For those who went to Alberto's milonga last Sunday it was a real treat. Usually it doesn't start getting crowded with the good folk until around 9pm or 930pm, but when we got there at 730pm it was already bustling. The ambience was great... warm, glowing, cozy, comfortable, dazzling. And a ton of great dancers and teachers showed up, including my teachers. I think the big draw was Tete, who I'm not really familiar with, but near the end of the night, both Orlando Paiva Jr. & Laura Tate, and Tete & Silvia gave performances of a tango and waltz each. I had higher expectations of the performances, but it was still awesome to be in the presence of such famous people. Martin and I mingled a lot, dancing each with 7 other people besides each other, which is more than usual, and there were still two people I had wanted to dance with that evening but they left before the night was over (Milonga was extended until midnight since it was so happening). Vijay was also the DJ that evening, and the music was incredibly good (not surprising!) Here are the videos from the performances that night:
Martin and I went to the Late Shift milonga Saturday night, both for the first time in San Francisco. The jury is still out whether it is my cup of tea, but I'll definitely go back again to give it another try. The dancers were good, although mostly I just danced with the same people I dance with in the South Bay, except towards the end I danced with 2 new dancers to me, but the ambience, kind of felt like a basketball gym decorated with red neon lights.
Last night we had a BBQ gathering at our teacher's place to discuss details of our upcoming trip to Buenos Aires. We're definitely really excited now, especially since it's only a month away!
Unfortunately because of the BBQ, we were unable to see the new floor that was put in at Alberto's in Mountain View until tonight. Wow!! It both looks fabulous and feels fabulous. It's definitely comparable to Elaine's Palo Alto milonga floor. Now instead of just having a fantastic floor to dance on a couple times a month in the South Bay, I will have a wonderful floor to dance on 2, maybe 3 times a week between Albertos' and the Palo Alto church :)
My quartet performed at Byington Winery last night and it went really well. It was our third time performing there this summer, and they asked us back again next month, which we will do. My work group actually had an outting there earlier in the day which was fun. We had a potluck picnic at the facilities and then went on a wine tour at 3pm. It was a gorgeous day (a bit hot in the sun though). My boss was psyched to hear us play Stairway to Heaven. He would have loved for us to have played Kashmir, but we will need to practice that again before performing it. It's got a lot of tricky time signature changes and counting.
Tomorrow S is going to have Martin and I over for dinner and then we'll all head up to The Late Shift in San Francisco. I've never been there before, so looking forward to it! Martin and I had a great practice last night at Starlite. A few songs I had lots of fun doing little embellishments here and there. I find I have to delay even more in my follow with the embellishments since you really have to know what's coming next and keep on your toes so to speak to be ready for what comes next. I think we're both having a lot of fun now though. Martin has opened up musically this year, feeling freer to do whatever and try new things. I'm just starting to.
Eight-months into tango and still going strong. Might start venturing up to San Francisco a couple times a month for milongas to explore that territory. Had a fantastic time as always at Palo Alto milonga Friday night. The floor is silky smooth... I love it! Martin only danced with me and didn't feel like mingling, but I got some tandas in with R, F, and a good milonga with B and V. V was trying to mess me up with intricate fast steps, but I think I got 99% of them! It was a lot of fun.
Sunday had two gigs for weddings at Saratoga Foothill Club, and Villa Montalvo. Was a long day. I think I should not do as much gigging next year as it's really involved, especially since I was the one coordinating both gigs.
Then Martin and I went to DanceSport milonga in San Jose. Something felt off last night, but tonight things were back to normal at our privates. Here is some footage of us practicing after our privates.
Took a volunteer time off day today with my co-worker K, and we volunteered for Family Giving Tree. It felt good volunteering, despite the hot stuffy warehouse we were stuck in!
OK, so I guess I found what I was looking for. Information on the break up between Javier and Geraldine. I guess I'm kind of surprised they talked about it publicly in an interview, but I guess that's how it goes with celebrities and it's good to set the record straight against any rumors.
