Buying Tango Shoes

Yesterday was a busy day. We had a Tai Chi lesson in the morning. Then we had to go to the bank to exchange some dollars for pesos. This took a lot longer than we expected. After a late lunch, we went shopping for shoes. In the evening we had a light dinner and went with Lina and Wendy from South Africa, to a club called Jazz&Pop. Lina�s boyfriend was playing Argentine folk music that night. We went with Lina, Raul, and Wendy for drinks afterward.

We figured that the perfect souvenir from our trip would be to get some tango shoes from Buenos Aires. Lina sent us to a place where the shoes are custom made. We have very little Spanish. The salesgirl had very little English. There was a wide selection of options for the design of the shoes. It will be interesting to see what our shoes actually look like when they are ready.

We went into the store. It was a small shop with a small display of some shoes and a selection of ready made shoes. There was also a desk for the salesgirl and a bench for the clientele. First we were shown a book with photographs of various styles of shoes. We discussed at length different kinds of heels for ladies shoes. Our discussions involved much pointing at samples and hoping.

I picked out 2 shoe styles. Then I had to choose the color and type of leather for the uppers that I wanted. There were too many choices but I finally narrowed it down. Then I had to let the salesgirl know what I had decided. This involved more pointing and hoping. Then I had 3 choices for the heel that I liked. Finally, I had 2 choices for the sole leather. The soles here are different from the suede that we find on ballroom dance shoes. One was a dark almost suede. A little thicker but with some texture. The other was light in color and harder. We think that this sole will be good for the milonga on Freedom Plaza in DC. Now that these decisions were made, the salesgirl measured my feet. She traced the outline of both feet on a piece of paper. Then she measured my foot 4 different ways with a tape. Finally, she recorded all of our choices on the tracings.

While I was doing this, Doris almost had enough time to come to her decisions. She ordered 3 pair of shoes. She then went through the same steps for her shoes. Our shoes will be ready for pickup on the 25th. Just in time for us to pack up when we leave the next day.

One of my pair is a smooth salmon with black patent leather. The other is a gray almost suede with black patent leather. One has a high tango heel. The other is a little lower. Doris� shoes include one pink pattern and solid fuchia. The next pair is silver with black patent leather. The 3rd pair has a red pattern with gold accents. Her heels are about 2 1/2 inches high.

Milongas

Sunday evening we went with Lina and Wendy from South Africa to a milonga. We had a little problem getting a taxi. The driver of the one we eventually got said that everyone was watching the futbol game. Seems like DC isn´t the only place where sporting events can screw up traffic.

The milonga was in a building with a restaurant on the ground floor and the milonga on the second floor. The ceilings were so tall that each floor looked to be 2 stories tall. It was a grand building with marble stairs and columns. The wooden features were dark and richly carved. It had a faded opulance to it. There was even a lift like you see in old movies. Like a metal cage in the corner. The lift was roped off. This was probably a good thing; it looked scary.

There were tables set around the dance floor. Normally, the ladies sit on one side and the gentlemen on the opposite. The gentleman will ask the lady to dance by making eye contact (milonga eyes). If the lady declines she simply looks the other way.

Milongas are danced in sets with 3 different types of dances; tango, milongas and vals. There will generally be 3 tangos, a break when a completely different type of music is played like a hustle. Then 3 milongas are played. Then a break. Finally, a set of vals are played. Then it starts all over again.

A couple will dance all 3 dances in a set. If they stop in the middle of a set, something untoward has happened.

We danced a couple of sets together. When we finished our last dance, a cheer went up. For a split second I thought it was an indication of our dancing ability. However, it turned out that Argentina had made the winning goal against Columbia.

