Gonga's Blog

2011-12-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

En obras artísticas donde está claramente preestablecido hacia donde vamos es fácil sumarse o no. En cambio en aquellas que se basan en la investigación y en procesos creativos de grupo, el futuro es mas incierto. Como referencia o garantía uno solo tiene el historial de producción de los convocantes.

Para mi es como una apuesta, el miedo de arriesgar tiempo o dinero es alto, entonces solo unos pocos se suman, si el producto final (o intermedio) es bueno son muchos mas los que quieren sumarse; en especial cuando pueden sentir que son parte creadora, sin haber estado desde los inicios.

La cuestión es que cuando la parte mas engonrrosa, la de la investigación, ya se encuentra resuelta, el proyecto ya se ve mejor, los ensayos son mas entretenidos y hay menos incertidumbres. Y es entonces cuando mas fácil es para los convocantes atraer nuevos artistas.

En este punto, los creadores, si necesitan artistas, tienen un abanico de opciones y escogerán a aquellos con los que mantienen mejor vínculo o bien los mejores performers.

Cuando uno, como performer, no está entre los mas virtuosos de su generación, tener un buen ojo y una actitud analítica para descubrir cuales pueden ser buenos proyectos y apostar es importante. Hay quienes apuestan todo a la suerte, hay otros que aprenden a contar las cartas.

De lo que estoy seguro es que para estar en proyectos que hagan una diferencia es menester juntarse con quienes quieran hacer una diferencia en los primeros pasos de cada búsqueda y dar el 100%

Es fácil sumarse a proyectos que están buenos, lo difícil es crearlos. Y crearlos es el camino de los que arriesgan.

Gacetilla de Prensa 1905

2011-10-14T07:50:00.001-07:00

En el corazón del tradicional barrio de La Boca, a orillas del Riachuelo, rodeado de casas de madera y chapas pintadas de colores, respirando la historia de Maradona y el mismísimo Gardel, se levanta el gran estadio del Club Atlético Boca Juniors, conocido popularmente como "La Bombonera".Animados por el vinculo del barrio con el tango y la pasión desbordante por el fútbol, nace 1905Tango de la mano del grupo Kambras. Por primera vez, dos grandes pasiones argentinas juntas en un solo lugar.

El Show

Se trata de una experiencia inigualable que permitirá al espectador experimentar las dos facetas del tango actual: lo popular y lo virtuoso. 1905Tango, ofrece un grito de expresión donde la fusión artística late al compás de los corazones de los miles de hombres y mujeres que cada domingo, viven, ríen y lloran por la pasión inigualable del fútbol.La exelencia de los artistas y la trama original, marcan la diferencia. El show está conformado por tres parejas bailarines, un trío de música en vivo (bandoneon, violín y piano) y un dúo de guitarra y guitarrón a dos voces.

El espectáculo recorre un cuento narrado en tres partes sobre uno de los mas grandes bailarines de tango del la historia, El Cachafaz. Se suman algunas canciones de fútbol como El Sueño del Pibe y La Cumparsita a forma de relato de fútbol radial. Los bailarines realizan coreografías grupales e individuales y los músicos temas instrumentales; todo encerrado en un repertorio tan entretenido como original.

El aperitivo y el tour
Durante el show se tiene la posibilidad de disfrutar de un aperitivo y combinar esta actividad con las que cuenta el club como ser las visitas guiadas por el Museo Boquense y el estadio.Este es el primero de los eventos culturales que ofrecerá el restaurante y confitería, 1905, a fin de acercar al público local y extranjero dos íconos de la cultura popular porteña: la magia del estadio de fútbol mas importante del país y el tango en todas sus expresiones: canto, música y baile.

Cuando
A realizarse los días martes17 hs: visita al museo y tour por el estadio o clase de tango18 hs: Aperitivo18:30 Show
Precio: desde $150 pesos.Estreno: 18 de octubre de 2011.

Para reservas, comunicarse al 4300-6284 o 1533148412o escribir un mail a 1905@bocajuniors.com.ar"1905" Restaurante Oficial Club Atlético Boca JuniorsBrandsen 805 1° Piso - La Boca
Kambras producción: info@kambras.comteléfono: +54 11 153-314-8412Prensa: Pamela Damia prensa@kambras.comteléfono: +54 11 1556692487

Kambras
Es un grupo de artistas y productores que tienen el objetivo de hacer que la creatividad se vuelva material. Cuentan con artistas invitados de diversas disciplinas creando producciones propias en géneros como tango shows, video-danza, espectáculos teatrales, performances y video animación. Kambras es tal vez una puerta que lleva a un mundo igual a este pero más vivo, con algunas cosas que desentonan con el sentido común, pero no incomodan.

El Director
Gonzalo Orihuela: Director teatral y coreógrafo. Comprende el baile en dos áreas, el escénico y el social; busca utilizar el tango como medio expresivo para hablar de otros temas.Dirigió “Resurrección Urbana” y “El Sonido de las Caricias”. Con “1905Tango” busca un show mas íntimo, que acerque a los artístas y al público, poniendo bajo la lupa detalles, que en los shows convencionales, suelen pasarse de alto.

Ficha Técnica:

Idea y dirección: Gonzalo Orihuela
Coreografías: Moira Castellano y Gonzalo Orihuela
Asistencia general: Solange Chapperon
Asistentes de producción: Germán Marteau, Paula Pandol y Pamela Damia
Prensa: Pamela Damia
Elenco:
Cantantes: Varnerín - Fuertes
Músicos: Dúo Ranas,
Bailarines: Sabrina Masso, Pablo Alvarez, Leo Pankow, John Galindo, Guillermo Cerneaz, Noelia Barsi, Giovanna De Vicenzo, Pamela Damia
Vestuario: El Enganche
Diseño de escenografía e iluminación: Gonzalo Córdoba
Producción: Kambras y 1905 Restaurante CABJ

Paul's back pain

2011-10-14T05:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Paul is in a lot of pain at the moment. This got me to sit down and start writing the different things I've learned in the past 14 years of back pain coming and going.

I got 3 hernias when I was 16, I kind of got rid of the problem several years later and 4 years ago I provoked one of them to spread to the other side of my spine. This has kept very active in fixing my body and getting friendly with it.

So here goes some advise:

When it comes to strong back pain your worst enemies are laziness, self pity miss treating your self (ignoring the signs your body gives you).

Back pain is kind of a mysterious thing. Doctors can find where the pain comes but mostly they have no idea how to fix it. Alternative treatments usually say, no medicamentes, no this no that and don't help much more either. It seams to be that one same injury/hernia in the spine and provoque to completely different pain reflexes.

Others can help you, but the chances of finding someone that can really help you are not big the best thing to get on is to fix your self.

Some tips:

Get working (or find someone who does) on your Fascias If you feel your skin is sticked to your spine, massage it. If you have scars any where and the skin is all cramped together work on it till it gets soft (this can take weeks)
I use "Taping" as soon as pain starts. I apply it my self, guided by a book, but in Europe you can find lot's of physiotherapist that know the technique. I buy mine here
Ibuprofen is the typical drug doctors give you. I don't really know if this helps any one. If it does help you please give me your feed back. To me it just makes things worse.
At some point, when I have that unstoppable pain that makes me cry at night and makes me feel the loneliest person in the world, I've really hated this drug. I prefere to have something stronger, morfin based, that will allow me sleep for one day and then get up. Start moving very slowly and getting in to activity (doing stuff to fix my self) till the pain starts going away. Dangerous side, it's incredibly addictive, one week and your body is hooked to it. It can make some people feel very bad and your not allowed to drive. Doctors give it to you just if they are very sure you need them and you can handle them. Don't smoke, don't drink.
Stretching. Softly. Every now and then during all day. We don't want to much pain. You will realize there are two kinds of pain when you do this. One, the one that comes from the injury. Be gentle, but get over it. And one which comes from the contracture. We have to work on this last one. For every stretch you do think in back, front, left and right. Stretch left leg backwards then the right, and then both forward. My favorite exercise is to lie down in front of a doorframe. Lift up one leg against the wall and stretch it, and the other one remains on the floor stretched. In this way one leg is stretching against the wall and the other one is resting, stretched throughout the doorframe. If it herts a lot keep distance from the wall so that you don't have to list your leg so much.
Another exercise is to sit on the floor with legs stretched forward in a way that your ischions will be on the floor. Your back should be upwards perpendicular to the floor. Then move your left leg forward a bit, always keeping both stretched, then do the same with the right then again with the left and so on. You will start moving forward like a locomotive. Always keep your 90° position in relationship with the floor. Onces you've moved a couple of meters forwards start doing it backwards. Repeat 3 times in each direction.
After siting on a chair, when you stand up, decompress the lumbar area by making a small arch backwards with your back. In a way that you face will be almost in direction to the roof.
Yoga. This is not the same as just stretching. This is when you can really go for it! As soon as you are good enough to move your self out of the house and get in to some kind of transportation you are ready to start.
Educate your everyday movement. Don't walk fast. Stand up slowly, find a way of doing it with no effort and don't lean over the table. Don't hold your head with your hands. When you sit, try to find your ischium bones and sit on them. At the orthopedics you can find inflated round cushions that are very goo for training the way we sit. A couple of minutes a day make a difference.
Gyrokinesis. Gyrothonic, Pilates are good training for your back to avoid the problem to return.
"Ozone Therapy" for Lumbar Disk Herniation. I've heard incredible good things about this. If there is anyone in town you does it you should try it immediately.

I have to go back to work now. Tomorrow I'll upload some photos and exercises.

Encourage Ideas

2011-09-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

Leyendo un e-book me encontré con esté párrafo que me gustó mucho para aplicar a los ensayos de la nueva obra que estamos creando con Kambras.

5. Encourage other people’s ideas. Never criticize.

If you think an idea isn’t that great, how can you build on it or spin off it to make it something better? That positive vibe will only encourage people to throw more ideas on the table. Don’t be “that guy” who criticizes everyone else’s and your own ideas.

