A beautiful dancer is in town

On Saturday night as I sat watching the dancers on the floor at the elegant City Tatts milonga - a beautiful dancer caught my eye - and that of just about every one else in the room. She was dancing elegantly, simply and beautifully with one of Sydney's teachers and I was fortunate enough to be sitting with someone who could tell me who she was, as I had never seen her before. Her name is Belen Silva and she has apparently been teaching in Japan, though she comes from Argentina. So I did a little hunting on Youtube and found a video of her.

If you live in Sydney you are in luck. She will be doing a workshop with Manuel from New Tango on Sunday 13th December - follow link for details.

One-off Live Tango Music Events this Week in Sydney

I've been asked to let you know about 2 great opportunities this week to hear Sydney's tango musicians perform - at very little cost!!

At the Glebe Street Fair tomorrow, Sunday 15th Tango Bar quartet will be playing live music from 12-3pm at Junktique. There will be chairs and tables set up on the street as well as around the dance floor, and waiters in costume serving snacks, coffee and wine. Junktique is full of fabulous old chandeliers, furniture and vintage pieces which will help to create an atmosphere of nostalgia and elegance - combined with a fabulous sound system it should be a great space for tango.

The event is free and you will find Junktique at 62 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.

On Wednesday 18 November hear some of the greatest orchestral tangos played from original arrangements by Sydney’s leading tango orchestra musicians at the Twilight TangoOZ concert.

Tango dancers are welcome to join special guests Harry Carr & Chrissy Ynfante from Tangueros and dancers from A Little Buenos Aires, to dance TangoOZ into 2010 during the concert finale.

Featuring: TangoOZ, Fuego Blanco, Tango Thai Trio and La Roja Rosa

Wednesday 18 November, 7pm
Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Macquarie Street

Tickets
Paper Entry - minimum $5 donation
Only available on the day, limited seating so be early to avoid disappointment

Enquiries
SYO Office 9251 2422

Hope to see you at one or both events!

Glebe Fair in Sydney to launch new Milonga Venue

We've just published a story on TangoAustralia about the launch of Junktique in Glebe as a milonga venue. The first milonga will be a Sunday afternoon - November 15 - when the Glebe Street Fair is on and the band Tango Bar will play.
So it's not all bad news... one door closes and another opens. Check out the full info on TangoAustralia

Another Sydney milonga venue disappears

I'm not superstitious!! but sometimes things to happen in threes (see below).
Just received an email from Sydney's Patio de Tango advising that the Swingtime Dance Studio in Camperdown where they have been holding their monthly Saturday milongas has been sold to a developer...which means that after this weekend - November 7 - they too will be looking for a venue!

Who said we can't call the glorious years of Tango music a Golden Age?

On the Sydney tango forum someone has written that we do not have a Golden Age of Tango because the term 'never existed while the orchestras you are referring to were performing!' If this reasoning had any basis we would not have a Golden Age of Hollywood, a Golden age of Greece, a Golden Age of couture...Golden Age is a term used to describe a period of prosperity and achievement that leaves a legacy long after it is over.
We do have a Golden Age of Tango music - and without it tango would be very poor. Those are the orchestras that so many of us love to dance to and listen to - and the music that so many of today's tango musicians strive to play.
We did some research on Golden Ages which we've published on TangoAustralia

Venues shut down Sydney milongas

Many of Sydney's tango dancers were looking forward to the new El Regente milonga to be run by Jairo and Amy of Tangueros, so there was an audible sigh of disappointment last night at the Copacabana milonga when it was announced that El Regente milonga had been cancelled 'due to a council decision'. This milonga was to run just once a month on Fridays and into the early morning. Jairo (who was my teacher for a number of years) has a reputation as a great DJ as well as being one of Sydney's leading dancers with his partner Amy, so it is sad that they too have been the victims of bureaucracy - and at such short notice.

As well tonight, Friday 30th, is the last night of Tango Pasion's milonga at the Hakoah Club in Bondi. This milonga has run weekly on Friday nights for about 5 years and has a group of dedicated followers who love the music selections of DJ, El Portenito. Tango Pasion are forced to move on because the Hakoah Club has been sold to developers and according to this morning's Sydney Morning Herald, will become a hotel and shopping centre. The club has yet to find new premises and meanwhile Anna and Martin of Tango Pasion must look for another dance floor in the Eastern Suburbs.
The administrators of venues are notorious for shutting down milongas - and often at short notice. As many know we organise a milonga once a month and have been at our Gladesville venue for a year now (anniversary milonga coming up). However before that we moved three or four times in an effort to find a venue that would accommodate us. We now pay almost 3 times what we paid elsewhere for the venue but this seems to be the only way to be sure that as a milonga organiser you won't be gazumped by another event.
Council regulations are a minefield. The NSW Government, obviously under pressure, announced last Friday (Oct 23) that they would relax the regulations for their POPE! (Place of Public Entertainment) licences for live music. Their intention (probably too late for many) is to allow venues to host live bands without having to file development applications. But this is not the only regulation that causes trouble as Tangueros have just experienced. Local residents are the biggest kill-joys of the lot. The other Friday night venue for milongas which has been going for around 10 years is the Glebe milonga run by Club de Tango. They now close just before midnight because of complaints from local residents.

