Schools, teachers, workshops, festivals – part one - Scoli, profesori, seminarii, festivaluri - prima parte

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Schools, teachers, workshops, festivals – part one

I started learning tango at a school. I was very pleased of what I have been taught there. I took everything as it was. I thought that was the way to be done. Relaxed and nice environment. I went there only Sundays to the classes, as during the week I went three times to ballroom dances… which I quit for tango… for good and no way back. But I got some habits: I learned to take the information in a certain form: here you put your leg like this, here you turn like this, here you do like this … in tango class … I were doing caminar, caminar, caminar, once an ocho, but the information was somehow vague. Nothing was clear for me, it wasn’t enough. I didn’t know how to walk… how I put my feet on the floor… how I make the step, how I move my hips… it was a very foggy environment … but generally I liked what was going on, although I felt I want more and I didn’t know how and where I could take what I needed. In January our tango instructor announced the opening of a new tango school, and recommended to go there and to try. I was very skeptical. I was used to the people there, with the place and how was everything and it seemed to me inadequate to change the school only after 3-4 months.

The curiosity pushed me to a workshop on a Tuesday evening, not quite an ordinary tango lesson, but discussions on tango principles. Obviously my education level in this area was to low to understand all they were talking about, but it was a source of information, we played some games and the approach seemed to me interesting; the new school was different. I thought it worth to try once, to go to one lesson to see how they teach. So I went. I was delighted. I even told to the instructors “you made my day!” I found what I was looking for and the information was given as I expected. Since then, almost one year and a half I have gone there every week, each Monday, Wednesday and Friday to the classes, to practica and on Sundays to milonga at “Cina” or some other place where there was a milonga on Saturday, so I had only 2 days per week without tango. My old friends… I think you all know how it goes when tango enters someone’s life… but this is another story.

On Tuesday I was anxious for Wednesday to come to go to the class, on Thursday I was waiting for Friday to go to practica. I had 2 days a week without tango which were passing very slowly. If I had where to go on those days to tango, I would!

I cannot say how much I progressed as it is due also to other workshops with
Ney and Jennifer and the workshops in Budapest. Just after one workshop I practiced very much what I’ve been taught, (woman technique), with any occasion: in the class, at practica, any time I was dancing as at that time we were dancing a lot during the class and the exercises were interspersed with 2-3 songs. The exercises were included in the dance.

In other words, I took from each teacher what he could give me, and I never limited myself into only one direction. I went to workshops where I thought that worth the effort and money… I didn’t go to just any seminar… maybe I was wrong, but… I tried to go, if possible, to workshops held by teachers that had a link with Argentina (people that staid some month in Bs As), to meet people who learned from famous teachers. I searched on youtube to see videos of them and their web page, their activity, etc. The important thing was that the information transmitted by them had to come from sources that I trusted. It didn’t matter if they went on CITA stage or not…. But this is another story. Later, after I searched the net, with its tones of information, texts, stories, videos, I started to focus on a certain style and to be interested in certain teachers.

To be continued...

Scoli, profesori, seminarii, festivaluri - prima parte

Am inceput la o scoala. Am fost incantata de tango argentinian asa cum mi s-a prezentat acolo. Am luat toul de bun. Am zis ca asa se face. Atmosfera relaxata, placuta. Am mers doar duminica la cursuri pentru ca in timpul saptamanii mergeam de 3 ori pe saptamana la dans sportiv… pe care l-am parasit in favoarea tangoului, … definitiv si irevocabil. Insa ramasesem cu sechele oarecum: invatzasem sa preiau informatia intr-un anumit fel: aici pui piciorul asa, aici te inotorci asa, aici faci asa… la tango … mergeam, si mergeam, si mergeam, mai faceam un ocho, dar informatia era cam vaga. Nu mi-era nimic clar, nu-mi era suficient. Nu stiam cum sa merg… cum pun piciorul, cum fac pasul, cum mishc sholdul… era o mare nebuloasa… imi placea in mare ce se intampla, dar simteam ca vreau mai mult, si nu stiam cum si de unde sa iau. In ianuarie profesorul de tango ne-a anuntat deschiderea unei noi scoli de tango, si ne-a recomandat cu caldura sa mergem si acolo sa vedem si alte variante. Am fost foarte sceptica. Ma obisnuisem cu oamenii, cu locul si cu ce se intampla pe acolo si mi se parea aiurea sa schimb scoala doar dupa 3-4 luni.

Mai mult din curiozitate m-am dus la un seminar intr-o marti, seminar care nu era o lectie propriu zisa de tango, erau discutii de principiu asupra tangoului. Evident nivelul meu de cultura in domeniu era mult prea scazut pentru a putea intelege tot ce se intampla acolo, dar era o sursa de informatie, s-au facut niste jocuri, si abordarea mi s-a parut interesanta; noua scoala era alt fel. Am zis ca merita o incercare, sa ma duc la o lectie sa vad modul de predare. M-am dus. Am fost incantata. Chiar le-am spus instructorilor atunci: “you made my day!”. Gasisem ceea ce cautam din punct de vedere informational, iar informatia venea asa cum ma asteptam eu. De atunci, aproape un an si jumatate am fost in fiecare saptamana, luni, miercuri si vineri la ore, la practica, duminica mergeam la milonga la Cina, sau pe unde se mai facea, cateodata se mai facea cate o milonga sambata, asa ca ajunsesem sa am doar 2 zile pe saptamana fara tango. Prietenii…. cred ca stiti cu toti cum se intampla lucrurile cand apare tango in viata cuiva…. Dar asta este alt subiect. Martea asteptam cu nerabdare sa vina ziua de miercuri sa merg la lectie, joi din nou trecea greu pana vineri cand aveam practica. Aveam 2 zile pe saptaman fara tango, care treceau greu. Daca as fi avut posibilitatea sa merg si in acele zile m-as fi dus!

Nu-mi dau seama care a fost progresul meu, pentru ca s-a suprapus si cu alte seminarii cu Ney si Jennifer, si seminariile de la Budapesta. Imediat dupa un seminar, exersam foarte mult ce mi se preda la seminar (tehnica pentru femei), pe cat posibil la orice lectie, practica, cand se dansa, ca la vremea respectiva se dansa destul de mult la lectie, iar exercitiile se intercalau cu 2-3 melodii. Exercitiile erau mult integrate in dans.

Cu alte cuvinte, am luat de la fiecare profesor ce a avut sa-mi dea, si nu m-am limitat doar intr-o directie. Am fost la seminariile care am crezut ca merita efortul si banii… nu m-am dus la orice seminar… poate am gresit, dar nu tot ce zboara se mananca… Dupa ce il vazusem pe Gonzalo cum arunca cu Eva Espoleta pe sus in pantalonii lui mulati roshii… mi-a fost clar ca nu era o persoana care sa merite timpul si efortul meu. Am incercat sa ma duc pe cat posibil, la seminarii cu profesori care aveau o legatura cu Argentina (stateau cateva luni prin Bs As), de care se mai auzise, care sa fi luat lectii cu alti mari profesori de care sa se mai fi auzit. Ma uitam pe youtube sa vad clip-uri, le cautam pagina de web sa vad poze, video, activitate, etc. Important era ca informatia pe care mi-o transmiteau ei sa vina, chiar si in parte, din alte surse, in care puteam sa am incredere. Nu ceream sa fie oameni care au urcat neaparat pe scena la CITA … dar asta e alt subiect cu CITA. Mai tarziu, dupa ce am rasfoit net-ul care geme de informatii, texte, povesti, clip-uri, am inceput sa ma concentrez pe un stil anume si sa ma intereseze anumiti profesori.

To be continued...