Juan and Sol perform at Alberto's - beautiful rendition of Poema

Beautiful dancers. I'd have loved to take some of their classes but didn't have any time in my schedule. At least I got to see their exquisite performances:


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Diego Blanco and Ana Padrone at Alberto's milonga May 24th, 2009

Please enjoy their performances:


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Back to Tango

After only dancing a few times in the past couple months I seem to have resumed tango in a limited capacity (2-3 times a week as oppose to 4-5 times a week). I went to Late Shift last Saturday and as I was about to leave, Juan and Sol gave a tango performance. I thought they did an excellent job, but did not capture video of it. They will be at Alberto's milonga tomorrow night performing so I hope to catch some footage then.

Life continues to be crazy busy, and I'm greatly looking forward to the week before July 4th when I'll have a few extra days to catch up on things. Work, hobbies, and classes fill my schedule. I'm a bit excited (and nervous) to get to meet Condoleezza tomorrow when my quartet will get to play through some Dvorak and Schumann piano quintets with her. The pieces really speak to me so they have been very rewarding to practice and very fulfilling to play through with my quartet so far. I love music!

Grand Canyon Adventure

In less than a week I finally fly out to the Grand Canyon for my big Team In Training event for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'm pretty excited as this will be my first time traveling to the Grand Canyon, and with the training I've received, I feel very prepared for a full day hike. It's not too late to donate on my Team In Training page http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/CanyonS309/dalrae I can't believe the huge response and support I've gotten from so many people. It has truly been remarkable. Thanks so much to all of you for making this possible!!

Finally, I can start resting a bit and resuming tango again :)

The magnificent Mariela Franganillo & Cesar Coelho performances

I took Mariela and Cesar's workshops both Friday at ODC and their two Sunday workshops at Alberto's. Fantastic teachers with a light and fun demeanor. Great exercises and steps were taught (not too crazy, so they can be repeated at milongas and the such). R and I were going to take a private with Mariela Monday but she had to fly back to New York Sunday night, so she gave a little bit of private tips to me both on Sunday's workshops and at the beginning of the milonga perhaps since we didn't get a private with her. Very useful information that doesn't really complicate or get in the way of my regular way of dancing. I definitely wish to study with them again when they return.

Please enjoy the two videos from their milonga performance at Alberto's from Sunday night (sorry Dropshots cuts out after about 2 minutes):




Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Team in Training

As I train more and more with Team in Training for my big Grand Canyon hike in May, I find many correlations with tango. I can see how athletes push themselves and overdo it, much like I experience and see in the world of tango. I can also see how people get that rush, whether connecting on the dancefloor, connecting with a partner, connecting with the music, connecting with yourself, or connecting with a hiking team, connecting with nature, connecting with oneself (mind and body). It feels good having your body doing things, being active, pushing your limits, new achievements and progress, breathing, and having fun. I guess life is all about experiences, and it's funny how some that are so contrasting can actually be so similar in so many different ways.

If you have a few dollars to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), it will go towards my fundraising event which will be a one day 8-10 hour hike of The Grand Canyon. Your gift is tax deductible and more than 75% goes directly towards research efforts.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/CanyonS309/dalrae

Thanks, abrazos, and good health...



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

The Lovely Alicia Pons and Robert Hauk at Alberto's milonga

My newest favorite dancer is Alicia Pons, and we've had the good fortune of having her and Robert Hauk visiting for a week. I took her class at La Pista last Thursday which was amazing, and also one of her three workshops this past Sunday at Alberto's before the milonga. Here are their performances from that evening at Alberto's milonga:



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Andrea and Gato at Los Gatos milonga

I attended Los Gatos milonga Saturday night at Los Gatos Gourmet. It was fun. A lot of the Alberto's milonga crowd which was nice and many out of towners. Warm feeling, almost like BsAs, and old small crowded floor just like BsAs as well! Andrea and Gatos blessed us with 3 performances! Enjoy.



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Diego and Negracha performance

This is from Los Altos milonga, the Friday before they went back to Buenos Aires:


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Tango Photo Shoot

Martin and I had some tango pictures taken back in December. Here they are!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Jorge Torres's visit

I took all six workshops from Jorge Torres January 24th (Dance Sport in San Jose) and January 25th (Alberto's in Mountain View). He emphasized breathing, relaxation (tension gets in the way of the steps), feeling the earth and using the ground, feeling the music, less is more, sense of self/balance before projecting to another step, and sense of partner. These are all very similar thoughts that my teacher Marcelo has, so it was easy to accept the information. I really liked his style, but wish we could have seen him perform with his wife Chino. Ah well. Please enjoy the videos from the workshops and the last video where he danced at Alberto's milonga with a volunteer from the audience (drats I should have raised my hand!):


