TANGO, VIOLENCE AND VULNERABILITY Vera: “Remember guys, no violence here.” Oh, just a little bit. This is a dance class, after all. How bad can things get? Vera’s caution is simply about the lead. Last class the voleo, this class the calesita. But it doesn’t matter the step. In tango there is a potential for … Read more

“Remember, no violence here, guys.”Tuesday evening class at Casa Tango with Daniel and Vera Calcines. No violence? In a dance class? What is Vera thinking? I am just off reading a true story about a young female journalist from Calgary who had been kidnapped in Somalia and held hostage for 429 days. Now that was … Read more

Tango Plus Edmonton, Vicente and Christina Munoz

Breath and ConnectionThe first time I was invited to breathe in a tango embrace, and then to breathe in unison with my partner, was during a private lesson with Gwen Spinks, (check link), a dance instructor from Nanaimo/ Gabriola Island. My first thought: Now this feels like connection. My gut reaction: Yikes! So what is … Read more

Blog #3 with Jean-Sebastien, Studio Ten.Houdini as my tango mentor? Apparently. By all counts, he was a remarkable man accomplishing incredibly complicated maneuvers without breathing for three plus minutes. Not tango exactly (he was wrapped up in 30′ of chain at the bottom of a water tank) but his antics bear uncanny resemblance to my … Read more

Lesson #2 with Jean-Sebastien, Studio Ten. The tango is communication. Learning tango is like a learning a language. The only difference is that with each tango lesson I seem to have to relearn the alphabet. Case in point:Most important rule for directing the dance: lead with your chest.So I thought. Not so.Intend with your torso … Read more