How Was Your AT Weekend?

[DancePoet]

Hi folks!

How was your tango weekend :?:

Mine was super! Got to attend some tango workshops. The first session was on the elements of tango, the second had a traveling waltz sequence, and the last with some very subtle parts of a tango sequence that moves line of dance in a relatively tight and turning fashion, and with plenty of room for variation coming out of it.

The milonga was super as well, with two of the instructors doing both a tango routine, and one heck of a fancy milonga routine as well. To top it off, I was talking with one of them afterwards and it was mentioned that it was all lead and follow. :cool:

[newbie]

Mine was nice too. I did no A.T at all except one milonga Friday evening. Didn't dance but the hosts brought me back onr T-shirt that I had forgotten on the couch the week before.

[Heather2007]

Tango was sweaty and heart-thumping. Although not as sweaty, hot, nailbitingly heart-thumping as the France v. England World Cup Rugby semi-finals the night before. COME ON ENGLAND!!!

[JonD]

I went to a milonga at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff for the first time on Saturday night; it was great. It's a lovely venue in the refurbished docks area.
http://www.ukattraction.com/south-wales/1062BSY-0.jpg
The dance floor is good and there is a cafe so I was able to top up on coffee and chocolate cake. I had some lovely dances with beginners, a couple of tandas with really good dancers I'd not met before, a few more with old friends and loads of wonderful dances with Pam. It was a lovely evening so we danced a few tangos outside which was brilliant; a few couples out for a stroll stopped to watch us and there was a wonderful, romantic, peaceful feel about it - but I had a horrible feeling that the suede soles on my favourite shoes would tear off if I continued dancing on bricks. I'll have leather soled shoes in my dance bag next month.

On Sunday I went to the milonga at Halo's Wine Bar (http://www.thedancecafe.co.uk/) in Bristol and that was fab as well. It was a lovely weekend!

[Angel HI]

Ours was great! Went to a performance, and performed really well. Went to a milonga afterwards, and had a great time. about 10 minutes into the way home, had a head on collision at 60 mph on the expressway. Other than the demise of my partner's vehicle, we are alive and blessed, thanks to God. We are OK to tango at our next performance this w/e. And this is what made it great.

[Heather2007]

....., had a head on collision at 60 mph on the expressway. Other than the demise of my partner's vehicle, we are alive and blessed, thanks to God.

Whoah, you say that so casually. Oh la, la. 60mph is fast to crash head-on into another and as you say, praise God you're both okay. The other car? :kitty:

[bordertangoman]

Had a very nice dance or three with a Polish woman at a milonga in Manchester on Saturday. There's something about those Polish women when they tango.... drool.....;)

[Me]

Ours was great! Went to a performance, and performed really well. Went to a milonga afterwards, and had a great time. about 10 minutes into the way home, had a head on collision at 60 mph on the expressway. Other than the demise of my partner's vehicle, we are alive and blessed, thanks to God. We are OK to tango at our next performance this w/e. And this is what made it great.

*BIG HUG*

[Angel HI]

Whoah, you say that so casually. ...

Casually, but not dismissively. Just putting things into proprer perspective. The events were traumaitc, but are over. you are right....

. ...praise God you're both okay.

And, thank you.

[Angel HI]

*BIG HUG*

Back to you, in a BIG way. :friend:

[Peaches]

Oh dear god. So glad to hear the two of you are alright.

Tango weekend non-existant.

[Angel HI]

Oh dear god. So glad to hear the two of you are alright.

Thanks much. Yes, we are well. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/innocent/innocent0004.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=innocent/innocent0004.gif) watching over us.

[Ampster]

... Other than the demise of my partner's vehicle, we are alive and blessed, thanks to God. We are OK to tango at our next performance this w/e. And this is what made it great.

I am soooo happy for you, old friend! :notworth:

[Ampster]

Hi folks!

How was your tango weekend :?:


Mine was great. Friday, lots of good partners. Saturday, good music, good friends, and a string of deep tango connection happening. Sunday was eve better.

The highlight of my weekend was when I asked an old lady to tango. She was a beginner, and I danced at her level, but made it flow with the music as best as I possibly could.

After the tanda, she thanked me and said...
"You were so patient with me and led it so beautifully. You make me feel beautiful." That just touched my heart.

