Wednesday, December 17, 2008
MIlonga Gladesville, Sydney December 27
Just a quick link to the TangoAustralia website... if you are a dancer and in Sydney over Christmas we'd love you to come to the Milonga de Mis Amores at Gladesville... email me (angelina@tangoaustralia.com.au) and I'll send you the details.
The tango compliment: a random act of kindness
I was driving behind a bumper sticker which said “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty” – a slogan supposedly coined by American peace activist Anne Herbert, and it made me think how appropriate it is at any time, but particularly at Christmas… and do some research on the slogan, and compliments.
Tango can produce many of the emotions experienced in traffic – anger, hostility, annoyance, selfishness and even rudeness – but it can also be an uplifting experience. There are many opportunities in tango to give a compliment – and like giving a present a compliment can make both giver and receiver feel a warm sense of satisfaction.
When a compliment is given in the right way it can create positive energy that makes things happen – and creates an easy atmosphere. The recipient of the compliment benefits from knowing that he or she has been noticed and is valued. By complimenting someone on their tango you are creating a positive aura that will bounce back on you and others. Of course the opposite applies. If a dancer is criticised on the dance floor, the bad vibes will also bounce back, undoubtedly affect the victim’s dancing in a detrimental way and probably also affect the critic’s.
For a compliment to be valuable it must be genuine. They work only when they are heartfelt and sincere. When they are not genuine they can backfire – and obviously false compliments can be worse than criticism.
If you are the receiver of the compliment it is important that you receive it in the spirit in which it was given. When I was younger I was very bad at receiving compliments and used to brush them off – now I have learnt to accept them with gratitude, but I don’t always get it right. Compliments are powerful gifts but women can be very bad at accepting the gift gracefully. So if someone says to you “you are an excellent dancer” the answer is “Thank you” - not “oh no I’m just a beginner” or “I love your dress, it looks great” the reply is not “ it’s old, I’ve had it for years” !
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this summer on the tango floor – and off – we genuinely tried to compliment our fellow dancers….I’m going to try to do it more often, will you join me?
Tango can produce many of the emotions experienced in traffic – anger, hostility, annoyance, selfishness and even rudeness – but it can also be an uplifting experience. There are many opportunities in tango to give a compliment – and like giving a present a compliment can make both giver and receiver feel a warm sense of satisfaction.
When a compliment is given in the right way it can create positive energy that makes things happen – and creates an easy atmosphere. The recipient of the compliment benefits from knowing that he or she has been noticed and is valued. By complimenting someone on their tango you are creating a positive aura that will bounce back on you and others. Of course the opposite applies. If a dancer is criticised on the dance floor, the bad vibes will also bounce back, undoubtedly affect the victim’s dancing in a detrimental way and probably also affect the critic’s.
For a compliment to be valuable it must be genuine. They work only when they are heartfelt and sincere. When they are not genuine they can backfire – and obviously false compliments can be worse than criticism.
If you are the receiver of the compliment it is important that you receive it in the spirit in which it was given. When I was younger I was very bad at receiving compliments and used to brush them off – now I have learnt to accept them with gratitude, but I don’t always get it right. Compliments are powerful gifts but women can be very bad at accepting the gift gracefully. So if someone says to you “you are an excellent dancer” the answer is “Thank you” - not “oh no I’m just a beginner” or “I love your dress, it looks great” the reply is not “ it’s old, I’ve had it for years” !
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this summer on the tango floor – and off – we genuinely tried to compliment our fellow dancers….I’m going to try to do it more often, will you join me?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A bodega and a formal milonga
On Thursday we dined at Bodega in Surry Hills for a family celebration. The chef is Argentinian and the restaurant has a tapas menu and an excellent wine list. We started with plump olives, slices of jamon and fresh bread and things only got better. The beef empanadas came next - served with a tasty salsa, then we had chorizo which was fried and I understand has been 'splashed' with apple cider - it certainly added to the moistness of a sausage which can be dry if it is not treated kindly. In all we ate about 8 tapas dishes and finished with an affogato with an excellent sherry (I had started the night with an amontillado sherry) and a 'banana' split, Spanish style. My memories of Argentinian food are nothing like this - it was superb...
Saturday we joined tango friends at the milonga in Strathfield which occurs every 2nd Saturday. This was their Christmas milonga and dress was formal. One person stood out like a spring roll on a tapas menu in jeans and a t-shirt - horrible! everyone else dressed for the occasion and the theme was cabaret. One of Sydney's tango quartets, Tiempo de Tango, played 2 sets. it is fantastic to have tango bands but one can't help but wish that, as well as loving the music, they would love the dance and play with the vitality that makes every dancer get onto the floor.
It was a big crowded night, a better venue than last week's, with one exception - the parking. We had to park in the next suburb! no fun
Saturday we joined tango friends at the milonga in Strathfield which occurs every 2nd Saturday. This was their Christmas milonga and dress was formal. One person stood out like a spring roll on a tapas menu in jeans and a t-shirt - horrible! everyone else dressed for the occasion and the theme was cabaret. One of Sydney's tango quartets, Tiempo de Tango, played 2 sets. it is fantastic to have tango bands but one can't help but wish that, as well as loving the music, they would love the dance and play with the vitality that makes every dancer get onto the floor.
It was a big crowded night, a better venue than last week's, with one exception - the parking. We had to park in the next suburb! no fun
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