Lina´s Tango Guesthouse

The guesthouse where we are staying is rather small. There are 7 rooms with all but 2 having a private bath. The outside facade is from the 60´s and there is no indication from the street of what the building contains. It is on a cobblestone street on a block of 2 or 3 story rowhouses. The front door opens to an entryway with a staircase going up and a passage to the central courtyard. The courtyard is open to the sky. Lina has been cultivating a variety of plants around the edge and on the upstairs balconies to give the courtyard a more natural setting. There is a barbeque/fireplace in one corner and a wooden table with chairs for sitting and visiting. There is also plenty of space for tango. Lina lives upstairs and likes to take her guests to various milongas in the area. It is hard to imagine a larger hotel giving such personalized service.

Our room faces the courtyard on the ground floor. There are green painted shutters over the french doors to add more privacy and limit the light for those of us sleeping late. The room is about 14´ by 14´ with 12´ ceilings. There is a queen size bed with 2 nightstands and a desk with chair along with 2 cupboards to hang clothes. The cupboard has an extra shelf for tango shoes. The bath isn´t huge but has all the applicances you might need. The whole effect is neat and cozy.

Introduction to Carlos Gardel

Even though we were pretty tired from all the travel, I think we did well in diving into the culture of Buenos Aires yesterday. In the afternoon, we walked down the block to La Rosalida for a late lunch. The waitress was very nice and patient with our Spanish which ranges from very poor to non-existant. The food and wine were excellent.

Last night we went to a tango show, the ¨Esquina Carlos Gardel¨. The theater where the show takes place is about 20 minutes by taxi. So we had our first experience traveling by taxi in Buenos Aires. It went very well. I had a brochure with the address of the tango show and a card with the address of the guest house. So we didn´t have to rely on our Spanish speaking abilities. The tango show included dinner which we enjoyed very much. The dancers and orchestra put on quite a show. We sat next to a couple from Australia and 2 sisters. One of the sisters was from Connecticut and the other sister lives on a coffee plantation in Panama.

We are staying at Lina´s Tango Guesthouse. This guesthouse is in the San Telmo district. This is one of the city´s oldest neighborhoods, once the home of the very wealthy until the 1877 outbreak of yellow fever. We spent some time with Lina this morning. We talked a lot about tango. Lina describes herself as a ¨tango addict¨ which we understand very well. Lina said that she had guests staying here that are from Australia and South Africa. It really shows that the popularity of tango spans the globe. She helped us come up with an agenda for the next couple of days. Today we are going to an antiques market at the Plaza Dorrego. We will meet later with Lina and she is taking us to one of her favorite milongas. Monday we will have a tango lesson in the afternoon and go to another milonga in the evening. On Tuesday we are going to see about having some tango dance shoes made.

Finally Made It

We made sure to get to the airport really early this time. We left home right after lunch and arrived at Dulles around one o´clock.

 

Checking in was easier as our bags were already at the airport. The TSA lines were longer, but they had more gates open, so it was actually quicker. If we could have gotten through the process as efficiently the day before, we would have made the flight.

 

We got to the gate and hung out all afternoon. We had a nice dinner and hung out some more. The flight was scheduled to board at 9:00 PM and leave at 9:45. At 8:50 the gate agent announced that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and the flight would be delayed. We were finally able to board a few minutes after midnight.

 

On the bright side, at least we were not getting on the plane on Friday the 13th.

 

It was a long day and a long flight (10 and half hours). We are finally in Buenos Aires and are going to our first tango show this evening.

Off To a Flying Start - Not

You know how the airlines and TSA tell you to get to the airport 2 hours early? 

Don't you believe it! Our flight for Buenos Aires left at 9:45 last night without us on it.

I took Wednesday and Thursday off from work to make sure that we had plenty of time to get everything done before our trip. We left for Dulles on Thursday right after dinner at 6:30 and got there an hour later. Traffic was good and we thought we had it made.

First, we waited in the International Departures Check-in line. There was a couple with several suitcases at the desk when we got in the line. They were opening all their bags and re-packing everything in front of the desk while the line kept getting longer and longer. I guess they were trying to evenly distribute the weight to avoid baggage fees.