[DancePoet]

Ours was great! Went to a performance, and performed really well. Went to a milonga afterwards, and had a great time. about 10 minutes into the way home, had a head on collision at 60 mph on the expressway. Other than the demise of my partner's vehicle, we are alive and blessed, thanks to God. We are OK to tango at our next performance this w/e. And this is what made it great.
Ouch. I'm glad you are both ok. :cool:

[DancePoet]

Mine was great. Friday, lots of good partners. Saturday, good music, good friends, and a string of deep tango connection happening. Sunday was eve better.

The highlight of my weekend was when I asked an old lady to tango. She was a beginner, and I danced at her level, but made it flow with the music as best as I possibly could.

After the tanda, she thanked me and said...
"You were so patient with me and led it so beautifully. You make me feel beautiful." That just touched my heart.
Older ladies are so thankful when a lead asks them to dance, dances them with respect for their level of dancing, and often complimentary of the lead. :D

[Angel HI]

Much thanks to Ampster and DP for the kindnesses. A wee sore, but tangoing on.

[Heather2007]

Older ladies are so thankful when a lead asks them to dance, dances them with respect for their level of dancing, and often complimentary of the lead. :D

Ladies of ALL ages are thankful.

[bordertangoman]

Some of the older ladies have experience of ballroom or tea dancing and can make quite good followers, I have found. Many a new tune played on an old whistle.

[jennyisdancing]

Ladies of ALL ages are thankful.

Indeed we are! :)

I was also touched by your experience, Ampster. What a wonderful story! This is what tango is - or should be about. It is about relating to other human beings. Sometimes we can lose sight of that.

I recently read someone's blog in which the writer said that many leaders basically only want to dance with followers who can learn something from him and show improvement. I generally think it's bad to try to teach people while on the social floor, as far as technique is concerned. But Ampster, you demonstrated something that people should teach each other - kindness and respect. Bravo! :)

[Ampster]

Indeed we are! :)

I was also touched by your experience, Ampster. What a wonderful story! This is what tango is - or should be about. It is about relating to other human beings. Sometimes we can lose sight of that.

I recently read someone's blog in which the writer said that many leaders basically only want to dance with followers who can learn something from him and show improvement. I generally think it's bad to try to teach people while on the social floor, as far as technique is concerned. But Ampster, you demonstrated something that people should teach each other - kindness and respect. Bravo! :)


jennyisdancing... Thank you :friend:. IMHO, the whole point of dancing tango is the unending search for the "Tango connection..." That feeling one gets when the dance just happens for both. It needs to be done at a very human level, while engaging in the dance that is, Tango. The technique, steps, etc... albeit fun, and something to look forward to, are really only secondary.

The irony of it all is that to reach this level of simplicity, I had to work so hard at it, that I had to be honest with myself, accept my short-comings, and step through this process: http://www.dance-forums.com/showthread.php?t=20936

[Peaches]

Hmmm...very nice. One of my favorite leaders was there, and I got to dance with him lots. He's recently tweaked his embrace, too. One tweak is bad (lowered his right arm--apparently in response to a woman complaining about men's right hands getting too close to her boobs...whatever). One tweak is...wonderful... He's taken to bringing his left hand in, so that it's in front of his shoulder. And the way he changed the hand-hold, he was actually able to hold both of my hands at once. Very, very intimate. So nice. Mmmm...

Also, managed to escape the lead I don't like (who always hurts my back and ticks me off). And (bonus!) managed to NOT get my toes stomped on, or kicked, or get parts of toe nails ripped off by the lead I call "Stampy" b/c of what he does with his feet. Woo-hoo!!!

[Steve Pastor]

Ampster:
Curious, did this coincide with the change from motorcyle rider photo to black ad white sailor photo?

[Ampster]

Ampster:
Curious, did this coincide with the change from motorcyle rider photo to black ad white sailor photo?


Come to think of it... Give or take a few months, Yup!

[pascal]

What can I say... I attended three workshops by Gustavo. (yes, this Gustavo)

[DancePoet]

I went to a milonga at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff for the first time on Saturday night; it was great. It's a lovely venue in the refurbished docks area.
http://www.ukattraction.com/south-wales/1062BSY-0.jpg
The dance floor is good and there is a cafe so I was able to top up on coffee and chocolate cake. I had some lovely dances with beginners, a couple of tandas with really good dancers I'd not met before, a few more with old friends and loads of wonderful dances with Pam. It was a lovely evening so we danced a few tangos outside which was brilliant; a few couples out for a stroll stopped to watch us and there was a wonderful, romantic, peaceful feel about it - but I had a horrible feeling that the suede soles on my favourite shoes would tear off if I continued dancing on bricks. I'll have leather soled shoes in my dance bag next month.

