Ogie Mendoza
TANGO
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Ogie Mendoza
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Tango Delights in December Dateline : Jakarta/Bali December 3-10, 2006
WEEK 1
It’s good to be back in this giant metropolis. I flew in this morning via GA 825 from Singapore and arrived at 11:00 am Jakarta time. I’ve always loved the airport here each time I get the chance to use it as a connecting flight to Bali. But now that I’m doing things in Jakarta, all the more it becomes interesting as I get the chance to go inside the city, enjoy the hustle and bustle of Jakarta life as I do my rounds as a tango teacher.
The long stretch from the airport to Menteng is roughly forty minutes to traverse during good days. But with the traffic situation always unpredictable, the ride can sometimes take you more than an hour to get either way. I love Jakarta. It’s very much like Manila in terms of character and situation. No wonder they always end up comparing these two places at most times.
I called up Suzan to inform her that I’m already in the airport and instructed me to take a Blue Bird cab that will ferry me to Jalan Tasik Melaya where I’m suppose to meet them.. Tasik Melaya is where Ruma Maroco is located. And I’m meeting them at this place because today Bunda Usye is tendering a luncheon for her childhood friends and classmates of fifty years. FIFTY YEAR! Can you beat that?
I arrived in Ruma Maroco at half past one and Suzan was there ready to receive me. She ushered me to the bar at the ground floor where I settled my things before going to the hall where the luncheon was to take place. As I got into the hall, I saw these elderly people in their sixties, still very strong, all having a good time as they feast on a lavish buffet spread of Indonesian and some western delicacies. They are friends of Mrs. Hakim. Oops! No. Not just friends but childhood friends and very good friends at that. Otherwise they wouldn’t have kept their friendship this long had they not been close with each other through the years.
It was a beautiful scene to watch when you see real friends bonding together. The picture was so real. I can’t help but marvel at the scene I was watching when friends come together and make you feel that their not just friends but more like brothers and sisters. The love and respect I saw from everyone was worth remembering. I suddenly thought of myself and started thinking if I can do the same when I reach their age. Will I be able to meet up with my friends and call for a reunion? Well, my life is very much on the go for now and I just don’t want to be bothered yet as there are more pressing issues that I need to tackle before I can ever think of that. Time will come and I’ll have to see if I can do the same way as what I saw earlier.
I met up and discuss with Bunda Usye and Suzan about my agenda in the next three days. Soon after, I saw Maria Lukito breezing in ready for her scheduled tango lesson today. Maria needs no introduction. She is the publisher of Tatler Indonesia and as such is exposed to the social, political and business life of Indonesia. A very elegant lady, Maria has been beaten by the tango bug since she got introduced to the dance several years ago.
Today she takes her third lesson with me and I’m quite excited as to how this lady would fair this time. I gave her more walking exercises making her define axis to obtain balance. The way I look, this is where she is weak at. She seems to be wobbly each time she makes a step and I felt the need to emphasize to her this important element. She was quite receptive and a willing learner although a bit impatient as she already wants to do all these fancy tricks such as “gancho” and “voleo” which some local teachers have taught her. I made her understand that more than anything else she must be able to establish her axis first before she can start doing other things.
After almost forty-five minutes of walking exercises and a grueling discussion on balance, I slowly made her move and gave her some tricks which she’s wanted to do. But making her understand that the reason why she is able to do this now is because she has managed to define her axis much better brought about by the discussion.
I can see her passion for tango very clearly and I’m so impressed by her enthusiasm. All the more I have to be tough with my approach to enable her to enjoy the dance so that she imbibes the tango feeling necessary for her learning.
Soon after, I saw Ayu, daughter of Bunda ready to take her slot. She, together with a local dance instructor, Cris, is ready to take lessons together. Ayu has learned Argentine tango back in Boston when she was in college yet. I can very well sense that she has the heart for tango and has the right form already as she has learned from some Argentinean teachers during her stay in the city.
While Cris, comes from ballroom and salsa, the guy has a special liking for tango and in fact is a tango maniac as he collects video footages and articles which he downloads from the internet. He is a computer wizard and has worked with an Indonesian lady named Avi Basuki, who wrote a book about tango. During its book launch last year, Cris and the Avi did a tango exhibition where the she coached him on the nuances of the dance.
