Tuesday 6 October 2009

Biagi...

...also left the human race with one of the great recordings of 'Lagrimas y Sonrisas', 'tears and smiles', one of our all-time favourite valses, one of his greatest hits, and one that can be enjoyed without worrying about the legato and staccato of it. I love this improvisation by a young Argentine couple, on their way to church if I understand the caption correctly ('Improvisando un poco antes de salir para la capilla'). Why is it that I can watch this again, but I can't get beyond the first 20 seconds of those 'Campeones mundiales de tango salon' videos? Is that perverse? & she's not even dancing in CiFs!

Video thanks to Mecesarariet.



I might as well add this here: it seems to be part of the same 'session' as the above, a bit later perhaps, since she's had time to put on her dancing shoes. But the thing about it is that it's Biagi again, a tango, and one of his more complicated tangos, rhythmically, too. Their response to the urgent rhythms, with those odd misplaced beats, seems lots of short steps; but I think I prefer their vals, with a relatively straightforward Biagi. & it's great to see 'milonguero' danced and enjoyed by lively young people too. There's a lot of wit and enjoyment in it; there's clear, inventive leading and great following. 'Nuevo' hasn't conquered the world, not yet. I must find out where La Capilla is...



Again, video thanks to Mecesarariet.

12 comments:

Mari said...

That was *wonderful*!!! Gorgeous and such a beautiful improvisation! That made my day! :)

Claudita said...

Nice! I think they might not be off to church but to La Capilla a venue that's in an old convent school in BA..then again, you never know...;-)

Tangocommuter said...

Thanks Claudita! That certainly sounds more likely! La Capilla: I must look it up.

Game Cat said...

Is she in flip-flops? How did she pivot in them???

Something for the ladies in London to think about? ;-)

Tangocommuter said...

Flip-flops or open sandals, might have smooth soles. My question was: how does she manage to keep them on? And do all those little embellishments too. Perhaps good for practice, then dancing in good shoes would seem easy.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they were practicing their wedding dance before going to the chapel (capilla) to get married.

Claudita said...

This is where the 'Capilla' I'm talking about is:
Tte. Gral. Juan D. Peron 2450 "La Capilla", Buenos Aires.
Between November 08 and April 09, santangotelmo club and other folk organised Milongas there, outdoors on the terrace when the weather was nice - don't know what goes on there now.
As to how people dance there...it's a total mixture. Some of the folk who used to teach there called a show they put on in their hometown 'Ni nuevo, ni viejo - Simplemente Tango' - that about sums it up for me. ;-)

Tangocommuter said...

@ Jantango: the thought had occurred to me. But then they don't look at all nervous...;-)
@Claudita, many thanks. I may be there in a few months: I look forward to some 'Ni nuevo, ni viejo - Simplemente Tango'.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's great! If you're thinking about how to dance Biagi don't forget this video:

http://www.tangoandchaos.org/chapt_5video/25miguel.htm

Same music and some of the most amazing dancing I've ever seen.

I always have to smile a bit when I read about 'nuevo' conquering the world (although I know it's partly true) as I'm 23 years old myself. And when I introduced some friends to tango they didn't like the nuevo music at all. I actually had to explain them this was considered being sort of tango as well. But I have to admit they were all music students, maybe that makes a difference.

Shouldn't forget to thank you for this wonderful blog!

Tangocommuter said...

Many thanks for reminding me of that clip, Anon! T&C has the best video, and that's one of the best of the best. When I was looking for Biagi music and dance I forgot to look there. That's a real inspiration, Miguel Balbi, effortlessly on the beat, despite those endless winding turns.

& many thanks for your comments. Interesting that music students didn't rate nuevo music. Electrotango always sounds 'thin' to me. I prefer the new accoustic bands like Astillero, Fernandez Fierro.

msHedgehog said...

@Game Cat - she's not pivoting - she's doing pivotless ochos like I do in close embrace ;)

I could do those in good-quality smooth flipflops as long as they fitted well and the floor was slippery enough. I love what she's doing.

I agree, this is just lovely.

Unknown said...

What I noticed about these two videos is that they are filmed through a mirror, which means that this leader is dancing with his right side as the open side of the embrace???

or is it just me?