This page was created for friends who wanted details beyond tango about my European tour in 2014. That tour resulted in meeting Roberto and moving to Berlin! I have continued to update it occasionally when I write about my travels.
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Travels in tears
Traveling is not all fun, and can even glue highs and lows back to back… A good milonga can end badly. New friends can leave
Maestro’s reflections
He shared one criterion he uses for observing a dance: “Would that dance make sense if they were alone in a room?” I loved his idea because I am well aware that my best tangos happen at the end of the night, when no one is watching and it’s more likely that my partner and I fuse and travel beyond space, time, and mind.
And then when you least expect it
Tango’s magic and mystery can return as easily as it faded away. Tonight I danced with the best dancer of my life. I’ll call him
Interview with Henning Klose, TangoLoft Berlin
My first experience of TangoLoft made me cry. I couldn’t even dance that night. I was so moved that a milonga could be everything that
Too early
It seems inevitable that when I arrive too early to a Milonga, I end up wondering what the hell I am doing with my life.
Zurich first night last tanda
Guy asks DJ “What’s the next music going to be?“ “A mix with some interesting stuff.” “Who do I dance with? ” “Her.” [Me. What
Consumption, creativity, celebrity
This is the beginning of a theory, about life, about dancing, about asking the big questions. I think we are faced with some choices about
Follow the music, and other evasive truisms
I’m having conversations with people about this restricted “marathon-style” dancing. There are several standard explanations, all of which are truisms, applicable to All tango, and,
Argentine Tango versus Contact Improvisation
Fundamentally tango and contact use a lot of the same skills, and can support one another in the mechanics of connection. But as a practice
The uninvited.
We didn’t do it on purpose. A2 and B2 wanted to get together again and we settled on Thursday. They suggested organising a group to
Keep the candles burning
It wasn’t promising at first. Three couples dancing insipidly. Ten men sunk deep into boxlike chairs from which it looked difficult to get up. It
And then there’s Neukölln
I think today I arrived to the Berlin way. I had a 3 hour lunch with Astrid, sitting on the edge of the sidewalk. She
The deeper cabeceo
Globally, the best coffee is served in places with inadequate and injurious seating… Black Star and Blue Bottle in Sydney and San Francisco. Here in
Interview with Thomas Rieser, Nou Tango school, Berlin
Researching the schools in Berlin, I came across this interview with Thomas Rieser, founder of Nou Tango, Berlin. The interview just made me want to
Pathos princesses
There are these tango women, the successes (“professionals”). They look intelligent and they look like they’ve given up a lot for this bit of glory.
Milongas oscillation
Went back and forth again tonight between two milongas, but these were only 3 blocks apart. And at one of them I discovered that the
How to Berlin
Buy a monthly subway pass so can wander around without doing math and fingering robots all the time… €78. There’s a special ticket for tango
Victims and angels
After last night’s self-induced disaster I realized that I needed to get serious. The first thought in my head this morning was “the point is
Bolting
Wow, I thought I was free of this. In Dresden I wrote in my notebook that I was over the addiction. In fact it seemed
Already famous… still goth…Vio in Berliner Zeitung
“Ein seltsamer Virus namens Tango“, Von Thomas Kröter. Berliner Zeitung 25 July, 2014. TANZEN IN BERLIN Ein seltsamer Virus namens Tango Von Thomas Kröter Getanztes Gespräch: Tango – hier im
Travels in tears
Traveling is not all fun, and can even glue highs and lows back to back… A good milonga can end badly. New friends can leave
I am not a teddy bear: a gender breakdown
So first of all my motivations and possible rewards as a mark are different than a man’s. I am not interested in romance, or confirmations
Queer desires
I had some idea about what I would learn on this trip. Predictably it is different. I am learning something about the construction of desire.
Mainlining Joy
What makes queer tango different? Not so much the composition of the couple, or the exchange of roles. What stands out is how people feel
Queer goes to church
Wow what a beautiful space! Very very slippery, but a gorgeous space, an entire church nave to play in. Even a little energetic music, after
Queer Night 2
Felt awful today, beyond tired. The last few days I wake up feeling that sleeping is a lot of work. Dehydration, maybe? The exhaustion didn’t
Berlin Queer Tango festival opens
Well it was a pretty big night. First of all, the level was very nice. The tendency to jerkiness which has characterised most qt events
What’s with the Hips?
