Wednesday 2 May 2012


I hear that both Alberto Dassieu and Ricardo Viquiera are in Switzerland this month.
Here are Alberto and Paulina in a great video from Irene and Man Yung. I especially like this one because they are dancing in a milonga, but it's not crowded. I've often watched Alberto and Paulina in crowded milongas: he leads with all the feeling for the music that's evident in this dance, but slowly, with a lot of pauses, quite cautiously, moving decisively only when he has room; it's a good lesson, a kind of minimal tango. Here he has plenty of space to enjoy the dance no need to be minimal. Still, every Thursday night they turn up at El Beso and sit and eat at a tiny table, crowded in with people coming and going and greeting them, they dance on the crowded floor, and Alberto beams with happiness: such a great milonga tonight! Alberto grew up with Villa Urquiza tango, but not the Villa Urquiza of many contemporary teachers, who use the name for a dance of big gestures. There's something very 'trained', very precise, about Alberto's walk, the way he steps and moves, effortlessly smooth and musical but very passionately with the music. That quite disciplined walk isn't really like the walk of many other local dancers.
'Que vals!' as he would say.

 And Ricardo Viquiera: a neat demonstration of floorcraft this, worth watching again. Ricardo is also clear about the right way to walk and move, not for aesthetic reasons, not because something looks good, but quite simply because it works better that way. As his video demonstrates! He has an excellent reputation for spotting areas where dancers need help, where things aren't quite right.
I guess Ricardo will be around for a few months in Europe...


PS: Sorry to hear that my information is out of date: Alberto had to cancel his visit to Switzerland. But the video still looks great!

1 comment:

Diana from artbead.lv said...

Thank you for reminding about the beauty of a simple steps and the discipline on the floor. So authentic and so elegant!