Tango performances

One of the blogs I read regularly is Arlene's London Tango Pages As with Tango Cherie in Buenos Aires, it is fascinating to learn that other cities experience the same tango moments as we do here in Sydney.
The issue of Tango Performances is one that has come up on both the above blogs recently and it about to arise again in Sydney as we go into the Professional Tango Performance Season (that time of year when teachers, usually from Buenos Aires, decide to add Australia to their itinerary). Arlene's posting 'Tango Teachers a Dime a Dozen' struck a chord. Arlene is not impressed by many of the 'Tango Teachers' that turn up in London and is quite harsh in her criticism questioning their credentials - and their style. Worth reading if only to disagree.
A new blog I have just discovered via Arlene's is Irene and Man Yung's Tango Blog from Toronto in Canada. Why do onlookers clap certain tango performances ... and why do they clap in the all wrong places? they ask. Having been round the tango scene for a few years I have seen my share of tango performances and I have reached the point where I will actually avoid a milonga if I know there is going to be a performance I don't want to see (usually again!). Irene and Man have decided that people clap for 4 reasons... read the blog for their conjectures... I don't agree with all of it, but I do agree with their conclusions in principal which are:
- Learn to be a better dancer every way you can - and if you can't afford to do expensive workshops then ask questions of others, watch dancers you admire, take photos of yourself dancing, note where you might improve and be selective about the classes you do.
- Clap when you see a tango performance that inspires or moves you. Simple as that. The more performances you see, the more critical you will become. But you will still be moved by an inspirational performance.
This weekend I am off to see two performances - one an orchestra that I know will inspire and move me - and the other a couple from Buenos Aires I saw dance last year.

TangoCherie has added the performance of Jeanine Mason, a young classical dancer who has just won So you Think You Dance in the US with a balletic performance to Por Una Cabeza. Excellent dancing but I just love Gardel singing this song so much I didn't really enjoy it. America did - they voted her their favourite dancer.

Back to Tango

We've just had a long weekend in Sydney - celebrating the Queen's birthday even though it isn't her birthday we all get a day off! - so we took ourselves out of Sydney and up the north coast for fresh air, walks on the beach, lots of yoga and great company.
We did miss the last night at Glebe Town Hall for La Milonga, which was Sydney's longest-running milonga and for many of us the first milonga where we got up and danced tango! I was sorry not to have the chance to go one last time and hope that they will be back when the renovations are finished.
We also missed some great milongas and a performance by the tango band Fuego Blanco at the Artarmon Nostalgic Tango Bar. So this weekend I will take myself off to the Sydney Conservatorium for a performance of TangoOz, the big(ger) tango band that is also made up of musicians from the Sydney Con and the Sydney Youth Orchestra. There's still time to book if you would also like to hear some great music from Sydney's up and coming tango musicians. Here's a Youtube video of their performance at last year's end of year concert!