tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25732067132356594542024-03-27T06:36:35.268+00:00The OutpostThe OutpostThe Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.comBlogger405125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-14580413693428594372024-03-08T22:17:00.002+00:002024-03-08T22:18:11.777+00:00La vanidá
The Argentinuan ego is famous in Latin America. Perhaps it is even more exaggerated in the tango world, especially among teachers, especially travelling teachers and those performing the type of shows that are adverts for classes.The brasher the show, the more dangerous for the ego. The more comedic the show, the more to hand the antidote.While a performer (of tango comedy), Marcelo, The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-76976849328422590402024-01-28T13:50:00.012+00:002024-01-28T13:57:22.695+00:00Obligation (IV)By Malcolm Lidbury (aka Pink pasty) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, I have had a bug for two weeks, four or five days of which were Purgatory proper: the wobbles, fever, cracked lips. I inhaled an entire bottle of eucalyptus oil in an attempt to open up the airways in my wheezy lungs, some days smelling nothing at all. I was lent such an exhaustion that the ordinary indifference of my The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-57955293621797288602023-12-29T14:19:00.019+00:002023-12-29T22:45:59.243+00:00Teaching school and tangoI taught tango in a nearby city between mid July and mid October of this year. I wanted to hold a party, someone else found a venue and wanted to DJ. That morphed in to being asked to co-teach tango and after that person returned to their country I continued for another month or so.I quit actual teacher training (of secondary kids in schools) definitively last week. I The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-4710316283659697542023-12-27T23:10:00.221+00:002023-12-30T09:17:57.624+00:00Christmas 2023When I began to write this, on Christmas Eve morning, I should have been glueing a gingerbread house together with icing, a present for my nieces, but I am not too coherent after rising and my good-temper and good manners extends as far as refraining from speech. My husband is up around five, bright, optimistic, productive. I am so far from being able to empathise with this that I The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-37272297392754452682023-12-26T23:38:00.074+00:002023-12-27T17:02:32.127+00:00Musical journeysThe link above is, to share with those interested, a haunting, elemental introduction to the caja. Even in the first few seconds, the mountain landscape, the wind, the sparse vegetation, the sky, and the sound of the caja evoke so much about this music that is such a part of that paisaje. I have had occasional, wonderful dances in milongas but more enduringly, tango led me to tryThe Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-33398493604202997742023-12-06T00:18:00.039+00:002023-12-07T09:21:22.386+00:00Strangeness and aweI am not sure what it is about the copla that exerts such a pull. It may be something to do with the authenticity and democracy of the form. I was listening to a podcast about the baguala. Leda Valladares spent much of her life gathering and singing Argentinian folk songs including this form. In a 1961 article on Argentinian folk music, composer Jaime Dávalos says, La baguala es The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-33990409430154238562023-12-01T23:28:00.098+00:002024-01-13T22:42:42.440+00:00The ultimate companionLater, I listened to another version of the Baguala de Amaicha by the inimitable folk singer Jorge Cafrune. I have heard no other Argentinian singer to date who so encompasses and transmits the sense of a wide landscape through the voice. Don’t be deceived by the gentle start to the song.After I had returned from Barcelona, Olga sent me this affecting summary of the copla (or couplet) The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-69131587423281355962023-11-29T00:05:00.014+00:002023-11-29T14:16:54.371+00:00A lesson in humility, by Atahualpa Yupanqui and Juan ChauquiIn Barcelona I chatted during the asado about folklore - music,dress, history, with an Argentinian teacher of dance, Olga.
I mentioned the great Argentinian folk singer, Atahualpa Yupanqu and some folklore genres I had heard, whereupon she told me one I didn't know: the baguala. I don't remember exactly how she described it, perhaps something like poetic, deepThe Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-29457662175169914752023-11-19T23:47:00.050+00:002023-11-24T19:18:48.708+00:00Barcelona queer tango festival 2023<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
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Main evening venue - Friday and Saturday nights, the station bar of the Estación de Francia This was the first time this event has been held. I went in part because I had had such a lovely evening with The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-64535607968263573072023-11-19T00:30:00.036+00:002023-11-19T15:38:08.033+00:00Argentina votes: three viewsVoting results after the first round of the election, October 23GeorgistEnjoyer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsApologies for the long hiatus. The links to the Iain McGilchrist article and animation (comments on this post) were fascinating. I thought about them and had conversations about them for weeks. Then I became busy, plus there was the “tango teaching saga” of The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-73154620747620804852023-09-29T18:35:00.002+01:002023-09-30T11:45:49.766+01:00Technique, creativity and self-expressionWallpaperflareTo return at last to that comment about technique, creativity and self expression: I've said I think technique is best picked up ideally wordlessly, from dancing with good, experienced dancers, people who have and do things you enjoy - their posture, their sense of intention, their flow, their smoothness, how relaxed and comfortable they feel. And it's best if you don't even The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-881624729720319392023-09-28T18:17:00.008+01:002023-09-28T18:17:00.156+01:00Imposing "help"FreepikIn dance forums and social media groups, people often say, well that idea of learning with good social dancers is all very well - if they will dance with you and help you. I realise there often aren't the experienced people around and willing to dance individually, spend time with beginner guys. That's a so-called "community" I wouldn't want to be in. But those people do exist. At a The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-10087825991027529852023-09-27T18:30:00.002+01:002023-09-28T12:42:21.310+01:00PressureWilliam WarbyNew guys put themselves under far too much pressure when they only want to “lead”, plus