Workshop with Gustavo & María:  "The Dynamic Embrace"

The story ...

is told of a younger dancer, eager to make his way deeper into the mysteries of Tango, who asks an older milonguero about his favorite part of the dance:

Was it a particular situation or idea, like a special turn or certain boleo ... or was it more about the quality of the movement itself, "how" we walk ... or maybe something about the music, and all the many memories and feelings it evokes?

"No," says the older man:

"For me, the high point of our dance is that moment when we finally reach out and touch for the very first time. Everything that follows — all the music and the wonderful movements we make together? All of that is just delicious aftermath ..."

"Connection" vs. Embrace

Often referred to as "the connection," it turns out that this slender mechanical word scarcely begins to describe the richness, subtlety and nuance of Tango's embrace.

As the old milonguero suggested, mere physical contact alone is not enough:  What matters is the threshold we cross together — and, in turn, the deeper and far more resonant layers of what this choice implies and allows:

In the moment of our touch, we go from being two separate people to becoming partners in a whole new entity, The Couple —

Old barriers fall and familiar boundaries begin to blur as we open ourselves to trust and relationship ... agree to engage, interact, explore ... lean forward into possibiltiies ... then step together toward the unknown.

By way of metaphor, a plug that's "connected" to a wall socket is meaningless ... unless there is also a current present, that vital ebb and flow of electricity — and — something on the other end of the wire — a lamp, a fan, a radio — which can not only accept this unseen power, but transform it in ways that are at once tangible, useful, elegant, and profound.

Likewise in Tango:  The key to our touch is how such a simple gesture allows this "divine spark" to rise and leap between two bodies — to animate the relationship, turn us into partners, and conjure The Couple into being.

The Workshop:  "The Dynamic Embrace"

On March 19 in Ojai, guest artists Gustavo Benzecry Sabá & María Olivera invite us deeper into these mysteries by helping us consider + explore a range of topics + issues related to Tango's "Dynamic Embrace," such as:

• how to send and receive / give and take on the bi-directional, "two-way" channel of the embrace ...

• how our embrace can move, shift, breathe and hinge — elegantly adapting our touch to Tango's ever-changing possibilities and circumstances ...

• how various inefficiencies and distortions can arise — how we can notice what's happening, understand the consequences, then adjust and respond to the developing situation ...

• how to organize and make use of the many ways we can touch and make contact with our partner — hand, arm, back, chest, head, cheek, chin, temple ...

• how to manage the different ways we might "fit together" with a variety of partners — including those that are taller, shorter, wider, slender, more flexible, and less so ...

• how best to keep our Tango embrace tender, supple and alive ... rather than becoming stiff, rigid or awkward, like ballroom's notorious "frame" ...

• how we can let our embrace flow between closer and more open relationships to create a flexible and responsive "elastic embrace" ...

• how to approach and incorporate the idea of entrega as we explore ever deeper layers of surrender and expressiveness — with our partner, with the music, and with Tango's myriad possibilities ...

After "The Dynamic Embrace" workshop, please stay on as Gustavo & María supervise the Guided Práctica, and then join us for a special extended edition of our long-running Monday Night milonga, Ojai's "Tango Incident."

Tango: It's not the pen; it's the words — that flow from poet to the open page ...

When: 

Monday — March 19, 2018

Where: 

Ojai Art Center - in the Gallery - 113 S. Montgomery, Ojai

Workshop:

7:00 - 8:30 p.m. - an Extended 90-minute Session

Supervised Práctica: 

8:30 - 9:00 p.m. — following the Workshop  ...

"Tango Incident":

9:00 - 10:30 p.m. — Ojai's renowned milonga

Cost:

$25 / Dancer for this Special Workshop + Práctica

        2-for-1 / Students with I.D. ...

        "Tango Incident" only — by donation

— All Levels Workshop —

— Newer + More Experienced Dancers Both Welcome —

More About Gustavo & María

Gustavo & María - on the social dance floor Celebrated social dancers and teachers, Gustavo Benzecry Sabá & María Olivera are from Buenos Aires. Gustavo started dancing in the late ‘90s, studying with both milongueros and stage performers. In 2003 he met María and they started teaching together at the famous Salón Canning, in Buenos Aires.* Their teaching method is both precise and gradual. Because of this, they’re among the most popular teachers. They regularly teach workshops in their home town and at international festival and events. Their kindness and good sense of humor make the learning very effective for students. Gustavo is patient and reflective, and María brings dynamism and clarity in the concepts they present and explore. As teachers and dancers they’ve been touring Europe and America since 2006, taking part in many international events. Gustavo stands out for his elegance, creativity and musicality, and María for her quick adornments and her musical precision. Together they also work hard on promoting the Tango as a culture. Gustavo has written several books — including Embracing Tango, Tango FAQs, a New Glossary of tango terms (with a DVD to illustrate), and most recently, a history of the dance, Quest for the Embrace: 1800 - 1983. With María they’ve also produced instructional DVDs on technique for leaders and followers, as well as a documentary film on the history of the dance in the 1940’s and 50’s that they screen for educational purposes.

* Salón Canning (Milonga Parakultural) in Palermo is one of the most iconic Tango venues in Buenos Aires. Read more about it here:  in English, in Spanish, on Facebook ...

Links to More About Gustavo & María...

Gustavo & María's Website     More background, bio, links, video, books, DVDs ... Workshops in San Pedro     Gustavo & María will also be in residence in the L.A.     area March 13 - 24 at Tango San Pedro, offering a     series of workshops & events ... Buenos Aires Tango Immersion     Gustavo & María's annual tour to "Tango Mecca"     — and their hometown — Buenos Aires ... 10 days     of intensive workshops, milonga outings, cultural     excursions & more — next tour:  December 2018 Video of their Dancing •   Tango — at Salón Canning, Buenos Aires, 2016 •   Milonga — at ValenTango in Portland, 2018 •   Vals — in Saarbrücken, Germany, 2017