On Sunday I went to the milonga at Halo's Wine Bar (http://www.thedancecafe.co.uk/) in Bristol and that was fab as well. It was a lovely weekend!
I like the picture of the church. :cool:

And this really sounds like a fabulous time! Is this a regularly scheduled event?

[DancePoet]

Ladies of ALL ages are thankful.
I encounter more older ladies who express it though. ;)

[DancePoet]

Hmmm...very nice. One of my favorite leaders was there, and I got to dance with him lots. He's recently tweaked his embrace, too. One tweak is bad (lowered his right arm--apparently in response to a woman complaining about men's right hands getting too close to her boobs...whatever). One tweak is...wonderful... He's taken to bringing his left hand in, so that it's in front of his shoulder. And the way he changed the hand-hold, he was actually able to hold both of my hands at once. Very, very intimate. So nice. Mmmm...
I like how you pay attention to these embraces and share them here. I tried changing my embrace a bit at the last milonga I attended based on one of your other posts elsewhere, but I'm beginning to see that different embraces work with different followers. :cool:

[DancePoet]

This past weekend, the SO and I when shopping. We stopped by a Macy's and found her new pair of leather bottomed hi-heel shoes by Nina called Gavey on the clearance rack. We took them for a spin right in the store to whatever music was playing in the background, and it was really quite romantic. The shoe ladies were all smiles as they watched us dance AT. :cool: :cool: :cool:

[Peaches]

I like how you pay attention to these embraces and share them here. I tried changing my embrace a bit at the last milonga I attended based on one of your other posts elsewhere, but I'm beginning to see that different embraces work with different followers. :cool:Good for you! And I'm sure the ladies will notice and appreciate it. And kudos for realizing that your embrace isn't a "one size fits all" kind of thing!

OF COURSE I pay attention and notice embraces! It's one of the most important things to me. I'll forgive so much for a wonderful embrace...even without a host of other nice things, a good embrace just feels, well...wonderful!

[Peaches]

This past weekend, the SO and I when shopping. We stopped by a Macy's and found her new pair of leather bottomed hi-heel shoes by Nina called Gavey on the clearance rack. We took them for a spin right in the store to whatever music was playing in the background, and it was really quite romantic. The shoe ladies were all smiles as they watched us dance AT. :cool: :cool: :cool:Nice.:cool:

[MaggieB]

This past weekend, the SO and I when shopping. We stopped by a Macy's and found her new pair of leather bottomed hi-heel shoes by Nina called Gavey on the clearance rack. We took them for a spin right in the store to whatever music was playing in the background, and it was really quite romantic. The shoe ladies were all smiles as they watched us dance AT. :cool: :cool: :cool:

I LOVE doing this! I was in a store in Italy last year, right along the Arno, in Florence, and I was trying out a great pair of hand made snakeskin shoes that would be, and are, GREAT for ATango....
I savor the memory of trying on the shoes, and having my husband take me in his arms to try them out right there in the middle of the store! Well... I wasn't going to buy them if I couldn't dance in them was I???

[Peaches]

Went dancing last night. I'm not on a high, but I do feel very satisfied with my dancing from last night. It was definitely an "on" night, which always helps, but apart from that I could feel a bunch of stuff from lessons coming together. My following was excellent, and effortless, last night. Very enjoyable. Was able to zone out/tune in completely pretty much every time; never got to the point of dancing with my eyes closed with my teacher, but we were dancing mostly milonga, and I find that having my eyes closed affects my balance. My technique wasn't quite where I wanted it to be, but I could feel that it's definitely getting better.

No interesting embrace variations to report!:)

[newbie]

Saturday I went to a workshop at 18:00 and my partner went at 16:30 so we both found ourselves partnerless and we came back home.

Monday I got a crisis of tango-ego disease. At the afternoon practise a follower asked "When you'll feel like dancing with a beginner, come to me." and I replied "Beginners? Up to know this afternoon I've been dancing only with beginners!". Damn I'm a tango jerk. Someone please shoot me.

[Heather2007]

Monday I got a crisis of tango-ego disease. At the afternoon practise a follower asked "When you'll feel like dancing with a beginner, come to me." and I replied "Beginners? Up to know this afternoon I've been dancing only with beginners!". Damn I'm a tango jerk. Someone please shoot me.

