Dance: Sunday milonga in Tulsa "Glacier Bean to Bar" cafe

What's good for learning a dance if you don't have a chance to dance it in a party?


Argentine Tango dancers in Tulsa are doing good job creating these dancing opportunities. 

Last Sunday (2/24/2019) they had a milonga at a downtown cafe "Glacier bean to bar". The cafe serves gelato, espresso, coffee, chocolate, sweets, cocktails, .....things that I like. 

It was nice of the cafe people letting us dance there for a few hours in the Sunday afternoon, from 3pm to 6pm.


There were about 12+ dancers, including three visiting from OKC.

Next time at Glacier should be end of March. Even before that, they'll have similar cafe-milonga on 3/8 (Fri, 7pm-) at La Madeleine, 8115 S Olympia Ave, Tulsa. 

You can find Tulsa milonga information in Casa Tango page in Facebook. Stay tuned.

Dance: "Show us what you've got", which means, you better have gotten somethin'

A phrase used in dance auditions is, "Show us what you've got".

Then they cue the music and the auditioned starts dancing. 


Do you realize something similar is going on on your social dance floor?

Let's say, you dance tango with someone, as a lead. You start dancing. Lead her a basic walk, back ocho, walk, cruzada (cross), then resolution.

By the time, she has shown what she's got, or a glimpse of it.


Another example. You dance West Coast Swing. Starting triple. Throw out. Anchor. Push step and side pass with spin. 

By the time, you figure out how well she moves, and how knowledgeable in the dance.

Sure, you may not know how long (or short) she has been dancing. But she "shows" it.

The reverse is true, too. She says she has been "dancing" tango for 2 years. But if she does not have good posture and balance in standing, does not have good coordination in walking and ocho, and her molinette is all over, we do not see her as a tango dancer with 2 years' experience. We'd see her as a beginner.

That is harsh truth in social dance. No one gives a damn about your title. They see you here and now, and see what you've got. That's all.


But in a sense, it is "fair". And fairness can be tough.

Belonging to a community can lessen the bluntness. Because, the community "cares" about the members, and "corrects" the way they see you. Nepotism is a community thing.

But in a society, where people move free and have little idea about who you are, they will see what you've got. And "fair" competition can be tough. You have to have something in competition.


Why am I writing these awfully honest comments?

Because,...

It is sad to meet and dance with someone who dances like a beginner after 2 years. I'd rather see a good dancer after years of dancing. How could this happen?

Please show me how good your posture and balance are, how nicely you embrace, how well you move, how knowledgeably add embellishments, and, how great the joy of dancing can be. Social dance can be great fun. Please show me you've got something great.

With all these hopes, here I write something a little harsh.

Life: How do you measure....anything?

I started working on a grant about a week ago, and keep adding to the writing every day. At the end of the day, I save whole folder for backup. Increase of the size in megabite is a measurable unit for the day of work. My work is measured in megabite.

Or is it?

The megabite thing is a joke, of course. But how do we really measure, anything? What is your "scale"?

Money? Affirmation? Power? Competence? Appearance? Kindness? Benevolence? Self-satisfaction? Your religion's rules? That verse you arbitrarily picked from scripture? What your mom used to say? Number of something? How much you complied to something? How well do you dance (haha)?

You have your value system you follow and measure anything, whether you openly disclose it or not. 

I have my value system, too. Thanks to my years, I have better grasp on my own value system than when I was younger. 


When I meet someone whose value system is blatantly different from mine, I don't mind keeping some distance and observe.

Once you figure out his/her value system, you know the core of his/her character, and why he/she is doing these things. 

That applies to yourself, too. It can be hard to admit your own value system to yourself, though.



Today is Valentine's day. How about, Love, then?

Seasons of Love (HD) from Rent

 This is one of the songs that give me smile. Enjoy.



[disclaimer: not my video or music]

Dance: Partner dancing is combination of modules

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a birthday party, where my friends and I danced West Coast Swing with R&B. It was a social dance occasion. We did not pre-choreograph or anything.

Yet, these "social dance" was danced fine, with plenty of varieties and fun (and we got compliments too..., hehe, thanks). For doing and for watching, repeating the same thing too many times would be boring.


Partner dance needs to follow predetermined patterns to get it work. And there is finite time for a song. For 2 minutes song, you can put a limited number of moves; 6-count, 8-count, transitional moves, and so on, plus acting, pausing, separate/freestyling, etc.

In other words, dancers are putting pieces of moves into the song, much like playing jigsaw puzzle. These pieces of moves are the modules. Each style of dance has different kind of modules.

Ballroom dance is most structured in this aspect. Are you familiar with the Bronze patterns, Silver patterns, Gold patterns, and combinations of them (called amalgamation by the ballroom people)?


What we call "basics" are the most standard modules for the style of dance. 

Then, there are modules that are built upon the basics. They are intermediate and advanced "modules", depending on required difficulties, novelties, or looks. 

In addition, there are modules used for stage dances or other show occasions (advanced and/or stage moves). You may not need nor be able to use them in social dance settings, because your "social dance" partners would not know these modules. But certainly you can use them with specific partner(s) who practiced them together.


When you dance, you combine different modules to occupy the song.

Choreography is basically an art of weaving these modules to the song. A dance-able song has repetitions and structure (both rhythmic and melodious). Partner dance offers modules that can fit in the song.

"Original" and "creative" are different. In partner dances, you use common modules, so the dances cannot be "original". But the way you combine modules cam be "creative".


It helps to know a bunch of modules. My friends are long-time dancers and know a lot of modules/patterns. These are the basis of and the trick for dancing decent social dances. 


Some competitive or professional dance are boastful, filled with modules that need physical competence and that amateurs cannot pull off. Yet, if you break them down to each module, they are not entirely impossible. You break the modules down, and if you can imitate well, you are now dancing like them. 


Dance can be very technical. And much like music to which dance accompanies, without techniques you cannot communicate with dance. 

That makes it simple. Work on your modules, both variety and execution. Then, a higher level of dancing will appear to you.



I noticed I have not posted about dancing for some time. So here is an essay. Stating obvious? Maybe. But this "obvious" way of seeing dance can be useful if you are not aware of it.