03/28/2020
Going Forward: Time for Virtual Tango!
All Queen City Tango in-person events are cancelled. Until the virus clears up, we recommend that you avoid all in-person tango events everywhere on Earth. Please keep in touch with us through emails and social media.
We are exploring options for offering online instruction. Please let us know if you are interested, if you have suggestions for content, or if you want to share online resources with our dance community.
Meanwhile, enjoy this great advice from our friends at Albany Tango:
Wondering what you can do with your unspent tango time? PRACTICE.
As you practice your own moves, you will become stronger and more flexible and improve your balance. Establish a regular practice, and you will be a better dancer.
You do not need a practice partner. Partners can help, but they are not a golden ticket.
First, rely on:
Your time
Your effort
Your intellect
Your experience
You are sufficient unto yourself.
Here are a few suggestions for how to practice:
1. Create a very simple phrase from basic steps. When you have that . . .
2. Practice in your tango shoes
3. Stay on balance
4. Play music and stay on rhythm. When you are pretty sure that you look like Geraldine Rojas or Javier Rodriguez (take your pick) ...
5. Video yourself
If your experience follows our experience, you will make two adjustments:
a. You will choose better clothes for your next video session.
b. You will return to walking and later advance to basic steps.
Every minute that you practice (as described above), you are becoming a better dancer. When you exhaust basic material that you can easily recall, look at any videos that you took at the end of a class. It will be easiest to revive material that is familiar to you. Begin with material that is super simple so you don’t struggle with the mechanics.
If you have any interest in online tango lessons, Albany Tango recommends:
A. YouTube videos of Oswaldo Zotto and Mora Godoy. They published over 40 videos of increasing difficulty. All of them are available narrated in English. The steps themselves are named in Spanish. The videos may seem a little dated in design, but you can learn a great deal of tango mechanics and you can appreciate Mora’s outfits.
Take them in order by number, and when you feel ready, video yourself performing each move. You will learn a ton!
Search: Oswaldo Zotto Tango Lessons
B. Dario’s Tango Guide, produced in Albany by Dario DaSilva. Very clear presentation. Dario was instantly famous around the world when he and local dancer Emiliano De Laurentis, produced these videos. The voice at the beginning of each video is Karla Guererri.
Shared with the kind permission of Albany Tango.