Having attended the first workshop Stefani and I spear-headed last November, both have somehow been introduced to the basic elements that defines good tango. I then again brushed them up on the elements of axis/balance where both needs much practice and understanding to be able to dance as grounded as they can be especially Cris. While Ayu, needed to relax her tensed shoulders and this can be undone by defining this element.
I can see how much they wanted to do things based on what they know, but I made them realize for as long as they cannot define their axis well, there is no way they can achieve the effect they wanted to do on the figures or steps that they’ve been doing. Short of saying, it takes time to understand this dance based on its’ nuances.
After two hours, they managed to cope with the discussion concerning the topics mentioned and have even made them aware of what passion and discipline has got to do when learning tango. I’m happy at the result they gave me and can see “tangueros’ in the making in the very near future.
I’m still up and about and this time Rony Wongkar came into the café to take his slot. Rony is Indonesian-Chinese who loves to dance. He was so enamored by the Argentine tango that he took a plunge to learn it and in fact took part in our workshop last November as well. He keeps reminding me about the tango tour which Maria asked me to organize. Quite interesting though!
I ran a two-hour lesson with Rony. And being the typical Chinese guy who aims for perfection in everything he does, Rony is quite a serious learner. While slow to learn, he manages to catch up with the discussion concerning the discipline as I brought him to the nitty gritty of things concerning weight change, axis/balance rhythm etc. He may not be a natural, but with his dedication, Rony will surely realize one day of achieving his dream to become a “tanguero”. Keep it up!
I ended up at past six in the evening feeling tired and exhausted but satisfied though. I am happy at the way things have turned out concerning the interest for Argentine tango in this city. While relatively a small crowd yet, but I can see in the coming months that the interest will grow as more and more people will be more aware of this passionate dance.
I went to my hotel room ready to call it a day until my phone rang and Kurt, this Filipino chap who works as a DI in Singapore was on the other line. He was in town and found out that I too was in town. He invited me to join a birthday celebration of one of the “ibu ibus” in the city and I obliged by joining them for karaoke, a favorite hobby of most Asians.
At 10:00 in the evening, I was seen entering the Boroboudur Hotel where the venue was located. I found them on the second floor where I was met by three ladies Mama Mary, who is the birthday celebrant, Liza and and ibu Melsiana. Kurt and another Filipino DI Jack was in town as well. They were in party mood already as ibu Mary offered me to partake of the food that was served on the table. We were wailing and shouting trying to reach for the high notes, oftentimes laughing at our mistakes each time our vocal chords stay out of tune. The three ladies were extremely accommodating and made sure that their visitor friends from the Philippines enjoy Indonesian hospitality. We called it a night after a heavy dose of delectable Indonesian cuisine and alcohol and other beverages and ibu Mary was very pleased at the way her birthday party turned out. Happy birthday ibu Mary!
The following day I had my schedule running till 4:00 pm as I set to fly-off to Bali tonight for my scheduled workshop in the island. Cris and Ayu took the morning slot followed by Maria and Ronnie. All four of them had more or less understood what it takes to dance the tango based on the basic principles of dance. Having good posture, applying proper breathing techniques etc… maybe a bit too much for them, but with the right coaching technique, I managed to convince them that these are tools that they will be using in their learning of the complicated steps of the Argentine tango. I am one teacher who just doesn’t teach steps as compared to other tango teachers around who will just teach their students routines they have learned from workshops they attended. I find it absurd to co-exist with these hapless individuals who have nothing but delusions thinking that with a few rounds of lessons in tango, ergo they promote themselves as tango teachers, they think they are already qualified to teach. Well, don’t get me wrong. I believe in free enterprise but if these people will only be more realistic and not be blinded by false perception that they can already teach despite lack of training and exposure to the dance, then will I only concede that everyone who’s got the right attitude and proper training have the right to venture into teaching.
Before I left, Maria and Ronnie reminded me of their interest to pursue the tango tour scheduled for February. I told them I’ll get back to them with a blueprint of the project in a week’s time. I then went to the airport to catch my evening flight via GA 402 to Bali.
