The History of Tango in LA: Letters To A Young Dancer

by Oxygen Tango

“You have to know the past to understand the present.” - Carl Sagan

How did Tango in Los Angeles start ? Who were the dancers and community developers who laid the groundwork for the rich and diverse Tango community we participate in and enjoy today ? 

LA Tango dancers Mitra and Holly started wondering about our community's Tango history. Holly started reaching out and interviewing many experts on Tango in LA, including Joan Yarfitz, Loreen Arbus, Linda Valentino, Julie Friedgen, Homer Ladas, and many others, all of whom generously shared their time and their stories. We're so grateful to all of them for all they have done to build Tango in LA. 

In the process, Holly got in touch with Paul Palmintere, who personally witnessed much of LA's earliest Tango history unfold. In this series of open letters, Paul shares with her some personal stories from the earliest days of Tango in LA. We share them with the community here with the hope that learning about where we came from as a community can give us fresh ideas on how we might grow in decades to come. Read the first letter here!  

Paul Palmintere, who currently lives and teaches in Las Vegas, is a long-time tango veteran, and was a founder of the big Los Angeles Tango Community in 1986.  Over the years, he has trained extensively with a great many of the famous instructors of Buenos Aires.  A highly experienced and respected teacher, Paul is well-remembered for his pioneering classes throughout Southern California:  Hollywood, Burbank, Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Redlands, and Palm Springs.

Tangazos: The YouTube Connection (Part 1 of 2)

by Derrick del Pilar

According to the oral traditions and legends of tango, back in old time Buenos Aires when work days and commutes were longer, and people still held local “turf” loyalties, each neighborhood had its own distinctive style of dancing. Back then, so some say, tango contests or tournaments were as important to the egos of local men as fútbol matches and knife fights. An especially good dancer from one place, it is said, would jealously guard his most inventive and spectacular figures, waiting for the chance to show up at a milonga in another ‘hood and show those guys how you really dance tango.

Today, of course, in this era of instant Internet media exchange, all that has changed. Through the miracle of YouTube, we can access videos of today’s most renowned tango performers and social dancers, right alongside the pioneers of bygone days, like Carmencita Calderón, Virulazo, and Antonio Todaro. Dissolved partnerships and dearly departed dancers live on forever in their recorded performances. We can see how various talented tangueros interpret the same piece of music in different, original ways.

And today YouTube can start or fuel musical trends. If a couple performs beautifully to a more obscure piece, another may be inspired to use that same song for their performance, and its popularity can explode from there. Then DJs start incorporating it into their sets, and it becomes a chart-topper and crowd-pleaser at festivals around the country.

For your listening and viewing pleasure, I present these videos of timeless performances to timeless tango songs, so you can see how they do things “over there” in different parts of our tango world. Then you can download the songs, put them on, dance around the room, and see how your own body responds to the same music.

Poema (1935)
Orq. Francisco Canaro, singer Roberto Maida
“Of that intoxicating poem, now nothing remains between you and me...”
Here I present to you the first great hit of the Festival Age of tango. From L.A. to Istanbul to Taipei to Perth, this song has been played in countless performances, classes, and milongas—some might say, to the point of exhaustion. But like any true classic, its beauty and charm still have a place in the hearts and minds of the tango public.

For this iconic song, I have chosen performances by two iconic couples. First are Javier & Geraldine dancing to “Poema.” Watch how delicately they highlight different elements in the rhythm, melody, and phrasing, playing delicately with their feet while keeping their upper bodies connected.

Next are the late great Tete and his lovely partner Silvia. They are perhaps less polished than the younger couple, but they radiate energy and vivaciousness.

Watch what both couples do as Maida holds sings out one long note (“maaaaaal....”) around 1:31-1:33 in both videos.

iTunes album: Poema

Pensalo bien (Think It Through) (1938)
Orq. Juan D’Arienzo, singer Alberto Echagüe
“Think it through, before you follow that track—perhaps tomorrow you can’t turn back.”

This tango is quite famous, in part because it plays a part in a very tense scene (beginning here around 1:36) in Sally Potter’s film “The Tango Lesson.” Echagüe’s nasal voice, D’Arienzo’s driving rhythm...this tango combines the subject matter of lost love with a faster, older style of music.

