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Buenos Aires on Tap - Tango Maestro Jose Halfon's Workshops in Cape Town

2/28/2012

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We will be privledged to have Argentine Tango Maestro Jose Halfon back in Cape Town in April , sponsored by Libertango.

Jose and his partner Virginia Cutillo are top tango teachers and performers from the heartland of tango, Buenos Aires. In this fiercely competitive environment , they have been recgonised as chief protagonists of modern tango, having been Directors of Tango Brujo and regularly performing at auspicious milongas such as Salon Canning, Soho Tango and Konex. Jose and Vicky are resident instructors at Milonga 10, one of the trendiest milongas in the city and have recently opened their own studio 2Perfiles. They have frequenlty invited to perform at tango festivals internationally.

Jose and Vicky are particularly well known for their own special interpretation of the Argentine Tango which they call Nuevo Tango Salon which is based on principles of natural movement in a flexible closed embrace, with the elegance and attitude of the e tango as always.

Tangueros in Cape Town and Jozi will be catching Jose before he heads off on his summer European tour of Italy, Swizterland and Poland.

Cape Town Programme for Post Beginners to Advanced Dancers

The programme includes workshops for all levels "Tango Temptations- A Flash Introduction to Tango" , a set of 3 introductory lessons and talk.. There will also be a SPECIAL MILONGA AFRICANA  with DJ Halfon.

Tuesday 10 April          6:00 - 7.00          Talk: Tango in the Heartland of Buenos Aires*                   FREE                        iKhaya Lodge

Thursday 12 April        8:15- 9:30           Technica for dancing like a tanguero                                    R80                  St James, Seapoint
                                                                      (men and women, no partner required)

Friday 13 April              8:00 - 9:30          Use of suspension with changes in Dynamic                  R150                        iKhaya Lodge
                                                                      (premilonga lesson)
                                        9:30  - midnight      Milonga Africana with DJ Halfon                                         R40***                     iKhaya Lodge

Saturday 14 April        10:30 -12:00       Working with caminatas - connecting like a Tanguero
                                                                      (walking variations leading to interesting places)             R150                        Obs rec
                                    
                                         1:00 - 2:30          Giros (turns) that  make you swirl                                           R150                        Obs rec
                                        3:00 - 4:30           Simplex and comlex rebotes (rebounds) to dance             R150                       Obs Rec
                                                                      in a reduced space       
                                    
* Talk given by Rachael of Libertango on her experience as a tanguera living in Buenos Aires and on the history and culture of the tango
*** Milonga is free for those attending the premilonga lesson

PLEASE NOTE THAT PAYMENTS FOR WORKSHOPS AND MILONGA SHOULD BE MADE IN CASH. THERE WILL BE NO CREDIT CARD FACILITIES

Venues:

Observatory Recreation Centre, corner Collingwood and Rawson (free secure parking))
St James Church Hall, St James Road Seapoint (between Beach and Main)
iKhaya Lodge, Dunkley Square, Gardens
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The Heel or the Toe - strong and stable in the Tango

2/23/2012

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Students are often surprised when I suggest to them that walking forward or walking forward in ochos, they should step first wirth their heels. Many ladies, in particular, come from a background in ballet or salsa and are accustomed to step on the ball of their foot or point their foot as they step forward.

Modern tango considers natural movement as the guideline for the tango dancer.  Tango is a walking dance. Stepping onto the heel and transferring weight to the big toe as we project our centres forward in space is what we do when we walk down the street. The foot is designed to in this way so that we can walk, in particular the heel and the big toe.. If we lose our big toe due to a an unfortunate event, it would have significant. effect on our balance and ability to walk.

As we are transferring our weight forward when we dance we are using this connection between the heel and the big toe to reach our AXIS. This is the point at which we are perfectly poised to make the next movement, whether it be forward, spiral or circular. Most movements require us to be in our axis before we proceed.

Stepping onto our heel and transferring energy to the big toe provides the dancer with the maximum amount of stability, for leaders and followers. As an experiment, try to walk across the room on the balls of your feet and make your own judgement about how stable you feel. Can you feel where your axis is? Can you easily control the movement?

In the front ocho in particular, the heel provides a strong grounding point from which we can draw ourselves onto our axis while we start to prepare the pivot. Having grounded heel allows us to securely start disassociating with the upper body.

The exception is when we are taking several steps forward very rapidly. In this case we dont have time to connect with the floor for each step and need to use a very strong core and the right amount of relaxation in the knees and hips to be stable.
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Fun on the Streets of Buenos Aires

2/8/2012

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This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
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    Author

    Rachael Glaser: tango junkie, teacher, diva, sourceress

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