Date: September 19th 2008

Mid-Sept Update:

Madrid Report, Men Needed and More!

Jango News Mid Sept 2008

 

Hola!

This month has taken me from Paris, Madrid, Southport and back to London.  This coming month I'll be performing in Dubai, teaching from Brighton up to Manchester, and running a bunch of stuff in London, and I’m going to start with two quick announcements:

More Men Needed for Tango Course Starting Thursday 2^nd of October!

Men!  If you wanna feel needed, respected and appreciated sign up now for this amazing course!  There are women queuing up to have you tango them to their dreams. Your time is now…  more info here!

Spaces for Men and Couples on the Tango/Jango workshop day, Next Weekend Saturday 27^th September!

You can choose to focus on pure tango, brush up on Jango fundamentals or spice up your dancing with challenging and eye catching new sequences.   Read all about it!

 

Scroll, slide or slip down to read about:

 

1. A High Brow Low Down on Madrid
2. Lessons from Babies! (Self Promotion Cleverly Disguised as Advice)
3. Super Important Dance Tip for Followers!
4. Workshop and Course Dates Summary!

 

 

1. All About Madrid….

           

Madrid, of course, is amazing!  The buildings are mostly shades of oranges and yellows, basking in the sun all day, people are out in countless plazas and squares, drinking eating and socialising late into the night, warm night air, great music, friendly and colourful people, small streets with little traffic, and it smells great.  I never thought I would say that of a city, but coming out onto the street I really felt like the air was fresh and I was gonna enjoy breathing it.  So I did.  About 160 times per day.

I actually ended up meeting more Argentineans than Spanish, not just at Tango venues but at contact impov sessions too!  It was weird.  But I made new friends and had incredibly productive practice sessions with a fantastic Argentine tango dancer who has been living out there for a few years now.   She is tall, graceful, and a beautifully experimental tango.  In fact, here is a piece she did some time back with her full time dance partner, which I think will make my case far more powerfully:  http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=U0gMpWjxEtc

Anyway, the studio we practiced in was as evocative as the Paris one.  The walls, as you entered the building, were covered with portraits and posters of past flamenco stars, staring into the space with passionate indifference.  Inside the actual dance studios were these giant frescos of matadors thrusting and posing at lunging bulls.  The windows looked onto the courtyard around which all the flats in the building were orientated.  These date from the 18^th century.  The wooden floor looks battle weary, having stood up to thousands of booted stamps over many decades.  And there can be few spaces that inspire you to dance more. 

Except perhaps Southport!  With Anja I taught three pure tango classes that seemed to go pretty well, and enjoyed the atmosphere that Jiveaddiction created for there last event at that venue. I’m now back in London, staying in the now disused UCL Hospital, 5 minutes from Tottenham Court Road.   

Anyway I would love to see you at one of the courses or workshops we have planned.  Jenny is back from her 9 month stay in Argentina, and we'll be reviving and reworking a Nuevo tango piece that we only performed once last December before she left for South America.  This is planned to be showcased at a couple of different places, and when its all set I'll let you know exactly where!  Also, Kate Hargreaves is back in action and will be teaching the Monday course with me in Twickenham.  In the mean time, I hope to see you dancing soon and hope also I get to be part of your journey towards more connected, creative and cuddly dancing! 

 

 

2. Life Tip!

 

Normally we give you dance tips, but sometimes plain advice is just as helpful!   So here is some great advice: Don't confuse motion with progress!  You probably remember Kate had a baby some time back.  I recently asked if he had learnt to walk yet, but the answer was no.  All he had figured out was how to crawl.  But only backwards!  Apparently this gets him really cross:  Everything he wants keeps getting further away.

So check out your own life, my friend!  Maybe you are busy, maybe your moving all about, but are you actually getting closer to the things you want, or further away!?!

Lots of people go dancing every week, but years later they are not much better!  Practice only improves performance if you are practicing the right stuff.  Progress starts with quality information, and that is what I’m planning to provide lots of in the course advertised above!

 

 

3. Really Important Dance Tip for Followers!

 

You might have found that last little anecdote nothing more than cynical manipulation of personal information for my own selfish capitalistic gain.  You might think what I should be doing is providing actual dance tips applicable on the dance floor.  Well then, I will.  This one is for the girls.  When led forward, although your hand in some cases may get closer to your body, it should not move backwards in relation to everything around you.  

In other words, you should draw your centre towards your hand, not your hand towards your centre.

Otherwise you are tugging, or pulling on your partner to move forward.  If you partner is me this is painful!  Instead of pushing and pulling on your partner, push and pull off the floor.  It is stronger, wider, more stable and always there.  Perfect for a long term relationship.   Just don't try have sex with it. 

 

 

4. Upcoming Dates….

 

With everything that is going on it can be hard to keep track. This little list is as much for my benefit as yours!

 

You can also stay up to date with all workshops and classes around the country by checking my teaching and travel schedule on Google Calendars.

 

September 27^th – Jango / Tango Saturday Workshop

Oct / Nov – Mondays starting 6^th Oct, Int Jango Course in Twickenham

Oct / Nov – Thursdays starting 2^nd Oct, Tango Course in Earls Court

Oct 26^th  – Jango / Tango Sunday Workshop

Nov 30th – Jango / Tango Sunday Workshop

 

More details on all these are on the web page.

 

 

 

Amir

07881 622 909

amir@jango.co.uk

www.jango.co.uk

Okay.  Now for all that exciting 'how do I get this guy to stop talking to me' stuff.  Its pretty boring, plus its automatically added to the end of my emails so I can't even spice it up.  So please imagine the following:  I'm dangeling by my ankle from the top of the Tower of London, dressed in a 19th century nurses outfit reading out the following using a melody from your favoite or most hated Take That hit, in a Telly Tubby voice.