Here, Aoniken Quiroga & Luna Palacios interpret this music in a way that harks back to the earliest days of strutting, posing tango. Just look at their jump and corte (pose) from 1:10-1:11. They are having loads of fun, doing their very best to hit every little nuance and fill in the music. At 1:42 you can see Luna singing along and wagging an admonishing finger just as Echagüe sings, “Think it through!”

Showing a smoother, more “modern” or “salón” style, we have two young couples, Sebastian & Roxana and María Ines & another Sebastian. Holy smokes, these kids are smooth! Watch how they interpret the end of the same phrase where Aoniken & Luna do their jump (in this video, it’s around 00:51-00:53 in the music). Totally different!

And yet, near the end, when the bandoneón is going crazy with its long run of notes (the variación) watch how both leaders do similar twisty adornments in the center of the couples’ turns.

iTunes album: The Tango Lesson (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Corazón (Heart) (1939)
Orq. Carlos Di Sarli, singer Roberto Rufino
“Give me your strong beating, so I can uproot this bloom of amnesia she has tried to plant over my pain.”

Di Sarli is the master of the piano fill, those little runs of notes that come at the end of musical phrases in so many tangos. Rufino is a smooth vocalist who accompanied D’Arienzo in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s, right at the heart of the Golden Age.

Here we have our first non-Argentine couples, Dominic & Jenna from the U.S. and Patricia & Matteo from Italy. In this song, pay particular attention to how both couples treat those lovely little piano fills. From about 00:47-00:49, Patricia & Matteo take a few small, nimble steps to match the energy of Di Sarli’s nimble fingers on the piano keys. At that same point, though, Dominic & Jenna echo the fill with a long, smooth motion, just as the notes smoothly run up the scale. Both movements, though totally different, match the music. There are many fills in this song, so you can watch how both couples do different things to interpret each one.

iTunes album: Corazón

Golgota (Place of the Skull) (1938)
Orq. Rodolfo Biagi, singer Teófilo Ibáñez
“On this cruel Golgotha, where the most wicked serve as Judge...”

Biagi was D’Arienzo’s pianist from 1935-1938 before forming his own orchestra. This tango was recorded only a few months after “Pensalo bien” (which still featured Biagi’s wizard hands tickling the ivories). His orchestra’s trademark is a surprising use of emphasis on the upbeat, which can sound like little hiccups in the music. His piano fills are not usually as long as Di Sarli’s—whereas Di Sarli is long and smooth, Biagi is sharp and crisp.

For this tango, I have chosen videos by Ney & Jennifer of the U.S. and Detlef & Melina of Germany. Detlef & Melina show us how to beautifully interpret a piece of tango music, with a dance that is composed of 90% walking. They vary the length and quality of their steps to emphasize rhythm, melody, and different instruments at different points of the music. Ney & Jennifer put their own elegant walk on display (especially from 00:50 to 1:00), but incorporate a few more turns and figures. Note how both women keep their feet close to the floor, except when expressing things in the music (watch in particular Melina at 1:14 and Jennifer at 00:43).

iTunes album: Cruz Diablo

Emotional Intelligence for Better Tango Learning - Part 1 of 2

by Andrei Andreev 

Part 1 of 2: Taking a moment for yourself

Sometimes, taking a moment to connect with yourself makes learning with a partner flow again.For many, Tango has a steep learning curve which requires one to pay attention to a multitude of things like movement, posture, the music, the embrace, step patterns, and that's before even mentioning the universe that is one's partner. This process of learning holds the invitation to expand our awareness and challenges us to stretch the limits of our comfort zones.

It is only normal that sometimes, amidst these changes and challenges, we get upset. After all, while watching our abilities grow, we also get to watch ourselves doing things not-yet-correctly, over and over again. Often we can't help but notice that our partners, too, are stumbling and "doing it wrong." For some, these seemingly innocent experiences may trigger old emotional patterns related to situations where we were pushed to learn beyond our natural interests or current capacity, often by the means of shaming, evaluation and even intimidation.

In an ideal world, we would be learning like champions, our minds focused, our bodies flowing, our senses fully alert. We would be able to enjoy each step, knowing that no matter how imperfect, it takes us a step closer to mastery. In reality, it is not uncommon to become impatient: "get it already!"; discouraged "I will never do this right!"; embarassed "I keep stepping on her toes!"; depressed "I am just not good enough;" angry "what an idiot! How can I be so stupid!" Or, we may become frustrated with our partner: "if only he could do it right... once!" Our minds get cloudier, our bodies stiffer, our senses duller. We become less than ideal students and our moments taste nothing like celebration.