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Living Vicariously

So Monday was my last day of tango for 2 weeks. Giving my feet a rest and will return to tango on Sunday or Monday in two weeks. So, I've been watching lots of youtube videos living vicariously and trying to "practice" by watching. I've been looking up Alicia Pons since she will be a visiting artist in a month and found this great video of her and this suave guy, Osky Casas.


and her feet are absolutely gorgeous in this Vals:

Time off from Tango

I've been concerned about my feet, since I've heard horror stories of people finally seeing a foot doctor only to hear they must stop tango entirely, or totally revamp how they go about tango. So I finally saw a podiatrist today. It wasn't so bad. My plantar fascias is tight as are my big toe knuckles, and perhaps a bit enlarged. He recommended some inserts for the sole of my feet which I got at the pharmacy and will try to implement into my shoes (both street shoes and tango shoes). He also recommended at some point for me to schedule a week or two of down time so that my feet can rest and recover instead of going through constant strain every couple days. I'd actually been wondering what life would be like if I didn't dance tango for a week or two. What would I fill my time with? So this is a perfect time to do just that! Of course this will be after I take the already scheduled six workshops with Jorge Torres this weekend, go to Alberto's milonga Sunday night and have my private with Marcelo on Monday. Starting Tuesday I will take a week and a half off though and not start dancing again until the following Friday or Saturday. I am actually excited, first to be taking care of my feet and hope they are happier in the long run, and secondly to catch up on some other stuff in my life: projects, friends, cooking, etc. So I really see this as a good thing. I really need to take some of my existing shoes in to the cobbler to have him customize my shoes so that I have better tango shoes to wear once I resume tango after my break as well. I am actually excited about all this!

My tango kind of had a New Year's breakthrough which I am happy about. I feel so much better about my embrace now. I've been working on my posture, my balance (not leaning too much, or just the right amount), and relaxing my body, specifically my right arm, right shoulder, and having my back breathe and be alive/active while still relaxed. From a class I took with Diego and Negracha, I'm also trying to be conscious of the spirit of the music and of my leader, and bringing that energy to the dance. It is a fine balance. I've had comments in the last week from leaders who can tell the difference in my dance, and praised me for it, so I know I'm on the right track! Martin and I also got several compliments from people last night after practica how our dancing was just "great!" and how they loved our style. So that always feels good to be recognized and hopefully inspire others as well.

Tonight I'll be seeing the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and tomorrow night Gran Torino!

San Diego Tango Festival Performance

Here it is finally:



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

A New Year!

Lots of changes going on in the last few months in all facets of my life. Both my cat and I are greatly enjoying my new apartment and it's so quiet without having upstairs neighbors and a lot of unshared walls now! My cat is more cat-like now instead of on-edge... she's more affectionate and more relaxed. The New Year is off to a great start!

I've kind of shifted my "branching out" schema. This year I actually want to start leading, so I've just started by taking my second class as a leader in Marcelo's beginning/fundamentals class. It's hard because his fundamentals class usually has more leaders so I often feel like I should be a follower for at least part of the time, but his intermediate class usually has more followers. We need more newbie women and intermediate men! I plan on attending more of the weekend workshops though, especially with the visiting teachers. So that is my new course of action!

The weekend workshop idea formulated while I was in San Diego this past weekend attending the tango festival there, and Robert Hauk was there who I danced with at the milonga for the first time on the first night and enjoyed his connection, intimacy, and smaller unobtrusive steps. Unfortunately I didn't make it to his workshop the 2nd day, but later found out he'd been in the bay area just a month ago, where he recognized me from Alberto's where he'd DJ'd around Thanksgiving. I think we are really lucky in the bay area to get some great visiting artists so I want to take advantage of that more instead of traveling to so many places where it can be so costly paying for airfare and lodging. I do think I'll try to go to the San Diego tango festival again next year though since I had a good time and it's not that far away, plus I have a couple friends I can visit there as well. I feel so indebted to Fabienne who helped Brigitta teach the two workshops I took on the first day. I'd always known my back and arms were a bit stiff and am always thinking and trying to "relax". But she helped me make it happen by telling me to let my back "breathe". For some reason, like clockwork it just makes it relax even though I'm not thinking about relaxing but having my back "breathe". What wonderful results!

Through facebook.com I reconnected with an old friend dating back to elementary school whom I haven't seen in probably over 15 years. She'd just moved back ot San Diego so we had a lengthy dinner together to catch up. Ah, the wonders of the internet!

