Four special events planned for April
Spring is here! The rain and mild weather will result in flowers bursting out in Princeton. Read about the four events planned for your dancing pleasure. Also keep reading about the wonderful choices there for socialization before and after the milongas here in Princeton.
APRIL’S HIGHLIGHTS
April 7th MayoK, aka Urszula, our world traveling DJ has just left Marrakech in Morocco. She will appear at VivaTango to host the first milonga in April.Pablo Garcia Gomez and Iwona Ionescu will teach a lesson before the milonga. The lesson title is “Extra fun playing with soltadas”. This intimate step can be invited by followers and leaders and danced in small or large spaces. Lesson starts at 7:00 and milonga starts at 8:15. Lesson $15, Milonga $15, Both $20. All dancers must show proof of full vaccination on first visit. Masks are recommended, but are optional. EVENT LINK
April 14th Meredith Klein with dance partner Andres Amarilla will host the milonga and teach a lesson. Lesson starts at 7:00 and milonga starts at 8:15. Lesson $15, Milonga $15, Both $20. All dancers must show proof of full vaccination on first visit. Masks are recommended, but are optional.EVENT LINK
April 21st Will feature a Performance by Helen Wang and James Archambault. They will also teach a lesson and host a milonga. Lesson starts at 7:00, milonga starts at 8:15 and performance at 10:00. Lesson $15, Milonga $15, Both $20. All dancers must show proof of full vaccination on first visit. Masks are recommended, but are optional. EVENT LINK
April 28th Live Music Milonga will feature the Yasmina Rais Trio. This outstanding instrumental tango trio emerged in the city of Buenos Aires in early 2018. They are on their North American Tour and this will be their first time performing at VivaTango. Their sound incorporates modern sounds with harmony and tempo changes, and with dynamics of great character. The three instruments play equal roles, thus exploiting the technical and expressive possibilities of each one of the instrumentalists. Meredith Klein and Andres Amarilla will host the milonga and DJ between sets of live music. The Philadelphia Argentine Tango School is bringing the trio to the area, and offering these additional events: Friday, April 29: “Charla” (Chat) with the band & Potluck Dinner; and Saturday, April 30: Concert + Live Music Milonga Qilombo with DJ Craig Herrington. Lesson starts at 7:00 and milonga starts at 8:15. Lesson $15, Milonga $15, Both $20. All dancers must show proof of full vaccination on first visit. Masks are recommended, but are optional. EVENT LINK
WHAT TO DO BEFORE AND AFTER MILONGAS IN PRINCETON
Princeton during the spring is a most charming location for a Tango venue. VivaTango dancers have the opportunity to leverage their trip to milongas by taking in some of the wonderful opportunities that Princeton offers. Almost one million visitors come to tour the campus each year, and the visitors to the town number about two million a year. With such an attraction at hand, would it not be a benefit to take pleasure from the combination of what the area offers along with the emotion of the milonga? The pace of a milonga and the music volume make it difficult to have an in-depth conversation between tandas. So, what does the area offer?
Two hundred years ago, the answer was the area offers a chance to have dinner. The trip from New York City to Philadelphia was a two-day journey by stage coach. Princeton is exactly in the middle, so passengers would stop for dinner and stay the night. You can still dine at the same inn today. The tap room there now has a mural painted by Norman Rockwell titled Yankee Doodle. Princeton has a town green. Palmer Square is a charming collection of shops, restaurants and residences surrounding the town green and the Nassau Inn, the historic inn for the stage coach stop. This shopping district includes many stylish clothing stores, spatiality shops and food stores. I am definitely not a shopper, but some of the specialty shops have lured me inside to satisfy my curiosity. A walk around Palmer Square is most interesting. Most of the restaurants are on the streets that surround Palmer Square.
Princeton offers a great place to dine before a milonga, or if not dine, get a great quick meal or takeout. Princeton’s restaurants draw diners from far and wide. There is a whole spectrum of dining options within walking distance of the Tango dance floor. The closest, and one of my favorites for a quick but tasteful dinner, is Jammin Crepes at 20 Nassau Street, with outdoor and indoor tables. My favorite choice for a meeting place with light food and good wines before a milonga is the Tapas Bar at the Mediterra Restaurant , which also serves elegant Mediterranean food. There are many choices for ice cream, but the Halo Halo Pub is the clear winner. Halo has real ice cream and also beautiful ice cream creations that are amazing to look at as well as to eat. And if you do not get enough time to talk with your favorite partner during the milonga, the Alchemist and Barrister Alchemist and Barrister is the center of the late-night life in Princeton.
There is much more to tell about the Princeton’s architectural gems, sites of American history and of course one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States. But this writing has gotten too long, so I will leave the rest for a future article. But one last fact. There is train service from NYC and Philly that drops you off right in the middle of all this. Let the April Thursday Tango nights be all that is possible.
Where do you go and what do you like to do before and after milongas in Princeton? Reply to this email and tell me about them.
MASK POLICY
Mask wearing is now optional. Each dancer can decide what is best for their safety. VivaTango wants to assure everyone that we are still working to create a safe environment to dance. Everyone is still required to show proof of full vaccination on their first visit, and to fill out a short health questionnaire each time they check in. There will be sanitation stations, the superb ventilation system and no open food.
Tango tradition has a wonderful etiquette that unites race, religion, political differences. Dancers should feel comfortable wearing a mask. In the true spirit of Tango traditions eye contact plus a cabeceo seals a contract to dance a tanda. In the spirit of Tango etiquette, the right thing to do is if one of the partners is wearing a mask, the other should be prepared to wear a mask also. So, if you choose not to wear a mask you should have one handy in case the partner of your choice is wearing one.
Philadelphia Tango Festival – June 2-5
Viva Tango Inc. 