How can you find a way to take a moment for yourself, even as you work with a partner ?This is the aspect of learning Tango which I would like to discuss.

While science has already proven that stress and emotion have a great influence on learning, I am excited about having the most enjoyable and flow-like learning process possible, for myself and all my fellow Tango students.

Having studied Nonviolent Communication with a focus on emotional intelligence for the last five or so years, I believe that there are simple approaches we can use when facing our upsets in a constructive way, even in the middle of a busy class. Here’s the first step, deceivingly simple but powerful:

Notice your state of being, acknowledge what's present, feel what it is to be you. And, of course, breathe.

This may be done in a minute or 30 seconds or even 15 when you become more practiced. It is useful to make it a habit to scan yourself in order to notice if something's off. Emotions often manifest as tension, especially in the throat, eyes, solar plexus, belly. Point your attention to the emotion and name it in your mind. "I am annoyed." "I am impatient." "I am sad." "I am anxious." Notice any thoughts passing through your mind: "I'm so slow! Everyone else gets it!" Emotions are almost always related to a harsh thought about ourselves or another. Name the thought: "I am telling myself I am slow."

Once we take a moment to connect with ourselves, the dance can flow easily once again.Then, take a breath and feel what it is to be you, annoyed or with whatever feeling is present. Take a breath and sigh. Observe your body soften and the emotion lose its grip.

In other words, give yourself a moment. A moment of understanding and compassion, a direct doorway to the eye of the storm. This deceivingly simple act brings quick relief to one's inner world especially when practiced without the intention for change. Yes, a contradiction.

Allowing yourself to acknowledge what you feel for a moment, to feel your predicament, is a simple and gentle gesture. A brief moment, a look inside and a sigh can bring peace, presence and awareness back into your learning experience. You may feel more embodied, more relaxed, more "you." Sometimes, even a little helps.

So, next time you start feeling tense or a bit off,

1. Scan your body and mind. Look for tension in the eyes, throat, solar plexus, belly. Notice accompanying thoughts.
2. Notice what's present - e.g., tightness in the throat, feeling of tiredness, maybe discouragement or sadness, a thought: "I'll never get it, I'm so stupid!"
3. Acknowledge - e.g., "I am feeling a little sad. My throat is tight. I am telling myself I'm stupid."
4. Feel what it is to be you, experiencing the emotion
5. Breathe in and let your breath go

A small step for a Tango dancer, a giant leap towards self-mastery!

As you practice, as you become quicker and more precise, take a mental note of the patterns and thoughts you notice. In my next post, I will show you how to see these sometimes uncomfortable emotions as encoded messages from yourself. Messages which we often ignore in our daily lives may turn out to be quite useful once we learn to decode them.

Meanwhile, I invite you to play with the practice above. Give it ten or so tries and notice how it touches you. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Andrei Andreev teaches connected communication to parents, couples and businesses. In his free time he carries a camera and takes photos of dance, such as those featured in this article. He may be reached at Andrei@empathyschool.com.

How to Learn at a Tango Festival - Taking Workshops

by Mitra Martin

Photo by Oscar Chang Photography

After one of the big summer Tango festivals this year, one of my students scheduled a lesson to review work together on what he’d learned in the festival workshops. 

It became clear to both of us that getting something worthwhile out of his festival workshop experience required a better learning strategy. 

We are blessed with so many incredible Tango festivals, filled with brilliantly inspiring teachers from all over. How can intermediate students get the most out of the time and money they spend at festivals ? Here are some things I have found that work for me: 

1. Workshops or social dancing ? Most festivals have really packed schedules. Usually, it’s physically impossible to do ALL the workshops AND all the social dancing. For your health and sanity, I suggest you choose what your emphasis will be. E.g., “I’m planning to dance til 5am every night, spend the days sleeping and eating, and oh yeah I want to make sure I hit that one Alex Krebs technique workshop Sunday at 4pm.” Or, “There are so many teachers here I want to learn from, so I’m coming home from the milongas at midnight sharp so I can show up for classes all shiny-tailed and sparkle-eyed!” You can learn a lot by social dancing, and also socialize a lot in classes; but I’ve found trying to do BOTH in one fest may make you grumpy, or likely to catch a cold!  