Ha-ha-ha. You felt bad. That's good. Ha, ha, ha

[bordertangoman]

Saturday I went to a workshop at 18:00 and my partner went at 16:30 so we both found ourselves partnerless and we came back home.

Monday I got a crisis of tango-ego disease. At the afternoon practise a follower asked "When you'll feel like dancing with a beginner, come to me." and I replied "Beginners? Up to know this afternoon I've been dancing only with beginners!". Damn I'm a tango jerk. Someone please shoot me.

I don't understand. what exactly made you think you are a tango jerk?

[DancePoet]

I LOVE doing this! I was in a store in Italy last year, right along the Arno, in Florence, and I was trying out a great pair of hand made snakeskin shoes that would be, and are, GREAT for ATango....
I savor the memory of trying on the shoes, and having my husband take me in his arms to try them out right there in the middle of the store! Well... I wasn't going to buy them if I couldn't dance in them was I???
Exactly. The SO and I do this when she tries on dresses, too. If things don't feel right, and we are buying for dancing, then time to try on something else. ;)

[DancePoet]

Second time DJing a milonga this weekend. Used some prerecorded CDs a bit, yet moved around from one disk to another to create a different feel through altering the order of the tandas. Also created a few tandas ofd my own from individual CDs. :cool:

Also, taught a beginner tango lesson where we focused on breaking the basic 8 count into it's elements and then added a few other ideas to dance around the floor without ever using the basic 8 in it's entirety. :D

[Peaches]

One tanda with a rather annoying beginner (annoying only b/c he was trying to lead all kinds of stuff waaaaaay beyond his level--had evidently been to workshops or something and learned fancy combos, but hasn't gotten any basics yet)--didn't stop it b/c he was otherwise nice, he wasn't hurting me, and he was a beginner. One very annoying tanda that I ended early--the guy was hurting me, and really just wasn't listening to me as a follower at all, which he really needed to to b/c I has having a devil of a time trying to follow him--just so much extraneous upper body movement going on I couldn't feel the lead to save my life.

But other than that, mostly wonderful tandas. Danced A LOT with one of my favorite leads, who's now coming to thanksgiving. He dances very simple, very basic steps...and does them so incredibly well. And his musicality is pretty good--have seen better, but his is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Just wonderful--spent the whole time with him with my eyes closed, totally zoned out (or in--to the moment), in heaven. Had a fun conversation trying to convince him that it's a huge compliment when I tell him he does basic steps and does them well, that girls would much rather dance simple steps done well than fancy stuff done not well. He was surprised.

Danced with a new (to me) leader with a very nice embrace. He kept his left hand in the center of his chest, between us. OMG, so special. His lead took a bit of getting used to, but once I did it was so worth it. Managed to get that "special connection" with him. *swoon* In between songs of the tanda, we didn't step apart and chat...we'd just stand there and do little weight shifts in place, kind of like slow dancing. So intimate, so special. *swoon* *sigh*

[newbie]

Saturday, went to a practise that followed a discovery A.T workshop for clowns. T'was funny to dance with clowns, despite they were more following their own ideas rather than the leader.
Sunday, went out to try a new class but realized I would be late and went back home. Then contemplated the idea of going to some milonga but gave up as my vocab is quite stationary and I don't want to bore followers with things they've already danced.

[DancePoet]

One tanda with a rather annoying beginner (annoying only b/c he was trying to lead all kinds of stuff waaaaaay beyond his level--had evidently been to workshops or something and learned fancy combos, but hasn't gotten any basics yet)--didn't stop it b/c he was otherwise nice, he wasn't hurting me, and he was a beginner. One very annoying tanda that I ended early--the guy was hurting me, and really just wasn't listening to me as a follower at all, which he really needed to to b/c I has having a devil of a time trying to follow him--just so much extraneous upper body movement going on I couldn't feel the lead to save my life.
Sometimes there are leads that forget AT is suppose to be danced. ;)

But other than that, mostly wonderful tandas. Danced A LOT with one of my favorite leads, who's now coming to thanksgiving. He dances very simple, very basic steps...and does them so incredibly well. And his musicality is pretty good--have seen better, but his is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Just wonderful--spent the whole time with him with my eyes closed, totally zoned out (or in--to the moment), in heaven. Had a fun conversation trying to convince him that it's a huge compliment when I tell him he does basic steps and does them well, that girls would much rather dance simple steps done well than fancy stuff done not well. He was surprised.
Exactly. I like working on the basic stuff, and doing it to enjoyable music.

At some point I'd like to take classes from different teachers just to work on the basics from different view points.