I arrived in Bali at past 10:00 in the evening and the driver was already outside to bring me to Sanur. I was so tired that I fell asleep on my way to Stefani’s tango house. The weather was a bit warm today and occasional rains will pop in from time to time due to the weather condition affecting the island in the month of December.
The following day I met up with Stefani to discuss our agenda for the coming days as she hands me down my schedule. We did our usual practice/rehearsal concerning past choreographies after breakfast and off I went with my first class for the day.
Today is Wednesday December 6. At 4:30 in the afternoon I had Doris coming in for her lesson. She just got back from Germany and will be off again on Christmas day to spend the holidays with her family back home. Always, good-natured in her ways, we immediately buckled down to work as she longs to tango once again. There is quite good improvement in the way she was executing her movement and this can be attributed to the fact that she now manages to maintain her axis and collects her feet each time she steps before moving on to the next step. I am so pleased at the slow transformation she is undergoing. She maybe a slow learner but nevertheless she’s learning it right. We did a series of walking in the entire one hour that we worked together, forward and back, and she felt good about the exercises.
At 4:45, guess who would surprise me at the door but Omar & Lily whom I have not seen for sometime. The couple had been busy attending to their business but not totally neglecting tango. Both have the heart to carry on with their passion that each time they are free they take lessons to improve on their dancing. Their last lesson was with Facundo and Bruno where they got to learn many things with the visiting teachers. I asked them to do all the things that they know and I will take it from there. I was surprised to see the confidence both have been displayed as they delineate the steps that they already know very well. Omar ‘s lead is getting better and so does lily’s following. She had somehow eased out her tight shoulders that she’s looking more natural each time she moves. Call it a classic case of practice makes perfect. Both Lily & Omar are hard workers. They keep repeating the steps that they have learned to perfection. Although not natural dancers, but this is the only way they both could understand how it is to dance the tango. Bravo Lily & Omar.!
Helena came next to do her Latin dances. I always look forward to my lesson with her as it gives me that much needed break from too much tangoing. She is a delight to work with coz she’s always in good mood as she sways and glide to the bouncy tunes of rock n’ roll and the romantic melodies of the rumba. For more than a year now she has managed to improve a lot and has almost perfected the routines I taught her. This means that I have to give her new ones to make her move to another level. We’ll keep it that way Helena.
The following day I have Agus and Mark taking the morning slots in Sanur. Both Agus and Mark had been constantly active in tango gatherings and they always made it a point to brush-up with their tango each time I am in Bali. It is very evident in Agus that he loves the dance but he needed some time to consolidate his moves to make him clearly understand the nuances of the dance. Like I said, there is no short cut to tango. It needs time and practice to be able to imbibe the feeling for the dance. But with Agus, this is no problem.
Mark took the next slot. Always busy with his work and social commitments, I am pleased each time he comes back to tango despite the habitual fall-outs he incurred during the past months. But being a tango aficionado that he is, he always springs a surprise when he is ready to come back.. He is always in his best element each time he comes for lessons. Today, we reviewed past sequences he learned from planeos, giros, enrosques among others. He still remembers a lot of them though and I would say that he has improved so much, insofar as his balance is concerned. It took him quite awhile to define his axis but with constant prodding and practice he posted great progress.
At 3:30 pm, I have to rush to Sunset for my afternoon sessions. Sabine took the first slot and has been actively pursuing her learning and catching up since a few months ago. I am really impressed at the dedication of this lady. She is determined to learn tango and she wastes no time to catch up with her peers. Her tightness and inability to ground her feet on the floor have somehow improved and I can feel she’s getting a bit lighter now when I made a few rounds with her. I grilled her some more on relaxing her shoulders by giving her breathing techniques to give it that much needed push to make her finally understand what I meant when she get s too uptight. Although a slow learner, as a teacher I have to be patient with her as she is an exceptional case concerning this matter. But given a few more months, eventually she will undo this bad habit and become a good dancer that she so desires. Keep tango-ing!
Helena came in again for her Latin class and was pleased at the new routines I am giving her for Swing and Jive.
