Subliminal
Well-Known Member
Tangobro, did you end up going to the festival? I'm in track c. 
Tango Festival: Wash. DC
- Thread starter tangobro
- Start date
tangobro
Active Member
Yes - I did go & enjoyed it. Good people, good workshops, some good dancing -- what more could you ask for?
good floorcraft @ the milongas?
Felipe Martinez & Karina Colmeiro did turn sequences in close embrace - showing how to modify them between the slightly offset embrace and the almost flat milonguero embrace, with Karina emphasing for the women the differing roles in the hips. They requested that vids not be posted.
Here are some of the others:
Oliver Kolker & Silvina Vals - Milonga
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyg6d6aixLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UCQNCu3Kq0
María Olivera & Gustavo Benzecry Sabá - Connection & turns - (Salon style)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HbRARmuoz8
Maximiliano Gluzman with Hsueh-Tze Lee - Vals (milonguero style)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGutkIKaJW4
good floorcraft @ the milongas?
Felipe Martinez & Karina Colmeiro did turn sequences in close embrace - showing how to modify them between the slightly offset embrace and the almost flat milonguero embrace, with Karina emphasing for the women the differing roles in the hips. They requested that vids not be posted.
Here are some of the others:
Oliver Kolker & Silvina Vals - Milonga
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyg6d6aixLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UCQNCu3Kq0
María Olivera & Gustavo Benzecry Sabá - Connection & turns - (Salon style)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HbRARmuoz8
Maximiliano Gluzman with Hsueh-Tze Lee - Vals (milonguero style)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGutkIKaJW4
Subliminal
Well-Known Member
Glad you had fun, so did I! I think floorcraft was part of at least three of the classes I was in! I wonder if there was a memo sent to all the teachers this year? 
I only managed to make it to the Sunday night milonga, but yes, the floorcraft was very nice. Maybe the lessons helped? hehe. Also, the band! LOVED the band! One of my friends was the singer! I thought she did great, I wish she'd had a chance to sing more.
In my track, the theme was improvisation. Maria and Gustavo talked about the different parts of the music, how you can dance to the rhythm, the melody, each instrument, and the singer. Then, also the meaning of the song, if you know what the words mean. And finally, how the follower can add her voice to the song, and how the leader can listen to what the follower hears.
Oliver and Silvina had a class on dynamic turns in milonga. I finally think I understand the whole cross-step/open-step thing, and how it's useful. We talked about how there are really only three ways to do a dynamic turn, and you can derive them all on your own if you know the cross-step/open-step notation.
Maxi set up an obstacle course with tight tracks, and made us do turns and things in tight quarters. Lots of fun!
Alex Krebs ran an awesome class! First on how to break out of a rut as a leader, to stop yourself from always leading the same things. Then more floorcraft games.
All in all a great festival. Some of my workshops were kind of a miss, but I guess that happens sometimes with group classes. Sorry I didn't record any of mine, but thanks for posting the vids!
I only managed to make it to the Sunday night milonga, but yes, the floorcraft was very nice. Maybe the lessons helped? hehe. Also, the band! LOVED the band! One of my friends was the singer! I thought she did great, I wish she'd had a chance to sing more.In my track, the theme was improvisation. Maria and Gustavo talked about the different parts of the music, how you can dance to the rhythm, the melody, each instrument, and the singer. Then, also the meaning of the song, if you know what the words mean. And finally, how the follower can add her voice to the song, and how the leader can listen to what the follower hears.
Oliver and Silvina had a class on dynamic turns in milonga. I finally think I understand the whole cross-step/open-step thing, and how it's useful. We talked about how there are really only three ways to do a dynamic turn, and you can derive them all on your own if you know the cross-step/open-step notation.
Maxi set up an obstacle course with tight tracks, and made us do turns and things in tight quarters. Lots of fun!
Alex Krebs ran an awesome class! First on how to break out of a rut as a leader, to stop yourself from always leading the same things. Then more floorcraft games.
All in all a great festival. Some of my workshops were kind of a miss, but I guess that happens sometimes with group classes. Sorry I didn't record any of mine, but thanks for posting the vids!
tangobro
Active Member
I wish I had taken notes, some of what the instructors talked about was good info but is fading rapidly.
