VivaTango Newsletter – May 26th
Live Music this Thursday
Live music by Emiliano Messiez and Leandro Ragusa on May 26th, Plus DJ Kerry Kay.
Emiliano was the pianist for the hit Broadway and London show “Forever Tango”, a show that has been seen by more than 8 million people around the world. He has also served as the music director and pianist for the successful shows “Impact” and “Tango Buenos Aires”, and he is the creator of “Barolo Tango,” a live tango show based in Argentina. Leandro, bandoneonist, is on tour from Buenos Aires. He performs at major tango festivals. Emiliano and Leandro will be performing at the Philadelphia Tango Festival (as members of the Orquesta Tipica Messiez) on Sunday June 5th. They also released (as part of the quartet) a new album of Tango music this past October, just before their last performance at VivaTango. Kerry Kay will DJ this milonga as well as the June 5th milonga with Orquesta Tipica Messiez at the Philadelphia Tango Festival.
Milonga starts at 7:00. Cost $25. All dancers must show proof of full vaccination on their first visit. Masks are recommended, but are optional. EVENT LINK
What Goes on Thursday’s at VivaTango?
I returned from Florida and was at VivaTango for the first time in 6 months. I was pleased with what I saw. There was a nice sized turnout for the lesson. The dancers from the lesson were joined by a good number of additional dancers for the milonga. There were always more dancers on the dance floor than in the chairs. Leaders were, in Tango tradition, making sure that everyone was being asked to dance. There were a few more leaders than followers for the lesson, and during the beginning of the milonga followers slightly out-numbered the leaders, but at the call of the last tanda, every follower was dancing and there were a few extra leaders. The large number of advanced Tango dancers was a validation that the consistency of good music and a comfortable atmosphere has made VivaTango the place to dance. In addition to the advanced dancers, there was a full spectrum of abilities. Most dancers opted not to wear masks, but I was pleased to see that some dancers sported masks. I saw many new faces mixed in with the veterans. The only thing missing from the pre-covid era was the food buffet. Most dancers brough their favorite water bottle and there were individually wrapped chocolates and Oreo cookies available. Tango life is getting closer to normal – join us.
VivaTango’s Thursday Tango will not have an event on Thursday June 2nd.
That is the start of the fantastic Philadelphia Tango Festival, with milongas every night with live music and many interesting events featuring amazing international talent during the days.
Philadelphia Tango Festival – June 2-5
More information and registration at https://www.philadelphiatangofestival.com/
SAFETY
Our events require showing proof of full vaccination. You only have to do this on your first visit. Full vaccination requires getting boosters. We also weekly remind dancers that they should not come if they have any symptoms or have been exposed to people who have Covid. Masks are recommended, but optional. This update is being written to encourage dancers to feel comfortable wearing a mask at our events.
Tango’s cabeceo tradition is that eye contact plus a nod of the head 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.
I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or just want to say hello you can reply to this email.
Viva Tango Inc. 