Technological Tango
Finally, a real of example of nerdy gadgets for Tango! Actually I am rather doubtful of the benefits of these devices but hey, it’s cool to bring some VR into the real world, no?
ps. For those less familiar with geeky acronyms, HMD = head mounted displays and VR = virtual reality, of course…
Getting around BA
A while ago, while preparing for the upcoming trip to Buenos Aires, I came across the following link at a Tango guest house, where you can some very useful maps.
Map – South side of Buenos Aires
Map – North side of Buenos Aires
Milonga Guide
See if you can spot the famous shoe stores?? 🙂
ps. For me, I am mainly interested in the subway lines and where they may lead to.
Update April 2012: Unfortunately the maps don’t seem to be available any more but these days it’s relatively easier to find resources using Google or Google Maps.
Music and dance style
Locally, there seems to be a common misconception among many beginners and some who has been dancing for a number of years that certain types music can only be danced in a particular way. For example, one misconception is that Golden Age classics can only be danced using a close embrace. On the other hand, one can only dance tango Nuevo, as championed by Chicho, Naveria, etc., to electronic music from, e.g., Gotan Project, Otro Aires, or other contemporary music collectively known as Neo-tango (or simply as Alternative).
However, a quick search through Youtube reveals many fine examples from Chicho, and (two of my favourites) Pablo Rodriguez and Ezequiel Farfaro dancing fantastically and musically to music of “oldies” such as Canaro, Biagi, Di Sarli and D’Arienzo. Here are some examples to illustrate my point. In fact I personally find their performances to classics much more impressive than when dancing to some new-age music… It all boils down to how we are able to interpret the music using the vocabulary at our disposal, and in a way that will not disturb the line of dance (for social dancing).
Chicho dancing a D’Agostino (once the camera stops moving…).
Chicho dancing a Di Sarli.
Habit-forming
Over at Tango Trails, which is a blog I have been following closely that details a Melbourne couple’s 1-year tango journey in Buenos Aires, there is a list of You know you’ve been tangoing in Buenos Aires too long when…..
I wonder if 3.5 weeks will be enough time to pick up some of these idiosyncrasies?? 😉