Maximiliano Gluzman partnered with Hsueh-Tze Lee & taught Vals. He said something to the effect that the older milongueros used to tell him that vals was harder than Tango, but it took him about 5 years of dancing before he realized it was true - because he danced vals in the same way as tango, with a different rhythm. He said, I'm paraphrasing - no notes
, that vals is more about turns, not so much the turns of the molinete which require time to set up etc., but more spontaneous turns that allow you to flow with the melody. In a different vals workshop with him he also made the point that vals should include suspensions, not as much as the pauses of tango, but a suspension of movement that maintains the melodic flow. He taught a few sequences that incorporated those ideas.
Alex Krebs did a work shop that explored listening for & responding to the rhythmic & melodic variations of the music, & discussed the important role of the follower in that regard. He also, perhaps because of his frustration with the floorcraft at the opening night milonga, gave a lot of advice for floorcraft, including tips for the followers - like allowing the leader to choose when & where to enter the dance floor (e.g. the leader may have already picked some "safe" leaders to dance behind).
Mariana Galasi brought along a musician Juan Cruz Masotta & conducted a series of exercises to enhance flexibility & sensitivity to the partner & others on the dance floor. The idea being that flexibility & sensitivity animate the technique & allow for creativity & pleasure in the dance.
Maximiliano Gluzman partnered with Hsueh-Tze Lee & taught Vals. He said something to the effect that the older milongueros used to tell him that vals was harder than Tango, but it took him about 5 years of dancing before he realized it was true - because he danced vals in the same way as tango, with a different rhythm. He said, I'm paraphrasing - no notes
, that vals is more about turns, not so much the turns of the molinete which require time to set up etc., but more spontaneous turns that allow you to flow with the melody. In a different vals workshop with him he also made the point that vals should include suspensions, not as much as the pauses of tango, but a suspension of movement that maintains the melodic flow. He taught a few sequences that incorporated those ideas. Alex Krebs did a work shop that explored listening for & responding to the rhythmic & melodic variations of the music, & discussed the important role of the follower in that regard. He also, perhaps because of his frustration with the floorcraft at the opening night milonga, gave a lot of advice for floorcraft, including tips for the followers - like allowing the leader to choose when & where to enter the dance floor (e.g. the leader may have already picked some "safe" leaders to dance behind).
Mariana Galasi brought along a musician Juan Cruz Masotta & conducted a series of exercises to enhance flexibility & sensitivity to the partner & others on the dance floor. The idea being that flexibility & sensitivity animate the technique & allow for creativity & pleasure in the dance.
tangobro
Active Member
Tangosutra held 1 milonga on friday from 9pm to 3am at Eastern Market
2 milongas on saturday, an early milonga from 7:30pm to 11:30pm @ the parish of Sts. Monica & James & a late milonga from midnight to 4am @ Eastern Market, finally a milonga on sunday @ Eastern Market from 9pm to 2am.
I'm told that the venue for the early milonga was not an established tango venue, so it was far less crowded than the milongas @ the Eastern Market.
Tangosutra - moments @ the early milonga:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdyu_ZVLQQ
instructors Maxi Gluzman & Gustavo Benzecry Saba dancing with festval participants (instructor Maria Oliveras dancing with festival participant off camera). Other instructors arrived & danced later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGdUXaYLZA&feature=related
2 milongas on saturday, an early milonga from 7:30pm to 11:30pm @ the parish of Sts. Monica & James & a late milonga from midnight to 4am @ Eastern Market, finally a milonga on sunday @ Eastern Market from 9pm to 2am.
I'm told that the venue for the early milonga was not an established tango venue, so it was far less crowded than the milongas @ the Eastern Market.
Tangosutra - moments @ the early milonga:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdyu_ZVLQQ
instructors Maxi Gluzman & Gustavo Benzecry Saba dancing with festval participants (instructor Maria Oliveras dancing with festival participant off camera). Other instructors arrived & danced later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGdUXaYLZA&feature=related