Tango tips
A List of Interesting Anecdotes
Interesting Anecdote: Rodolfo Biagi, D'Arienzo's pianist from approximately 1935-1938, was apparently fired by D'Arienzo after a superb performance by the pianist. D'Arienzo whispered to Biagi's ear "I'm the only star in my orchestra and your fired!". Interesting...
Alma De Bohemio
Alma De Bohemio Alma de Bohemio, written by Roberto Firpo in 1914, was considered in it’s time as a “concert tango” since it was first performed in a play by the same name. It became the self-professed trademark song of Alberto Podesta. He recorded it several times,...
El Amanecer (Dawn)
El Amanecer (Dawn) was written by Roberto Firpo who recorded it three times beginning in 1913. El Amanecer (1913) You can also see him playing it in a 1933 film (that’s him at the piano). El Amanecer (1933) We most often hear Di Sarli’s version played at milongas. El...
Gardel & Piazzolla
Anyone who is familiar with tango knows the names Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla. However, few know that they are connected. Gardel created much of what we think of today as tango, even though his many recordings are not played at milongas. However,...
El Ruiseñor (The Nightingale)
El Ruiseñor ( The Nightingale) Angel Vargas (José Ángel Lomio) has been called the Frank Sinatra of tango, but in his time he was referred to as El Ruiseñor de las Calles Porteñas. He rose from humble beginnings working in a meat processing plant to become one of the...
Asi Se Baila El Tango
Asi Se Baila El Tango was the signature song of Alberto Castillo (Alberto
Salvador De Lucca)
From Tanquito comes the legend:
“Asi se baila el tango” was no doubt immortalized by Castillo’s personal and controversial interpretation.
Plegaria
Plegaria - The Tango of Death There are several recordings of the tango Plegaria (Prayer) dating back to the 1920’s. However, the one we hear at milongas is the version recorded by Osvaldo Fresedo -> Listen to Plegaria The music is melancholy, especially as...
Gricel
José Maria Contursi met the beautiful Gricel when she was only 15 years old, but apparently it was love at first sight. Despite the fact that he was married, the two of them engaged in a brief romantic relationship. At some point Contursi realized that he could not leave his family, and the relationship ended. Later Gricel married and moved away from Buenos Aires. For decades Contursi pined over his beloved Gricel, and it is said that those songs listed here were a manifestation of his longing for her (it is even told that he confessed to this fact).
The First Dance
Imagine this… You are attending an out of town Milonga and signal a lady that you have never met to dance using the “cabeceo”. You take her to the dance floor, embrace and take your first step. Will she be able to tell how good or bad the dance and tanda will be...
Walking Straight….
Why is it that many tangueros and tangueras have a hard time walking in a straight line? Many times, it could be the leads’ “fault”, but regardless, both leads and followers should work on improving their own technique. Let’s analyze some examples: Simple Walk: In...
Focus on your local Tango community too!
Everyone in a Tango community should be focused on growing the community at large, creating better dancers, better leads, better followers, better understanding of what Tango is, the music, the culture…it’s a packaged deal! Below are just a few things that are taken...
The First 3 Minutes of a Tanda!
Hmmm – what should I do on a 3-song tanda? Throw every step and embellishment I know on all three songs? How about NOT! I know that at the beginning (and not so much at the beginning for many) everyone wants to do all the steps and embellishments on their...
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