Y me puse a pensar:

A veces, nosotros, cada uno a su manera, caemos en decir que no nos gusta algo o que tiene una falencia, que es grasa o que puede tener un efecto negativo, cuando es solo una idea suelta. Esto tiende a 'cortar' y lo que es peor a darle al otro inseguridad sobre lo que se le vaya ocurriendo. Quizás estaría bueno entrenarnos en no destrozar la idea del otro sino en transformarla. Deshacernos un ratito de nuestros prejuicios. Después, si la idea va tomando forma y se convierte en hechos, siempre tenemos tiempo de estar en desacuerdo. Necesitamos trabajar sobre cientos de ideas malas para cuando llegue una buena estar ya entrenados en como llevarla a ser un proyecto.

Conclusión: me parece que todavía, tenemos que ejercitar tirar mas ideas y buscar desarrollar, en teoría, las ideas propias y de los demás.

Changing partners

2011-04-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

I’ll ask them to change partners every two songs. My interruptions for making corrections will be only after the couple has danced 1 out of 2 pieces already. In this way each dancer will have the chance to try the observations or exercises with at least 2 partners.

Changing partners:

Encourages clearness of leading and following.
Challenges and avoids bad habits to stick
Changing partners encourages students to socialize.

If the group becomes a GROUP the number of quitters will decline incredibly.

The social aspects

2011-04-17T01:04:00.000-07:00

Following the dance flow

When I teach beginners they have to walk following the square or rectangle shape of the dancing floor. It will be done in opposite direction to the clock. It’s just our way of fighting time in an attempt of making it go slower.(*)

I do my best to avoid allowing them adopt bad habits. Looking to the floor is not an option. Once we get used to it it’s very difficult to get rid of it. There are no answers to the problem written on the floor. We are training our sensibility. Learn to feel not to see.

Depending on the amount of students I will ask the group to make one or two lanes and not to overtake each other neither to slowdown the way for those who come behind them. I, as the teacher, will stand in the middle of the room surrounded by the dancing couples who move in these one or two lanes. The space left in the middle is my sector, the challenge for them is not to loose their own lanes and invade then mine, unless of course that asked to do so. When ever I correct somebody and I need to go in to details, to avoid disturbing others, I will bring the couple in to my sector. And ask them to go back to their lane once we have finished clearing the doubts.

Social aspect is important cause once students learn to deal with the social restrictions of the space it becomes much easier to dance. Why?

Because we don’t have to worry for the others any more. It happens automatically, it flows.

The social aspects push creativity so students have to start working on sizes and directions and they encounter the need of making choices. Indirect teaching

(*) Desde la primer novela aun no editada de Diego Riemer

Reasons for stopping

2011-04-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Our teacher can tell us we should do something while dancing and we might learn it but the best way I find for learning is when I have two options:

if I do it as told it works
if I don’t it does not.

I want them to find quality of movement so I insist on starting and stoping. And I don’t want them to move by consequence but by decision. There are many good reasons why beginners should learn starting and stoping. I’ll write a new post specially about that any time from now.

In the very crowded Bs As milongas we learn starting stoping and direction changes as soon as we try to dance in the milonga. We have to, there is no other chance for a beginner. In many European milongas it’s not necessary because in most salons there is so much space that you can start walking in any direction at the first difficulty.

We have to build rules and exercises to teach it when students will not learn from the milonga.

To dance always in one lane in a harmonic relation with their fellow dancers

I like working with an exercise I call my best friends. I’ll try to go deeper in that one as soon as possible.

Collecting feet

2011-04-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

Tips to work on their posture

Our posture and our movements are based on a succession of tensions that take place in our body. If we change some of these tensions the whole system will most likely be affected.

In most cases when students have their feet at ‘home position’ or are collected and have already been dancing for at least 3 or 4 lessons I ask them to put their feet together totally, meaning no V position, no 1cm separation in between one foot and the other. The contact should be absolute.

This is not natural and not comfortable at the beginning, and it’s unstable unless we stand straight in a ‘nicely’ build posture. So if I manage to get them to do this their bodies, by reaction, will find the best posture to be able to keep the balance in very few minutes. If they look to the floor they will loose their balance, if their shoulders are not lined they will loose their balance. If their hip is not lined they will loose their balance. It’s so obvious that the body corrects it immediately. I have to insist in this several lessons cause they forget very easily to collect. But if I’m persevering in short they will learn it and by consequence they will have, basically, a nice posture. Once they have a nice posture while dancing I don’t care that much what they do with their feet. (indirect teaching)

It’s important to make it clear, this should just be when they are ‘collected’ already at ‘home position’. No one needs to rush in to the collect position during the whole dance. I will only teach this when students have already learnt to "collect in a musical way" and harmonically with their partners.

Starting and stoping

2011-04-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

More Tips

I'm back in BA working in the new production after the tour with El Sonido de las Caricias. I'll try to keep it going from now on with the posts. Let's see how it goes :/

According to how I define tango I find it very useful to teach beginners first how to start moving and how to stop moving.

One of the main things students learn in their first lesson with me is to shift weight with their partners, to walk, to stop, to shift weight and to walk again.

I put maxims and I challenge them to keep them. I tell the leader:

“You can shift your weight 1, 2 or 3 times not more. Then you can walk and give 1, 2 or 3 steps before collecting and changing again.”

They will learn by this, ‘intentions’ of leading and following and it will make it easier to them to be on the beat and to find the ‘yumba’ of the music. I will make sure they do not break the rule.

There will be two other things I will almost always ask my first lesson beginners to do: to go slower or faster if I realize they are having difficulties with the music, but I will not talk about beet or ‘listening’ in any moment.
The other thing I will ask them is to stop dancing when the music stops.

All this are examples of Indirect teaching

Replacing the No

2011-03-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

For many people starting to dance is not easy. Specially for men. Learning something as a grown up makes it even tougher. So I try to encourage them. To make them feel positive about their decision of dancing. I realize that students appreciate when I have a positive approach. What I mean is I try to avoid saying things such as "No" and "not", specially at the beginning.

It's interesting to give it a try. Some teachers, specially those that don't speak very well the language they're using for teaching, tend to use these words very much.

Can we teach saying things like, "yes! and now...", "great, now let's try including..."or "ok, how do you think...?", in stead of "ok, now don't do ....", "not like that", "it's not right"or "yes, that's ok but now don't...".

To me it helps massively to find an encouraging way of teaching which builds on.

I realize when I've build a lesson or an exercise carefully I don't need to tell our students not to do something. If I did it very well, sometimes I don't even need to talk very much during the lessons :) The work I propose to them will guide them by it's self.

The big Picture - Beginners

2011-03-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

A problem which we explain to our students how to solve before they even realise exists s not solved.

A teacher who teaches a dance tip thinking he is teaching a concept can damage the future learning process of he's students. "The big picture!". I find the main risk in confusing one with the other. I've never done it and I hope I never do it again :)

Transmitting our students our questions and teaching the latest trend can be great for most dancers but beginners need certainty. They need to jump in the dancing floor after the first lesson and they need to know how to improvise asap.

It's not easy to keep up posting so often :) Till Wednesday I can keep up with this rhythm. Then the tour of Caricias starts.

Didactic Tips 1

2011-03-13T03:36:00.000-07:00

During the last days I decided to start posting some notes about teaching beginners. I think amateur teachers perhaps could find some of these tips handy.

Confusing my students
If I make a general correction to a group I might be making those who do not have the problem think they do have it too. By the need of solving an un-existent problem these students might create a problem. If I don’t know how to avoid letting them think that they have to work on that too I’d just avoid announcing it as a general correction. Instead I would go to all of those who do have the problem and correct them one by one.

At the end of the day positive attitude and a well built lesson make the difference to me. The main thing I need is that I really have to know what is it that I’m going to teach them.

Direct and Indirect Teaching

2011-03-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

In the movie Amelie, there is a great scene in which a voice in off explains how every time her father touched her, her heart would race. Cause he just touched her once a year. And then the reason he touched her was that being a medical doctor he would do a annual medical exam to her. Cause of the speed of her heart beating he treated his daughter as a fragile young girl with heart problems. And that was how she was raised.
People in lessons feel observed and challenged and might not reach their maximum capacity. Many people have ghosts when it comes to taking lessons. Therefore especially with beginners it’s important to include lots of indirect teaching. They learn one thing while we actually are teaching them two or three other things too. context, community

Indirect learning
Comes from the same idea that would apply on how children learn their first language. Many variables such as Context, Practice, Exchange and Skills influence this process.

The thing students ‘discover by their selves’, or that they copy from their teachers and pars unconsciously by feeling or seeing them continuously. It’s also what students learn by consequence of a certain exercise that has nothing to do with the new knowledge it’s self. I ask them to step in a comfortable step forward starting with the heel as in normal street walking. By consequence many students learn to reach their access during movement or to change the amount of tension they put on their shoulders and arms. What they do is not important for me generally speaking but by asking them something specific such as how to put their feet I have indirectly affected their way of embracing or their access.
Indirect teaching is when the teacher can create situations for these variables to take place or guide their students in this process.

Direct learning
Is what I call when students are told exactly what they need to know or learn or pay attention to. It’s when I show them how to move a part of my body and I talk about it. How to relax shoulders and I give them exercises that imply their shoulders. The student knows that we are working on his shoulders in this moment.
“We will collect our feet!” And then I’ll collect mine. I say and I show. Its a clear example of direct teaching.

When I tell them to collect their feet cause I want them to lift up their head so they don’t fall wile turning I’m just creating a situation that will help them to improve their posture and therefore their balance. Maybe what I taught them directly was not even necessary by it’s self, but it might have been much faster than to try to work on balance exercises.

Technique

2011-03-11T04:43:00.000-08:00

How and when?
If technique is not practical it can stop and block the development of fluidity of dancing and expression. Lot’s of knowledge but no possibility to apply it. It’s not difficult to find people who studied music for years and can’t improvise one note after the other. Teachers have to be very careful on how and when they transmit technique to their students. I'm not even going in to which technique is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ just when and how to transmit it.

If I try to do something better before I can even do it I might never get the taste of it.
When I was a teenager I quit my music studies after more than 2 years without being able to play one song. Never the less I was capable of giving tips to any of my friends on how to improve their technique on the electrical bass.

