Nancy Louzan & Damian Esell from Buenos Aires. Photo by Evangelo Costadimas.
Thanks to our teachers Candy and Anita, my fellow classmates and I at Trio Spin Studio had the privilege of studying with Nancy and Damian in an one-week intensive tango workshop in September. The workshop covered a good range of techniques from walking and the rhythm of vals to more 'fancy-looking' figures like colgadas.
While some of these concepts were hard for beginners to grasp, Nancy and Damian broke down the movements into simple, easy-to-follow exercises we could pick up in 1.5 or 2 hours (on the weekends we had multiple sessions in a day). Every movement was a revelation--we learned to control our breathing, our bodies; to connect with our partners, to immerse in the music and the closing in of space in a way that we had never dreamed of. At the end of each day we left the studio with sore legs and joyous hearts, having taken a great leap in our skill and understanding of tango.
On Friday night we had our Grand Milonga, where we embraced fellow dancers from Hong Kong and overseas visitors, and witnessed the passion of living through tango in the maestros' performance. On Saturday night, after the workshop some of us went to have dinner at a cheap Cantonese food stall inside a wet market, our laughter fluttering under swaying fans. We toasted to our future Sunderland--a tango community in Hong Kong we have yet to found, to celebrate music, dance and friendship. What more could we ask for of life?
On their last day in town, I spent an afternoon with the maestros and their baby boy before I saw them off to the train to the airport. Nancy took a moment to go fabric shopping--on our way back to the hotel, I told her they brought us a lot of happiness for being such wonderful teachers. "I'm glad," she grinned, looking youthful in the summer sun.
* * *
Here's Jimmy reading the brochure of October Contemporary. I've known Jimmy for about four years and he, too, is a journalist. We're the kind of friends who would have late night chats online when either of us ran into trouble--probably for that reason, our connection was mostly confined to words and we rarely hanged out when he still lived in Hong Kong. A year ago he moved back to the States. I got teary-eyed saying goodbye: I had hardly come to know this friend and he's gone!
Last month Jimmy's back in town to visit his family. He's often writing near my neighborhood, so we caught up for dinner and things like we never did in the past. It's interesting to discover more about a friend you've had for a long while but feel you don't really know--to take in their presence, to see their thoughts and reaction. I was happy to see Jimmy, and I wish him good luck back in NYC.
While some of these concepts were hard for beginners to grasp, Nancy and Damian broke down the movements into simple, easy-to-follow exercises we could pick up in 1.5 or 2 hours (on the weekends we had multiple sessions in a day). Every movement was a revelation--we learned to control our breathing, our bodies; to connect with our partners, to immerse in the music and the closing in of space in a way that we had never dreamed of. At the end of each day we left the studio with sore legs and joyous hearts, having taken a great leap in our skill and understanding of tango.
On Friday night we had our Grand Milonga, where we embraced fellow dancers from Hong Kong and overseas visitors, and witnessed the passion of living through tango in the maestros' performance. On Saturday night, after the workshop some of us went to have dinner at a cheap Cantonese food stall inside a wet market, our laughter fluttering under swaying fans. We toasted to our future Sunderland--a tango community in Hong Kong we have yet to found, to celebrate music, dance and friendship. What more could we ask for of life?
On their last day in town, I spent an afternoon with the maestros and their baby boy before I saw them off to the train to the airport. Nancy took a moment to go fabric shopping--on our way back to the hotel, I told her they brought us a lot of happiness for being such wonderful teachers. "I'm glad," she grinned, looking youthful in the summer sun.
* * *
Here's Jimmy reading the brochure of October Contemporary. I've known Jimmy for about four years and he, too, is a journalist. We're the kind of friends who would have late night chats online when either of us ran into trouble--probably for that reason, our connection was mostly confined to words and we rarely hanged out when he still lived in Hong Kong. A year ago he moved back to the States. I got teary-eyed saying goodbye: I had hardly come to know this friend and he's gone!
Last month Jimmy's back in town to visit his family. He's often writing near my neighborhood, so we caught up for dinner and things like we never did in the past. It's interesting to discover more about a friend you've had for a long while but feel you don't really know--to take in their presence, to see their thoughts and reaction. I was happy to see Jimmy, and I wish him good luck back in NYC.
Yes, I see you do need to come to Buenos Aires. Tango is so ubiquitous here that it seems to be part of the "good airs" everywhere.
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