What Sydney really needs is a tango venue that is owned by a tango organisation and run as a business with all the appropriate licences, much like there is in Melbourne with Sidewalk Tango, Viva and Robles. When this happens, as it surely will, then Sydney dancers will have a more stable tango calendar.

Tangomania - the beginning

On the weekend I ran a very successful milonga (thanks to all those who came and made it a great night) with lots of new music and some happy punters; and also went to Mimi's Pink Tango night at the Artarmon Freeway Hotel enjoying a night of fundraising for breast cancer. I spent today in 1914 because I am immersing myself in history again for a new book. (I am a writer in my non-tango life). Today I was in Paris in 1914. Tango was the dance in that year, it was considered outrageous as couples had to dance in an embrace, and the height of fashion - it was the beginning of Tangomania. This was not the focus of my research but you can't avoid if it comes up and you are fascinated by tango.
War would break out in Europe on July 28 of that year. The shooting of the Austro Hungarian archduke in Sarajevo, Bosnia would set of a chain of events around Europe that would eventually see much of France destroyed - tango was not on the agenda.
However before this awful conflict there was a sense of euphoria. Charlie Chaplin made his 6th movie 'Tango Tangles'in which he did not have his usual moustache, did not dance the tango (as far as I can tell without actually watching the movie) and played the protagonist. Clearly he called it Tango Tangles because tango was the fashion.
Tango Teas began at London's Waldorf Hotel - after dying off in the 1970s these have recently been reinstated but without tango as the focus and I have yet to speak to anyone who has been (note in diary for next visit to London)...
Orange was the colour of tango (not red and black!) and tango merchandise -shoes, dresses, head pieces, gloves, fans... were all the rage.
Tango had moved up market and though it would take a back seat for four or five years it would reappear in the dance halls and salons of the 1920s.

Where have I been

So asked my friend Shayne of blog about romance writers and ocean swimming...I wish I could say I've been to London to visit the Queen, but I've actually been dealing with the sudden death of both my computers! They went out in Sympathy with each other. One is back - well I have one new one, and a new desktop on the way. Just in time as I was busily working on music for the next Milonga de Mis Amores on Saturday October 24. I have just acquired a fantastic new Miguel Calo, a dreamy Demare, another Di Sarli (can't get enough of this orquesta or Canaro) and a Juan Caceres... just out of interest. But transferring itunes to a new computer is another ball game... so that is what I am doing now, and checking playlists.
Thanks for asking Shayne, though I'm glad you missed me! Oh I did manage to fit in one night of dancing in the last week!

Tango's Violin - one chance only

There's a show on this Saturday night at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place (which has some of the best acoustics in town) called 'Tango's Violin'. Not your usual story about the history of tango, this show features tango stars, Fabio Robles and Ana Andre together with Melbourne tango orquesta, red dash black and violinist Sophie Kesoglidis in a story about thwarted love.
An opportunity to be entertained and enjoy tango before heading off to a milonga (as I am told the show finishes in time).
You can find out more and book on the CRH website.

What a night !!- Sydney's Milonga Para Los Ninos

Wow! Sydney turned out in force for the Milonga Para Los Ninos last night at the Marrickville Hard Court Tennis Club and the vibe was warm, friendly and fun! (For those new to this blog, or not following! this is a fundraising milonga held once a year in cities around Australia - and now north America! - to raise money for homeless children in Argentina).
I arrived early as I had volunteered my services as a member of the Tango Synergy Club, and even though it didn't start officially until 8pm there were already 2 or 3 tables of eager dancers and a few on the floor.
The room, which is normally a rather drab club room probably designed and built sometime between the 2 world wars, was brought to life with huge swathes of gold muslin hanging from the central mirror ball, gold table cloths and the most superb gold orchids in dangerously tall and beautiful glass vases which were a fantastic finishing touch. DJ Jean Weiner was already pumping out the music and had put a playlist on every table - something I wish more DJs would do as by the time one gets to asking a DJ what a piece the moment is forgotten.
An auction was part of the fundraising and goods were displayed at the door - beautiful necklaces of pearls and semi-precious stones, tango dresses and wraps, paintings, tango classes and more.
It was an evening of highlights. Those who just wanted to dance were disappointed, but it was a tango fundraiser! We were treated to

• 2 brackets from Tango Bar, a newly formed band (I think) of musicians who have been playing round Sydney for some time. And they played with tango passion!


• a group dance from the teachers present - and a few ring-ins!


• a talk by founder John Lowrey and then a superb performance by John and his wife Cheryl


• a comedy performance by 2 consummate tango performers - Chris Condon and Pedro Alvarez, followed by a delightful dance by Pedro's 7-year-old daughter!


• a live auction, ably managed by Chris and entertaining - which is more than can be said for many fundraising auctions (as a veteran of school fundraisers I speak from experience)


• a great spread for supper - which was demolished by the famished dancers!


• and some fun taxi dancing.

The night was a huge success and it was announced that we had raised at least $8,500 - we were aiming to double Melbourne's $5,500! (nothing to do with Sydney/Melbourne rivalry of course).
The only fly in the ointment for me! and it really is a very small fly - was the teachers and a couple of latecomers who came to the event without paying! It was a charity night after all!!
(pictures are coming I hope!)