Some of the designs below are invitations for the tango events I hosted, others are for "Bread and Words" - an odd cross between a potluck, a dance party, and an open-mic event.
Many of the images here are the works of Jess Beyler . I am grateful for her permission, as well as her support and friendship.
A past collection of my tango and poetry musings can be found at the old tango@verde page.
(Click on images to enlarge.)
Feb. 11, 2017,
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Dylan Thomans
The World is broken. Its mending has to begin with individual kindnessness.
In an embrace can be found the beginning of kindness, in an embrace the argument
to make friends, in an embrace the struggle and the strength to reforge the World.
Mar. 12, 2016,
"Silent flowers resemble beauty less than our breathing."
e. e. cummings
Live music at Krannert Art Museum by Tangotta: Dorothy Martirano, Armand Beaudoin, George Turner, Sam
Gingher.
(Poster design by the very talented
Miriam Martincic.)
Sep. 5, 2015,
"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is
translated through you into action, and because there is only one of
you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it
will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The
world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good
it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It
is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the
channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your
work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that
motivate you. Keep the channel open. .... There is no satisfaction
whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a
blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the
others."
Martha Graham, to Agnes de Mille
Live music at Krannert Art Museum by Tangotta: Dorothy Martirano, Armand Beaudoin, George Turner, Sam Gingher.
August 22, 2015, Saturday.
The Watermelonga - a summer celebration of dance... and watermelons.
I like hot days, hot days,
Sweat is what you got days
Catch the one you love days
Lazy days, daisies lay
Beaming and dreaming
Of hot days, hot days,
Sweat is what you got days
Walter Dean Myers, excerpt from 'Summer'
May 2, 2015,
"I have a hunger to find, to finish, to explore, to do essentially what babies do when they begin to move."
Steve Paxton
Live music at Krannert Art Museum by Tangotta: Dorothy Martirano, Armand Beaudoin, George Turner, Chris Reyman;
followed by a masquerade milonga at night at the Landmark Hotel.
"This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds ... our
music,
our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live
into yours. We hope some day, having solved the problems we face, to join your community.
This record represents our hope and our determination and our goodwill in a vast and
awesome universe."
(from the message placed in Voyager spacecraft for its trip outside
our solar system)
"Lead me with your little strong hands and I will follow you - to the top of a mountain.
To the end of the world. Wherever you wish."
Isadora Duncan, to Mercedes de Acosta
Sep. 20, Oct. 11, Dec. 6, 2014, Sat.
We are meant to dance.
Human intelligence evolved around 30,000 years ago at the same time when the first musical instruments appeared -- as soon as we became toolmakers we invented the flute and the drums; we made fire so we can chant & dance at night. Music and dance are in our very blood.
Amid the misguided chores of civilization, we have forgotten that dance is within all of us. We are made to think that dance is something to be studied and perfected by the few who are eligible. But dance is also playtime. When we grow up, we forget how natural it is to dance. The joy of it is trained out of us. But, everyone can dance. And the World would be a better place if everyone did.
Spring 2014, tango@krannert:
Feb. 8th ,
Mar. 8th ,
Featuring live music by Tangotta: Dorothy Martirano, Armand Beaudoin, George Turner, Chris Reyman. (design credit Krannert)
While pondering the playlist for this milonga, I learned with sadness the passing of one of my first mentors for tango, Alberto Paz. He and
Valorie Hart were among the first people who taught me the passion
within tango, the first to convey an awakening beyond haphazard
movements. More importantly, he taught me the necessity for grace and
respect within the dance. Alberto was not only a teacher of the
mechanics of the dance, but also of its history, its context. It is
not much of an exaggeration to say that his imprint lingers in this
tango community even today, as I am sure in others as well. In his honor, the February milonga will feature his playlists inbetween Tangotta's sessions.
The Watermelonga
June 21, 2013, Fri.
(An outdoor dance in support of the ongoing civil resistance in Turkey.)
Love is an act of rebellion.
As freedom erodes around the world, a first target of all small minded bigots & dictators is to regulate affection, to bind love in servitude to power, to reduce intimacy to a mere producer of fodder. It is not a coincidence that erdogan demanded "at least three, preferably five children" from each Turkish woman while prohibiting kissing in public places, calling contraception an "international conspiracy", and permitting honor killings to skyrocket.
Love is a threat to authority, be it political or religious. Those that love freely, live gracefully, and touch with delight respect the sanctity of the human mind over any authority. Consent of intimacy between adults defies a power structure that asks obedience to a higher power only instead of a fellow human being. What better illustrates the power of such defiance as a street full of women & men dancing with one another! Democracy is only possible in a place where people are free to dance -and free to love- as they wish.
