Dear Dancing Illini,
The Argentine Tango community in Champaign-Urbana is experiencing rapid
growth. Many of our new converts are ballroom dancers. There are a number of
you (and you know who you are) who started learning Argentine tango in the
past but didn't continue. Now is a good time to return or join us for the
first time.
Joining or rejoining the tango community is as easy as 1-2-3:
(1) Come to the Introductory Lesson that Susana and I will be giving at 7:30
PM at the Phillips Recreation Center (Springfield & McCullough, Urbana) this
Saturday Sept 22. It costs $5.
(2) Stay for the milonga (social dance) following the lesson (no extra cost)
and dance and listen to live music from Champaign-Urbana's own homegrown
tango quintet and recording artists, the Guerilla Parlour Ensemble (in a
reunion concert).
(3) Join Susana and me for our introductory course 'Fundamentals of
Argentine Tango' starting next Wednesday Sept 26 (from 8:30-9:45 PM) at the
Phillips Recreation Center, and continuing for 8 weeks (until Nov 15). Cost
is $32.
Susana and I have been dancing Argentine tango for 3.5 years and have been
ballroom dancers for 7 years. We particularly invite ballroom dancers to
join us because ballroom dancers learn tango quickly. Basic skills of
maintaining partner connection, leading and following, and dancing to the
rhythm of the music transfer readily to tango. But you will be acquiring
more than another dance to your repertoire. Tango is a beautiful intricate
dance. The music is passionate. Most people who get beyond the beginning
stage find in tango a unique rewarding experience, a connection with your
partner and the music, a playful interaction between man and woman that is
unique. If you haven't experienced this, you need to. Your dancing life will
change.
Some ballroom dancers have been hesitant to dance Argentine tango because
they have the misconception that our milongas are 'a whole evening of
nothing but tango'. In reality, the tango musical repertoire consists of 3
major rhythm types (tango, milonga, vals), and although they share steps in
common, there are also differences in steps, styles of dancing, and mood. In
fact, the more you learn about tango music, the more you realize that there
are even considerable differences among different tango orchestras so that
you will adapt your dancing to changes in rhythm, phrasing, and emotional
impact. (We will teach the 3 main rhythms - tango, milonga, and vals - in
our 'Fundamentals' course.) Once you begin to enjoy tango, you will be glad
that there will be ample opportunity to practice tango. We have monthly
milongas at the Phillips Center, as well as weekly practice dances and
numerous classes and workshops and other activities, including tango
performances several times a year (for those of you who love to perform or
just watch).
Also, our milongas include several sets of 'other Latin music'. This
includes not only salsa, merengue, cha-cha, rhumba, and samba, but also
Latin pop to which you can dance swing, hustle, 2-step, and West Coast swing.
Anyway, we invite you to join our tango community. We hope to see you soon.
Ron & Susana Weigel
Ronald M. Weigel, Ph.D.
Professor
Division of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology
2001 S Lincoln Avenue
University of Illinois
Urbana, IL 61802 USA
phone: (217)-244-1365
messages: (217)-333-2449
FAX: (217)-244-7421
e-mail: weigel@uiuc.edu
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