When I was in college studying art we were asked to answer the question, “What is art?” Many of us gave the same answer, that art is meant to communicate. Although now, I think this is oversimplified. Art communicates but is also so much more. Art is a feeling, an expression, it's new, unique and inspiring. Dance is also art. And with any art form, one needs to become … [Read more...]
Dancing through the Golden Years
With much excitement I introduce a new guest contributor, Andrea Bindereif of Andrea's Tango Blog. I came across her blog recently and was blown away by her journalistic style of writing and in-depth stories on the Bay Area Tango community. Andrea, born, raised and educated in Germany, came to California in 1994, worked as a freelance journalist for some of the most important … [Read more...]
Spotlight on Tango Con*Fusión
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be brave. People who follow their passion are brave, as it takes bravery to leave your comfort zone. Bravery is persevering even through set backs and challenges and in some cases, out right aggression. The Water Guardians of Standing Rock were incredibly brave. I believe that through these big displays of courage, each of … [Read more...]
Connecting and Sharing
Once I again I find myself preparing a post in the wake of another tragedy. This time even closer to home (the last one was Paris). This article began a couple of weeks ago as I was considering our world's addiction to smart phones and social media. And now in the midst of this heartbreak, it's exactly these two things that help us to share our feelings and connect with … [Read more...]
Teaching Tango in Africa
A few years ago I received an email from Camille Cusumano requesting support for her "Go Fund Me" campaign to teach tango in Africa. Camille is someone I've known for several years now, first as the author of Tango: An Argentine Love Story and then in person as a Bay Area dancer and teacher. Her teaching partner in this endeavor was Mungai Waweru a young Kenyan-American who was … [Read more...]