Buenos Aires Inspirations: Studying Tango, Intensively.
Today is day 4 of my Buenos Aires trip. I am tired. Exhausted, to be honest. But I'm bursting with emotions, experiences and study material. Beyond it all, I am really inspired, and that's what I really came here for. But one thing at a time. In this post I will write about my learning experiences, and milongas and lessons to take from local social dancing will be in the next post. On day 1, I was actively planning to take it easy and do nothing. No milongas, no classes. RIGH
In Search of New Inspirations
Tango is my life. Sounds pompous but it's true. I've quit my architecture career to dance, teach, and live tango, because I love it and I believe I can share something wonderful with other people through my tango. I am completely happy and in love with this dance, this experience and grateful I am able to live my dream (since I was a baby, my dream was to be a dancer. Many years later, after a detour through sports and architecture, I am actually a dancer, finally!) But of co
Active Following: a Way to Express and Connect or a Distraction?
A few days ago one student of mine asked me to write an article on active following. What is it, how I understand it and what it gives us. It's great to see people interested in my take on active following, as I am a big proponent of it! What is the difference between “active” and “normal” following? For me, following IS active. I personally can not distinguish between the two in my dance. But I understand how different it can be for different people. And I notice how differe
Tango. A partner dance. Right?
I had an interesting discussion with a local London tanguero. It was based on one of the videos I posted, where I was practising forward ochos by myself. I will by the way soon post a Let's Make It Personal video about solo practice and what value it has in a partner dance like tango, in my point of view. This tanguero respectfully argued that practising ochos by myself is pointless since being able to do it alone does not give an indication whether I can also do it in a coup
From Beginner to Advanced. Some thoughts about “levels” in tango
You like tango. You have been dancing for 3 years. You attended many many classes, you dance socially once or twice a week, you participate in many international events. You can do complex figures, colgadas and your boleo is high. You dance a lot and successfully and generally enjoy your tango life. Are you advanced? Or you like cooking. You have been cooking for yourself once or twice a week. You can do omelette, boiled potatoes and even tasty fried chicken. You invite frien
Have you been dancing tango for something between 2 and 5 years? Then this is for you!
Let's have an honest and open chat about your tango, your dreams and wishes in tango, maybe your problems and dramas in tango. I had an honest chat like this when I had danced 3,5 years with a teacher, and I still remember it. It changed so much for me, and opened my eyes on a lot of things. I am eternally thankful for it. And yet, I regret I didn't catch everything, and didn't understand many things in it. Now I do, but I wish I had understood earlier. While you never stop l
On Easter-Bunnies of Tango
I've been thinking about this for a long while. There are dancers, male and female, who seem to not be able to rest and relax. They may be beginners, intermediates or advanced dancers. They may be very different, but there are things that unite them. It's almost Easter now. So I finally came up with a proper and sweet way to address such dancers. I'll call them Easter-Bunnies of Tango. Who are Tango Easter-Bunnies? Easter-Bunnies are cute, fluffy and you can't take your eyes
On mentors and inspiration
I had a chat with a friend the other day. Random tango stuff, milongas, styles, what to teach and where to learn, etc. And then my friend mentioned one thing that got me thinking: that he doesn't like to take regular classes, only privates or workshops and pre-milonga classes with visiting teachers. His reason was clear: he doesn't like “cliques” that form by being associated with a particular school. I told him that I agree and disagree with him at the same time, but didn't
What if you "hit a low" in tango?
Five times in my tango life, I've been either thinking of quitting tango, or dramatically reducing its impact and amount in my life. The most recent one is exactly now, when I'm writing these words. Tango is not for faint-hearted. With years you grow thick skin, and yet it can get you down. The more sensitive you are, the bigger the influence may be. And yet, most of the time when I see people quitting or reducing tango addiction, is when they get genuinely happier somewhere
Broken Confidence, Effects of Releasing Tensions and Tango
Tango can be a beauty and a beast. Bad news: there is nothing we can do to change that. We enjoy total bliss, and next week it can be the worst experience ever. Good news: generally, if you keep on working and improving, bad experiences either go away almost completely, or you start paying less attention to them and they don't spoil your life to the verge of “I hate tango, I want to quit!” Let's have a talk about the less positive sides of tango, and how to deal with them, be
