Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Too much fun!

Sebastian Arce and Mariana Montes dancing first a tango then a milonga.  


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Tread gently with feedback

An update from classes over the weekend, Old St John's last night and some reminders about class etiquette :-)

MONDAY NIGHT ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS COURSE 21 Oct - 16 Dec
What a great start towards the final wrap up for 2013 tango.  We had a bumper crowd show up last week for the free class and most of these people + a few surprise extras braved the dance floor last night and have taken their first tango steps. CONGRATULATIONS!  Hot on the heels of the musicality workshops with Joaquin and Phil (last weekend) we started straight in with musicality and are already well on our way to understanding the phrasing of Cara Sucia by Carlos di Sarli and I am sure you all dreamed about it last night - whether you wanted to or not! We focussed on the close embrace and walking and then added in a little turn to get us started.  Well done to all the beginners for a challenging and rewarding class.  I look forward to seeing you next Monday (Labour Day) at 6pm.

MONDAY NIGHT IMPROVERS/INTERMEDIATE CLASS
We will be focussing on connection and the musicality moves that Phil introduced us to over the next few weeks.  We had a fabulous class last night reworking moves from the weekend.

CLASS ETIQUETTE and HEALTHY CONVERSATIONS
A gentle reminder about feedback.
Where ever we are on our tango journey... whether we are a more advanced dancer or a total beginner it is always useful to remember these following points:

  • Be generous with your positive feedback
  • Be very sparing with negative feedback
  • If you think you or your partner are not "getting it" call me over and say " Can you help us to work this out because I feel..... ?" or How do I get this to feel smoother/relaxed because it feels....."  These questions invite healthy discussions not blame and are a prefect way to analyse what is happening and to make it better
  • Remember it is the tradition of tango to help each other improve and explore the dance in a loving way

It doesn't take much to get discouraged and it is very easy to get buttons pushed in tango especially in close embrace so we must remember to show patience, generosity, understanding and humour in the dance.  This way we all improve and feel good about ourselves!

WEEKEND WITH PHIL
Phil Ragg has left Nelson and left behind a real impression with us all.  A very special moment  for me over the weekend was when Phil danced to Nunca Tuvo Novio with his musicality being expressed through in his eyes.  I am sure you all agree that Phil's generosity in the dance is palpable and something we all aspire to!  Thanks Phil for three awesome workshops.  You are a gem and we look forward to having you back again.

REMINDER
NO CLASS LABOUR WEEKEND SUNDAY (due to the long weekend)
CLASSES ON LABOUR DAY MONDAY NIGHT AS USUAL

PRIVATES
I am around Labour Weekend Saturday morning if anyone wants a private.  I was going away but I'll be here :-)

See you all on the dance floor soon!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

NO CLASS SUNDAY

Reminder - No Class this Sunday
13 October

MONDAY CLASSES @ OLD ST JOHN'S, 320 HARDY ST

6pm - 7.15pm
FREE BEGINNERS TANGO CLASS

7.15pm - 8.45pm
IMPROVERS/INTERMEDIATE CLASS

Have a great weekend everyone and I look forward to seeing some of you in Christchurch this weekend for musicality workshops with Joaquin.

NEXT WEEK 18-20 October
SHOE SALE MILONGA and PHIL RAGG is in town.

Hasta la Pista tangueros!

Friday, October 4, 2013

What's coming up?

SUNDAY TECHNIQUE CLASS
NEW SUMMER START TIME
5.30pm - 7pm
OLD ST JOHN'S, 320 Hardy St

We will continue to perfect the circular turn started last week and add another beautiful circular turn to help in navigation and musicality.  I look forward to seeing you all there.

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FORWARD NOTICE 
NO CLASS on SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER


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ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS FREE CLASS
14 OCTOBER (see flyer)




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MONDAY INTERMEDIATE CLASS
This Monday coming (7 October, 6.30pm) is the last Intermediate class at 7 Dundas St.  We have all enjoyed having the classes in this intimate setting over the winter months and I want to thank you all for coming to Dundas St for your lessons.   

As of 14 October the class will be held at Old St John's, at 7.15pm.  So start reorganising your schedules so you can come and help integrate the Improvers into this class.

TUESDAY IMPROVERS CLASS
This Tuesday coming (8 October, 7pm) is the last Improvers Tuesday class for this year.  It will be held at 7 Dundas St.  I look forward to seeing you all there.

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NEXT FABULOUS EVENT
PHIL RAGG in NELSON, 19-20 October
Create flow and naturalness in your dance using musical phrasing.

(PLEASE REGISTER YOUR INTEREST)

PHIL RAGG is coming to Nelson to teach and share his ideas on "Musicality and Manouverability in a small space".    For those of you who do not know Phil he is a highly respected and fun teacher from Christchurch and it is my pleasure to host him here for the first time in Nelson.  The flyer is below and has all the details.  Here is the weekend in a nut shell:

Friday, 18 October
Shoe Sale and Milonga, $15 or $10 if you are coming to the whole weekend with Phil
7pm - 11pm
Masonic Hall, 107 Nile St 
Bring your old shoes to sell and dance the night away.

Saturday Night, 19 October
Workshop 1, $25
The embrace and walking the different tracks
7pm - 8.30pm
Bar Berlin
followed by a Milonga at Bar Berlin (free if you have done the workshop, $10 if coming just for the milonga)

Please buy a platter and some drinks at Bar Berlin to help support this great venue.

Sunday Afternoon 20 October
Manoeuvrability & Musicality in a small space 
Old St John's, 320 Hardy St

Workshop 2, $20
 2pm - 3.30pm

 Workshop 3, $20
 4pm - 5.30pm

TOTAL PRICE FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND INCLUDING FRI, SAT AND SUN $70 
(payable on Fri Night)

3 WORKSHOPS + SAT MILONGA $60

INDIVIDUAL WORKSHOPS AS DETAILED ABOVE
FRI MILONGA ONLY $15
SAT MILONGA ONLY $10





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SAVE THE DATE

NOVEMBER  15-17
Argentinean Visiting Teachers 
(info coming soon)


 Happy dancing everyone