All technique which can be transmitted indirectly will save both teachers and students a lot of troubles and frustrations. Complicated technique lessons for beginners in which students are shown how they 'should move' are useless and most times harmful. Most beginners do not need them. Let’s leave that for middle, high and professional level dancers. (check post What do beginners need)

I find useful giving them sequences which will not encourage bad habits yet. Invite them to find variations to these sequences. Ask them to keep their head up every time they look down and to bring their feet together when they are standing at 'home'. And to make it all sharing the room with other dancers and to do it following the social aspects of the dance. Are some of the things I do to get dancers dancing well and soon.

Beginners must not feel the load of technical details. It must not be their responsibility to train it consciously. I find it my responsibility to find the way to transmit technique in the exercises and structure of the lessons in an indirect way. Students must keep interested and the learning process has to be dynamic and practical. Beginners have to be able to apply what they learn to the dancing as soon as possible.

What do beginners need?

2011-03-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

What do my beginners need to be capable of jumping on a dancing floor, have fun and harmonically interact with others?

I believe they need to learn to move with their couples improvising on patterns which the leader suggests and followers interpret. The leader needs to be capable of deciding out of 4 options ‘who and when’ does what. Who does side steps, back steps, forward steps or pivots. And then he has be capable of transmitting it to he’s partner.

They need to do it at the same moment they share the room with other dancers. The situation demands the skill of dancing in one same lane which is in parallel to the edge of the dancing floor and always flowing in an opposite direction to the clock.

I should help them to do all of this at the same time that they keep the parallelism in between the line of their shoulders and hips with the line of the floor (a rule which has its exceptions).

As a teacher I'm also responsible that my students don’t hurt them selves in the process or adopt postures that can be prejudicial for their health in short or long term.

I like my students to feel nice when they dance. If it does not feel good it’s not right.

Improvisation

2011-03-09T10:08:00.000-08:00

To me improvisation does not mean absolute freedom. To me improvisation is choosing in between movements and patterns and it is playing with the possibilities that structures give us. Now and then I find it necessary to filter some personal thing in between the gaps one can find in between one structure and the other, in between one pattern and the other.

I like to compare the improvisation in Tango with other things we can improvise on, once we’ve learnt them, such as a language or a musical instrument.

Technique in instruments allows us to perform in a better way and phonetics in a language allows us to be understood.

Grammatik allows us to understand the rules on which we can improvise just like harmony helps us understand how to combine sounds.

Letters and notes are the tools with which vocabulary and chores are built on.

Conversation just as playing an instrument allows us to use all these things in a fluid and practical way.

Tango works under this same precept.

In tango we improvise on 4 movements (notes, letters) x 2 (leader and follower) building sequences. We change sizes, qualities, shapes and directions of these 4 x 2 movements.

We rely on combinations and structures that we know work and we find small variations to them. We become fluid. And as more fluid we get we try to do our technique in a better way, more clear, more easy.

Tango Argentino

2011-03-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

My Definition

Tango Argentino is a couple dance. It adopts similar forms of embrace to those adopted by European couple dances. It is a popular and social dance. Dancing floor usually has four straight sides. Dancers move in opposite direction to the clock in several concentric lanes.

It’s a totally improvised dance and there is a leader and a follower, though choreographies can be made with the goal of performing. Its particularity is that the movements of both dancers are many times dissociated from each other space and music wise. Just as in many other salon dances, dancers are perpendicular to the floor line. Hip and shoulder lines stay parallel to the floor line. Exceptions might be made.

Dancers can move sidewards, forwards, backwards and they may pivot on one leg.

Being an improvised dance it does not ‘have’ to follow any musical pattern. Never the less many dancers find it the easiest and most enjoyable to danced it on ‘argentine tango’ (music) recordings from the 1930’s and 1940’s which’s structures, patterns, repetitions and rhythmics put light on the many options dancers have available for choosing.

Dancers usually do not dance always with the same person. Couples change constantly each couple of pieces in most cases. (Changing couples)

Within tango dance one can find many styles, each one with its own rules, and exceptions. Sometimes particularities of styles are confused with the definition of tango it self.

Exceptions might be made.
Is there something which does not belong to this definition? is there any thing missing?

Spreading the word

2011-03-04T02:28:00.000-08:00

The events I organize usually go from 100 people to 500. I’ve seeing that big publicity helps. Big PR to. Formal letters, posters and magazines, contacting the most influential people, trying to get them to invite their own people; it all helps but sometimes I have seen it does not make the biggest difference.

First of all, if I will have such a small number of people I can’t waste a massive amount of resources cause I will not make any money later.

I can try to get the most influencial people to support me, but many times they are not sure of recommending something or they are just to busy.

Small schools and normal people have many times more time. They receive less attention and if I prove to them sincerily that they are important to my event and they get interested in it, they might even get out of there way to bring 4 o 5 people with them, and spread the word.

I just have to effectively invite 100, 200 maybe 300 people.

The beauty of small events is that I have the opportunity to bond with my public in a one to one connection. The biggest companies in the world put their major effects in trying to bond with their public. I have a the lucky opportunity to do it for real.

Speaking to people, calling them, sending them one by one personal e-mails, showing them what I’m going to do and letting them feel how important they are for my event makes the biggest difference of all. It takes time but it’s really worth it.

Tonight we meet at the Theater

2011-02-18T07:35:00.001-08:00

Searching common goals

It’s difficult to work together in our little tango scenes. Most of us have chosen to do this because we like it and we are emotional about our involvement in tango. We might get to dislike some particular person or two in the scene cause he has similar goals as us, or because he behaves in a way that we don’t believe is the proper way. Perhaps we dislike this person because he does't share control or because we don’t agree with his approach to tango.

The thing is we have several things in common usually with all the people and organizers in our community. First of all we like tango. And most of us would like our scene to be bigger (Fight the monters).
Never the less we can’t work together on making our desires become true because personal and economical issues which are fact make it difficult and some times unreasonable to collaborate. What I mean is that sometimes working with others would be to stressful or to risky.

The tango-theater plays are an opportunity for collaborating with out having to work together. The local dancers have an opportunity to bring their non-friends and family to see what tango is about. Perhaps even engage them in the decision to start taking some lessons. It's easier to get someone to the theatre than to a tango lesson. Look what one single show 25 years ago did for tango all over Europe.

A good play is a draft of fresh air in to the scene. Theatre engages people, it encourages, it inspires.

I on my side have not made a penny out of my theater ventures. I have on the other side made some interesting intangible profits:

my name has spread around
my lessons are fuller
my videos get more clicks
I have more facebook tango friends J
Basically I have more attention

The tango-theater in town is and opportunity to bring the whole community under one same goal without needing to collaborate. It’s an opportunity for getting new beginners and encouraging those that have already began to carry on. And it brings in joy.

300 or 400 or 500 people will sit there with their minds open for one hour.

We need help from organizers, teachers and the whole community to fill the room that night. And organizers can use that night, with out no major risk, to spread the word about tango and where they offer it.

Those who have a milonga the same night might have an economical risk, every publicity requires some, never the less we will see how to support them and bring that risk to the minimum, the rest is publicity for free, out of risk.

My schedule/ Agenda

2011-02-09T04:15:00.001-08:00

Tickets and bookings

15-17-19- 22-24.2. Regensburg (link) - Solange & Gonzalo

16.23.2.-2.3. Erlangen (Link) - Solange & Gonzalo

25/27.2.Freiburg (Link) - Solange & Gonzalo

Münich (Link) - Solange & Gonzalo

18.3. Hallle (Info&Tickets) - El Sonido de las Caricias

19.3.Hannover (Info&Tickets) - El Sonido de las Caricias

20.3.Hannover (Link) - Solange & Gonzalo

21.3.Augsburg (Info)&(Tickets) - El Sonido de las Caricias

24.3.Paris (Theatre) - El Sonido de las Caricias

26.3.Uster (Info&Tickets) - El Sonido de las Caricias

27.3.Munich (Info&Tickets) - El Sonido de las Caricias

29..3.Freiburg (Info&Tickets) - El Sonido de las Caricias

31.3.St. Gallen (Info&Tickets) - El Sonido de las Caricias

Abril/Mayo Bs As - Show 1905 (Link)

27/29.5.Karlsruhe (Video) - Solange y Rodrigo Fonti

4/5.6.Landshut (Link) - Solange & Gonzalo

9/13.6.Berlin Tango Festival (Link) - Solange & Gonzalo

18/19.6.Erfurt (Link) - Solange & Gonzalo

16/17.7. Available (contact) - Lucía Mazer & Gonzalo

23/30.7.Zurich Tango Woche (Link) - Lucía Mazer & Gonzalo

23/30.7.Zurich Tango Woche (Link) - Solange y Rodrigo Fonti

6/7.8 Available (contact) - Lucía Mazer & Gonzalo Orihuela

12/13.7 Available (contact) - Lucía Mazer & Gonzalo Orihuela

14/20.8.Frayssinette (Link) - Solange Chapperon & Gonzalo Orihuela

The evolution of the Tangoscenes

2011-02-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

Influencing our community

Each tango scene has things to learn. Some are not very good in the social aspects, some in technical aspects, some others have problems with self confidence and need to learn to be more friendly with the scene, some lack musical interpretation qualities. Some have to learn to enjoy, some to have fun.

Each scene has its own issues to solve before it evolves. As soon as we see our week point the sooner we can start working on it. And the sooner we start working on it the faster our scene will grow.

Our scene will grow following the goals and examples of the most influential people of community have. And the most influential people of community will be not only those that have the best skills but also those who have the clearest goals for their tango and their community. Giving the example in tango works.

Names and nicks

2011-01-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

It sounds basic but we just keep on doing it.

Calling someone by a nick is risky in your own language and culture. If you're speaking with someone who speakes a different language imagen how more risky it is. Sometimes it might be funny, others offensive.

For most people their name is the most impotant word they know. If you want to charm that person or be funny you rather make it sound nice or he might feel offended. Why take the risk of offending someone just for amusing your self.

Keep the nick names and the silly jokes to your self till you get to know the person enought, and avoid embarrasing him or your self.