Lola took the last slot for the day, and was very glad that she can tango once more. She is seriously considering going to Buenos Aires next year and wants to experience and enjoy the “milongas” the city offers. We built up on the lesson where we left the last time I was in Bali, and this centered more about her “tortions” during the “ocho” movement which gives emphasis on hip rotation to enhance and shape her movements.
In the evening I rushed off to Made’s Warung for the scheduled “practica” and was pleased at the attendance during the evening. Some twelve “tangueros” were present to take part in the exercise and were seen beaming with joy and gladness that the yuletide season is coming. Everyone was on holiday mood as we buckled down to the usual exercises I gave them emphasizing on weight changes to define axis/balance.
Friday was unusually quiet and I took it as a day of rest and instead focused on strategizing my plans regarding the tango tour to be organized sometime in February. I am so looking forward to this project as it is the first time I am organizing one of this kind where I get to practice once more what I used to do for my first job back in the Philippines when I worked as a tour guide. Yes, I am putting all knowledge I can remember regarding tour operations into this project I call Tango Caravan.
On Saturday, I saw myself busy again with teaching commitments. I started my day at 12:30 pm in Seminyak where Sabine took the first slot. Yes, Sabine has been consistently taking tango lessons with me of late each time I am in Bali. We carried on from the lesson of yesterday where I grilled her more on trying to relax her shoulders some more as I ask her to incorporate some breathing techniques into her dance. She’s a very conscientious student, always ready to accept whatever information that may improve the quality of her dancing and I simply respect her for that. She knows that she’s a slow learner and she doesn’t mind even if it takes time for her to develop her skill in dancing tango for as long as she gets things right at the end of the day. I am happy to see that with this attitude I can see that she is developing the passion for the dance which is more than enough to make her stay and carry on with her learning. In time, she will soon be a “tanguera”.
Helena took the next slot and was already in good mood the minute she entered the dance floor. I added some sequence into her swing and jive routines and all the more became happier with the new things she’s going to learn in the next one hour. We had a fabulous time working together on these new steps as she giggled with delight on the new set of choreography she just learned.
It was great to see Ellen coming for lesson again. Although she lives in Sanur, where Stefani stays, she went all the way to Seminyak to take her scheduled lesson today. I was so surprised at the improvement she’s made so far since the last time I danced with her. I remember her as one with very poor balance, always trying to grab with her hands as she tightens her shoulders each time she attempts to step into her movements. But with the inputs I gave her concerning balance/axis last time, she’s managed to hold on to her balance by defining her center which makes her very much grounded on the floor. She manifested all indicators of good connection as I brought her to dance around the dance floor during the entire lesson. I’m proud of you Ellen.
At 4:45 pm it was Lola’s turn to take the class. Since she’s Buenos Aires bound in two month’s time, I decided to strengthen her understanding of good connection with her partner. Although there are some vestiges of tightness left on her shoulders, I made her go through intensive walking exercise to enable steady balance so that she gets more grounded on the floor to ease out the remaining tightness caused by her inability to keep her weight grounded on the floor each time she steps.
Lola is also a keen learner and is always open to ideas/corrections that will improve her dancing. She knows her limitations and she gives me full trust and confidence to make her overcome these limitations. In the one hour that we worked together she was seen with a much steadier axis as she moved her way into the dance.
The last slot for the day was taken by new comer Brigitte. She’s German and has been a long-time friend of Stefani dating back to their salsa days. I took her to all the basic walks one should learn to have a better understanding of the dance in the beginner’s level, and she was just very attentive trying to absorb all the information pertinent to her learning of the tango. She knew she had a long way to g but wouldn’t mind going the hard way. You’re right Brigitte! There is no short cut to tango.
Sunday was another equally heavy day of teaching. All lessons will again be held in Sunset. At 2-00 pm I had Anama taking the first lesson. I remember her taking lessons with me last time I was in the island. Anama is partly based in Colorado and Bali dividing her time between the two places during the year. She’s learned tango in Boulder but until she started taking lessons with me that she realized there were more to tango than just learning steps. While she’s a natural, but the element concerning centering is her weak point. I helped her define her center to enable her to hold herself in one piece making her more sturdy yet fluid each time she moves. It took her quite awhile to understand what I was trying to discuss but managed to catch-up just the same that by the end of the lesson she is getting more solid in her moves as compared to when she started earlier when she was moving like a “gelo”. She was quite happy about the result and looked forward for her next lesson scheduled sometime next week.