Once we got our bags checked we hurried over to the TSA line. This is where a person can really demonstrate that patience is a virtue.  It didn’t look like a very long line.  I’ve seen the line longer when  trying to catch a flight out of Dulles on a Monday morning.  Just as we got into the line, TSA starting closing gates. Soon, we could only see 4 gates open and the line kept getting longer and longer. We finally got through the first line to get our boarding pass checked then moved over to the next line to strip down for the metal detector. We finally got through TSA with only 10 minutes to spare.

We rushed to the shuttle to go to the 'C' concourse. We actually got on a shuttle that was just leaving. We got to the concourse and sprinted for the gate. Of course, it couldn't be a gate close to the shuttle stop. We had to go to the end of the concourse. We got to the gate right after they closed up and they have some silly rule about not opening back up again. The gate agent said that they had been paging us and reminded us that we should arrive at the airport 2 hours early.  

So, we strolled over to get into another line at Customer Service. We weren't the only people to miss a flight last night. The nice lady there booked us on the same flight that leaves today at 9:45 PM. So, instead of arriving 2 hours early like we did last night, today we're going to leave right after lunch and eat dinner on the concourse.

Here We Go

Dancing has been light this past week. Friday we went to the local Dinner Theater to see "Showboat". Saturday we went to a picnic at a friend's house. Everyone there were dancers that we regularly see at different dance venues. This time was unusual because we weren't dancing. It seemed a little strange to see this particular group of people sitting still for an extended period.

Sunday, we went to the 2nd Sunday Dance at the local Recreation Center. The crowd was a little light; probably because of the hot weather. That just gave us more room to dance. Jody had called ahead to have the Rec Center turn the AC on early so it was nice and cool for the dance.

We actually made it to the Officer's Club on Ft Belvior last night. We missed two weeks ago because of sickness. Last week, the weather wasn't cooperating. We went but the storms last Wednesday had knocked out the power so everything was closed.

We've also been busy getting ready for our trip. More to come on that. I'm not taking a computer. Hopefully, I'll be able to find an Internet Cafe so I can keep RhumbaDervish up to date.

Missed Wednesday Night

I always know when the wife is really, truly ill. She passes up a chance to go dancing. We normally go to the O Club on Ft Belvoir Wednesday nights. She's coming down with a head cold and didn't want to pass it around. She'll probably be better for next Wednesday.

Pan American Symphony Orchestra

Last night we went down to the Lisner Auditorium at GW to see the Pasion por Tango show. We couldn't find a video of the performance last night. The video above is from an earlier performance.

The show last night was part of the Washington DC Tango Festival. It featured the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, The Bruno Cavallaro Quartet, the singer Claudia Gargiulo, along with dancers Carina Losano and Angel Coria.

We really like Argentine Tango music. It is so different from the music we hear when we are ballroom dancing. With ballroom you listen for the beat to figure out what to dance. Four counts for Foxtrot, three counts for a waltz. The Latin rhythms are different for Cha-Cha and Rhumba. American Tango is also distinguished by the beat; slow-slow-quick-quick-slow.

Argentine Tango is danced to the melody. The music is full of passion. Sometimes it is light and lilting, others it is dark and heavy. With ballroom the gentleman leads the lady to a step; in Argentine Tango, the lady is lead through the step. Tango is very much improvised and to do it well the dancers have to feel the passion of the artist that composed the music.

The Pan American Symphony Orchestra was founded with the purpose of highlighting Latin American music that is rarely performed and unfamiliar to the concert public.

Bruno Cavallaro started studying music formally when he was 15 years old and two years later after an intensive audition, he was chosen by Maestro Lysy to study violin at the Music Center Lysy in Carilo, Buenos Aires. A few years later Cavallaro decided to immerse himself in popular music, including tango.

Mezzo-soprano Claudia Gargiulo was born in Argentina and now dedicates her career to promoting in the United States Argentine tango and contemporary Latin American music.