Trabajo que importa

2010-11-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

Project 50 de Tom Peters fue un highlight en mi 2010.

Me gustó la idea de pensar que cada parte de la producción, desde comprar la comida para el elenco hasta los textos que se utilizan para la comunicación de la compañía hasta el estado de la sala o la obra en sí, hablan. De cada parte de la producción, sea artístico, técnico o administrativo, puede extraerse “una muestra de ADN” de la compañía misma.

Si alguien analiza como escribimos mails por ejemplo es posible que vea mucho de cómo trabajamos. Todas nuestras formas se reflejan en cada minúsculo detalle de la producción toda.

Así como todo contiene un poco de ese todo, cada detalle es suficiente para afectar todo el resto. La persona que esta encargada de la comida puede hace de eso su proyecto personal y hacer de la comida algo especial, diferente, único, tanto que todo el elenco le cuenta a la gente lo lindo que es el momento de la comida.

Esa comida puede convertirse en símbolo y educador. Por ejemplo si se percibe como el aprovechamiento optimo de la economía del grupo, o de la unión grupal, o si es el momento de la comida es el espacio de intercambio de ideas o dispersión, o si es un claro ejemplo de diseño, o detalles, sabores, presentación, cuidado o trabajo hecho con amor.

Si por sobre el resto el momento de la comida pasa a notarse es probable que se convierta en algo contagioso que podrá distribuirse sin querer o intencionalmente en el ADN de toda la compañía.

Cada pequeña tarea importa tanto como la persona que lo ejecute lo haga importar.

¿Cuanto vale cada cosa que haces? ¿Que cosas sin importancia podes hacer mejor? ¿Como podes hacer los detalles mundanos algo que afecte tu arte, tu trabajo y tu día de una forma excepcional?

Podemos ser talentosos o muy trabajadores pero si nuestras formas no pesan suficiente como para contagiar de alguna manera positivamente a quienes trabajan con nosotros entonces estamos lejos de tener un proyecto excepcional.

Con tu alquiler creamos arte (Eng below)

2010-10-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

Departamentos de bailarines
Las dos cosas que mas me gustan son crear obras de danza/tango y teatro y renovar mi casa. Te invito a ser parte de ambas.

Estoy haciendo un experimento.

Busco gente que quiera alquilar un lugar donde quedarse en Buenos Aires entre Enero y Marzo 2011. Pero en lugar de alquilar un lugar cualquiera les propongo alquilar un lugar con un valor agregado:

El dinero de tu alquiler será destinado en su totalidad a financiar parte de la creación de nuestro próximo espectáculo, sucesor de El Sonido de las Caricias, que ya está en proceso.

Mientras estoy de gira podrás quedarte en mi departamento, que es también donde se llevan a cabo la mayoría de los ensayos del CETA.

Vamos a estar muy felices de anunciarte entre nuestros ‘mecenas’ en los créditos de la nueva pieza y darte invitaciones para funciones de la compañía.

Además el departamento no es un departamento de alquiler temporario de 50m2 destinado para turistas. Esta es mi casa y me gusta vivir cómodo. Es tipo casa o PH renovado, de 105m2. Podés ir caminando a la mayoría de las milongas, no es ruidoso, tiene una sala de ensayo grande con piso de pinotea para practicar y tomar clases, cocina comedor grande y tienen mucha, mucha luz. En el baño uno encuentra un jacuzzi de 8 jets, tengo Wi-Fi y una terraza grande donde desayunar, tomar sol y hacer asados.

No solo estas eligiendo un gran lugar para pasar tus vacaciones sino que estás haciéndote parte de la creación invirtiendo en algo que dejará huellas, y que será compartido por toda la comunidad tanguera. Para saber mas podés seguir este link.

Rent and support art creation

2010-10-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

Dancer’s apartments
The two things I love the most are creating dance/tango theater pieces and renovating and decorating my house. I’d like you to share both of them with me.

I’m doing an experiment.

I’m looking for people who would like to rent a place to stay in Buenos Aires in between January and March 2011. But in stead of offering you any place to stay I’ll offer you the possibility of renting a flat which has a huge asset:

Your money, paid for the rent, will all be used to finance part of the creation of our next piece which we are already working on, and which is the successor of El Sonido de las Caricias.

While I’m on tour you’ll be staying in my flat which is also where most of the rehearsals of CETA take place.

We will be tremendously happy of announcing you as our ‘sponsor’ in the credits of the new play and to have you as a guest in several of the presentations of the company.

Besides that the flat is not just any temporary rent 50m2 flat used by tourists. This is my house and I like comfort. It’s kind of a house, it’s renovated and it’s 105m2. You can walk to most of the ‘Palermo’ milongas, it’s not noisy, it has a dancing room with a wooden floor, a big eat in kitchen and a lot of light, really, a lot. In the bathroom you’ll find an 8 jet Jacuzzi, I have Wi-Fi and a big terrace where you can have breakfasts, have sun baths and grills with your friends.

You’re not just choosing a great place to stay during your vacations you are also becoming an important part of the creation process of something that will leave its track, and which will be shared by all the tango community. You can see more by following this link

Queriendo ser un buen jefe

2010-10-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's in spanish again I'll soon be back in English

Por las características de mi trabajo tiendo a dispersarme y a perder mucho tiempo sin hacer nada en especial.

Ser mi propio jefe a veces se me vuelve un tanto complicado, en especial considerando el tipo de horarios que tanto yo como mi entorno frecuenta.
He intentado seguir una agenda pero por algún motivo me acostumbro a ella y la voy dejando de lado.

Ultimamente probé con un papelito en el que hago una lista de cosas y horarios. Cada día uno nuevo. Hasta si me doy tiempo libre lo anoto. Por ejemplo:

10:00 – 11:00 Desayuno y mirar video Yale
11:00 – 12:45 Pileta (eso incluye el viaje)
12:45 – 14:00 Cocinar y almorzar
14:00 – 16:00 Ensayo
16:00 – 17:00 Dar Privada
17:00 – 18:15 Dar privada
18:15 – 19:00 Merendar y mirar alguna serie
19:00 – 19:30 Verdulería
19:30 – 20:00 Facebook
20:00 – 21:00 Contestar e-mails

Etc.

Si lo respeto a rajatabla los resultados son de mucha eficiencia y me siento muy bien conmigo mismo por haberlo hecho todo.
Lo que no esta en la lista no se hace. Lo que alcanzo hacer lo hago, lo que no no. Media hora para FB es media hora para FB y ni un minuto más. Comportarme como mi propio jefe me ayuda a evitar naufragar por las horas de mi día. Focalizo y no me disperso.

Proyecto Okupa

2010-09-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Jardin en Niveles: Si tuvieras acceso privado a un espacio abandonado. Algún día aparecerán dueños pero por lo pronto es todo tuyo ¿Que harías?

¿Yo? yo haría esto:

Un espacio verde en niveles. Supongamos que el espacio tiene más de 5 pisos mucho gris y luz.

Quiero hacer jardines y huertas en forma artística, es una especie de reclamo a nuestra gris Buenos Aires y su falta de plazas, parques y pulmones de manzana. Por lo pronto somos solo 2 trabajando seguido y 2 que vienen a ayudar, son muchos pisos, ojala pronto seamos mas.

Pusimos primero macetas con diferentes plantas y estamos probando. Ahora hicimos dos canteros para hacer huerta. Antes del verano quiero tener una fuente, veré si llego.

Vocation and talent

2010-09-09T13:50:00.001-07:00

The desire to achieve success makes the difference. "Everybody wants to win the race but there is one who wants it more than the rest." Those who really ‘want’ are not those who come sharply on time but the ones who are already working there one hour before the scheduled time. Those who forget to sleep, which delay meals, those who do not count sacrifices as such thing.

Our culture can give us many advantages in certain artistic areas. But as it offers us advantages it also offers disadvantages which we have accepted with out even knowing about them.

The vocation for details, for five minutes difference, the voracity for excellence are, in the way I understand it, clues to personal or social success. And in our daily work the effort we put in making our selves outstanding is in improving our selves in every detail, and that makes a big part of the difference.

Today is a good day to work, to re-educate our selves, to rebuild our selves, to start all over again.

La presencia

2010-09-07T15:28:00.001-07:00

¿Como están vestidos las personas que tienen el trabajo que te gustaría tener?

Hay quienes buscan desafiar el status quo. Hay otros que se alinean con el o los perfiles de la profesión en la que buscan hacer carrera. Hay quienes no le dan importancia; para ellos este tema no es algo a tomar muy en serio.

No hay tarjeta de presentación mas clara que nuestras apariencias. Las apariencias no lo son todo pero hablan mucho de cómo nos vemos a nosotros mismos y como queremos que nos vean los demás.

¿De que se trata mi trabajo? ¿Y como me gusta hacerlo? ¿Qué busco con él?

Soy/estoy serio, conservador, detallista, descuidado, innovador, controvertido, roquero, intelectual, sexy, feo, elegante, hippy, todo esta expresado en el que momento en entramos en el salón.

¿Vos a quien contratarías? ¿A alguien que se toma las cosas en serio o alguien a quien los detalles no le importan? ¿Buscarías a alguien conservador, a alguien trendy - moderno – o alguien dejado?

Quizás no es el mensaje que nos gustaría pasar pero la simbología que cargamos transmite a otros un mensaje nos guste o no y a nosotros nos predispone de una determinada manera. Nuestra presencia habla por nosotros, estemos de acuerdo o no.

Empujando, situaciones o gente

2010-09-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Saber cuando irse, saber cuando parar y acatar estos conocimientos ayuda a crecer.

Nos distraemos. Trabajamos con la gente incorrecta, con aquellos con los que dejó de fluir o simplemente no funciona. Esperamos que algún día la situación mejore, que uno o los dos cambiemos, nos quedamos pegados, gastando una energía inconcebible en empujar una situación que no va a ningún lado.

Saber callar, saber esperar, saber adaptarse al trabajo con otros, ayuda a crecer.

Pero a veces nos distraemos con pequeñeces, obstruimos el trabajo y el buen vínculo con detalles que no hacen al buen funcionamiento del equipo en sí, y no crecemos.