Love is an act of hope.
Spring 2013, tango@krannert:
Jan. 26th ,
Mar. 2nd ,
Apr. 18th .
If we're not supposed to dance
Why all this music
Gregory Orr, from "To be Alive"
Featuring live music by Tangotta: Dorothy Martirano, Armand Beaudoin, George Turner, Chris Reyman. (design credit Krannert)
Dec. 21, 2012, Sun.
Celebrating Solstice and new sunrises.
Fall 2012, tango@krannert:
Sep. 6th ,
Oct. 6th ,
Nov. 3rd .
Take earth for your own large room
and the floor of earth
carpeted with sunlight
and hung round with silver wind
for your dancing place
May Swenson
Featuring live music by Tangotta: Dorothy Martirano, Armand Beaudoin, George Turner, Chris Reyman. (design credit Krannert)
Aug 5, 2012, Sun.
"Opposition is true friendship."
William Blake
"In the beginning was the word and the word was CHOICE."
Tom Robbins
Spring 2012, tango@krannert:
Feb. 4th ,
Mar. 3rd ,
Apr. 12th .
Dance the orange.
Who can forget it, drowning in itself, how it struggles
against its own sweetness. You have possessed it.
Deliciously it has converted to you.
Dance the orange.
A few notes of music, a tapping, a faint hum.
Dance the taste of the fruit you have known!
Create your own kinship with the supple, gently reluctant rind
and the juice that fills it with succulent joy.
Rainer Maria Rilke
(Featuring live music by Tangotta; design credit Krannert.)
Oct. 27th, 2011, Thu.
At the foot of a rock
Bamboo and orchids
Small furled flowers that hold themselves aloof from the mist that is everywhere
You have left newspapers
Indolent quarrels over Sunday-morning coffee
To come to the museum with your lover
And admire these swirls swept onto paper by an old monk
In less than ten minutes six hundred years ago
Depicting the Orchid, which signifies the virtues of the noble man:
Reticence, calm, clarity of mind
Katha Pollitt, "Wild Orchids"
Sep. 8th, 2011, Thu.
Featuring music by Tangotta (Dorothy Martirano, Armand Beaudoin, George Turner, Chris Reyman).
I am the pen
With which you write your poems
Across the floor
Fleeting ephemeral lines
Like sacred Tibetan sand paintings
Meticulously crafted by worshipful monks
And brushed away
When they are complete
Sharon deCelle, from "Tango #22"
May 22, 2011, Sun.
Bread&Words - The Rapture Edition -
celebrating that we are still here after
repeated premonitions to the contrary.
"It's the end of the World as we know it.
And I feel fine."
R.E.M.
"The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire at the end
of six thousand years is true, as I have heard from Hell.
... This will come to pass by an improvement of sensual enjoyment."
William Blake
Apr. 1-3, 2011, Fri-Sun.
The Big Bubbly Contact&Tango Weekend.
A continued exploration of the intersection between Contact Improv and Tango, featuring live music by Tangotta, two milongas, and two contact-tango jams.
Feb 26th, 2011, Sat.
"The loss of one man's dream, one family's home, one people's rights, one woman's life, is the loss of all our freedoms: of every life, every home, every hope. Each tragedy belongs to itself and at the same time to everyone else. What diminishes any of us diminishes us all."
Salman Rushdie, Shalimar The Clown
A benefit event at IndiGo Gallery for R.A.C.E.S.
(Rape Advocacy, Counseling, and Educational Services)
of Urbana.
Feb. 4th, 2011, Friday.
"This is a dream, a pure manifestation of my will;
and now that my powers are limitless,
I am going to cause a tiger."
Jorge Luis Borges, Dreamtigers.
A weekend of tango and contact improv - exploring connection from the embrace to confrontation.
Nov. 4th, 2010, Thursday.
"And what is the greatest marvel?"
"Each day, death strikes and we live as though we were immortal."
The Mahabharata (Peter Brook script, excerpt)
Celebrating the Day of the Dead. Music by Tangotta (Dorothy Martirano, Armand
Beaudoin, George Turner, Chris Reyman).
Oct. 14th, 2010, Thursday.
"It is his eyes above all that are terrible. They are like black holes burned by torches, like the black caverns where the dragons live, like black lakes troubled by fantastic moons. How wasted he is! He is like a thin ivory statue. He is like an image of silver. I am sure he is chaste, as the moon is. He is like a moonbeam, like a shaft of silver. His flesh must be very cold, cold as ivory.