Angel Coria is internationally recognized for his main role as a dancer in the film "Tango" by Carlos Saura. Hi was also one of the stars of the show "Copes Tango Copes", performing nationally in Argentia and around the world.

Carina Losano is a native of Buenos Aires and has studied many forms of dance, included ballet, contemporary, modern-jazz, flamenco, and salsa, but she is internationally recognized for her mastery of tango.

Pasion por Tango

Last night we went down to the Lisner Auditorium at GW to see the Pasion por Tango show. This show was part of the Washington DC Tango Festival. It featured the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, The Bruno Cavallaro Quartet, the singer Claudia Gargiulo, along with dancers Carina Losano and Angel Coria.

We really like Argentine Tango music. It is so different from the music we hear when we are ballroom dancing. With ballroom you listen for the beat to figure out what to dance. Four counts for Foxtrot, three counts for a waltz. The Latin rhythms are different for Cha-Cha and Rhumba. American Tango is also distinguished by the beat; slow-slow-quick-quick-slow.

Argentine Tango is danced to the melody. The music is full of passion. Sometimes it is light and lilting, others it is dark and heavy. With ballroom the gentleman leads the lady to a step; in Argentine Tango, the lady is lead through the step. Tango is very much improvised and to do it well the dancers have to feel the passion of the artist that composed the music.

The Pan American Symphony Orchestra was founded with the purpose of highlighting Latin American music that is rarely performed and unfamiliar to the concert public.

Bruno Cavallaro started studying music formally when he was 15 years old and two years later after an intensive audition, he was chosen by Maestro Lysy to study violin at the Music Center Lysy in Carilo, Buenos Aires. A few years later Cavallaro decided to immerse himself in popular music, including tango.

Mezzo-soprano Claudia Gargiulo was born in Argentina and now dedicates her career to promoting in the United States Argentine tango and contemporary Latin American music.

Angel Coria is internationally recognized for his main role as a dancer in the film "Tango" by Carlos Saura. Hi was also one of the stars of the show "Copes Tango Copes", performing nationally in Argentia and around the world.

Carina Losano is a native of Buenos Aires and has studied many forms of dance, included ballet, contemporary, modern-jazz, flamenco, and salsa, but she is internationally recognized for her mastery of tango.

Argentine Tango Dance Social

Last night we went to the Milonga Pasional at Dance Studio Lioudmila. We're trying to incorporate both Ballroom and Argentine Tango events into our schedule. Anya and Anthony have the Milonga on the 2nd and 4th Friday every month. We are alternating between this and the Friday social dance at Studio One. We do get to practice ballroom quite a bit. We have our lesson with Richard on Monday. We regularly go to the O Club on Wednesday night. On Sundays we usually go to the practice at the Dale City Rec Center. Saturday nights there is usually a selection of places to dance at. Tuesdays and Thursdays we stay home and practice. Yes, we are nuts about dancing.

A milonga describes both a dance event and a dance where two people move together to music. The dance event normally includes tango, milongas, and vals. The songs are played in groups of three. There will be three tango, three milongas, then three vals. There is a short break between each set where some other dance style is played. We've been taking lessons from the Tango Duos for about a year. We are planning to take our vacation this year in Buenos Aires where we will see what kind of differences there are between tango taught in America and in Argentina.

Ax the Tax Party

It has been a pretty good weekend for dancing. On Friday we went to the weekly party at Studio One. It's always a friendly crowd there. The philosophy there seems to be to see how many different partners you can dance with during the evening. I used to be more hesitant to dance with other ladies. However, I have found that dancing with other partners really helps me develop my lead. Doris and I have been dancing together for 4 years and know each other so well that leading her is completely different than anyone else. It also helps that she can read my mind. That comes from being soul mates and over 30 years of marriage.