Over the holidays I watched the entire Season 1 of Chuck as well as what was online for Season 2, so now I'm a Chuck addict. I'm wondering if all of Season 3 of Heroes will still be up online for me to watch this week and next since I haven't watch any of the current season yet!

It was a bit of a shock to go back to work today after being on vacation for 1 1/2 weeks, but in a way it was nice to get back to a groove/routine again instead of having so many unstructured holiday days. Now I just need to transition from going to bed at 3am/4am in the morning and waking at noon, 1pm, etc. to a bit of an earlier schedule! Happy New Year! I'm sure this will be the best year yet :)

Semi-vision and branching out

So I'm not quite sure what it's called, but for now I will call it "semi-vision". I've noticed in the last couple weeks this is what I tend to do when I dance... closing my eyes, but actually keeping them ever-so slightly open so I can barely see just a little bit or a blur in front of me. I have now become very aware of this because I'm not sure if I really look like my eyes are closed or if I look like I'm in this strange in-between state that probably looks quite odd to people! But that is where I naturally tend to gravitate towards as of late.

Romina has not been around too much lately so I am starting to branch out and try out other teachers. I went to David and Mariana's Monday night class this week in Oakland for the first time and really enjoyed their class. They seem like very involved and dedicated teachers, and I got a lot out of their class and feel I could learn a lot of good functional things from them. Unfortunately it is a bit far for a weeknight and conflicts with my current long-standing Monday class with Marcelo and practice time with Martin, so I probably won't be going to that again. I would like to find a competent leader to go to their Advanced couples only classes Tuesday nights though. Other teachers I plan to check out in the next few weeks are Lisette, Mayumi, and Diego/Negracha. I really liked the Milonga traspie class I took from Diego and Negracha a few weeks back. Have not been dancing much these last two weeks, but will probably get back into full swing next week. I am also moving to a new apartment in 2 weeks so I am busy packing and getting rid of a lot of junk.

My One Year Tango Anniversary

Today marks one year since I first stepped foot into Marcelo and Romina's Steppin' Out studio for my first Argentine tango class. I remember deciding I wanted to take Argentine tango so I googled all the possibilities in the South Bay that I could attend the following week. Tuesday was going to be Steppin' Out, Thursday would be Starlite, and Saturday or Sunday somewhere in San Jose. At the beginning of the first class I felt very overwhelmed and lost... this is not easy stuff! But even by the end of the first class, with Marcelo and Romina's style and guidance I was able to feel the connection and feel a sense of small improvement over the course of an hour... I was elated with this newfound activity! Thursday's class was a bit discouraging. I suddenly had to learn this "basic ocho" pattern that is used as a teaching mechanism by some teachers... front, side, back, back cross, yadda. I didn't feel as much of the connection that I had earlier in the week. Then on the weekend I actually forget where I went, but it wasn't for me. I couldn't wait to get back to the Tuesday class the following week... but I only had a couple more classes until they went back to Argentina for a few weeks over the holidays. I was definitely in withdrawal already!

I've been one super lucky gal in many ways:

To have discovered Marcelo and Romina from the beginning... I feel I have a strong foundation from which to work. Some dancers have been dancing for years and don't walk away with these essential fundamentals, only to discover and learn them later. I highly recommend them as teachers, and they are also just super nice and approachable people. They teach Monday nights at Alberto's club in Mountain View, but also teach weekly in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, and Lafayette (and no they didn't pay me to advertise for them hehe). Still lots to learn though and work on.

I was also blessed to have been asked and persuaded to be Martin's dance partner after only having danced 6 weeks. It was funny having this experienced dancer trying to sell himself to me and telling me why I was gold to him. His years of experience and expertise on both the lead and follow helped me progress at a rapid pace and helped mold me into the dancer I am now. I couldn't have asked for a better situation as a newbie! I remember I didn't even know the names of steps so I'd have to ask how the step goes where he hits my leg and then it goes around in a circle from front to back, or that thing where my leg whips back and then forward. We had some funny conversations, but he was extremely patient and accommodating and still is.

I remember being really nervous going to milongas by myself last December. I was on my way to Tarragon milonga for the first time, but when I arrived I discovered I'd left my wallet at home! Not having really met anyone in tango yet since it'd only been a couple weeks I didn't know anyone I could borrow money from so I had to drive back home to get my wallet. After retrieving my wallet, I remember driving back to Tarragon thinking, "what the hell am I doing?" See, usually I am not a very social person, but with tango I started to become more social. I kind of had a reality check that night though and almost didn't go back to the milonga... me, being social? and dancing with all these strangers? What had I gotten myself into? Oh, and since it was December, it was also my birthday month, so they had this birthday waltz. I remember boldly going up to the front to help blow out the candles and then was told that people would take turns dancing a Vals with me. A vals?! I only knew a little tango, and quickly whispered to the first guy, "sorry, I don't know waltz, only tango" to which he replied, "you'll be fine... just follow me" and it was alright. Of course now I know that tangos consist of the tango, vals, and milonga :)

For New Year's Eve, I dragged myself alone to Alberto's New Year's Eve milonga. That night was amazing though. I met some dear groups of people that night who have stood by my side as friends to this day. Suddenly I went from being awkwardly alone to gabbing it up with a bunch of gals. Then it was 2009.

