An Open Letter

Silvia Ceriani has published a translation of one of Tete Rusconi's Open Letters to tangueros everywhere and always. Also a wonderful description of Regin milonga in the 1990s: from its description as 'on the first floor of Riobamba and Corrientes' we recognise it as what is now El Beso: no longer broken green neon I think, but green curtains.

There are several of these open letters covering much the same ground. They reveal how earnest Tete was about tango, however much he might joke. About tango music, '...this very impassioned music gives us life, energy, pleasure'. As to the dance, he sees danger: '...we are losing it by not respecting it'. Tango is not a business; 'Tango is a part of our lives, part of our grandparents, parents, mothers, brothers and friends. It’s our life'. It's good to remember how the older generation see it, even if we can't match their passion.

Regín

I've just noticed a post by Silvia Ceriani on her Tete y Silvia blog from a while back. It's about a recent album called Reina Noche by Alfredo Rubin. The guy has a great tango voice, perhaps a bit like Goyeneche. He's the author of the poems, the singer too I guess. & poems they are, the old tradition of poem and music renewing itself in the present. Voice and guitars, like the beginnings of tango cancion 90 years ago, simple and direct, without the expense of a full orquesta. Well worth checking out Silvia's post (and the music). Some beautiful things about the milonga, about El Beso, and she's gone to the trouble of making a full translation of the poem Regín from the album, complex, allusive language.

It's on Spotify Alfredo Rubin – Reina Noches. I've been listening to it all evening. & it would be interesting to dance to, too. Very spirited milongas. Nice. There's a couple of other Rubin albums on Spotify too, so a few evenings of new tango music. Very welcome.

Silvia

I really can't get enough of teaching at this level: she's perceptive, and expresses herself clearly, even forcefully in English. She's straightforward about what she sees and feels, and it's never flattering. I lead and follow; she's a strong, clear leader. She reinforces in detail what Pedro says about dancing with the body, and she can both show me and tell me directly. She expects a much more intimate, sensual feel for the dance: the embrace is a lot more than a chest-level connection. She starts by demonstrating a gentle roll of the shoulders, asking what it feels like; it's very pleasurable. I've noticed this gentle shaking before she and Tete started to dance, kind of a settling-in even when they were just going to demonstrate something in class. She talks of holding the partner as gently as holding a baby; you don't want it to wake up and start crying. The energy of leading has to be both gentle and totally confident. & she won't accept anything that isn't danced without total attention to the music.

Pedro leaves me feeling confident and cheerful, but I walk out of this class feeling very thoughtful. I dance close embrace in London, but not like this: I'm not sure anyone dances it like this in London. I've never before had the experience of dancing with someone who can both show me and tell me how the embrace and the dance should feel, and I begin to realise how wooden my dance must feel to partners here. & I can't help wondering how a more sensual embrace might go down back in London. I've often felt that I learn the most from comments by partners I'm dancing with, and this is more of the same; much, much more.