Destruimos sociedades, con buen potencial, impulsados por nuestra falta de capacidad personal por crecer y trabajar con colegas con quienes vale la pena trabajar.

Malversamos contactos y energía ya invertida y empujamos lejos de nosotros personas que nos pueden hacer bien.

El arte está en darnos cuenta cual de las dos situaciones estamos viviendo y ser consecuentes. Y dicho sea de paso se me hace que empujar, en lo que a relaciones y situaciones laborales refiere, no sirve de mucho.

Detalles

2010-09-03T09:00:00.001-07:00

Vocación y talento

El deseo por llegar hace la diferencia. “Todos quieren pero hay uno que quiere mas”. Los que realmente quieren no son los que llegan en punto sino los que ya están trabajando una hora antes. Los que olvidan dormir, los que demoran comer, los que no cuentan los sacrificios como tales.

Nuestra cultura nos puede dar muchas ventajas en ciertas áreas artísticas pero así como ventajas también nos da desventajas.

La vocación por el detalle, por los cinco minutos, por la voracidad de excelencia, son a mi entender las claves y no todas las culturas las tienen y eso se nos nota. Y en nuestro trabajo diario el esfuerzo que ponemos en diferenciarnos, en mejorarnos en cada detalle hace la diferencia.

Hoy es un buen día para trabajar, para reeducarnos, para reconstruirnos, para recomenzar.

Los Conectores

2010-08-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

Los viejos amigos
Los conectores son aquellas personas que nos presentaron a alguien que nos influyó.

Muchas veces pasan desapercibidos y su influencia parece casual pero si pasamos con ellos suficiente tiempo el patrón se repetirá, una y otra vez conoceremos atreves de ellos a la gente 'indicada'.
Alrededor de cada persona exitosa existen conectores. A veces ellos no son exitosos pero conocen a todas las personas indicadas o mejor aún, si conocen a 5 personas saben como armar 3 grupos geniales. Saben quien puede entenderse con quien, pueden formar los mejores equipos y saben quien es el mejor vendedor para tu obra.
El conector te conecta con la gente que necesitás, a veces conscientemente y otras naturalmente.

Al llegar a los primeros éxitos muchas bandas, por ejemplo, hacen un cortés agradecimiento a sus primeros ‘vendedores’ y ‘conectores’ y cuando buscan el segundo éxito dejan de tomar en cuenta a los tempranos seguidores y amigos, reemplazándolos por otras personas. La cuestión es que muchas veces se conectan con gente que no cumple aquel rol y muchas veces el segundo éxito es efímero y el tercero no llega nunca.

La receta del éxito es una receta que hay que llevar todo el camino hasta la cima, si se desecha antes puede ser fatal.

¿Quienes son las personas que difunden tu trabajo con mayor convicción y compromiso? ¿Cómo y por quien conociste al que te presentó a las personas correctas?

Esas personas son las personas que uno necesita. Ellas pueden ser reemplazadas por otras, pero hay que estar seguro que cumplen la misma función. Si no se encuentra a aquellos conectores nuevos mas vale que uno se lleve consigo a aquellos que lo acompañaron desde el under. Serán ellos, los amigos de la primera hora y los seguidores, los que lo ayudarán a uno a volver a tener éxito cuando el éxito entre a fallar.

My + Friends = Success

2010-08-21T05:51:00.000-07:00

We can insist in doing things all by our selves but we need others. We can insists in having others do things in our and just our way, but we will fail, doesn’t matter if we were wrong or not in the first place.

We need to have partners and people that support us. And if we want to reach our maximum potential the best way will have others pushing us up and they will only be able to push us to the level above their own heads. So instead of trying to convince others to bring us up we could spend time stretching as high as possible and pushing up those that surround us.

Many will forgetter about us as soon as the first winds blow their hair. Others will not even give us the credit. Get over it as soon as possible and start pushing new ones up, I believe that good things happen to good people. And loyalty and partnership are the gold of this world.

The success of your partners will be your own success, even if at the beginning you’ll have some sacrifices to do.

Gonga, gonzalo, orihuela, tango, tutorial

Cabeceo (Español)

2010-08-05T03:04:00.000-07:00

Sistema no regla

Cabecear tiene sus virtudes.

No es fácil agarrarle la mano. Hacerlo con cierta discreción, y no quedarse mirando a la misma persona hasta como si fuera una obligación que nos mire.

Cabecear evita el ‘no’. A nadie le gusta recibir una negativa ante una invitación. A nadie le gusta darla tampoco. Requiere de ciertas sutilezas y especialmente discreción.

Estando en un lugar donde buscamos sentirnos bien, encontrarnos con nuestra sensitividad y con la de otros cabecear tiene sus encantos.

Si quiero bailar con alguien y esa persona quiere bailar conmigo seguro que en algún momento me buscará con la mirada. Hay que estar atentos y cuando lo haga corresponder si es el momento indicado e invitar o aceptar . Lo mas probable es que las miradas se busquen varias veces, hasta que nuestras miradas se encuentren en algún momento de la noche.

Si alguien no quiere bailar conmigo de seguro no me mirará y si lo hace lo hará por casualidad y correrá la vista bastante rápido.

El cabeceo evita la terrible vergüenza de llegar todo el camino hasta una mesa y ser rechazado y a su vez también evita tener que bailar con alguien con quien no quiero bailar solo porque lo hubiese hecho sentir mal al decirle que no. Por no hacerlo sentir mal a él corro el riesgo de pasarla mal yo.

El saber que todo se decidirá entre miradas genera una cierta tensión en el salón desde que se ingresa. Uno comienza a sembrar y a buscar comicidad durante toda la noche. El momento de baile viene cargado, en el transcurso de buscarnos durante toda la noche, no de un deseo de bailar yo, sino de bailar yo con ella. Eso hace del tango una experiencia diferente a la que uno vive cuando se invita de otra forma. Ni mejor ni peor, diferente.

Cabeceo (English)

2010-08-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Has its good side

It takes a bit to get used to it. We need to be able to be discreet and avoid looking at the same person has it would be for her/him an obligation to look at us.

But cabecear avoids the ‘no’. No one likes receiving a no after offering an invitation. No one likes giving it either.

Being in a place such as a milonga in which we are searching for feelings, willing to discover sensations, cabecear has its charm.

If I happen to want to dance with someone and she happens to want do dance with me for sure in one moment or another our eyes will meet. We just have to be aware without staring and when she looks at us look back. Look, not stare :) Probably if she really wants to dance with me she will do it several times during the evening.

If somebody does not want to dance with me she will not look at me and if still she does look at me she will look away as fast as she realizes that she did.

Cabeceo avoids the uncomfortable situation of getting all the way to a table and being rejected, On the same time it avoids having to dance with someone with whom I don’t want to dance with and by not wanting to reject him making him feel bad I will probably have a bad time dancing with someone I didn't want to dance with.

Knowing in advanced that everything will be worked out during the evening through eye contact creates a certain tension in the salon right in the moment that we come in to it. And one works on his dances the whole night. The moment of the dance comes loaded, after looking for each other the whole night, by a great desire, which is not based on wanting to dance my self but cause I’m going to dance with her. And that experience makes out of tango an experience which would be totally different if we would invite and be invited in a different way.

Eating, the forgotten detail

2010-07-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

Feeding your guests

With the internet and all, the world tends to feel smaller. People also travel a lot and, by the familiarity, some tend to forgetter that different countries have different cultures and habits.

If you are going to invite teachers or artists who are originally from this country, find out some basic things about their culture and habits.

Asking them is a good way to start. It might not be important for you but it might make a big difference to them.

Those of us that have been raised in the Argentinean culture are used to have two warm meals a day plus breakfast or brunch.

Manny times we don’t mind skipping a lunch or two, or a dinner or two. Most of us don’t mind cooking for ourselves, and even for others, if we have the time and space. But we don’t like this point to be ignored. We might feel misstreated.

It also might be handy to remember that many dancers make a point around eating healthy, kebab, pizza, Mc Donald, or any other fast food don’t count as meals.

We could discuss which habit is healthier or more practical but this is a habit and a cultural matter, don’t judge, just be a good host and consider it.

Whenever you are organizing keep this in mind, especially if you want to get the best out of your guests and out of your money. They might appreciate it very much.

Tango Im Salon

2010-06-01T04:26:00.000-07:00

>>Mixing work with pleasure.

It's been a while since I posted for the last time. I've just been in Dresden where I got to know a very cool place build in a very original idea.

Tango Im Salon is a good idea.

Jörg in Dresden is a hair dresser and a Tango Dj. He decided to move his business to a new venue. The new venue had to be suitable for working and for his hobby.

So he looked for a venue which could be used the same time as his and his employees working place and as a milonga and a dance school. And besides all he lives there too.

All desks have wheels and can be moved to make space for dancing. And as a hair dressing shop it looks very cool. It even has a bar.

In 5 months 5 articles where made in the newspaper. Some clients where tempted to start dancing, and even one of the employees started, and of course lots of dancers got to know his business.

He is doing a lot of publicity for tango in this way, and probably the business will profit too.

The date in the photo is wrong, I reseted my camera and forgotte to correct the date.

La genialidad o la no genialidad

2010-04-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

La observacion, la coherencia y sinceridad artística

A veces los artistas solemos apoyarnos demasiado en la búsqueda de ‘la ocurrencia’, en la genialidad, en esa idea que nos haga diferentes.

Sin embargo cuando miro alrededor los artistas que mas me llaman la atención por lo general no son particularmente genios ni han tenido una idea genial. Su genialidad radica más en su éxito en sí, que en los intrincados mecanismos que utilizaron para llegar ahí.

Me atraen mucho los artistas que en base a un conocimiento enorme de un género o arte lo reformulan desde las bases en sí. El hallazgo se da desde su conocimiento y no desde la búsqueda de crear una nueva forma.

Suelen ser personas que popularizan algo que está reservado a un público existente específico.

Entre los géneros de música popular algo que esta prácticamente reservado para los cordobeses fue llevado a toda la Argentina y a algunos otros países de la mano de Rodrigo Bueno, quien convirtió el cuarteto cordobés en masivo en el orden nacional. Le dio al cuarteto una manera sutilmente diferente de interpretación desde un lugar de naturalidad.