On Saturday night we went to the "Ax the Tax" party at Lioudmila's. They gave a special rate for the party and were having a sale on group lessons. There was quite a crowd. Fortunately, the floor is large enough to accommodate a crowd. We saw several people that we have met at different dance venues. You meet the nicest people dancing.

Part way through the evening they had several showcases danced by instructors and students. They really have some world class dancers who instruct there. There were:

• Bryan Duffy and Pauline Wang dancing the Argentine Tango


• Dimitar Petrov and Migle Mareele dancing the Waltz and Rhumba/Cha-Cha


• Krasi Petkov and Yana Blinova dancing the Viennese Waltz, Rhumba, and Jive

We won't ever get to the level of these dancers, but they sure are fun to watch.

Milonga Brava!

As part of the DC Tango Festival we went to the Argentine Embassy for a Milonga last night. The dancing began at 9:00 pm and there was a short introductory class and a demonstration mid-way through the evening. The couple who gave the class and the demonstration are performing tonight at Lisner Auditorium in the Tango y la Milonga at 8:00 pm.

This was our first time at the Embassy. We had a little trouble getting around the Lincoln Memorial circle; we ended up going over the Memorial Bridge only three times. The Embassy is on Q Street near DuPont Circle. We even found a parking garage nearby.

The Milonga was held in an upstairs ballroom. It was oval with very high ceilings, a marble fireplace, and works of art displayed on the walls. There were tangueros of all levels of skill as the floor filled. We saw Anthony of Tango Duos with Tatiana, his partner for the evening.

Milonga Pasional

Last night we had one of those difficult choices to make. We had too many dances and not enough time. We opted to attend the Milonga Pasional held by the Anya and Anthony at Dance Studio Lioudmila. There was a group lesson at 9:00 pm and the Milonga started at 10:00. Our friends, Char and Rick, gave the assembled crowd a demonstration of the routine that they put together for a showcase they performed a couple of months ago. Featured was the St. Charles String Quartet. It always enhances the dance experience to have live music.

We've been taking Argentine Tango lessons from the Tango Duo, Anya and Anthony, for about a year now. We really like the Argentine Tango. It is hard to explain but the feel of the dance is different from Ballroom dances. You really get into the tempo of the music and it's much more personal between the two dancers. The audience is irrelevant. We're even planning a vacation to Buenos Aires this summer so we can do the Argentine Tango in Argentina.

Robert Bruce Mantell

A friend of ours from Studio One has a family project that she is working on. Here is the story in her words.

"My great grandfather, Robert Bruce Mantell, was a Shakespearean actor. He was sort of a Richard Burton of his time. Charlotte Behrens was my great grandmother. I have located the descendents of my great grandfather's family and we are planning a family reunion in Scotland in May. I took over the genealogy search work for my mother after she died and I have located family in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland.

I wanted to bring something special to the get together. I asked myself what Oprah's people would do in this situation. A film from that time when my great grandfather would travel home to Scotland to visit his familly. I contacted the Debbie Reynolds Film Museum. There isn't enough time to do it this year, but I want to keep trying. I need internet votes!

I have found that some of the films he acted in are still in existance. I would dearly love to see even one of them so have been asking everyone I know or even people I don't know, to help me with online votes. This was the best idea I had from the Debbie Reynolds film museum people whom I contacted.

At first, the only film I knew about was Under the Red Robe - where Robert Bruce Mantell plays the Cardinal. Since then, My nephew, Mark has found several others!

There can be only one vote per e-mail address." This is the link to cast your vote, http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=504017.

