dance at that point (although several of us will probably be forever labeled as the "organic tango" groupies)!
Several of the main ideas behind the organic-tango-approach to learning are captured here as follows...
Organic Tango Dance Philosophy:
You own your own dancing, nobody owns the Tango.
Dance the most natural and comfortable way for your own body and that of your partner's.
Keep an open mind and respect for yourself and others.
Appreciate and learn from the past, dance in the present, and allow the future to unfold.
Some Basic Ingredients (That may or may not be present, at different degrees, in your tango - listed in no particular order!):
Posture
Grounding
Balance - on & off axis
Relaxation & Breathing
Core Movement
Elastic Energy Transfer
Linear & Torsional Energy
Impulse & Momentum Transfer
Connection
Musicality
Style
Creativity
Social Awareness
Open mindedness
Some Recipes for Learning...

http://organictangosf.info/organic.htm