Zango - I went to a tango festival
Sep. 6th, 2012 10:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mekyriaWe all have a bucket list filled with things we want to do, learn or experience. One of the items on my bucket list is 'dance the tango'. If you have seen scent of a woman, you know why. Through my university IT contacts I know Frank, who gave me two sailing classes and who happens to be a trained ballet dancer (long, long time ago) and has been dancing the tango for 6 years now. And his hometown had a tango festival offering workshops for complete beginners (that would be me).
I took the train to Haarlem yesterday straight from work and we met at the station, walking to the antique mirror tent that is the center of the festival. It is quite an amazing place: wooden floors, seats on the sides, mirrors on the walls and beams and colorful draperies all around. There is the muted silence of people drawn inwards into a danceform that seems to get better as you get older, getting in touch with your own feeling and improvisation skills.
I have never danced the tango and I was glad that the workshop was for total beginners. And that Frank is good in taking the lead, as it makes a huge difference. I had a bit of trouble with releasing myself into his lead and stop thinking but overal it was very nice. We started out with a practice stance where we were far apart and during the workshop we adapted the stance to the 'tango hug', meaning leaning into eachother with the upper body. Frank and I are friends, it felt very pleasant to be so close to someone without actually being intimate. We had really good teachers, demonstrating clearly and correcting when neccesary.
We started by shifting our weight and adding pauses, then moved into adding a side step or a step forward/back. Then into two slightly more complicated step patterns that asked for some fancy footwork of the lady. I loved it, doing the 'slowly sliding your foot over the lower leg of your partner' thing before moving on into a different pattern. I can see why so many people are fascinated by the tango. We grabbed a quick bite of dinner after the workshop and I sneakily managed to pay the bill while he was in the bathroom, startling him. He wass intrigued by my unpredictable behavior and had a hard time adapting to the idea of a woman buying him dinner. Men are funny like that.
After the workshop there were two performances: the first one a group of graduates from the conservatorium, who were great. They played classic tango music and they played it well, three girls ad two guys having a blast while being awesome musicians. And at the age of 25ish, I might add. The second performance was of Floras Negras, five women from Buenos Aires, singing tango music supperted by piano. Absolutely breathtaking performance, if you are into tango music or want to expand your musical horizon, listen to them! Frank was a perfect gentleman and walked me to my train. We said goodbye with a kiss on the cheek, and off I went. I don't have time to do weekly tango lessons, but it was a wonderful experience to get a taste of this beautiful dance form. Maybe some one time classes/workshops in Utrecht....
http://youtu.be/d5fg4_4dz1U
I took the train to Haarlem yesterday straight from work and we met at the station, walking to the antique mirror tent that is the center of the festival. It is quite an amazing place: wooden floors, seats on the sides, mirrors on the walls and beams and colorful draperies all around. There is the muted silence of people drawn inwards into a danceform that seems to get better as you get older, getting in touch with your own feeling and improvisation skills.
I have never danced the tango and I was glad that the workshop was for total beginners. And that Frank is good in taking the lead, as it makes a huge difference. I had a bit of trouble with releasing myself into his lead and stop thinking but overal it was very nice. We started out with a practice stance where we were far apart and during the workshop we adapted the stance to the 'tango hug', meaning leaning into eachother with the upper body. Frank and I are friends, it felt very pleasant to be so close to someone without actually being intimate. We had really good teachers, demonstrating clearly and correcting when neccesary.
We started by shifting our weight and adding pauses, then moved into adding a side step or a step forward/back. Then into two slightly more complicated step patterns that asked for some fancy footwork of the lady. I loved it, doing the 'slowly sliding your foot over the lower leg of your partner' thing before moving on into a different pattern. I can see why so many people are fascinated by the tango. We grabbed a quick bite of dinner after the workshop and I sneakily managed to pay the bill while he was in the bathroom, startling him. He wass intrigued by my unpredictable behavior and had a hard time adapting to the idea of a woman buying him dinner. Men are funny like that.
After the workshop there were two performances: the first one a group of graduates from the conservatorium, who were great. They played classic tango music and they played it well, three girls ad two guys having a blast while being awesome musicians. And at the age of 25ish, I might add. The second performance was of Floras Negras, five women from Buenos Aires, singing tango music supperted by piano. Absolutely breathtaking performance, if you are into tango music or want to expand your musical horizon, listen to them! Frank was a perfect gentleman and walked me to my train. We said goodbye with a kiss on the cheek, and off I went. I don't have time to do weekly tango lessons, but it was a wonderful experience to get a taste of this beautiful dance form. Maybe some one time classes/workshops in Utrecht....
http://youtu.be/d5fg4_4dz1U
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