Tonight was a non-tango night for me so I took S to dinner and movie for her bday. We went to see Mamma Mia, a good fun movie (chick flick tho!) Meryl Streep was fantastic as always and gorgeous even in her ratty old blue jean overalls, and I always like seeing Colin Firth since I saw him in Bridget Jones' Diary and Pride and Prejudice. Ever since I got burnt out with work, tango, and music a few weeks ago I've been trying to limit my work at home, such as not logging in and checking emails from home, so I am trying to resist the temptation tonight. I was good this weekend and did not login to work once! I have been enjoying some of the benefits/perks at work such as starting yoga a couple weeks ago. I think these have been the only 3 yoga classes I've ever gone to in my life, but it is relaxing, calming, and invigorating; a nice way to break up the day. While those classes are free, they also offer massage that you have to pay for, but it's at a pretty good rate, plus it's so convenient that I have been treating myself to some short massages here and there to get me through the work week.
Had a good private lesson, class, and practica tonight at Albertos. I sure won't miss the floor though. It kind of spoils it when my foot gets stuck in a seam or I step on my toe and it falls into a hole, albeit these times are few. I worked on more embellishments tonight which felt good and by practica I was really having fun. One time my foot just did something and I didn't even know what it did!
Anyway, here is another video of Javier and Andrea. This video is more my style:
I emailed Javier and Andrea and they graciously emailed me back 24 hours later! Marcelo and Romina will take care of setting up some privates for Martin and Me to take with them while we're there. Alas, Gustavo and Giselle never emailed me back, although they will be traveling while we are in BA, but they will be back here in November. One of Andrea's embellishments looks like her foot is on crack!
Friday's milonga at Palo Alto was small, but I got to dance with several good dancers. Besides Martin, I really enjoyed dancing some tandas with F and V. You know, the floor at Palo Alto is my all-time favorite floor. Feeling it below my feet feels fantastic... buttery but not slippery. Alberto's floor will be redone and expanded in a week or two so hopefully it will be comparable as well. I first started noticing people's dancing styles Friday. While I can't really categorize them into definitive categories yet, I am now becoming aware of the differences. It doesn't necessarily mean that some people aren't good dancers, it just might not be the style of dancing that I gravitate towards (not talking about Nuevo versus Salon, but within each of those). Anyway, new food for thought for myself...
Yesterday I had a trio gig at Mission Santa Clara for a wedding ceremony which went well. We get the craziest requests sometimes, and for this one, they wanted Consider Yourself from the musical Oliver as the recessional song. The arrangement I did sounded good, but the first time we all sight-read it a couple weeks ago, we could barely contain ourselves from bursting out laughing just thinking of them walking down the church aisle to this!
My favorite new pizza place is called Via Mia. They are very generous with their toppings, and my latest favorite combo is zucchini, mushroom, and garlic.
Spent the afternoon at the Palo Alto Obon Festival where I saw Martin's mom perform Koto, Samisen with a group. I stayed and visited with my parents there later over dinner. Usually we go to both the Palo Alto and Mountain View Obon festivals every summer, but this was the only one I was able to get to this year. Well time to get ready for the Mountain View milonga at Alberto's!
Both Martin and I were a bit tired last night (Martin had his first day at his new job!) but there was one waltz that felt divine. Waltzes are my favorite to dance to. Rene was gracious enough to video tape us last night with my camera (non-waltz). It has been a while since we taped ourselves and I already see lots of things for me to work on! My current focus though is to keep my hips facing towards my partner, which I am not doing sometimes in this video.
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If you are in Los Angeles on August 15, please come to my Author Talk at
the Memorial Branch Library, 4625 W. Olympic Blvd. I would love to see you
there!...
Meeting my Match?
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On Sunday, I'm sitting alone at a local *milonga* while my partner goes off
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just st...
Zen Nihon Kata
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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
*Kyoshi* Yuriko Nakamura (Fukuoka) and *Kyoshi* Keiko Fukuda (Nara)
demonstrate Zen Nihon Kata during th...
On the crest of the wave
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I think it's arguable to say that the visibility of tango outside of
Argentina has reached a point not seen in recent memory, perhaps even not
since the he...
