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Frequently Asked Questions:

 

Ultimately, it depends on who's dancing.  Both blues and tango are improvisational dances, which means that the personality of the individual dancers does a lot to determine the dance.  There aren't formalized steps or rules in either one; rather, they're dances based on what the dancers hear in the music.  Of course, having experience with both dances expands the options for expression.  Letting the dancing speak for itself:

Tony Lucido and Mike Legett

Clint Rauscher and Lena Hrybok

All classes and dances will be at:
Flynn Dance Center
828 Tulip Ave
Knoxville, TN 37921

This is an alcohol-free dance venue; we apologize for any inconvenience.

The organizers strongly believe that classes and dances are more fun for everyone when everyone has a chance to dance.  While we're not requiring people to register with a partner, we are keeping a close eye on the registration process.  If it becomes necessary, we will cap registration for one gender in order to ensure nearly equal numbers of leads and follows.  Last year, we were running a little follow-heavy until just before registration closed, when a sudden burst of leads brought our numbers to almost dead even.  Ladies, you can save the organizers a lot of heartache by encouraging leads to sign up early.

It shouldn't be, since we're counting on most folks being new to one dance or the other.  One of the hardest things about learning a new dance is that you're dancing with other beginners (who also don't understand how it works).  Last year, we asked everyone to take all of the classes - this meant that new tangueros were practicing things with experienced tangueros, and the same for new bluesers. 

While the standard dance etiquette in many places is that one shouldn't offer unsolicited criticism, Buenos Aires Blues is a different kind of event.  Last year we also encouraged everyone to seek out constructive suggestions, and to respectfully offer suggestions for improvement.  Based on the feedback we received following the event last year, everyone was really happy with this arrangement, and we intended to continue that this year as well.

Free housing with local dancers will be available on a first-come, first served basis.  Last year we were able to house everyone who requested it, but it was fairly tight.  For those who prefer it, some nearby and reasonable-priced hotels are:

Holiday Inn (on I-40, 5 miles west of Flynn Dance Center)
1315 Kirby Rd, Knoxville, TN
(865) 584-3911

Best Western - info coming

 

Buenos Aires Blues is brought to you by Dan Parshall, Mike (the girl) Legett, and Jason Knight.

Dan Parshall

Photo by Jon Carlomagno		 Dan organized the original Buenos Aires Blues in 2007.  He's been dancing swing/blues for over 10 years, and got hooked on tango a couple of years ago.  He discovered that being "bilingual" expanded his dancing in ways he'd never imagined, especially when dancing with other bilinguals (most notably, Mike Legett).  He desperately wanted to find other bilinguals to really explore the possibilities.  The logical solution, of course, was to throw a dance weekend that taught tango to bluesers, and vice-versa.

In case you couldn't tell, he suffers from severe over-commitment disorder.  He organizes dance events, DJs, plays saxophone, caves, is buying a house, and is working on a PhD in Physics.  He's incredibly grateful to Mike and Jason for being willing to help with the event this year, because he simply wouldn't have time on his own. 

 

Mike (the girl) Legett
Mike Legett loves to dance.  Specifically, she wants someone to hold her and walk around the room.  She loves the passion of vernacular dances, and the freedom of improvisationally based dances.  She loves the desperation and depth of emotion that music can reach.  So when people ask her which is her favorite- blues or tango- she just has to laugh.  She enjoys both dances individually, and enjoys encorporating elements of one into the other, or simply dancing, without bothering to label as one, the other, or both.

As an organizer, Mike believes in events that challenge, that offer something unique, that educate, and that show everyone a good time.  She loves the joy of creating an event, and hates details, which is why she's terrifically grateful to Jason and Dan for making the event work.  Her other annual baby is Enter the Blues, in Atlanta, GA.

 

Yes, we do need volunteers, and have a limited number of slots available.  We've tried to keep the prices down (they're the same as last year, for students), but we know that money is especially tight this year - if you'd really like to come, and it's money that's holding you back, email Jason to discuss the possibility of volunteering.  There are things to do before, during, and after the event.  If you're serious about attending, we're serious about finding a way for you to do so.  Email jdknight21 (a] tntech [d) edu

 

 

 

 

Philosophy:

Blues and Tango have a lot in common - they're both forms of vernacular music and dance with roots in both the European and African traditions. In both cases, the music can be heart-breaking, joyful, and incredibly sensual - possibly all at the same time. The dances are fundamentally improvised; the dancers have the freedom to interpret each song individually, without reliance on memorized patterns. Because of this, they're also incredibly difficult to learn; yet they are all the more rewarding for the challenges and freedoms presented.

Argentine Tango may be thought of as a genre of dance which includes many styles, such as milonga, canyengue, orillero, fantasia, nuevo. The dancing began in the late 1800's and was profoundly influenced by the blending of African and European elements in Argentina. Tango may also refer to the music that served as the inspiration for this dance, the earliest recordings of which come from the 1920's, which was also influenced by the blending of African and European elements, and whose development continues even today.

Blues can refer to a genre of music that practically defies definition, but that was also developed as elements from Europe and Africa merged in America. This tradition included many instruments that had variable pitch, and in some cases the instruments could literally be made to "sing" as a human voice could. This notion was carried to the USA, and many late-19th / early-20th century African-American musicians deliberately sought to make the instruments sound like voices, to convey additional meaning by changing pitch and tone. This idea, mixed with others from European music, gave rise to new ways of thinking about melody and harmony. These ideas have been applied in different manners, and with different rhythms (many of which are also African-inspired), throughout the last century of American music. Blues as a style of dancing is subject to even more debate, but which is inspired by Blues music. Like its siblings such as Charleston and Lindy Hop, Blues uses African elements in the posture and movement.

This workshop is about building something out of the tools from two already-established traditions. That means understanding history : social, musical, and dance. It will also mean expanding musical and dance boundaries. The teachers and DJs have a wide range of styles and opinions; attendees will be exposed to both traditional and modern techniques, both traditional and modern music.

 

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Last modified: 06/05/08