2. Choose your workshops. Ask someone you respect for class recommendations. You could ask your teacher or an advanced dancer whose dancing you like. Make it easy -- just show them the festival program on your smartphone at a practica, or bring a printed copy of the schedule. If you’re not sure who to ask, you could watch videos of the teachers and see whose dancing, and what specific aspects of their dancing, you’re attracted to. 

3. Dress Up. Personally, I have found I get more out of festival workshops if I dress a little more festive than usual for the occasion. Tango’s just like that, I guess.

4. Bring Snacks. Apparently, the brain can learn only once stuff like basic survival is taken care of. Bringing along a bunch of granola bars, juice, and salmon jerky (for instance) will help you keep your mind on what you’re learning, instead of trying to figure out how the heck you’re going to find a sandwich before you have to get across East Burnside or even across the hotel. 

5. Learn both roles. If you are already out dancing and learning at festivals, probably you know both roles a bit. If the teacher is showing a figure in the workshop, definitely take the time to understand and practice both roles. Trying out the other role may very well reveal questions that you may need to ask the teacher about, to understand the gist of the figure. 

6. Take notes. Bring a notebook to the workshop and write down everything you can in as much detail as you possibly can, both during and immediately after the workshop. I recommend writing down instructors’ technical words verbatim, because usually they say things a certain way for a very good reason. If a figure is taught, once again, you need to write it down such that you can reconstruct it fully from your notes when you are back at home, whether you are primarily a leader or follower. Writing Tango down is an incredibly useful challenge that enriches and extends your Tango mind. And, by the way, it will continue to be quite tedious until mass adoption of the Tango Fairytale Game. 

7. Make a voice memo. This is the speedier, more high tech version of taking notes: just “explain” to yourself what you just did in a voice memo. Like, talk right into your phone voice memo recorder as you watch someone doing the move and narrate what happens using all your normal terminology, references and vernacular. “Okay, so, step forward, switch with a cross in front, media luna...blah blah blah enrosque the usual type... blah blah...then, that crazy ganchoey thing with the butterfly bit...etc.” Voice memos are also great for recording technique information or technical exercises you have learned.

8. Engage the teacher. Now, having an expert of such rare kinesthetic sensitivity, right there in the same room as you, represents a very special opportunity because of course there is the possibility that you might DANCE it with him or her. Now, don’t get carried away! Festival teachers are not there to provide an amusement park ride for you! They are there to help you learn. So, usually they will be happy to dance it with you if that is the best way they can help you learn. Personally I feel weird about stalking the instructors and just asking “Can I do it with you?” Maybe that would work for someone with a more direct personality than me. For me, instead, I feel like I should earn the instructor’s attention, either through the way I am dancing/working OR through working hard enough until I have a very specific, real, concrete, and authentic question that ONLY the instructor can answer. Once I have that, I make a beeline. Remember, often you get extremely great info from your same-gender teacher.

9. Work with other couples! A lot of times, out of over-politeness, diffidence, or forgetfulness we neglect the humongous educational resource right there in the room with us at festivals: the other dancers! Yes, you are surrounded by other dancers, some of whom have tons of experience, all of whom are working on the same thing you’re working on. So maybe, instead of struggling or asking the teacher right off the bat, ask your neighbor how they are doing with that crazy ganchoey thing. 

10. Make a video. It’s true, sometimes there are these rules about video-ing the teachers. However, you can still video! You can get a video of...YOURSELF (!) and your partner, doing your best roughed-out version the figure. Just ask some nice fellow-workshop participant to videotape you guys. Or maybe better, you can videotape a pair of advanced dancers who looks like they have got the hang of it. 

11. Review within 3-4 days, and again within a week. Workshop gems can go in one ear and out the other if you don’t review it and work on getting it into your long-term memory. Mentally review or rehearse what you learned several times over next 3 or 4 days -- festival prácticas can be a great place for that. When you get home, schedule some time with a practice partner (or maybe your teacher, if you do regular lessons) to work through the material and techniques. Then, practice each thing about 50 times, practica after practica, and get your partners’ input.

Make notes, reviewing, and practicing what you learned does take time. If you take the time to engage the workshop material this deeply, it will be more likely to stick with you and be available to you when you dance socially. It might be wise to take only as many workshops as you can “really” take seriously, so you can be sure you’ll get a lot out of the precious and expensive time you’ve decided to devote to notsleeping, not eating, and not social dancing, at the festival. :) 

I’d love to hear about anything you’ve found that helps you get more out of the festival learning experience!