Sabine, Lola and Brigitte took the succeeding classes and were equally delighted with all the lessons they learned during the day. Sabine gave very good results as she slowly started moving her hips during “ochos” and was getting a bit more relaxed now as she tries her best to apply the techniques concerning this element. Whereas Lola, carried on with additional steps and figures that would enhance her “tortion” to execute fine “ochos”. Ditto with Brigitte who was getting more and more excited to dance brought about by her initiation into the dance yesterday.
It was quite a fulfilling day for me as I wrapped-up my work and hurried back home where Wiwik, my masseur, is waiting to pamper me with his therapeutic massage. I need this very badly.
Dateline: Bali December 11-17, 2006
WEEK 2
I can smell the air of Christmas in this beautiful island. People are getting ready for this big Christian event. Although Bali adheres to the Hindu religion, but with the large expat community, it can’t be helped that western influence will catch-up with them thus this anticipation in the island at this time of the year.
My schedule gets heavier this week as more people came to sign up for classes. On Monday Doris took her class at 4:30 pm allowing her to better understand the principle of dissociation during turns. Since she became steadier and balanced with her walking, it’s time to move to other topics. I grilled her on the “ochos” where she has difficulty doing it because of her inability to dissociate her upper body from her lower body. By the end of the class, she was sweating profusely as she managed to cope up with the just concluded discussion.
Agus & Mark came in next where I have to make them work together as a couple where Agus takes the role of the follower and Mark the leader. Although both males, in tango people of the same gender can dance the tango. Why not? As long as one leads and the other one follows, they can tango… And off we went to discuss the many combinations they have learned in previous lessons. Agus is doing quite well despite the fact the he’s been into tango for less than a year now. His leading skills has tremendously improved ditto with Mark who has now a much better connection with the music. His movements manifest confidence making his lead more pronounced and clear.
The succeeding days till Friday were equally exciting ones as Sabine, Helena, Lily & Omar, Lola , Anama and Pablo & Iris all took their lesson during the week. Sabine is getting better and lighter now. Helena of course gives me the break I needed from my heavy tango schedule as she sways and glide to the pulsating rhythm of Latin music ditto with Omar & Lily who are getting quite passionate with the dance anew. Kudos to this couple for having improved so much since the first time I worked on them two years ago. Lola of course being the “tanguera” for all her worth was again ready to learn new combinations. A very dedicated follower of tango, Lola’s progress is indeed remarkable. Anama on the other hand is slowly picking up many new things to imbibe into her understanding of tango. I’m glad that she keeps an open mind to embrace new inputs to further her resolve. Husband & wife Pablo & Iris meanwhile are still very much into their new passion, and makes them come for lessons and practicas as much as they could. Surprisingly Pablo’s got the hang of it now making Iris beam with joy as her husband has been bitten by the bug. Both I would say have improved very much and are seen dancing beautifully as a couple.
On Saturday Naomi took her salsa lesson at 12:30 in Sanur. She’s Ade’s daughter and she’s in town for the Christmas holdays. She studied in Chiang Mai whre she is in junior high school now. I brought her to some basic steps of the salsa to make her understand how it goes. Being the natural that she is, she picked up quite fast that by the time we finished she was seen dancing salsa beautifully.
Ellen took the next slot at 1;45 pm making her work on new combinations that will eventually provide her more tortions in the turns. She said that she’s really felt so much progress in the way she is executing her movements as compared in the past when she grapples for balance because of her inability to move properly.
At nights during the past few days I was seen planning and strategizing for a tango tour I billed TANGO CARAVAN. I was given this green light by Tatler Publisher Maria Lukito to organize a tango tour to be participated in by some high society people from both Singapore and Indonesia. Although I find the project a bit ambitious, I did take the bold move to start laying down the foundation for the scheduled tour. I did brainstorming with Stefani who is very good at computer graphics and decided to create a website that will put everything in place.