For my one-year celebration, everyone was busy, so I went to Cell Space by myself. At first I just sat there, but then after the first tanda I kept getting asked by guys to dance and got a good 2 hours of almost solid dancing in which was great. The music is so-so (not the classics I'm used to) but everyone is friendly and nice there, and since it wasn't as crowded as usual, we could use the space more which was nice. I'd only been to Cell Space once before and it was enormously crowded. I remember several times my foot would wind up off the main floor since we were pushed to the outermost edges of the dance floor!

I can't say things just came easily to me. I put in a lot of hard work, and so did my teachers and dance partner, Martin. From the very first week I danced 4 or 5 times a week, going to every class or milonga I could find in the southbay. The multiple classes quickly got replaced by practice time with Martin. Now I'm taking privates with my teachers twice a month and practicing once or twice a week, plus going to 1 or 2 milongas a weekend. The hardest thing is probably finding balance in my life. So many of us get bitten by the tango bug and it is such a friendly addiction that we don't notice other things in life passing us by. Tango becomes our world. Actually the hardest thing is probably finding tango shoes that fit my feet, but that aside, it's been an incredible year for me and I look forward to another exciting and eye-opening year.

Keep your friends close, but your tango shoes closer :) Breathe, relax, connect, and have fun! See you on the dance floor...

Tango Performance Debut!

Last night I had the honor of being a guest violinist with Marcelo Puig and Bocha Lopez at Studio Gracia's milonga. We kind of just threw it together last minute so I was incredibly nervous, wishing there'd been more time to prepare, but it actually went really well and I might actually do something like that again! Many thanks to all my friends who showed up to support me (even some non-tango friends!) It was my first time at Studio Gracia and I had a good time. I even took Negracha and Diego's intermediate class on Milonga traspie, which was a lot of fun. And evidentally Studio Gracia always is decked out with food and drinks so no one will ever go hungry! There were empanadas, quiche, croissants, watermelon, and lots more throughout the night. I got a lot of dancing in too which was fun, and helped keep me warm when my fingers started getting cold before playing violin. I have video footage of Negracha and Diego's performances, but I'll post that another night.

Lots to remember from tango tonight: continuing to rotate/turn and not stop in the middle even if the leader stops, keeping my right shoulder forward, continuing my follow even during an embellishment or embellishments (before I think I would stay static until I was done with my embellishment and then move with the leader but I need to continuously move with the lead throughout my embellishment), and of course the omnipresent DELAY. Often it seems the more I learn, the more I see how much more there is still to learn! But it's great, powerful stuff. What was life like before tango was in it?

The Amazing Gustavo & Giselle!

Had a really great treat to see the phenomenal Gustavo Naveira & Giselle-Anne tonight at La Milonga de Nora at Allegro in Emeryville. Had a fun time carpooling up with 5 other tango friends.

Enjoy!




Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Tango and Music Merge

I went to Lafayette for Marcelo's class and milonga. They had a pretty decent turnout! Another Marcelo who I'd met once before invited me to play violin at Studio Gracia on November 23rd with his group, so we'll discuss more, and maybe I will! This is pretty exciting since it would really bring my love for tango and music full circle. But not sure I'm cut out for it... we'll see.

I've been struggling in my dancing lately with the embrace... to lean or not to lean. That seems to be my question as of late. I've been taught a very milongeuro style with much lean, but now I need to distinguish between when that is good and when I should not lean so much and be more on my own axis. Also, Martin has been throwing much larger steps and gestures at me, which is also a different style of dancing. I've been so used to the small subtle gestures and steps. Anyway, this is all new as of the last week or so, so I'm sure in time it will all settle in.

Tomorrow my quartet is playing for an hour at Barnes and Noble which should be fun, prior to which I'll be seeing my niece's soccer game.

Been listening to Piazzolla's Homenaje Adios Nonino Y Sus Temas Mas Recordados album, my favorite song being the 8-minute Adios Nonino Tango. Genius!

Greatly looking forward to Alberto's 1st anniversary milonga this Sunday in Mountain View - yay!