of course they never find out what it’s like for the woman. That’s why swapping roles for beginners is so important. I have huge respect for guys who agree to do that from the get-go, especially if they themselves opt for it rather than it being suggested to them.Even "showing" tense-arm The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-5579000545243142822023-09-26T18:12:00.012+01:002023-09-27T10:13:06.612+01:00Tense guysEric Van BuskirkOften, dancing individually with guys who arrive to class or práctica, maybe from other dances or classes with a credo of steps, their arms are tense. A tense guy transmits his stress and can be physically painful to dance with. They know, not least because I keep loosening my arm. It happens all the time with guys who have been told to have a "frame" or guys who are The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-49534387604776564722023-09-25T17:56:00.002+01:002023-09-25T23:08:38.329+01:00Do unto others..HelenaWhatever people might say, technique for many has a lot to do with look and if the guy is hunched over but I still get a great connection with him, so what? I take my partners as they come and if they are respectful, fun (which includes creative) and musical then I am happy. Guys who are very upright and mannered may be beautiful to look at but are often dancing for themselves, or at The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-85493798681911072952023-09-24T10:52:00.003+01:002023-09-24T18:15:35.385+01:00ListeningPaul DowneyWe were returning from a milonga where the the music, floor and food had been good but the sound quality and dancing not. Being much newer, she hadn't known the guys. I had tried them all years before. Not even the women had tempted me and I had been bored. I asked her how she had found the guys. Two of the guys "danced for both of us" she said but at leastThe Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-10918898444284328522023-09-23T17:53:00.000+01:002023-09-23T17:53:00.138+01:00 Prácticas for guysRon FrazierPeople asking for help from good social dancers, as opposed to it being imposed on them by bad ones, is extraordinarily rare, even in prácticas. People usually use practicas to dance, which points to a greater desire for social dancing than a desire to learn. That's fine. Most people don't want to learn after a certain point, they want to dance. I wish people were more autonomous The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-54393351745758013172023-09-23T10:44:00.012+01:002023-09-24T09:51:27.221+01:00Missing the pointReva GIf I only danced with people with great technique I would indeed be judging them, dancing according to an idea of dance “levels” I have never appreciated and which leads to the arrogance and elitism for which the tango world is fairly notorious, compared to other dances. A propos, did you see this post?It's an advert for his book (if you read to the end). He's a hard-advertising The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-2769985325933968272023-09-19T18:39:00.043+01:002023-09-19T18:51:01.790+01:00Technique: a short cutAndrew Tryon I will get round to that interesting comment about creativity and technique. Meanwhile, thoughts along the way.First we would need to agree what technique is. If it's this (for women) I have nothing generous to say but at least she's not playing with herself. Technique is not something I am focused on. I am not a technique zealot in the sense that some people The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-58248108610153618532023-09-16T13:58:00.008+01:002023-09-16T21:46:01.204+01:00The main problem with male dancingYesterday at forró, a traditional Brazilian dance, somewhere between salsa and tango, I mentioned to a young woman that I was here partly through disillusionment with the milongas, mostly with the guy dancing. Is it because they dance steps? she asked, another woman again homing in immediately on the crux of the matter.She has danced for six months but it was only her second time in theThe Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-43320325475573838052023-09-13T16:33:00.004+01:002023-09-15T13:14:00.782+01:00Beginners dancing well?TodotangoBack to the comment on that post:"I see the quality of dancing within 100 miles of me and I see a problem.""people say fantastic things about those who stay [dancing with me]"This kind of thing is always a nuisance and a bore.One is tempted to assume the readers for whom one really writes see through that type of deliberate slur. One has an expectation of the reader and if they're not itThe Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-71113768473532469102023-09-13T00:21:00.018+01:002023-09-15T10:54:49.092+01:00Slim pickingsSlim Pickings by _Veit_The comments on the last post were really interesting & thought-provoking and I hope to come back to them. Today I'm going to pick up on one that quoted "I see the quality of dancing within 100 miles of me and I see a problem."...and deal with the second line of the comment in another post.Yes, most of the dancing is problematic (for me). More The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-66020418159772440912023-09-10T11:00:00.005+01:002023-09-11T00:16:22.801+01:00Paying for training saves time?Guided tour, tango holiday, 2012, SicilySome thoughts on Anonymous' comment on The basics and technique:They said "the best way to learn something is to love (be loved by) someone who is good at the thing." They gave examples of being born into the right family or picking the right person as an adult. Leaving aside the moral issue of choosing someone in order to exploit them for one's own ends - The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-33411261005744976682023-09-02T18:24:00.003+01:002023-09-10T09:35:10.362+01:00In dance as in lifeSince this is a huge departure from a major theme in this blog, I felt I should say: I have started teaching tango in a dance class. I was invited, first by a group for whom I had twice done some historical guiding. We were having coffee, talking about tango. I had just said "I don't believe in teaching dance class" when the very next thing the lady said was "But will you teach The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2573206713235659454.post-53243899604328256632023-09-01T18:15:00.012+01:002023-09-01T21:01:31.524+01:00Roles and reliefBack home, I enjoyed the wildflowers out of a packet the council had planted in the local park. They reminded me of the contact tango dance weekend: disparate strangers crammed together, all a bit contrived, not all natural bedfellows and yet don't they look good? Aren't they doing amazingly well together and for the wider environment: the insects, the people who enjoy them? Haven't they come The Outposthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04969848804658804269noreply@blogger.com0