Me too! I forgot how much I used to enjoy it. Have picked it up again after 20 years! I am making a scarf for my daughter for Xmas and have bought some yarn to make something for myself. Have fun!
Went to a milonga earlier where the presence of Ms Rojas attracted pretty much every London teacher.
It was revealing how many of these teachers cannot dance on a crowded floor. No flow, no navigation, kicks and bumps, big-big dancing, blocking the flow, dancing backwards, dancing across lanes, dancing in the middle of the floor....
@Andreas: Her reputation is still very much as Ms Rojas. I was at an event a week ago where a workshop, to be held next summer, was introduced as starring Ms Rojas.
@LT - I will! That sense of productive labour is very satisfying, and I nearly always design for myself at least partly so it is very creative too, with lots of mistakes and discoveries.
@Andreas - I think it is too, but I've seen her billed both ways recently so I suppose she uses Rojas as her business name as it's more recognisable.
Geraldine might use the name Paludi in her personal life or more likely Rojas Paludi but in the tango world she's so well known as Geraldine Rojas that's probably how she'll be billed for some time. Ezequiel didn't just appear from nowhere- he was already an accomplished dancer (ee eg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wtU9-_u14) but Geraldine has an exceptional talent that's stood out for many years. Her dancing fascinates me! Look at her in 1993: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKqA4EDwW5w&NR=1 with Gavito: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N01TpzQb2Oo with Pablo Veron: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwmWcTRY6BM&feature=player_embedded and with her previous partner Javier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwmWcTRY6BM&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnC03nKl_rE http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2p9q4_javier-rodrigues-y-geraldine-rojas_creation http://blip.tv/file/500136 http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/mephisto-tango/uk/uk_videos-fiorifem-rojaspaludi.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7IzhlA8K6k&feature=player_embedded#
Ricardo (Vidort) took me to watch her perform with Javier in BsAs a few years ago. He kept telling me they were the best (and Ricardo normally had no interest in watching performances!). They took my breath away. They were even more stunning than any of these videos show. And the amazing thing was that it was all tango de salon, and the spectacular things they did were a completely natural part of the dance and totally within the music. Her legs moved like scissors. I have to admit to having been disappointed - so far- watching her dance with Ezequiel. But they are still quite a new partnership. She danced with Javier for 10 years.
Here are some interesting comments with which I have some sympathy: http://lonewalker.blog.co.uk/2006/09/12/geraldine_rojas~1117950/
and some reactions, though I think the comments about the "love" element are irrelevant and based on a misunderstanding of what the first commentator meant: http://lonewalker.blog.co.uk/2006/09/12/geraldine_rojas~1117950/#comments
Sorry about all the text non-hyperlinks- hope they work. I don't think I can post videos direct to your site, can I? I have just put some on my Facebook page.
Agree it will take time for the Ezequiel/Geraldine partnership to find its right place.
Stylistically I think it's going to be a whole different proposition to J/G - E and G bring so different but good things together. The exciting thing with any partnership is if they can make it work....become greater than the sum of their talented parts.
They're also dancing to a lot more challenging music than J/G did. I can't help but feeling it's a new chapter, and we don't know where it's going to end.
I wandered up to the balcony about midnight and watched the floorcraft. Overall it was pretty good. There were two distinguishable lanes and a middle. A few couples who were oblivious to the concept and a few people who felt the need to have conversations on the dance floor rather than embrace or do that pesky dancing stuff.
MsH: Love the wee gecko - and while you may acknowledge some wee imperfections, the recipient will never know, and love it for the care it was made with....
Re. Milonga: I wasn't at that milonga, but while at another one last night I danced with a lovely follower who had been there, and the only word to describe her at the start of the night was 'traumatised' :-/
OK, slight exaggeration, but for one of the nicest followers I know to believe that being generally made a dart-board of was her fault somehow had sort of spoiled her experience of said milonga....
@OwenMC - I didn't get lots of bumps, only the ones in the usual places caused by the layout problems, but both Ghost and I were there AFTER the performance (having underestimated Danny's persuasiveness as to the adoption of GMT rather than Latin time, so that those who needed to take trains could get home - but only by about five minutes), so a lot of people had just left, and it may have been a lot worse earlier.
Hopefully the evening will pay for an extra table or two to demarcate the dance floor more clearly. I gather that's the plan.
The obvious answer is that roughly half the people there had floorcraft and stayed to the end. The other half left shortly after the performance.
A more interesting theory is that there were a certain numberof peple there who had floorcraft, let's say 10 out of 100 at the start; only 10% so had no real effect on the rest of the floor and it becomes a human dartboard. Around 11.45, 40 people leave. Now the floorcraft dancers are 10 out of 50 - 20% and enough to have an effect on the dancefloor such that it stablises into something sane.
It's just a theory - no idea what the percentages are or even how you'd test it, though I'd like to know.
Comments are moderated - when I get round to it, which is not always the same week. Anonymous comments are permitted at the moment, but please use a consistent pseudonym as a courtesy to others.
Me too! I forgot how much I used to enjoy it. Have picked it up again after 20 years! I am making a scarf for my daughter for Xmas and have bought some yarn to make something for myself.
ReplyDeleteHave fun!
Went to a milonga earlier where the presence of Ms Rojas attracted pretty much every London teacher.
ReplyDeleteIt was revealing how many of these teachers cannot dance on a crowded floor. No flow, no navigation, kicks and bumps, big-big dancing, blocking the flow, dancing backwards, dancing across lanes, dancing in the middle of the floor....
hilarious if it wasn't tragic
@Anonymus: It is "Mrs Paludi" I believe.
