Osvaldo Pugliese documentary
Osvaldo Pugliese is a name that is synonymous with Tango. Even a rank beginner will quickly learn about his name and be mesmerised by the drama he brings to the dance floor. His music (both his compositions as well that played in his unique style) is probably one of the most favourite in the milongas of Buenos Aires and all over the world.
Recently I bought a documentary featuring the maestro, which is part of a series produced by Solo Tango on some of the major figures in the history of Tango. Right from the first video I received, I was blown away by the really amazing original footages of the best orchestras of the yester-years, which are definitely worth the cost of the video. for the Pugliese video, just picture this: on stage in Teatre Colón, 10 bandoneons passionately blasting the tunes of La Yumba, the Maestro Pugliese calmly stroking the keyboards at the piano. By the way, Teatre Colón is Buenos Aires’ huge performing arts theatre and is the second largest performing arts theatre in the southern hemisphere, second only to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. In addition, there is a rare footage of on-stage presence of Piazzolla and Pugliese together in Holland.
Stepping on the beat
The recent intensive workshops organized by IXI Danza, first with Hsueh-tze Lee in March and, more recently, with Javier Rodriguez and Andrea Missé in May have opened my eyes to many new and exciting possibilities.
I will try to share some of my thoughts on dancing to the beat from a leader’s perspective this time.
Tango love
In the most recent Tango Noticias (the site http://www.tangonoticias.com/ seems dead now 1/2011), the newsletter for the Chicago Tango community, there is an interview with Geraldine Rojas and Ezequiel Paludi. When they broke up with their respective dance partners of many years a little more than two years ago, there was quite a big hooha at the time. Now, we finally get a refreshing glimpse of some of the behind-the-scene events from the two main protagonists.
I think, at the end of the day, dancers (Tango teachers or not) are human beings like the rest of us. It is very easy to confuse Tango-god-like status of some teachers and our selfish desire to see beautiful creations on the dancefloor by various couples with the real needs of these people. After reading their take on the events, I am very glad that both of them followed their hearts and found happiness, off and on the dance floor.
Secrets of close embrace
The five secrets of close embrace according to Hsueh-tze Lee.
- Vertical lift.
- Opposites: Lead/follow exchange; focus forward while moving backward. Waiting mutually.
- Leg power to indicate intention.
- Centre to centre: moving through one’s centre and stay with partner’s centre.
- Maintain a comfortable embrace. After all, this is why we dance in close embrace, no?