This is where I put my experience as a tour guide to fore. For the information of everyone, tour guiding was my first job the minute I graduated from university. As such, I am used to planning tour itineraries, scheduling, highlighting and all those stuffs to run a smooth and successful tour operations. Little did I realize that one day again in my life, will I use this experience to a new-found career which is that of a tango tour operator. I loved the way my tango career has evolved. From an aficionado I branched out into becoming a teacher back in the Philippines where I honed myself to the max. From a local tango teacher I was lucky enough to have gone international, by way of teaching and moving around the Southeast Asian region thereby exposing myself to key cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Dubai and Jakarta where I finally built a sizeable network and very good contacts that will make me do these things that I am doing now.
Yes Stefani and I did work out a lot, planning and mapping out everything to ensure that this project will materialize and be successful in its initial run. I have to meet up with the Jakarta people on the 20th of December on my way back to Singapore and I have to be prepared with the proposal to present to them. I remember Ronnie, one of the avid participants in Jakarta, always ringing me up doing follow-ups as to the progress of the tour in the last two weeks I was in Bali, ditto with Maria and Cindy who would be bogging me with calls reminding me of my scheduled meeting with them on Wednesday.
In between all these, my life as a tango teacher never ceases. Short of saying it’s my life line. My schedule had always been busy and gets busier as the day goes by whenever and wherever I am. I love my profession and I enjoy every minute of it.
After the heavy planning and teaching, I again would treated myself to a relaxing massage courtesy of Wiwik.. Christmas is just around the corner and in a few days I’ll be off again for my next destination. Life has been wonderful these past few years.
Dateline: Bali December 18-24, 2006
WEEK 3
On Monday at 4:30 pm Naomi decided to take some Latin class which I welcomed with delight. I brought her to to some salsa and bachata dance which she liked very much. Mother, Ade, of Tanjung Sari fame, was there to see her daughter’s progress. She was so delighted to see her daughter enjoying dancing. Naomi is here for the holidays as she goes back to Chiang Mai beginning January to resume her studies. We had a fabulous time dancing to the upbeat rhythm of Latin music the whole session. Keep on dancing girl!
Fresh from her work in Jenggala who else would appear next but Ellen who’s been quite consistently taking her lessons this time around. She must have been so inspired by her progress that she decided to take some lessons prior to my departure on Wednesday. I gave her some embellishment work so that she can practice some nice little embellishments or “adornos” to her “ochos” and “caminatas”. She enjoyed it very much that we hardly notice that time was up as we saw Helena entered the room ready for her Latin class.
Helena started doing the rumba, one of her favorite dances. I also enjoyed doing the rumba because of its music. Together we glided and swayed to the passionate and melodious music of Luis Miguel as we segued into cha cha, rock n’ roll, salsa, bachata, swing, among others. It was fun time again for me as I realized I had a double whammy today because of my earlier lesson with Naomi. Sometimes lightning strikes twice and when it does luck is on my side.
The following day Mark and Agus came to Sanur for their privates with me and Stefani, Both Mark and Agus are quite happy at the way they’ve been progressing of late. I took Mark to the last lesson we did on “enrosques” and some “colgadas” and was seen eagerly doing these two elements as he tries to sample out the combinations I gave him to hone his moves. His “enrosques” are doing quite well. I am not surprised if he does because he has learned this with me quite a few times in the past and he seemed to have gotten the skill to twirl on his foot as he brings the lady to move around him. Well done Mark! Although he still trying out the “colgada”, in due time he will also acquire the expertise to bring his partner in this element of tango Nuevo.
Meanwhile, in the other corner Stefani was seen grilling Agus on the fundamentals of body lead. Agus being young in tango will have to go through a tedious process of learning the fundamentals about the dance. He is able to do it now but still needs a lot of inputs to fine-tune the essential elements needed to make him an elegant dancer. For one, his musicality needs further discussion to make him understand how it is to walk on the beat and be in-synch with the music. His understanding of leading must integrate with the principles of body lead which is what Stefani is discussing right now.