Robert Bruce Mantell
Scots stage actor who late in life appeared in a number of silent films. Educated in Belfast, Ireland, Mantell traveled to America at 24 and played in "Romeo and Juliet" and "East Lynne" with Helena Modjeska. He worked constantly in America and Great Britain and established himself as a great success in Shakespearean works. Mantell married five times and was widowed twice. His third wife, Charlotte Behrens, had been his leading lady. Married, she fell in love with Mantell and lived openly with him. Her husband threatened to kill Mantell, who was also married. Following a divorce for each of them, they married, but Charlotte died less than two years later under cloudy circumstances. His fourth wife, Marie Booth Russell, was also his leading lady, and she too died at an early age, of Bright's Disease, in 1911. Mantell's fifth wife, Genevieve Hamper, was another of his leading ladies. She survived him when he died at 74, in 1928, following a nervous collapse. Mantell's son, Robert B. Mantell Jr. appeared in a few films before his suicide.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver


Spouse
Marie Booth Russell (1899 - 31 October 1911) (her death) 1 child
Charlotte Behrens (1896 - 1898) (her death) 1 child
Genevieve Hamper (? - 27 June 1928) (his death)
Margaret Shand (? - ?) (divorced)
Marie Sheldon (? - 1893) (divorced)

Still Dancing

I haven't written in this blog for a couple of weeks. We've been busy dancing. This last weekend for instance we went to Studio One for a social dance. We always have a good time there and it's a great opportunity to practice dancing with other people.

Saturday we had our Argentine Tango lesson with the Tango Duos at Lioudmila's. On Saturday evening we took a friend from Studio One with us to Strictly Ballroom in Fredericksburg. She had never been there and, like us, she is always looking for new places to dance. Melissa and Mike have a real nice setup with two large dance floors. We can stretch out on the moving dances and do some moves without having to turn corners all the time.

Sunday, we went to the 2nd Sunday Dance at the Dale City Recreation Center. Jody and Charlie teach group lessons there and put on the dance for people to practice. We started our dancing by taking lessons at the Rec Center and it's a convenient place to go dancing on a Sunday afternoon.

Home At Last

I just flew in from San Diego and boy, are my arms tired. I've been gone about 3 weeks on a business trip. While in San Diego I went to a studio in Encinitas called Dance North County. It's a friendly little place and I had a great time going there.

Doris and I have got a lot of work to do to catch up to where we were. Even though we've been dancing as much as possible, we couldn't practice all the steps we've been learning. We've got a lot planned for this weekend to help us get back up to par. We are practicing today and will go to Studio One Friday night for the weekly practice session. Saturday, we will go to our Argentine Tango lesson at Lioudmila's and have a dance with the Regal Dinner and Dance Club in the evening. Sunday, we will go to the Candy Factory in Manassas for the 1st Sunday dance. Monday, we have our Ballroom lesson with Richard.

Business Trip

I am spending some time in San Diego on business. Since I have to keep in practice I've been going to a local studio, Dance North County. I've been here a week and had classes in Salsa, Argentine Tango, American Tango, Rhumba, and Hustle. I've also gone to 3 dance parties.

Looking at that list, you may find it hard to believe that I came out here to work. However, I am under instructions to keep in practice while I am out here.

New Year's Eve Celebration 2008

There is no better way to bring in the New Year than going dancing. Before we started dancing we would get woken up by the sound of other people celebrating on New Year's Eve. Now we take the opportunity to kick up our heels. You only live once. We figure we should get some good, clean, wholesome fun before we get too old. This way we will have something to reminisce about when we're sitting in our rocking chairs at the old folk's home.

We celebrated at the Officer's Club at Ft. Belvior. This is becoming a regular haunt for us. The band was Impact. We hadn't heard them play before. They were a 5 piece ensemble and played really well. It got kind of crowded on the floor, but it looked like everyone was having a good time. I know that we did. We were with a group of friends that we see different places when we go dancing. Pictured are Janet & Jeff, Cookie & Raymond, Joy & Tony, Nancy & John, and us.

Holiday Party at Studio One

Friday was the annual Holiday Party at Studio One in Alexandria. It was held in the same location as the regular Friday night party, but there was a lot more food and a lot of people showed up to help celebrate the season. Bill and Agnes hosted the festivities as Ben was unavailable.

Agnes brought in a new CD with ballroom dance music with a Christmas theme. We got to dance our favorite steps to new music.