Mark and Karenna are the host of Casa Tango and the milonga. They have been playing the role of community hub for a long time. It is good to have dependable people who support Tango and have a place for milonga.
I went to their Sunday milonga on 4/15/18. It was from 7pm-930pm.
There were four people form neighboring college town Stillwater. The faculty Irene, teaching history of Renaissance, also teaches Tango for college students as her passion project. They were there for a "field trip" for beginning students. It was nice to see them.
It's been a while since I saw Irina and Sergio.
Irina and Sergio are professionals. The way they dance shows that.
In milonga/social dance, most people dance in a similar manner. Just go to a festival and see how people social dance. Simple steps. Walk, walk, ocho, a bit of molinette then sandwitch,....
A friend of mine, seasoned ballroom dance instructor, once said that "for social dance, you only need five patterns". I agree. The same can be said for Tango.
Tango has about six basic elements most used in social dance. Unlike Stage Tango-inspired common perception/myth, social Tango can be a simple dance.
In other words, unless you give a thought on how you use the basic elements differently, your dance would look just as ordinary and uninspiring. Professionals work to make their dance stand out.
Then coming back to Irina and Sergio. Their dance looks different. They use pivots and rotational moves more often than most others, making the look of the dance much more complex. All these were executed smoothly in a nice flow. I was admiring their style.
Although they are busy raising their kids and not very active as dancer/teacher recently (so they said), having them around is great for Tulsa Tango scene.
There were several other people, whose introductions I skip here (maybe next time).
It was a good party.
[Celebrating Birthdays for three people there]
