Your best tango will happen when you connect the basic “three”
I have always thought I have good musicality. For years, I’ve been dancing in international high-level events and always got compliments on my musicality and playfulness. As a kid, I studied music, composition and spent years playing an instrument. I attended some musicality classes but never connected to them, I always thought they were too basic. Phrase, melody, beat… Dancing to different orchestras. I often didn’t see the point in studying that. It didn’t change my dance f
On tango happiness and belonging, or why and how to connect
We all come into tango for different reasons. But many, if not most of us remain because of connection. Connection is a powerful and truly beautiful thing, and it’s also the driving force for belonging. Many scientific studies have determined that human’s most basic need is a sense of community. We simply can’t be happy or even function on our own. People who have been deprived of communication for too long experience actual physical suffering, on top of facing complex psycho
Magic, fun and life transformation, through tango.
Not that long after starting to dance tango, I found myself in Rome, in company of loud and cheerful Italians, sitting in a small restaurant in the centre, eating so much (and so cheap) that my body was about to explode, trying to keep up with a conversation without understanding a word of what they were all saying, all at the same time, all 10 of them. No matter what topic was suggested, within three minutes it magically transformed itself into debates about best pasta, pizz
Are you sometimes wondering if you should continue dancing tango? Read this.
This is one of my very first photos in tango. I had been dancing for about 2.5 years then. And I was absolutely not sure that I was an amazing dancer. Millions of doubts and voices telling me I wasn't good. I continued nevertheless. I recently lost a student. We as tango community recently lost a wonderful and exceptionally talented dancer. I could see he would have been able to have a bright and versatile future in tango, in dance. But he quit. He had been dancing for a coup
Buenos Aires Milongas: Dance Till You Drop or On the Difficulties of Having to Choose
You know you're in Buenos Aires when you need an app simply to give you the list of all milongas. Every day I opened the app to see dozens of milongas listed. On average, there are about 30 a day, and it was almost Christmas, mind you, so many Argentinians were already gone and some milongas closed. The choice is overwhelming, and while I know that some are better than others, it is still hard to choose. Many people (including me) end up going from one to another in one night
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
Art, Dirt, Pain and Tango
When I was still an architecture student years ago, we had art classes of all sorts, one of them was still life painting, with oil and watercolour. I wasn't particularly gifted in painting but I was quite exceptional in pen and pencil graphics. The reason I had no future in painting was simple: I couldn't paint with dirt. When you study art and history of it, you can see the trajectory of it is quite chaotic. True geniuses are messy, their ideas are incomprehensible for most
The Most Powerful Thing in All of Tango
I remember it like it was yesterday. We were dancing. The connection was divine. Music was like pulse in our bodies, part of us. It was one of the best dances I’ve ever had. It was so good that I had to sit down and “breathe” a bit afterwards. I was almost moved to tears, and thanked tango gods for sending him my way. What was so special about that dance, you’d ask? What did he do? And I’ll say, “nothing”. Absolutely and literary NOTHING. The dance had moments when he didn’t
Let's Make it Personal - Interview with Maja and Marko
Why do Maja and Marko pay special attention to their clothing? How did Marko start dancing tango (and it wasn't the usual way!), what's the most incredible thing they've tried in their travels, and what is the difference between tango in Europe and tango in Asia?
Surprise! When they were in London in May '18, we arranged a nice relaxed interview with them to get to know them a bit better, and to introduce their less known sides to all of you! Interview was really interestin
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