Danced with a new (to me) leader with a very nice embrace. He kept his left hand in the center of his chest, between us. OMG, so special. His lead took a bit of getting used to, but once I did it was so worth it. Managed to get that "special connection" with him. *swoon* In between songs of the tanda, we didn't step apart and chat...we'd just stand there and do little weight shifts in place, kind of like slow dancing. So intimate, so special. *swoon* *sigh*
Oooh! Nice to know. Need to try that with the SO sometime. :raisebro:

She and I had a really close tango this past weekend towards the end of the evening, always the best. :D

[DancePoet]

By the way, Peaches, cool shoes in your avatar. I'm going to go get the SO and show her those. :car:

[Heather2007]

Had a wonderful dance with a beginning lead. He kept the moves ever so simple but he had such a great sense of musicality and together with his warm and embracing energy, I practically slept in arms.

[Twirly]

Had a wonderful dance with a beginning lead. He kept the moves ever so simple but he had such a great sense of musicality and together with his warm and embracing energy, I practically slept in arms.

I love that feeling of almost falling asleep because you feel so relaxed and safe in the leader's arms.

[jennyisdancing]

He kept his left hand in the center of his chest, between us. OMG, so special. His lead took a bit of getting used to, but once I did it was so worth it. Managed to get that "special connection" with him. *swoon*

Mmmmm..that happened for me too, this weekend. My friend/or whatever danced with me like that. He just called it 'relaxing' but I thought it was swoon-worthy - and I didn't see him doing it with other ladies. :)

This happened at a brand new milonga that started up at a local studio. It was very nice. Also danced with a few other folks - though I did have to sit out some, owing to 1. There weren't enough leaders and 2. being a beginner and therefore not everyone wants to dance with me. I heard there were some more experienced ladies who also sat out more than they liked, but I guess that was due to reason # 1.

Had another experience with a wanna-be teacher. One of my dances was with a fellow who started off by asking me how many lessons I've had. I felt like there was a qualifying test to dance with him! Also about halfway through the song, he stops, basically accuses me of not hearing the beat and saying how he had to get me back on it. I replied by saying that I was always taught to follow the leader even if he is off time - not that I meant him, of course. ;)

Well, the two tandas with my fave leader (mentioned above) made up for it, at least.

[DancePoet]

Kind of a bland milonga last weekend. Decent sized crowd, but couldn't get into a good deal of the music being played. In fact, seems like the DJ left the computer at home and was using prerecorded discs, which is fine, unless they don't stay on top of it and the disc starts playing through the same music a second time. :roll:

Ah well, had a couple of one nice tandas with the SO, and one really good dance with a quality follower where things just seemed to click which is always a good feeling. :cool:

[Peaches]

Had a good time at the milonga this past weekend.

Danced several (3? 4?) tandas with one of my favorite leaders. He's not the best lead out there, but we've got great dancefloor flirty chemistry, and he's got an incredible sense of humor about leading. And he's tall, so I fit nicely against his chin, which is nice. The cool thing is that he and I rarely dance in a traditional embrace anymore. Usually I'll dance with my left arm normally, but my right arm up as well, almost like slow dancing. Or sometimes I'll keep my right hand against his rib cage, or around him. Very nice. :cool:

Also got to dance with the guy who has my absolute favorite embrace. He's got this way of bringing his left hand in, close to his shoulder. The result is that he holds the fingers of my right hand loosely, but with his fingertips he'll hold onto my left fingertips. And because of how he brings his left arm in, there's additional contact between our arms on that side. Sooooo wonderful!

And I got to see a beginning leader that I haven't seen around in almost a year. Ho-lee crap, that man will be fantastic once he starts lessons. I'm just amazed by whatever "natural talent" he seems to have for it. Unfortunately, he's moving cross-country in a year, so I won't get to see him after he leaves. What a crying shame, because I love dancing with him.

Had an interesting conversation with a leader friend about why I don't get asked to dance much. Still can't figure that one out, except that maybe I only show up on weekends, so I'm not as much of a regular and people don't know me well. *shrug* According to him, I dance well enough that I should never have to sit unless I want a break. Nice to know, even if he was being kind. But interesting to think that I could be getting closer to the top of the pile, so to speak, in terms of local followers. Probably just means I need to find a bigger pond, as it were. So...maybe it's where I tend to sit, which is usually in the back in a corner somewhere.

[Angel HI]

Had a great workshop in New Orleans. Thanks to all those who attended.