I would look closer at him."
Oscar Wilde Salome (excerpt)
Celebrating Oscar Wilde's bithday at Krannert,
again with Dorothy, Armand, George, and Chris.
Sep. 16th, 2010, Thursday.
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy
A milonga at the Krannert Art Museum,
featuring live music by Tangotta (Dorothy Martirano, Armand
Beaudoin, George Turner, Chris Reyman).
Aug. 27th, 2010, Fri.
Whatever it is, I'm against it.
Groucho Marx
The Watermelonga: a Watermelon Melonga.
An outdoor, end-of-summer celebration of dance - and watermelons!
July 11th, 2010, Sun.
You must be mad, or you wouldn't come here.
The Cheshire Cat, to Alice
May 8th, 2010, Sat.
Tell whoso hath sorrow
Grief never shall last:
E'en as joy hath no morrow
So woe shall go past.
Sherezade, Arabian Nights
A benefit event for the Safe Haven project
for the homeless community of Champaign-Urbana
Mar. 13th, 2010, Saturday.
The subtle life, the countless forms
Of living things, the wondrous tones
Of man and beast are full of strange
Astonishment and boundless change.
Tennyson
Uniting dancers and art lovers,
this milonga at the Noel Gallery of the Krannert Art Museum
features live music by Tangotta (Dorothy Martirano, Armand
Beaudoin, George Turner).
Dec. 6th, 2009, Sunday.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
Oct. 16th, 2009, Friday.
And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to Blossom.
Anais Nin, Risk
A celebration of motion at the Indigo Gallery,
this milonga accompanies the works of Jess Beyler
& Carrie Ramig.
July 26th, 2009. (The Lunar Edition)
Exuberance is beauty. William Blake
What greater drama could there be than that of falling. Doris
Humphrey
Apr. 26th, 2009.
This universe, which I with my astonishing observations and clear demonstrations had enlarged a hundred, nay, a thousandfold beyond the limits commonly seen by wise men of all centuries past, is now for me so diminished and reduced, it has shrunk to the meager confines of my body.
Galielo (to Elio Diodati in 1638 upon turning blind)
Mar. 21st, 2009. (The Equinox Edition)
My dream was to follow in the steps of Hemingway, Elliot Paul and Gertrude Stein, I wanted to stuff myself with baguettes and snails, fill my pillow with rejection slips and find a French girl named Mimi who believed that I was the greatest writer in the world.
Art Buchwald (on his move to Paris)
March 2nd, 2009.
Folks, I'm telling you,
Birthing is hard
And Dying is mean
So get yourself
Some loving in between.
Langston Hughes
Dec 6th, 2008.
Vogon poetry is widely accepted as the
third worst in the Universe. ...
The absolute worst poetry was written by
Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Sussex.
Luckily it was destroyed when the earth was.
Douglas Adams
Nov. 8th, 2008.
Rusted brandy in a diamond glass
everything is made from dreams
time is made from honey slow and sweet
only the fools know what it means
Tom Waits
Sept. 14th, 2008.
Her way of moving was no mortal thing
but of angelic form: and her speech
rang higher than a mere human voice.
A celestial spirit, a living sun
was what I saw
Francesco Petrarca
Aug. 2nd, 2008.
(Dancing under the stars: this night was somewhat zanier than usual.)
July 20th, 2008.
"What is essential is invisible to the eye,"
the little prince repeated,
so that he would be sure to remember.
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose
that makes your rose so important.
"It is the time I have wasted for my rose---"
said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.
"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox.
"But you must not forget it. You become responsible,
forever, for what you have tamed.
You are responsible for your rose ... "
"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated,
so that he would be sure to remember.
Antoine de Saint Exupery
June 27th, 2008.
I stood and stared; the sky was lit,
The sky was stars all over it,
I stood, I knew not why,
Without a wish, without a will,
I stood upon that silent hill
And stared into the sky until
My eyes were blind with stars and still
I stared into the sky.
Ralph Hodgson
March 15th, 2008.
Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
G. K. Chesterton
March 2nd, 2008.
If the doors of perception were cleansed every
thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.
For man has closed himself up,
till he sees all things thro' narow chinks of his cavern.
William Blake
Jan 1st, 2008.
If there is something to desire,
there will be something to regret.
If there is something to regret,
there will be something to recall.
If there is something to recall,
there was nothing to regret.
If there was nothing to regret,
there was nothing to desire.
Vera Pavlova
March 10th, 2007.
Fiction needs to be credible. Reality has no such obligation.
Isabel Allende