Gavito: Charm & Passion

Q: And who have you learned the most from?

Gavito: Too many. You learn from many people ... on the street...the simple people...Sometimes so simple, you have envy and want to be yourself more simple and more honest. In the dance...to not be the one that moves more and does more steps but to be the one that gives more.

Carlos Gavito and his amigos

by Jackie Ling Wong (The Interview)

He will continue to live in our "dancing souls" and not just in our hearts' memories of him. This is just as he wisely wished it.

MilongaCat.

Tango Cringe & Acrobatics

First of all I would like to thank all of you readers who got in touch and showed some concerns or at least your kind curiosity as to why lately my postings had dried up.

"No!" I had not imposed a self-censorship on myself. I had not been banned, threatened, or frightened away by any of the organisers of the tango scene in London or even the far off places in the UK. Someone had even suggested that perhaps I had stopped my love affair with tango because I have been having an affair of personal nature! This was not the case either plus the fact that my true love of tango never dies, and can not be compromised away.

So in short, I can only say that LIFE had managed to get in the way, but I am now back again.

Although I have been away from these pages and not posted but I kept in touch with the bizarre tango market in London. It is still in full swing.

I would have liked to have written about the show dances. The theatrics demos by the very inexperienced that made us all cringe - feeling sorry for them embarrassing themselves in the most public manner - or other demos with different cringe factors when we have been treated to the other end of the spectrum in the acrobatics antics performed by some very well known tango artists. They made us wonder if their many years of experience should have taught them to know better - evidently not!

Playing acts of the populist street tango belongs to where it suggests they belong to. These acrobatics are not suitable for demonstrations to those people who actually appreciate and love dancing real Argentine Tango.

Since our seasonal milongas' pre-Christmas tango competitions began a bit earlier than usual this year, there was expectation by many of us that some wonderful new and creative programs may follow soon for this year but suddenly - with some similarly questionable appearances we are witnessing strange coalitions being declared . Consequently the season ended without having ever had a chance to get started. It all fizzled out; an old bottle of lemonade gone flat; tasteless and without sparkles. These came about despite whatever their adverts said!

Finally, I am hoping to keep my promise of logging in and posting into this blog more regularly, I have truly missed you too!

MilongaCat.
The Only Cat Who Loves You Back!

Some dance

Some dance to remember,
Some dance to forget.

Some are relentless and near perfect,
Some are hopeless!
Some are careless and pitifully tactless,
Some are heartless,
Some are angelic and selfless.

Some are "dandy and fine",
Some are randy, desperate, badly in need of being refined,
Some are gorgeous, - and some are not!

Some are handsome beautiful dancers;
dancing with passion - heavenly, divine.

Some are 'living-romantics'
but dancing like they are monks.

Some are weary of affections;
panic stricken, fearful, anxious and frantic,
Some stay and fight,
Some always run and hide.

Some are tired with life,
Some say "they are unlucky, in love & life",

Some become dancers not to feel bored,
Some never are – themselves being "the real tiresome bores".

Some are still waiting,
Dreaming,
Wishing a fairy tale encounter
Is there another they wonder
- wanting fever, longing , heart stopping moments,
caresses, kisses, lust;
and maybe talks of love,
mixed in, with tingling caring whispers!?


"Isn't that why some dance,
'a brief romance'
- packaged into a Tango dance.?"

"...an orgasmic embrace,
squeezing the juice of passion;
In arms of some stranger,
- no one ever needs to know,
- no need to meet after or ever again,
or to acknowledge that they had or ever been"

With an exchange of thanks,
ending a blissful dance;
- private, intimate moments,
- not feeling guilty,
- being fine with one's being: totally selfish!

To Remember or To Forget;
I dance for neither.
I dance to toast and taste my Life,
Capturing a few more exhilarating moments
– pausing Life, drink its juice -
enjoy its gift, feeling alive - for just a little longer.

Some dance to remember,
Some dance to forget,
Let's drink a toast, and wish ourselves some more!

MilongaCat.

Thames & Tango

The start is here again. With autumn and the weather getting cooler, students returning to universities, summer holidays are soon to be just memories and pictures, the evenings will begin to extend and sunsets rapidly getting earlier than the immediate days before. These are the times that Tango evenings become more feverish and crowded .

In our milongas we shall see many more faces, some are old friends who come back - we have missed you in your absence -, and there are also many who are new to the joys of dancing tango, with their bright smiles and sometimes shy and uncertain look in their eyes hoping to master the challenges they see as steps and moves, they make themselves instantly known or just try to hide in the corners a little longer. Let us all give them a warm welcome to both our old friends and the new.

This weekend on the 15th and 16th September 2007, London is having its annual Thames Festival. This year, for the second year running, Tango will play some major part in celebrating this river and its history.

Right outside The New Tate Modern, one of the most wonderful galleries of art, there will be hopefully hundreds of people who'd embrace each other warmly and dance tango all day long both on Saturday and Sunday.

This two days event is accompanied by many other social attractions and fun celebrations along the river.

For the Tango dance lovers, I believe the Thames Festival and The River Tango program make a unique and very popular way with which to herald the commencement of our new season of tango here in London.

We all have our fingers crossed for autumn sunny days this weekend. The weather forecast is good. Even if you live a little far out, it is worth the trip into London. Travel here and stay the weekend, you will regret it if you don't, turn up, dance and enjoy and let us celebrate the Thames and the start of the tango season in style!

Hope to see you all!
MilongaCat.
The Only Cat Who Loves You Back!

Postcard

On the way home, sun is rising, once more it is hard to believe how time flew by, it is another beautiful dawn, I wonder how many other dancers promised to meet by the stars for another night.

These nights, there was no need for a stage, and we did not want to be seen or hide but there were many who had noticed us sharing our box of chocolates every time we met. Within our embrace and through our steps, it is difficult to hide the panic as insane tenderness sets in, stronger roots on every turn, it becomes overwhelming and the whole never stops.

I'll miss us dancing till break of dawns - I know - soon it is time to say good-bye between us, and our sky could not be shared. When you are gone I'll send you a postcard telling you what it is like when you have never left my mind.

MilongaCat.
The Only Cat Who Loves You Back!