Last month, Imogen Selley and Mark Stojani ran a series of workshops in Wudinna, Streaky Bay and Ceduna as part of the GET DOWN Community Dance Project organised by CountryArts SA. In Wudinna we had a great time with a lively bunch of Wudinna Area School year 8’s and 9’s including some very promising dancers like the two students in the photo. Saturday night we gave a performance at the Streaky Bay Hotel front bar right after the day’s footy presentations! Then on the Sunday we gave a workshop for adults in Streaky Bay (pic below) before racing off to Ceduna for our final workshop before flying back to Adelaide. Thanks to all the organisers, school teachers, students and workshop particpants for their enthusiasm and special thanks to Richard Seidel from CountryArts SA for promoting the event and organising our travel and accommodation.

TANGO INFERNO – The Fire Within is visiting Australia in July and August. They’re sticking to the east coast so are not visiting Adelaide but if you’re over that way then you might want to check it out.

The logo reminds me a bit of the old Tango Fire troupe that’s visited a few times in the past. In fact the director of choreography is Yanina Fajar, who was in the cast of Tango Fire.

More information: www.tango-inferno.com

The Fabrizio and Celi workshops are now almost full. We will be taking enrolments at our current classes (Wed nights at St Theo’s) and Practica (Thursday night), and you can contact Irene.

Here is a reminder of the workshops being offered (please note the slight change of time for Workshop Three (Alternating between Close and Open embrace) to allow for more time between classes. Also note the differing venues for the workshops.

• Close Embrace Theories (ALL) — Friday June 11th, 8.30-10pm, St Theodore’s Church Hall, Prescott St, Toorak Gardens
• Milonga workshop (ALL) — Saturday June 12th, 12-1.30pm, Unley RSL, 29 Arthur St Unley
• Alternating between Close and Open Embrace (ALL) — Saturday June 12th, CHANGED TO 2.00-3.30, Unley RSL, 29 Arthur St Unley
• Figures in Open Embrace — Sunday June 13th (INT/ADV) (8 couple limit) Sunday June 13th, 1-2.30pm, Eastwood Community Centre, 95 Glen Osmond Road, Eastwood
• Beginner’s Accelerate your Tango (Beg) — Sunday June 13th, 3-4.30pm, Eastwood Community Centre, 95 Glen Osmond Rd, Eastwood. Special Beginner Price $20.00

Costs
$25.00 per workshop ( This is the same as last year!) All 4 for $90

Milonga
There will be a milonga at the Eastwood Community Centre on Sat 12th June, 8-12 midnight. You do not need to be a workshop participant to come to the milonga.

As promised at the start of the year, Siempre Tango has finalised the details for our special guests. Here they are!

A carefully-constructed list of workshops from visiting teachers Fabrizio and Celi. There’s a good logic to the series, and you’ll see that many of them are open classes, suitable for both new and experienced dancers. We will be taking enrolments at our current classes (Wed nights at St Theo’s), and you can contact Irene

Please note the differing venues for the workshops.

• Close Embrace Theories (ALL) — Friday June 11th, 8.30-10pm, St Theodore’s Church Hall, Prescott St, Toorak Gardens
• Milonga workshop (ALL) — Saturday June 12th, 12-1.30pm, Unley RSL, 29 Arthur St Unley
• Alternating between Close and Open Embrace (ALL) — Saturday June 12th, 1.45-3.15, Unley RSL, 29 Arthur St Unley
• Figures in Open Embrace — Sunday June 13th (INT/ADV) (8 couple limit) Sunday June 13th, 1-2.30pm, Eastwood Community Centre, 95 Glen Osmond Road, Eastwood
• Beginner’s Accelerate your Tango (Beg) — Sunday June 13th, 3-4.30pm, Eastwood Community Centre, 95 Glen Osmond Rd, Eastwood. Special Beginner Price $20.00

Costs
$25.00 per workshop ( This is the same as last year!) All 4 for $90

Milonga
There will be a milonga at the Eastwood Community Centre on Sat 12th June, 8-12 midnight

They are warmly-received each time they come, and having them take you through a class in their deliberate and careful way will have you doing things you weren’t expecting. Even the basics that they deal with will make the dancing you already do that much stronger and more thoughtful. We’ve been looking forward to this, and are pleased to be able to catch them as they come through the region.

Siempre Tango has added a new venue to the calendar

• Sat May 22nd
• Sat Aug 21st
• Sat Oct 30th

Strange but true, these weekends were once without a milonga here in Adelaide. Not any more. We have booked a great new venue for these dates so put them in your diary. It’s at the S.A. Sea Rescue Squadron.

The venue can be found at the end of Barcoo Rd, West Beach SA 5024 and the milonga will be held in “The Barcoo Room” on the ground floor. You can save your legs for dancing.

It has a licensed bar and you can bring some supper if you like.

Cost $12/8 concession. Enrolled ST Students $10
8pm til midnight

See you there!

Part 3: Canyengue can be danced in a strong way, to compadrear (dance in the style of tough guys), with three different hand holds:

1. The man can hold the woman’s right hand very high with his own left hand fingers curling over the top of her fingers.

2. The man can hold the woman’s right hand in his left on his waist, and

3. The man keeps one finger in his left hand side pocket while the woman takes hold of his wrist (this was considered the most compadrito).

Some of these hand holds can also be seen in aspects of tango.

Information source:
Thompson, Robert Farris. 2005. Tango: the art history of love. United States: Vintage Books. P 159-
163.

If you haven’t had enough tango or football lately then here is a little interesting video showing a fusion of the two “arts”.

Tango and Canyengue

Part 2: Two leading performers of canyengue, Marta Anton and El Gallego Manolo, believe that when men started dancing with men in 1890, canyengue was born based on milonga danced by orilleros (men on the margins).