Thursday, February 28, 2013

Summer Tango in Nelson

ONE WEEK TO GO!

If you haven't registered yet but are intending to come to Summer Tango please let me know as I need to get a handle on numbers for seating, how many deserts to make for the Sat night and glassware!  All the important things :-)

in the meantime

We have Practilonga@ the Art Zone tomorrow (Friday) night from 5.30pm - 9pm 
and we have a special Argentinean guest who is coming to dance with us.  Alberto is a teacher from Salon Canning in Buenos Aires and it will be my pleasure to introduce him to the wonderful scene we have here.

and

Sunday class at 5pm  
(following on from the work we did on the embrace last week 
we will be focussing on axis, pivot, movement).

See you soon tangueros!

I have recently been reminded of the wonderfully funny tango cynic - 
time for a laugh ladies....


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The benefits of tango

We all know that Tango is not "just" a dance.  We all know the physical health benefits  ...but did you know this?

Click here for An interesting article from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Let's dance this Friday night!


Practilonga @ The Art Zone

 This Fri night the 1st March at 
THE ART ZONE
26 Gloucester St, Nelson
(opposite Repco)

$10 to A-M

the orchestras are the best of Calo and D'Arienzo

the Start time is 5.30pm

we dance till 9pm

you can buy platters and snacks there, wine, 

coffee, tea and juices

come straight from work and start the 

weekend dancing!

See you at The Art Zone

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

SUMMER TANGO IN YOUR TOWN!! 8 - 10 March 2013

Hello Nelson Tangueros,

Registrations are coming in from far and wide for the Summer Tango in Nelson weekend which is just around the corner.

We have many people from Auckland, Tauranga (for the first time this year) Wellington and Christchurch enrolled and a couple from Canada who are flying into Christchurch on the Friday and then driving up. What commitment to the dance!

Please register as soon as you can so I can get a handle on numbers ;-)

I have tried to keep it as reasonably priced as I can.

$75 for the entire weekend or individual milongas as priced.

Fri night  - $25
Sat afternoon - free
Sat night - $35
Sun afternoon - $25

Take a look at the website and get inspired again! www.summertangoinnelson.co.nz

We have some new events that we are offering this year as well.  We have a free guided walk up the Grampians and Yoga-on-the-beach as well as our very own fabulous portable dance floor (courtesy of Nelson Pine Industries, Gibson Timber and Bill Gilbertson) which will be set up in Fashion Island on the Saturday afternoon.  The idea is to be as visual as possible to spread the tango word.  There will be radio and print advertising closer to the time promoting the Saturday afternoon tango in an attempt to further grow our community here.

If you have any friends who would like to come to a milonga to get a glimpse of some of the best tangueros in NZ and have a taste of tango then place advise them that $10 on the door of any of the milongas will be appreciated!

Does anyone want to make a cake for the Sunday afternoon milonga?!  Let me know :-)


To register please follow these steps....

1) payment of $75 per person by direct credit into the following account:

           A Therkleson
           ANZ  11 5250-0186162-55

  1. *  include your name with your deposit 
     e.g. Bob Star STIN

    or pay by cheque to: A Therkleson
     2/160 Collingwood St  Nelson 7010

    or pay in class

2) then email me and make sure you include:

*  amount you have paid, the date and how you paid
  1. * the names of the people you are paying for 

    Thank you and see you on the dance floor soon!










Friday, February 15, 2013

No Class on Sunday and Celebration of the Men in Tango


REMINDER:
No Class this Sunday 17 February

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


So dance tonight instead!
It's going to be a great night as we......


celebrate the Nelson Men of Tango


La Catedral Milonga @ The Masonic Hall



La Catedral Milonga


                                       "With use of the Cabeceo encouraged"


3rd Friday of the month

Friday 15th February

Masonic Hall, 107 Nile St, Nelson 


7.30pm - 11pm


$15 on the door



BYO

fabulous floor, great sound system 

prize for the most outrageously shirted gentleman!!


And here is a little video of Michelle and Murat who will be teaching at the NZ Tango Festival this year.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MEN IN TANGO

Yes that's right... calling all fabulous shirts to the dance floor this Friday night.

A prize awaits the gentleman with the best shirt.




La Catedral Milonga @ The Masonic Hall



La Catedral Milonga


                                       "With use of the Cabeceo encouraged"


3rd Friday of the month

Friday 15th February

Masonic Hall, 107 Nile St, Nelson 


7.30pm - 11pm


$15 on the door



BYO

fabulous floor, great sound system 

prize for the most outrageously shirted gentleman!!




Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Upcoming new classes



Quick reminder about new upcoming classes

MILONGA COURSE

4 WEEK MILONGA EXTENSION COURSE
Did you complete the 5 week Milonga course in November and now you want to continue and build on those skills?  Can you already dance Milonga but want to shape up for the Summer Tango in Nelson weekend?
Then this is the course for you.
Wednesdays 13 February - 6 March 2013
6pm - 7.30pm
YMCA, 156 Toi Toi St, Victory
$75 for the full course or $20 a class


BEGINNERS

As of the 11th February we are starting the journey to encourage more beginners into our growing Tango Community.

Please let all your friends know!  This is the perfect class for revision.  I encourage all Improvers to re-do the class, revise the basics and get great satisfaction out of sharing your knowledge and helping the Absolute Beginners find their feet.

Absolute Beginners Tango Course
8 week course
Mondays 11 February - 4 April 2013
6pm - 7.15
St John's Hall, Hardy St (opposite Chipmunks)
$100 or $160 if you come in a lead/follow partnership

Please note the 25th March class will have Quique Miller teaching the beginners class and the following Intermediate class and this will be the beginning of his week long teaching stint in Nelson

Monday, February 4, 2013

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EMBRACE

Rumour is right!
I'll be DJing in Wellington on Saturday night (9 Feb) but I'll be back for class on Sunday afternoon!

Classs will kick off at 5pm and I will open the doors at 4.45.  We will be focussing on the Embrace.


The Importance of the Embrace
I am loving the classes at present.  We have been spending a lot of time focussing on the connection and the flow of the dance begining with the embrace and how to set it up so that it is as comfortable as possible for both lead and follow.

The embrace sets the tone of the dance and is what allows the dance to be fluid, comfortable and expressive. 

Remember when setting up your embrace start with your posture.  Make sure your feet are comfortable on the floor, followers with your weight slightly forward to release the weight off the heel.  Leaders move your weight slightly forward so as to "present" yourself to the follower.  Both lead and follow have soft knees.  Both of you "grow tall" whilst staying  grounded in the lower half of your body and "light" in your upper body.  Soft and relaxed.  Lengthen your waist.  Leaders check that your shoulders are in line with your hips - not forward nor behind your hips.  Followers draw your belly button to your spine strengthening your core as you do so.
 
Are you a very tall leader? Leaders if you are very tall please don't try and come down to the followers height or worse still lift her up to your height - this creates a "challenging" posture for both of you and is at the very least uncomfortable. 
Leaders if your follower is taller than you please don't try and compress her into the ground to become your height!  I know it sounds crazy - but as a tall follower I have seen all the tricks!  I do not want my body forced into an unnatural position... this leads to injuries and uncomfortableness and a not so pleasant dance for both of us because I probably won't be able to dance what you are suggesting in the dance!

If we find it hard to dance with someone taller/shorter than ourselves - guess what we have to do?  Work on our good technique to become better dancers!  An unlikely combination of heights is possible!

Cheeky Business? Do not force your cheeks to meet.  If they happen to meet in the dance that is fine - but do not position yourself so that they meet.  Sometimes body shapes do not allow this and it can become uncomfortable for the person being forced into this position.
The embrace should be relaxed and engaged all the time whether you are embracing in close embrace, open embrace or the practice embrace.  It is this consistancy that encourages the follower to be fully self expressive in the dance.  In class I talk about the flow of energy and keeping the embrace consistant and not to move the arms independantly of the torso.  Remember we engage our "little wings" (top of the lateral muscles) releasing any tightness or anxiety in the muscles on the top of the shoulders (the trapezius)   Leaders we know you have lovely biceps but it is not these that we want to focus our attention on when dancing!  We want a smooth disassociation with relaxed arms connected to and moving with your torso.
Followers I like to imagine that my arms are connected directly to my torso, just under the bust so that my energy is low and I am not holding my arms with tension.... my shoulders are relaxed and my arms engaged from my core. 
 
How much pressure should there be between your extended arms/hands in the embrace?  There should be a light and equal pressure between both partners that can be increased  for "special" moves with the follower absorbing the extra pressure from the lead through her arms and into her body ..... another blog on this another time!  Remember both leaders and followers to keep your elbows in front of your shoulders.... and here's to many many hours on the milonga floor without stressing our bodies or eachother!
 
See you on Sunday for class :-)
 
 
Embraces in Takaka!