Boring as the marathon was, I did notice that every single mark there maintained hip flexion at all times on the dance floor. I carefully
Milonga Strandbar
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 This milonga reminded me of the milonga at Plaza Dorrego in BsAs. Colored lights, tourists drinking wine, smiles and dancers
Home Berlin
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 I had a coffee yesterday. Probably should have done that a week ago. I feel almost normal today. So
NOW I’m in Heaven
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 Broken bus, lost luggage, and M and I arrive Tango Loft in shorts and sandals, famished, at 0030. They give
And then it’s over
Tangotourist in Europe, Summer 2014 An abrupt ending to an endless weekend. I can’t tell if I liked it or not. But I’m sad it’s
Marathon psych
Tangotourist in Europe, Summer 2014 Runners have to train for the psychological challenge of marathon chemistry. Your body goes into death mode and you want
So a tango marathon, or at least this one
Tangotourist in Europe, Summer 2014 I imagined something considerably more hippy. More friendly, More informal, younger. It’s mixed ages (which I like), it’s definitely going
(A little) life in Dresden
Dresden reminds me of Wellington. A sweet counterculture with a worldly feel but small enough that you can easily get anywhere. Eating ice cream seems
Life berlin
G has loaned me a nice rolling weekend case so I travel with dignity. I really wanted to avoid the backpack, and what with my
Tango Vicioso at Insomnia
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 Some of my friends said I must see tango at Insomnia and others spent 30 minutes trying to dissuade me.
Tango class
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 I am sitting in a Berlin tango class, sitting because there are no extra revels. When one came in I
Clärchens Ballhaus I and II
The physical and institutional organization of tango in Berlin: * spaces: cool rooms may be used several times a week by different organizers for milongas
Milonga Popular
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 A major benefit of dancing tango is walking home through cities quiet for dawn. Even if the milonga was uninspiring.
Happy tango.. so right I want to cry: Tango Loft
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 This milonga is so the way it should be that I’m in shock. Lots of girls dancing together, men skipping
Taste of Freedom at Walzerlinksgestrickt
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 Tonight we went to Milonga Ballhaus Walzerlinksgestrickt. A formal room with gold columns and red velvet. At first it seemed
eis
What this photo tells you is that I live across the street from the ice cream shop, so I just take my bowl in my
Milonga Tangocafe (Tango Tanzen Macht Schön)
Tangotourist in Berlin, Summer 2014 As you know, my goal when dancing is to get lost. A good milonga environment facilitates this, and the cabeceo.
Maestro’s reflections
He shared one criterion he uses for observing a dance: “Would that dance make sense if they were alone in a room?” I loved his idea because I am well aware that my best tangos happen at the end of the night, when no one is watching and it’s more likely that my partner and I fuse and travel beyond space, time, and mind.
Sorry it’s raining
She was able to wait list me for a flight 6 hours later, sending me with trepidation back to Air Berlin for a boarding pass and luggage rerouting. Fortunately there had been a shift change since my first contact at 630 am who barked at me “why are you telling me that?” as I looked up my flight number to be helpful. The new one said “I don’t care about class codes and gave me a confirmed seat. “Don’t hang around the airport, take they subway to the city. Sorry it’s raining.”
I don’t think you can tango in hiking boots anyway (18 hours in Kuala Lumpur)
Final completed itinerary: 0500 Express train KUL to Sentral Station. Commuter train to Batu Caves. Commuter Train back to Dang Wangi for breakfast at Yut Kee. Walk through Jalan Melayu neighborhood on the way to Tasik Perdana. Islamic Arts Museum. Beautiful Kuala Lumpur station to Sentral. Walk Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields in search of Yarl’s Corner restaurant that has moved. Banana leaf at Vishal. Bukit Bintangm, Sungei Wang, Jalan Alor. Because of the monorail breaking, there’s no transport to or from this part of town. Walk down Jalan Ceylon to Masjid Jamek. Train to the towers at KLCC. Fall asleep on park bench, wake up to prayer calls and rainbow water fountain show. Train back to Sentral for airport express. Arrive KUL 20:50.
Europe 2014 Itinerary
Updated: 9-16 July Berlin … 16-20 July Dresden … 21July-13August Berlin … 13-21 August Zurich … 21-27 August Istanbul
