MY FAVORITE PERFORMER

Junior Cervila's tango style is my favorite. He can dance to any music. He's not stuck in the traditional tango cult. I address him as "El Rey" (The King). He's at his best when he is improvising a fusion of many dances. I recently witnessed him doing Argentine Tango mixed with Brazilian Samba and a bit of Cuban Salsa ....it was fantastic!!! I usually dance fusion. I just do what the music seems to dictate. Sometimes I'm asked, "What dance are you doing?". I simply answer, "The Andrew Dance." Junior does the "Junior Dance" to perfection. He's the best inspiration for my own dancing.

DANCE FOR PEACE

Matthew Harding is on my Heroes list. He's one of my favorite dancers. If we could all dance together the world would be a far better place. Let's learn Matthew's steps!

DANCE CRUISE - ANOTHER PARTY

Ahoy mates!!!
...we're cruisin' again in January* 2009.

My Circle of Friends dance buddies are signing up for the Stardust Dance Cruise in January. We're going to leave the cold behind and turn up the heat in the sunny Caribbean. We have hundreds of dance party animals signed up already. Wow! ...we're going to have another great party.

Details are on my website www.cofparty.com

*PS - If you can't join us in January, I'm taking reservations for the two remaining 2008 Stardust Dance Weekends... August 22 - 24 and November 21 - 23

MY NYC TANGO FRIENDS & PLACES

WHY IT'S SO GOOD TO DANCE

Here’s a list of popular benefits of dancing…

For health reasons it: strengthens bones and muscles without hurting your joints; tones your entire body; improves your posture; improves your balance that can prevent falls; increases your stamina; increases body flexibility; reduces stress and tension; wards off illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, and depression; reduces weight; is good for your heart, muscles and body frame; is a mild form of exercise; boosts brain power by improving memory skills; makes people less likely to develop dementia; improves some of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Out of 98 common activities studied including many sports, reading, board games, crossword puzzles, singing, acting, playing an instrument, listening to music, using computers, working out, aerobics, bicycling, bowling, etc. ONLY BALLROOM DANCING was effective at staving off the progression of Alzheimers disease. It is postulated that the combination of exercise, learning of step patterns & social interaction confers this remarkable preventive power to dancers! Dance improves our memory by making us recall steps, routines and dance patterns, making it a great mental exercise for our brains. The big benefit is that increasing mental exercise keeps your mind young, quick, alert and open.

"...the waltzers had better oxygen uptake and less muscle fatigue than a group doing more traditional exercises and a control group who did not exercise. They also reported a better quality of life." - R. Belardinelli, MD of the Lancisi Heart Institute in Ancona, Italy

For social reasons it: boosts ego; builds confidence; provides opportunities to meet people; fosters increased bonding with friends, lovers, and life partners.

Some other reasons for the popularity of dance are: it requires no special equipment; is an activity you can enjoy as often as you like and fit to any schedule; it is great fun!

So, we can say that all of the above benefits are undeniably good. On closer examination, it is obvious that people will select those benefits that most suit their lifestyle needs. Obviously, younger dancers are less concerned about the health benefits and very much more interested in the social aspects of the hobby. Those sorts of differences affect dance school and dance event planning of teaching techniques; selection of types of dances; and selection of music.

TANGO FEVER

My friend Lucille Krasne aka "Esmeralda" of Esmeralda's Milonga at Session 73 NYC (73rd & 1st) every Sunday (7:30 PM to 12:30 or later!), was interviewed on a WNYC FM talk-show today.

The theme was about the history of Argentine tango music and the rise in interest in tango.


Here's the podcast....


Click on the "Play" arrow under the WNYC logo..

THIS IS THE REAL TANGO ;-)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) Rudolph Valentino

The sonofabitch copied some of my moves!

El Magnifico