A visitor’s experience of Tango in Singapore
Having lived in different cities and also the chance to dance Tango in a few countries, I can certainly relate to the nerves and the insecurities that a new-comer to the scene can experience. Having said that, I was rather surprised and somewhat disappointed to see a “C-” assessment by Dorcinda on her review of Tango in Singapore, albeit from over a year ago.
In particular she cited the following “pet peeves”:
- Unfriendly or “anti-outsider” community.
- Not inviting ladies properly.
- Not finishing the tandas
- Criticizing your dance partner during the dance.
- “A guy who repeats the same move three or more times, cuz the girl didn’t do it right the first time.”
Survival guide for BA
Given the increasing number of Singaporeans who finally managed to make the trip to Buenos Aires (although I still have not made the list yet… 🙁 ) – counting 6-7 in this month alone and perhaps another 6-8 in early 2009 – the following tidbits of information written by a nice English lady who decided to start a new life in BA is highly recommended:
Information for tourists in Buenos Aires by Sallycat
Well, it is much appreciated by me and I am also looking forward to the book she is writing!
Field trip
Will be going to Kuala Lumpur for the weekend to attend the “Extended Tango Weekend with Nazareno Listur Borda and Mariana Mendina Gourgues”, organised by Tango Malaysia. Incidentally, this couple recently competed in the World Stage Tango competition that was part of TREX Games 2008, Busan, Korea – you can read about the competition from the representative for Hong Kong here.
I think this will be a great opportunity to get to know our Tango neighbours so to speak. In the meantime, I am hoping to quickly get over the flu that has been hassling me since Sunday so that I can enjoy my dancing over the weekend!
ps. Just realised that my last Tango trip there was over 4 years ago!
To speak up or not?
As a follow-up to my own brief remarks about a DJ’s thinking process in selecting the right music during a milonga, I will add further if a DJ isn’t playing songs that he/she can personally relate to, it will be difficult to maintain the energy on the dance floor.
On the other hand, I am quite sure that all of us at some stage has experienced music from DJs that we find “disagreeable”, to put it mildly? Mind you, here I don’t mean just a tanda or two, but for the bulk of the night!