Hacer algo tradicional desde uno mismo, desde sus experiencias y con mucha sinceridad. En una escala de repercusion menor intuyo esa misma ‘magia’ en el fenómeno Sexteto Milonguero.

No descubro en ellos la primordial búsqueda de un lenguaje nuevo sino hacer lo mismo que todos conocemos y que nos gusta pero con la contemporaneidad de cada uno de sus integrantes. Se reformula desde el tango mismo, de entenderlo y ser coherente con los tiempos que corren. El tango se reformula se regenera desde comprenderlo y no querer cambiarlo como punto de partida.

Horacio Godoy hace unos dos años sorprendió a media comunidad tanguera internacional con una manera similar. Decidió mostrar a la comunidad de bailarines lo que hacía. Y sin adaptarse a las “convenciones” de cómo ‘debe ser’ el tango de hoy de los salones. Salio a mostrar lo que el sabe de los temas que baila y mostró una manera maravillosa de bailar que es absolutamente funcional a los salones y divertida y que vino a turbar las aguas que ya estaban demasiado quietas. Mostró conocimiento sinceridad y marco la diferencia. Quizás sin necesitar hacer un esfuerzo enorme mostró algo que ya estaba ahí le saco polvo a partes del tango a las que nadie le prestaba atención hace muchos años, las cargo en su valija y con toda la experiencia que tiene las mostró y marco la diferencia, mostró que había otra manera de bailar tango. Una manera nueva que tiene todo que ver con las maneras viejas. No descubrió nada nuevo. Lo reformuló. Lo resignificó. Que suerte la de haberlos visto a todos en vivo.

Vincular y des-vincular

2010-03-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

Si uno sabe lo que quiere es también mucho mas fácil transmitirles a otros lo que uno necesita.

Lo que encuentro mas difícil es decirle a alguien que no están dándome lo que necesito y que necesito que cambien rápido o se aparten del proyecto.

Muchas veces no tiene que ver con malas intensiones o vagancia o peleas, es simplemente un desencuentro artístico.

Voy descubriendo que el planteo artístico tiene diferentes bases.

Una es el rol de cada uno como artista en la obra en si.
Otra es la metodología de trabajo.
Y otra son los objetivos.

Un desencuentro en cualquiera de estos puntos puede llevar a una necesidad de suspensión en el vínculo con el grupo o la obra.

Lo mas difícil es comunicar que deseamos apartamos o que necesitamos que otro se vaya.

Fijar objetivos

2010-03-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

Resolver antes que cuestionar
En Septiembre del 2002 mi papa me llamó para decirme que ya no iba a enviarme más dinero y que me buscara una manera de mantenerme.
Yo había decidido vivir del tango y mis padres no estaban del todo de acuerdo. Le dije a mi papa que ya hace tiempo me venia advirtiendo, que me esperara 3 meses mas.
Esa misma noche me senté en la milonga y comencé a mirar a los que trabajaban y vivían del tango. En esos años no eran tantos como hoy.

Durante dos meses mire y mire. Comencé a imitar, a comportarme como aquellos que sabían la receta. No la comprendía pero los imité esperando que por algún lado lleguen las rtas.
Me paré en los mismos lugares, visité los mismos sitios, ordené mi baile acorde a lo que ellos hacían. Dejé por un rato de lado mis ‘principios de turno’ y fui alumno secretamente de esta gente. Baile tras de ellos, trate de vestirme un poco mas parecido.
Los primeros días de Diciembre llame a mi papa y le dije ya esta no necesitaba dinero. Comenzaba a trabajar con Adriana quien había creído que yo tenía condiciones como para trabajar con ella. Mis tres meses de observar me enseñaron algo. Aun no se si aprendí algo bueno o malo, si me gusto o no. Seguramente me hubiese gustado hacer otra cosa con ese tiempo. Pero para un principiante absoluto me pareció que el camino mas corto era aprender de los que ya sabían.

Los que si y los que casi

2010-03-12T12:28:00.001-08:00

Algún tiempo atrás mi hermano estaba a cargo de un grupo de periodistas y me comentaba como algunas de las personas a su cargo explicaban un orden lógico y absolutamente coherente de hechos o situaciones que había impedido una encomienda, un reportaje. Otros lo traían, resolvían. Los roles nunca cambiaban. Los que muchas veces no cumplían con el objetivo y los que siempre lo hacían.

En el baile unos consiguen el movimiento otros explican por que no se puede hacer o de que el método no es el indicado. Unos consiguen trabajo otros viven de la familia.
Por lo general los primero son parte de muchos proyectos, los segundos pocos o de muchos que nunca llegan lejos.
A veces es necesario dejar de estar disconforme, dejar de estar en desacuerdo, terminar el trabajo y recién luego analizar si fue o no la mejor manera. A veces es mejor ir mas allá de las dificultades, no cuestionar si es posible; sino por el contrario tomar el trabajo como un hecho y yo, interprete tengo que encontrar la forma. No conformarse, no sostenerse sobre el ‘no me sale’, no se puede, no hizo, no contestó. Si no tengo la receta me pongo al lado del que la tiene y lo imito quizás suceda algo. Y si no busco resultados a base de prueba y error.
Si te lo están pidiendo es porque están seguros de que es posible, de que vos podes. Lo único que nos detiene es nuestra propia dis/in-capacidad de convicción.

Rules, traditions and laws

2010-01-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

Talking about tango: Learn the whys before 'improving' it

Tradition has its rules and clichés. There is a reason to be in everyone of them. We might not enjoy or like ‘it’ never the less it exists as a result of a whole process that happened in days we usually have no idea about.
Don’t break the rule before knowing its reasons.Same thing happens with esthetics and techniques. You might have a better way of doing something but if you change an element in the system other areas of the system will be affected.

Tandas by the same orchestra, cabeceo, starting position with feet exaggeratedly together, posture, embrace, circulation, tables, leaders inviting followers, everything has a reason.
This reason might be outdated or might still cover a need. Find out what’s the good thing about it before changing it.

Self education

2010-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Learn to put limits

You don’t need to know exactly what’s wrong with you, you just have to find out what’s up with your emotions, with your state of mind.Discover what triggers you, try to recognize it before it surprises you and makes you crack or blast. A bad mood day is probably just a specially sensible day. Sensible is not bad it’s just more delicate. Maybe you need silence. Maybe your body lacks blood circulation, stretch. Maybe you need silence of thoughts.

It’s very difficult to control our emotional state and to choose how we are going to feel each day, but we can choose how we are going to react to external influences in our different mind states by learning what brings us into balance.

Self education works the same when we educate others, some times gentleness is necessary, others strictness.Sometimes we need a strict hand putting a limit. There are moments when we have to tell ourselves ‘that behavior is not acceptable!’ before we react. We rather be silent or find a different way of reacting, one that is acceptable for us and fits into the type of person we want to be.

Haciendo del arte una obra

2010-01-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

>>Constancia y estética

Comienzo a sospechar que una de las claves en los negocios y el arte es la constancia.

Es encontrar esa cosa que funciona o creemos que podemos hacer funcionar e ir para delante, repetirla, mejorarla, conservarla. Sin distraerse sin dejarse arrastrar muy lejos por las dudas o la tentaciones de haber encontrado otra cosita que funciona. Sin tentarse a hacer mejor aquello que otro ya comenzó a hacer.

Particularmente soy adepto a la implementación que algunos bailarines le dan a la cuestión estética.

No deja de llamarme la atención el estilo claro que logran Ismael Ludman y María Mondino en sus fotografías y videos y la coherencia que mantienen en cuanto a lo estético en su contacto cotidiano con la comunidad.

Esa misma atracción me despierta la estética que han mostrado otros artistas como Chicho y Roberto con Vanina, Juan y Diana. Su ‘presencia’ comenzó, a mis ojos, a tener tanto peso como su arte. Al mirar dejo de saber si lo que me gustaba era el arte o el cuadro. Todo pasa a ser parte de la obra.

La obra de arte se amplia. Esta manera de hacer arte no se remite solo a la calidad del baile, sino a ser arte en si, ser algo extra. En marketing le llaman ‘asset’ que es ese plus que tiene la obra o la persona al que se le compra algo. Es un ‘algo’ que los hace particulares.

I & M no tienen un video que tenga una linda presentación y o edición sino un montón. Cada foto que cualquiera de ellos publica conserva un estética trabajada pre y/o de edición según el caso.

J & D son frescos, destellan juventud, simpatía felicidad, y siempre son impecables. Va mas allá del baile, aunque lo completa y llena. Ellos lo sostienen en el tiempo. No todos los artistas tienen este plus o logran sostenerlo en el tiempo.

En un artista este asset hace que yo visite su sitio o su página de Facebook con constancia, que me guste su imagen que me compre un almanaque con su foto. Atraído de vez en cuando por algo de lo mucho que publican me sumerjo en el mundo de ellos, lo miro, aprendo y disfruto.

Genero una especie de vínculo con ellos, muestro a otros lo que ellos hacen y así paso a formar parte de su ‘grupo 1’ y difundo entusiasta su trabajo. Así como yo, son muchos otros quienes los ven y descubren entre la multitud. Son otros los que difunden su trabajo.

Me tiene sin cuidado si un artista lo hace de manera natural o premeditada, el resultado tiende a ser similar, ‘estilo’.

>>Contactos y promoción

2010-01-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

Número de Dunbar
Los contactos son uno de los grandes recursos que se tiene en la vida moderna.
A veces en afán de tener muchos contactos pasamos a incluir a muchos sin generar vínculos particulares.
Los vínculos ciertos denotan un interés de las partes. Una humanidad. Si hay algo que genera el vincularse con cientos de personas de nuestro pasado o amigos de amigos como sucede en redes sociales como Facebook es que se tiende a caer en lo humanamente imposible. Es imposible para los seres normales cuidar vínculos individualizados cuando los números superan nuestra capacidad de memoria y atención. Tratar de manera especial a 800 personas es, al menos para mi, imposible. En especial si pienso que además tengo que trabajar y estudiar.

