Picture Arnold Schwarzenegger dancing the tango with Tia Carrera in the 1994 action-comedy True Lies. Well that music has been playing in my head since I started taking tango lessons. Yep, not just tango but Argentine Tango. Jing T pulled Pinky (right photo) and I to join her a few months back to learn. We are now in the gold level, that's the third level before we can consider ourselves true tangueras.Mind you, tango is not an easy dance to learn. There are so many combination of steps to remember plus the dangerous gancho (hook), confusing boleos (throw), careful caricias (caresses), and the tripping sacadas. It is essentially cat-walking with a partner with the foot close to the floor all the time, and the ankles and legs brushing together as one leg passes the other. Imagine stepping on a piece of paper, sliding all the time while dancing, with legs stretched out, body squared with the partner's and eyes focused on the shoulders or torso. Whew! I'm as stiff as a board still.
The first Milonga night was held recently at Mia's along Jupiter in Makati and it was well attended by who's who in dancing in Manila like E. Ledesma and Mary Ong alias Rosebud (left photo with Fe Z). Our tango teacher, who frequents Argentina and was certified there, Jun Borja is the current president of the association. He said that Milonga refers to "a gathering of tangueros, a place to dance tango." I guess we can look forward to more Milongas after finishing the gold level! Hmmm...Watch dance exhibition here:
Jun Borja:
Rosebud:
E. Ledesma:
2 comments:
hey rosan,
is Argentine tango not the same as that scene from that Al Pacino movie, where he plays a blind retired soldier doing the tango with Gabrielle Anwar? Dat was really fab!
peter
Is there a regular milonga in Manila?
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