I rushed to Sunset at 3:00 pm where Sabine is waiting to take her lesson. I brought her to dance in the first fifteen minutes to make her body attuned to the movements she’s gained from the last lesson and indeed she has improved a lot. The tightness on her shoulders has slowly eased out. I needed to grill her some more on moving her rib cage as well during “ocho” turns because her inability to do so is what restricts her movements to produce the fluidity required to make her a smooth dancer. With this new concept I finally made a major break-through into her problem making her movements lighter because her whole torso is now able to move during turns making it easier for the leader to direct her into every direction with much ease. Aahh!! I can now heave a sigh of relief.
Helena took the next slot and this time we tried some new cha cha steps. Having been attuned with my teaching, Helena can adopt easily to new patterns at any given time. She loves doing routines which is typical of ballroom dancers as they keep doing the same thing over and over again until their body muscles are so used to it that they can do things with their eyes closed. It’s always fun taking a breather from tango. With Latin dances I always find it a pleasure to do it because I enjoy the pulsating beat it offers.
In the evening, I went to Made’s Warung for the Tuesday “practica”. I was so surprised at the number of people who came to show up this evening. There were quite a few visiting “tangueros” who are joining us for tonight. Gisella from Italy, Nicole and John from France, Agus from Belgium, Mario from Australia and of course our old reliables from Franziska, Pablo & Iris, Sabine, Doris, Nancy, Ellen, Made and many more. We all have a good time running through our exercises and everyone was just too delighted to tango once more because of the holiday atmosphere pervading in the air. It is five days to Christmas. Merry Christmas Bali!!!!
I’ve just concluded another chapter in my teaching career. I have to pack my things as I head-off to my next destination tomorrow at 2:00 pm as I take GA 840 that will take me back to Singapore.
As I was leaving Bali, I saw throngs of tourists coming into the island, a good sign that Bali is on the rise once more. And when my plane touched down Singapore I can’t help but feel a sense of belonging. Singapore like Bali and Kuala Lumpur had been very close to my heart for the last three years. It has been a source of strength to carry on with my dreams and aspirations to further my tango career as I live my life sharing my passion to the countless students I have in the region.
As I went pass through immigration and customs clearances, I was seen rushing into the city to catch up with an appointment with very good friend Trung. I have t come back purposely to move my things from Balmoral to Ang Mo Kio as Trung has to return his flat to his landlord. He’s relocating to Vietnam where a bulk of his workload is anchored these days.
For two days I did the moving out and was very pleased at how easy things went along without hassles. I tell you its so easy to move in Singapore because the system simply works here. This is one thing I like about this republic. It makes one maximize his time to full use without hitches. Lucky are the Singaporeans.
On Friday December 22, Angeline and Shirley scheduled their twin classes in the evening. Angeline took the first slot at 6:00 pm as Shirley took the next at 7:00pm. Both ladies are getting much better specially Angeline who have somehow displayed a sense of tango maturity as she delineated fine movements with control and precision. I am so pleased at the progress she has achieved in two and a half years. Incredible I would say.
While Shirely has started to manifest some kind of subservience as she allows herself to be led, the stiffening on her shoulders has gone down so much that she now moves with fluidity as she walks and turns while she is asked to weave intricate patterns. Amazing! If I have students like them who could make me happy this Christmas, I would always welcome them with gusto as they are a source of pride and pleasure to me as a tango teacher.
Singapore is celebrating Christmas 2006 pompously. If you walk down Orchard Road, you can see the Christmas décor along the avenue bedecked with ornate decorations of large pillars with yuletide trimmings and adorable dancing lights. Christmas carols are played in the big department stores and people are happy, smiling and gay. This is one of the elaborate Christmas celebrations I have seen in Singapore. I couldn’t blame them if this is so. After all, the economy is on a full swing and stock markets are up and prices of real estate is soaring up. A good time to invest in Singapore I would say.
This reminds me of Christmas back in the Philippines. Filipinos have the penchant for a long Christmas celebration which starts at the beginning of September and ends on January 6 which is the feast of the three kings. I miss these days when I will be with friends and relatives back home. But times have changed and so do I. In life nothing is permanen. But life must go on……
While everyone is on a holiday rush, I just saw myself glued to my work and the coming project I have to undertake in March. In between lessons, I was getting ready for the blue-print I have to present to Ms. Maria Lukito regarding the tango tour she asked me to organize. There were many things to iron out, many details to be threshed out. But it’s getting more and more exciting as I slowly unravel the complexities of organization.