ReplyDelete@Andreas: Her reputation is still very much as Ms Rojas. I was at an event a week ago where a workshop, to be held next summer, was introduced as starring Ms Rojas.
ReplyDelete@LT - I will! That sense of productive labour is very satisfying, and I nearly always design for myself at least partly so it is very creative too, with lots of mistakes and discoveries.
ReplyDelete@Andreas - I think it is too, but I've seen her billed both ways recently so I suppose she uses Rojas as her business name as it's more recognisable.
Geraldine might use the name Paludi in her personal life or more likely Rojas Paludi but in the tango world she's so well known as Geraldine Rojas that's probably how she'll be billed for some time. Ezequiel didn't just appear from nowhere- he was already an accomplished dancer (ee eg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wtU9-_u14)
ReplyDeletebut Geraldine has an exceptional talent that's stood out for many years. Her dancing fascinates me!
Look at her in 1993: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKqA4EDwW5w&NR=1
with Gavito: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N01TpzQb2Oo
with Pablo Veron: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwmWcTRY6BM&feature=player_embedded
and with her previous partner Javier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwmWcTRY6BM&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnC03nKl_rE
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2p9q4_javier-rodrigues-y-geraldine-rojas_creation
http://blip.tv/file/500136
http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/mephisto-tango/uk/uk_videos-fiorifem-rojaspaludi.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7IzhlA8K6k&feature=player_embedded#
Ricardo (Vidort) took me to watch her perform with Javier in BsAs a few years ago. He kept telling me they were the best (and Ricardo normally had no interest in watching performances!). They took my breath away. They were even more stunning than any of these videos show. And the amazing thing was that it was all tango de salon, and the spectacular things they did were a completely natural part of the dance and totally within the music. Her legs moved like scissors. I have to admit to having been disappointed - so far- watching her dance with Ezequiel. But they are still quite a new partnership. She danced with Javier for 10 years.
Here are some interesting comments with which I have some sympathy:
http://lonewalker.blog.co.uk/2006/09/12/geraldine_rojas~1117950/
and some reactions, though I think the comments about the "love" element are irrelevant and based on a misunderstanding of what the first commentator meant:
http://lonewalker.blog.co.uk/2006/09/12/geraldine_rojas~1117950/#comments
Sorry about all the text non-hyperlinks- hope they work. I don't think I can post videos direct to your site, can I? I have just put some on my Facebook page.
You can't post them directly, but I can talk you through how to make links clickable. Done it for yours below:
ReplyDeleteEzequiel
Geraldin in 1993
with Gavito
with Pablo Veron
and with Javier
With Javier 2
Javier 3
Javier 4
Javier 5
Javier 6
Lonewalker comments
Reactions/misunderstanding
Tango en el Cielo:
ReplyDeleteAgree it will take time for the Ezequiel/Geraldine partnership to find its right place.
Stylistically I think it's going to be a whole different proposition to J/G - E and G bring so different but good things together. The exciting thing with any partnership is if they can make it work....become greater than the sum of their talented parts.
They're also dancing to a lot more challenging music than J/G did. I can't help but feeling it's a new chapter, and we don't know where it's going to end.
I'm looking forward to it.
I should add that Andreas is an exception - he dances lovely and is considerate to other dancers.
ReplyDelete@Anon
ReplyDeleteHe's not a London teacher though...
I wandered up to the balcony about midnight and watched the floorcraft. Overall it was pretty good. There were two distinguishable lanes and a middle. A few couples who were oblivious to the concept and a few people who felt the need to have conversations on the dance floor rather than embrace or do that pesky dancing stuff.
But overall, pretty good :o)
Definite absence of high boleos too.
MsH: Love the wee gecko - and while you may acknowledge some wee imperfections, the recipient will never know, and love it for the care it was made with....
ReplyDeleteRe. Milonga:
I wasn't at that milonga, but while at another one last night I danced with a lovely follower who had been there, and the only word to describe her at the start of the night was 'traumatised' :-/
OK, slight exaggeration, but for one of the nicest followers I know to believe that being generally made a dart-board of was her fault somehow had sort of spoiled her experience of said milonga....
@OwenMC - I didn't get lots of bumps, only the ones in the usual places caused by the layout problems, but both Ghost and I were there AFTER the performance (having underestimated Danny's persuasiveness as to the adoption of GMT rather than Latin time, so that those who needed to take trains could get home - but only by about five minutes), so a lot of people had just left, and it may have been a lot worse earlier.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the evening will pay for an extra table or two to demarcate the dance floor more clearly. I gather that's the plan.
This is a minor point but I believe Geraldin uses the name Geraldin Rojas de Paludi, which is a common way of doing it in Latin America.
ReplyDeleteWould make sense - bit more like the Spanish, which is different from the way English and German surnames work.
ReplyDeleteThe obvious answer is that roughly half the people there had floorcraft and stayed to the end. The other half left shortly after the performance.
ReplyDeleteA more interesting theory is that there were a certain numberof peple there who had floorcraft, let's say 10 out of 100 at the start; only 10% so had no real effect on the rest of the floor and it becomes a human dartboard. Around 11.45, 40 people leave. Now the floorcraft dancers are 10 out of 50 - 20% and enough to have an effect on the dancefloor such that it stablises into something sane.
It's just a theory - no idea what the percentages are or even how you'd test it, though I'd like to know.