Un Sr. De nombre Dunbar antropólogo él, desarrolló una teoría de donde surge el concepto de tribu moderna. Hoy por hoy, grandes empresas entre otro, basadas en esta teoría, delimitan la estructuración de sus recursos humanos.

Dunbar dijo que los grupos humanos crecen hasta un máximo de 150 personas antes de separarse.
Que el cerebro de una persona normal puede albergar conocimientos directos referentes a de 150 personas a quienes ‘cuida’, atiende, sigue o guía uno a uno.

Cada persona pertenece a varias tribus y tiene una tribu personal por decirlo de alguna manera. Gente con las que nos vinculamos directamente.

A la hora de organizar nuestros contactos o promocionar nuestro trabajo me resulta muy útil tener en cuenta este número.

Changing couples

2009-12-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

Socializing in a social group>>

In tango lessons there are people that prefer not changing couples. But most people won’t show too much resistance. And some will even be willing to try things with someone else for a while.

Changing partners allows people to create a bonding with other people in the group and the group becomes ‘alive’.
Relaxes the tension that is created in between some couples that usually are life couples
Improves the capacity of improvisation
Allows people to keep on training the same thing for a long while with out getting bored so fast.

It’s important that teachers guaranty their group that after two tangos or three they will be able to change again. People want to go back to their partners or just don’t want to be fixed to a dancer they dislike. But for two tangos it will be ok.

Let people know its for their good, convince them, don’t give them to much time to think unless that it's necessary, and be methodic with the rhythm of the changes.

Dúos o parejas de Tango?

2009-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

El producto o la obra

La pareja de tango sirve para forjar un ‘producto’, componer, sacar a relucir las cosas que uno mas practicadas tiene, comunicarse fácilmente.

Pero si lo analizamos desde cierto punto de vista también podríamos considerar que pone en riesgo al individuo como artista.

Desarrollarse creativamente en vínculo con un solo y repetido artista; con quien gran número de veces es con quien se convive y se comprate gran parte del día y del año cuando no todo. Es con quien se comparte todas las experiencias y amigos. Creo que en cierto punto no muy lejano se corre el riesgo de que el desarrollo creativo deje de verse incentivado por el compañero de fórmula. No porque no le sirva a uno simplemente porque se ha agotado el recurso. Podríamos decir que en cierto punto es antiecológico.

Podríamos ir mas profundo y preguntarnos que pasa si uno de los dos en la pareja es mucho mas talentoso que el otro y mas por amor que por otra cosa quedan juntos, sacrificando talento en pos de sostener un producto conjunto que a uno lo enaltece y al otro lo rebaja.

La pareja sirve a la hora de garantizar trabajo pero como cosa artística no siempre sigue siendo interesante.

¿Me pregunto si no habrá grandes bailarines que se juntan por amor y por ende terminan bailando juntos y a la vez terminan por reducir su calidad creativa?

Yo creo que sí. Creo que hay bailarines muy talentosos que hacen un dúo pobre con su pareja de vida.

¿Pero como ponerlo en palabras? ¿Qué hacer al respecto? ¿Como aceptarlo, hacerse cargo, decírselo a alguien, como dar un paso al costado?

Quizás lo mas sano sea instaurar una tendencia en la que se hagan trabajos salteados con unos y proyectos mas largos con otros pero que no sea lo uno o lo otro.

El Dinero símbolo

2009-12-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Condicionante y libertador

La idea del dinero siempre es un concepto que molesta en cuanto al trabajo artístico pero que suele encontrarse en el centro de toda cuestión.

Muchas veces escucho a artistas con los que trabajo declarar que están aferrados a un proyecto siempre y cuando no les salga un trabajo por el que se les pague. Cuando estamos hablando de ganarnos la vida comprendemos que en el mundo de hoy es muy difícil sobrevivir sin la bendición del vil metal.

Sin embargo no puedo dejar de reflexionar sobre lo siguiente: a veces algunos de estos bailarines no tienen una situación económica complicada o que en otros caso el pago que reciben es casi risorio. Pero es suficiente para que ellos lo consideren más importante que un proyecto que los hace sentir realizados como artistas.

El compromiso se acaba en el momento en que llega el mejor postor.

Si bien para algunos el precio del trabajo lo ponemos nosotros incluso siendo a veces ese precio un bien o una gratificación no económica o gratificacion económica no directa, descubro que una gran mayoría no lo siente así.

Para muchos el dinero simboliza una de las cosas más importantes para su trabajo. Y es através de su obtención que se sineten realizados como artístas. Buscar maneras de darles ese dinero ayuda a que se comprometan más y se sientan más valorados y productivos. Pagar todas las tareas posibles ayuda a que los equipos y proyectos se desarrollen más dinámicamente. Para la mayoría de nosotros suele volverse muy difícil pero no es imposible hay que encontrar la forma.

Spot - Obelisco

2009-11-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Presentando sin solemnidad

En nuestra última obra, El Sonido de las Caricias, buscamos romper un poco con la solemnidad que suele rodear nuestra profesión. Poco a poco venciendo miedos y prejuicios logramos filtrar en nuestra última obra una enorme cantidad de sutilezas que ríen de nosotros mismo.

La persona más indicada para sugerirnos el camino en esta línea, a la hora de publicitar nuestra obra fue definitivamente Julián Rodriguez. También tímidamente y sin saber bien a donde íbamos hicimos un video bajo sus consignas.

Solange en Cámara, Burrara (Diego Mauriño) y yo actuamos.

La idea era que Burrara atacara mi anuncio y ridicularizara mi trabajo y mi búsqueda. Que exteriorizara exageradamente las problemáticas que vivimos dentro de nuestra grupo de trabajo y con el público o la comunidad tanguera. Yo debía evitar caer en la tentación de ‘salvarme’, o banalizar la situación realizando una ‘actuación afectada’. Debía realmente defender mis dichos para que él pudiese destrozarme un poco más. A fin de cuentas no podía escudarme tras un personaje debía ser yo mismo y permitir que atacaran mi trabajo. Pocas veces he quedado tan mal parado en público. Y sin embargo ese spot fue uno de los trabajos más lindos que hemos hecho.

Suelo repudiar lo insultos como recurso cómico, pero hasta el insulto que se pronuncio fue el mas real para este personaje y la situación en la que se encontraba. Sirvió de remate y no es reemplazable.

La cámara, el concepto, el objetivo, las actuaciones de ambos y principalmente la edición hicieron de ese spot una obrita en si misma. Esperando no caer en solemnidades innecesarias vamos por más.

Promoting Collaboration

2009-11-14T12:53:00.000-08:00

The tribes we lead

Tango communities function mostly in line of individual efforts with individual goals and profits. The concept of ‘collaboration’ exists but has still not taken significant space in the community.
The dominant tendency is that the community is staged in a level 3 on an evolution scale of 1-5, on which “everyone is competition and I am better than my neighbor”. Watch David Logan's explanation about the tribe stages (Video)

I’m interested in knowing which would be the impact in the tango scene if a group of people who think that can benefit from helping others to reach their goals, start collaborating and promoting ‘collaboration’. Trying in this way, to progress and reach level 4 on the evolution scale mentioned above.

The manifestation of that benefit can be shown in:

Receiving help in my own projects from those I helped or other people of the community/tribe
Economic benefit reached through contacts made by being involved in the tribe’s activities
Group progress
Publicity
Education –learning useful things-
Pleasure

>>BA Tango Tribes

2009-11-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

Dunbar visiting BA milongas.

Dunbar’s number (link) states that humans move in tribes of maximum 150 people. After that, they split. Tribes can’t hold any new comers unless that some of them leave. It’s just the limit our brain has for processing information.

Formally Buenos Aires milongueros would easily welcome new comers and specialy foreigners. Nowadays the number of people that frequent BA milongas such as the amount of existing venues for dancing is so high that dancers just don’t have ‘space’ for all the new people that come and go every two weeks.

It’s obvious that things have changed in the BA tango scene >>. Getting to dance is not as easy as 10 years ago when going through the door was merit enough for whole night guarantied dancers. Now usually it’s necessary to find other ways to dance and socialize in your trips to Buenos Aires, unless of course that people still remember you and hold you in their 150 peoples tribe.

So let’s say that now the thing is to get in to a tribe of 15 to 150 people. Many people just end up there following the flow. Others just figure out which tribe they want to belong to and find a way of calling in a positive way, the attention of some of the members that will include them.

Items for designing your milonga

2009-11-12T09:59:00.001-08:00

Tables

If you are in the business of making your milonga grow or getting beginners to start you probably think of getting them to feel comfortable and welcome.

I find 4 points essential for consideration:

Lights
Ticket fee
Music
Tables

When we are thinking our milonga through, how we seat public is an essential point.

Do we want people to sit or not?

Do we want out comers to step in and watch a while?

Do we want to put pressure on beginners or do we want them to get comfortable and jump in the dancing floor when ever they feel that it’s the right moment for them?

Do we want people to have privacy, to be able to socialize or just to socialize while dancing?

If they don’t dance should they leave?

A table is an invitation to drink something, to feel you are doing something besides watching, they work as shields, they help us on giving a design to the room. And when well managed tables can increase bar service income in a considerable way.

It also helps for the creation of small groups that contain you and tempt you to come next time again, to meet the same people in the same place.

Tables or no tables is one of the key questions on your milonga’s design.

Make allies, fight the monsters

2009-11-06T04:03:00.000-08:00

Our Major Competition

When it comes to community, and when community wise we talk about competition in the tango world we start reasoning by a major mistaken. Competition is not with in the community.

There are hundreds of bigger threats than other venues or teachers. The biggest competition we have is what people/public do with their free time.

There we can find not only other couple dances such as salsa o ballroom which in most countries are already major than tango communities. We also have sports, TV, bars, shows, etc. There are so many things that people do and that catch them before they can even think of getting to a tango lesson or a venue.

If we get to work together in developing communities we have a better chance to fight ‘the monsters’. We don’t even need to agree in pedagogic, music, style of dancing or teaching, we just have to coordinate dates of events, not to fight each other, perhaps share people if its to little, or just support events of the other school by being there, or at least and perhaps most important to find ways of coordinating publicity o PR out of the scene. Getting out of the box.