I will meet up with her again after Christmas, thus I have to delay my flight to Hong Kong because of this important meeting. Two days before Christmas, I had the chance to teach Ning before she flies off to the U.S. She was so happy to catch-up with one lesson before she flies-off tomorrow. Teaching her this time is much easier since she got back from Buenos Aires several months ago. She can easily read and feel my lead and exactly understands what she is being asked to do. Save for some minor tension and resistance on her arms and shoulders, her dancing has improved a lot. I gave her new combinations to work on concerning “planeos”, “enrosques” , and “ganchos” and was very happy to work on a new sequence that will keep her interest growing as she moves up the tango ladder. Merry X-mas Ning!
I moved to Bg’s house a day before Christmas as it would be much more convenient for me if I were to stay near the city. Besides Bg would be out of town during the holidays as she spends Christmas with her family in Wistler, Canada. She’s so looking forward to this gathering as she confided to me that this is the first time her son Loke agreed to celebrate Christmas with his sister, Kim, who happens to be my good friend together with husband Bill. And Bg’s so happy that her two siblings are talking to each other now. I wish Bg all the happiness in the world and I will support her all the way. Have fun Bg!
Dateline: Singapore December 25 -31, 2006
WEEK 4
On Christmas day, I was busy working and mapping out plans for my projects next year. I hardly felt it was Christmas. But just the same I greeted myself Merry Christmas and called on loved ones to greet them on this special day.
The following day I have to meet-up with Maria Lukito to firm-up the tango tour scheduled sometime in February-March. I went to see her at upper Club where we had dinner together with Liza, another Indonesian lady who resides in Singapore, and we all had a good time as we celebrated Boxing Day. Maria gave me a green light concerning TANGO CARAVAN and promised to meet up with her to present the final proposal for the project after the holidays.
My commitments have been complied for. I am happy that my agenda for the 1st quarter of next year has been set this early. I will be in Buenos Aires, Rio de Jainero and Iguazu in March. I know it’s going to be a working holiday. But I am so looking forward to my next visit to Buenos Aires.
I am ready to fly to Hong Kong tomorrow and spend the holidays with loved ones on New Year’s Day as I fly via CX 714 at 11:35 a.m. Three and a half hours after I arrived at HKIA and was greeted by the cold breeze affecting the former colony at this time of the year. Remember it is Christmas time and it is winter in China. The cold Siberian winds usually flows into this direction thus affecting the weather condition in the surrounding region.
It feels good to be back in this fast-paced world of Hong Kong. I am no stranger to this place anymore having partly lived here sometime ago. I am taking a respite from a year of heavy work but coming back to bring in loads of stuffs as I get into my writing in the remaining days of the year. I have to work back on my diary to be posted on my website. And this means working on the months beginning September till now. I don’t know if I can do it but God-willing I think I can.
As soon as I arrived home I buckled down to work and carried on with my writing. I did nothing the whole duration of my stay but catch-up with everything that needs to be written down until it finally dawned on me that it was New Year’s eve. I managed to finish my stories until November and was very pleased to find out that I can do it in a span of three days. I realized I was kind of getting so used to writing that it comes easy now for me to simply write and let everything flow as I let my imagination work to express my stories. For less than a year now, I have been into this and would admit that it has honed my writing skills tremendously. Maybe one day I might be inclined to make my own biography. Why not?
Everyone in the family was gathered on the dinner table and everyone was enjoying the sumptuous dinner for partaking. Happy New Year!!!!
I don’t know what 2007 will bring to us. As long as I know I will keep on going till I achieve what needs to be achieved in life. Time is moving so fast. There is no time to pause. Much as I want to but it seems like it will eat me up if I stop and pause awhile. No I can’t. At least for now…..
For more information about tango in Bali visit: www.tangobaliclub.com/ tango in Singapore visit: www.tangosingapore.com or www.studiorenegade.com.sg/
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