I always find a lot of inspiration in nature. This video can be used for getting inspiration in many areas of society’s everyday’s life

Video

Making a change that matters

2009-11-02T04:24:00.000-08:00

>>Why not getting engaged?

I live in a city which we could say is my community I.

Making use of transportation and communication technologies, I have discovered my self living in a 2° (sub)community. This second community is not defined by its geographic emplacement but by its attraction to tango.

People don’t just have an interest for the same activity. They also travel for it, relate and inform their self’s about what is going on in this Worldwide tango community.

The other interesting thing, and maybe even more, is that the size of the community is very small for the geographical emplacement it has and the commitment people have with the activity and specially with the community is at least incredibly interesting. I will not make a point about the age range which is a subject by its self.

I have seen very few so well distributed networks around the world. There are clear leaders in uncountable amount of cities. Every tribe is highly connected with other tribes. Info travels very fast through the web and does not need introductions.

Almost every person belongs to other major tribes out of their own tango tribe, and lots of these people have influence in other tribes.

Importance with in the tango tribe is not signed by your social hierarchy in other communities, or by religious ones, it is based on other variables.

If the tango community would decide to have a certain policy which they would like to use to influence others, synchronized actions could take part around the globe. Feedback would be immediate.

If the tango community would try to ‘make a difference that really matters’ it could with out a major effort of the majority. Lets say, with out leaving the fact that most people are in the community to have a nice time and to forgetter about the ‘out side world’.

Just collaboration can lead to a difference that can really matter. What do you say?

http://charterforcompassion.org/

http://www.tedprize.org/karen-armstrong/

Celebration

2009-11-01T13:43:00.000-08:00

More than dancing

I enquired a colleague about why she always avoided dancing with me in the milongas. She was surprised at first and denied it. I asked her to think about it. I gave her examples of how she always had an excuse. So she did think it over and after a short while she told me:

“The thing is you’re a very nice dancer, and sometimes you are fun but it’s just not enough. I like to dance with people who celebrate the dance and that invite me to CELEBRATE with them. You don’t, you’re somewhere else.”

Now, I don’t know if her explanation was just fantastic or it came to me in the perfect moment. But it opened a door. A huge one. The idea of a lack of celebration was so clear.

On contraposition I could see this young dancer that calls from her unconscious youth the attention of everyone around and twists technique towards were she wants. Fantastically. Just by celebrating.

I had no doubt about what she was talking about. I had been years with out really celebrating.

Celebration is the code for building a tango community – a social meeting –. Celebrate, teach the dance like a celebration and people will stay and they will tell other people.

Not just to dance but to celebrate.

Looking for help for our tango project

2009-11-01T05:27:00.000-08:00

The city council

When thinking about how to get the city council or other institutions to cooperate with our tango cause it’s good to remember that any healthy relationship is based on a “everybody win” situation. You give to receive - I even like to think that when it comes to this type of situation, just by collaborating with our community we are already receiving -.

We can offer:
• Increase cultural value of the city offering theater/dance pieces, festivals, events, concerts, congresses, art education, or any good idea you come up with.
• Promote ‘elite’ tourism such as the one that tango stimulates.
• Offering training for unemployed people
• In Germany you can benefit with the “ein job für €1” perhaps...
• Keep teenagers active, creative and learning during holidays.
• Creation of jobs for us or for others.

We may need:
• Permissions
• Venues
• Publicity
• Promotion/Access to public
• Money
• And specially good will

Pop Tanguero

2009-10-30T02:14:00.000-07:00

Tendencias performáticas

Cuando el sistema se ha establecido pierde valor artístico. Cuando Queen presentó sus primeras baladas o Rocks lentos fueron un éxito. Habían logrado vencer prejuicios, habían solucionado dificultades técnicas y habían hecho camino. Desde ahí, muchas fueron las bandas que se inspiraron a su manera e hicieron sus versiones.

Cuando el sistema se volvió claro las grandes discográficas no dudaron en agregar a cada disco un par de éstas. Y se hizo tanto que dejó de ser novedad, dejó de ser un camino creativo difícil de lograr para una balada rockera. De hecho pasó a ser uno de los mecanismos creativos mas fáciles de reproducir, y más usado en afán de lograr colocarse en los charts radiales.

En el tango pasa algo similar, como en mayoría de las formas artísticas. Cuando hacer coreografías ‘emotivas’ con algo mas que tango, con 'poesía', se generaliza en las performance, funciona a nivel masivo pero pierde fuerza artística y muchos de estos trabajos sino todos pasan a no ser mas que Hits Poperos dignos de FM 100.

How to remember names

2009-10-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

The door handles to people's good will

First of all you have to know that you will have to make an effort, and second you have to want to pay enough attention to someone. If you don't want to take the trouble, don’t even worry on trying.
Ask a person a time their name then:

• Ask them to repeat it and if necessary to spell it
• Repeat it in your head while trying to connect the name with some other word or person.
• Connect the name with something in the persons face or expressions.
• Repeat the name and the characteristic in your head.
• Try to name the person in conversation some minutes later.
• As soon as you are alone write the name down and read it.
• When ever you have a chance get to speak with the person and get him to talk about his personal interests or passions.

After a long time you will still remember him and his name; and there is a big chance that he to will remember you.

It takes time but it really pays off.

>>Hunting beginners

2009-10-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

First plan - How to attract beginners?
Let’s make a plan for ‘hunting’ beginners. I’m in Regensburg at the moment, there are around 16 young female dancers under 30, and at the moment there is around 6 guys in the same age line.

If been thinking in what beginner need and what they my want.
My plan is: each one or two of the girls should bring in to a course one absolute beginner. It has to be a guy and he has to be under 30. The girls have to volunteer and have to dance during a whole course of 6 lessons with the beginners. We will be Changing Couples very often.

We will do a plan to ‘seduce’ them, to keep them dancing and to make them learn as fast as possible. And of course every lesson has to be very fun.

10 young college dancers willing to have a nice time is not a bad start guys, don’t you think?

Beginners will have to pay… let’s say 50 bucks. If they do the whole course they get back 40. The 10 bucks are used for paying the room. The other 40 are for helping them commit.

We will be working for free this time. Community will grow and we will ensure work for the future for us and new comers.(See Promoting Collaboration)

I wonder if it'll work.

La emisión constante y la falta de análisis

2009-10-21T06:28:00.001-07:00

Facebook Tanguero
Facebook se ha vuelto una pileta donde nos ahogamos en información. Donde el compartir o comentar ocupa muy poco espacio. Gran mayoría de los que allí estamos lo hemos utilizado unilinealmente. Emitiendo publicidad y anuncios mayormente. Es tal la cantidad de info que allí se 'arroja' que ya casi carece de cualquier sentido arrojarla, porque muy poca gente alcanza a leerla antes de que sea dezplazada por otro montón de información.

Lo interesante sería participar de grupos de información. Pero los grupos se utilizan mayormente para extender mensajes y anuncios referentes a un 'producto' en particular - publicidad. Por lo que también pierden fuerza.

La gente se pasa tiempo deambulando por el sitio errando de un punto, chusmeando en la vida de otros, sin saber que buscar. Quizás sea interesante cultivar el 'culto' comenzar a escribir o comentar o compartir cosas interesantes metódicamente. La gente que esté interesada, lentamente se acercará. Y regularmente al entrar a FB se acercarán a nuestro sitio o abrirán primero el mail que han recibido de nosotros. Nos haremos parte de su vida cotidiana. Serán ellos los que nos escojan y no nosotros invadiendo con publicidad su espacio privado.

The strategy of success.

2009-10-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

La Viruta

Few have been so successful as La Viruta in growing and contributing to their community. As a matter of fact La Viruta has probably been the biggest beginners contributor to the Buenos Aires Tango community.

They have several points in their milonga/school that I find very interesting

They made tango fun and easy to learn
Tango is fun and easy to start dancing in the milonga right after even the first lessons
They made it cheap
They added things to tango evenings such as salsa, rock’n roll (twist) and Argentinean folklore but did not charge more for it
‘Special treatment’ to clients and professional dancers (“VIP”)
Big focus on beginners
They made their own stile of playing music, structured, consequent, innovative and clear.
The organizers are not the stars of the night
You must not come in couples to the lessons

In alsmost 20 years La Viruta/La Estrella has no stopped growing and adding every year hundreds of new dancers to the Buenos Aires tango community.

The lessons are almost like an assembly line. Most take part in one big salon; every lesson is divided from the others by some chairs. Each lesson is a level. Themes are simple and clear. And in most of them students can just jump to the next one if they get bored or come back if they are overwhelmed.

Not coming in couples and changing partners a lot allows people to socialize, which is one of tango’s characteristics. It is a social event.

Most teachers are young. Most young people do hobbies in which they learn from someone they identify. Older people are more open to learn with someone of any age range. Young teachers have a better chance to maximize the age range of students.

You don’t feel out of place when you’re learning and try to jump in to the dancing floor. And what you feel as an outsider is that their main goal is to give you tools to jump in the salon that is where you will learn the most of your art.

You pay your entrance and from the beginning of the evening you can get even three lessons, one after the other, and then comes the milongas and the practicas. But there is just one price and you just pay once, doesn’t matter when you arrive. In one night you can learn tango, milonga and salsa.

At an announced hour (Saturdays at 3am) entrance starts being free and many pro dancers arrive from other milongas.

Music is repeated very similary week after week, even pieces at more or less the same time are repeated, and subtly go changing every week. But the whole stile and the structure remain. You get familiar with what is coming and you expect it. But at the same time there are, now and then, new “hits”.

The whole night its self is designed. Lights change during the evening and some things are always repeated till one day comes a new design and so does the music and the people that arrive and leave. There is no major surprise. Very seldom performances take part.

Several times I have heard people say that La Viruta is a type of bridge in between a disco and a milonga. I think they are right. And when starting a community I find the need of bridges like this necessary to make it easier to people to approach tango.

There is much more to say about this venue and its ideas but I’ll leave it for next time.

This is my first 'try out post'. Hope many more come.