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Jango News
September 2008
Bonjour, Baby,

I’m in Paris right now,
staying in a big old house centered around a classic ballet studio
that could easily have been used in ‘The Red Shoes’. There are
mirrors on both sides, huge windows towering over the place, a
glorious chandelier, African masks glare down at us dancing. It
belongs to an aging ex-soloist from the Paris Opera, who when not
teaching classes paints sad looking clowns dressed as matadors
provoking guitar playing bulls. Around the house lay half
finished paintings, disused guitars, a didgeridoo, a pedal organ,
various antique furniture. A pixilated rendition of Coubert’s
‘Origin of the World’ (look it up) is spread right in front of
where I sit down to eat.
In the evenings I’m
working on a tango piece with Tara, a Contemporary dancer I met in
Buenos Aires, who has rented the house for the summer. During the
day I’m trying to choreograph a solo that, well, I guess I’ll show
you when I’m done. Even the music choice isn’t set yet, I’m
pulled between this bizarre Quincy Jones piece that conjures up
matadors (again) and samurai.
I’m taking advantage of
some of the great House classes here in Paris, and Tara sometimes
invites some of the best tango dancers in Paris to come around and
practice, so I’m having an amazing time, and feeling pleasantly
tired from it all as well!
But of course, I’ve still
found time to cook up some ideas for great workshops and courses
for when I’m back in London over October and November. Details
are below. I hope you can make at least one of them! The
courses are longer than I normally do, which means we will have
the time and focus to really change your dancing. They are both
based on specific requests I’ve received, so hope you like them!
Numbers for these are really limited – I really want to transform
some people’s dancing, so book asap if you wanna space!
x
Amir
Scroll down to read about:
- 8 Week Argentine
Tango Course, Thursdays in Earls Court
- 8 Week ‘Transform
Your Dancing’ Int level Jango Course
- September Jango &
Tango Workshop Day – Sat 27th
- Oct and Nov
Workshops
- Workshop and Course
Dates Summary!
1. Eight
Week Argentine Tango Course! Beg/Int
Thursdays
of October and November 2008
In summary this will be
the best immersion you can get towards mastering this amazing and
sophisticated dance, discovering the posture, connection and
musicality that will have you addicted to this for life!
Not only will you grow in
competency as a Tango dancer, but this will transform your
understanding of connection, style and musicality!
You will discover what I
consider the most essential Tango patterns for navigating the
dance floor, whilst looking stylish, confident and elegant!
And best yet, I will
have Jenny back teaching with me. Jenny has been living
in Buenos Aires for the last 9 months, taking classes with some of
the very best (and often being told they have nothing left to
teach her.)
The course will go far
beyond teaching steps, however. The focus will be on molding you
into the kind of dancer others swoon at the chance to dance with!
This involves creating an ‘embrace’ that is flexible, warm and
full of communication.
You will discover the most
important tango terminology, how the worlds best dancers analyze
the dance, and how to go out and navigate and understand what can
be the confusing tango world!
This is without doubt the
best way to learn this dance since the small group will allow
individual attention. Meeting with the same people each week I
will get to know you as dancers and focus on exactly what you need
for your tango to improve. And longer than normal classes means
you really get a chance to practice and understand what you learn
to ensure it becomes part of you.
Too many classes do not
give you the opportunity to really master new information, and by
the next week the new mix of students means that proper revision
is never possible.
You don’t need a partner
and the course is suitable for newcomers to tango who would like
to really catapult themselves into . Those of you with tango
experience will also get a tremendous amount out of the course,
since we will be focusing on aspects of the dance that are
relevant from beginner to professional level.
Booking essential!
Email me
amir@jango.co.uk to request a space…
Booking secured with
50% payment: Send a cheque to A
Giles, 6 Lammas Road, Burnham, Slough, SL1 6LG, make the cheque
out to Amir Giles.
Dates:
Thursdays the 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd
and 30th of October and
Thursdays the
6th, 13th, 20th and 27th
of November!
Course cost:
£80 per person, or £70 if paying before 15th of
September!
Hours:
8pm to 10pm, optional practice and Q&A time afterwards
Venue:
The Philbeach Hall, 51 Philbeach Gardens, Earls' Courts, London
SW5 9EB
2. Int
Level Jango Course – Transform All Aspect of Your Dancing In Just
Eight Weeks!
This will be the first
course of its kind in Modern Jive, guiding you into mastery of
style, musicality and connection in your modern jive, and creating
a framework to fuse Argentine Tango style lunges, flicks and
tricks into your modern jive!
I am totally confident in
saying there will be no better way to totally transform your
modern jive then in this course!
To join in you need to be
comfortable either leading or following the fundamental Modern
Jive / Jango moves as demonstrated on this
video!
The first four weeks will
revise and build on the basics covered in the Jango Fundamentals
course. You will get new insights and confidence in footwork,
style and connection.
The last four weeks will
improve your musicality, your style and give you a big bag of
impressive tricks to show off on the dance floor!
Every week you are allowed
to video a summary of the material covered, so you will always
have a resource to keep coming back to and mastering your dancing!
Booking essential!
Email me
amir@jango.co.uk to request a space…
Booking secured on 50%
payment: Send a cheque to 6 Lammas
Road, Burnham, Slough, SL1 6LG, make payable to Amir Giles
Dates:
Mondays the 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
of Oct and
3rd,
10th, 17th and 24th of November
Course cost:
£80 per person, or £70 if paid before the 15th of Sept
Hours:
8pm to 10pm
Venue:
28 Winchester Road, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1LF
3. September Tango
and Jango Sat Workshop Day
Saturday
27th September 2008
St Mary´s Church Hall, Church Street, Twickenham, TW1 3NJ
Take your
pick from a bunch of choices!
12pm – 2pm: Sensual Argentinean Tango Steps –
Beg/Int level
2.30pm – 4.30pm Flashy Footwork Combos Perfect for Both
Tango and Jango – Int/Adv
2.30pm – 4.30pm Jango Fundamentals - Inserting style and
steps of tango into modern jive – Beg / Int
If you want to get to grips with pure Argentinean Tango, or
improve your existing skills and repertoire, the first workshop
will be perfect for you. We will explore various concepts in
style and technique by using some classic figures and steps hot
from Buenos Aires ballrooms. This will be suitable for new comers
up to int level.
Next, if you are new to Jango but would like to use your
tango skills in your modern jive, Chris will take you through the
fundamental Jango moves that allow you to easily slip between
tango and jive. The basic footwork patterns, how to dance smooth
jive, and some great tips on getting in and out of ochos and
walks.
For those of you with Jango or Tango experience, or who want
some more challenging steps, I will take you through some awesome
combinations that are bound to impress at both Milongas and Modern
Jive Freestyles.
Booking and cost
You can choose one workshop for £15 or two for £25. Email me amir@jango.co.uk
asap to secure your place, with your name, phone number, and
indicating which of the following you want to take part in.
Payment should be made on the day!
I look forward to seeing you there! Don't forget to include full
name, phone number and which workshop options you want when
booking!
4. Last
Sunday of the Month Jango Workshop Returning for Oct & Nov
As was once was our great
tradition, we are returning to the last Sunday of every month for
our monthly workshop for Oct and Nov.
We’ll be continuing the
popular format which starts of with two hours of introduction to
Argentine Tango, followed by two hours of hot sequences for Jango
and Tango. The workshops can be booked separately or together.
Booking essential!
Email me
amir@jango.co.uk to request a space, letting me know which
dates and workshops you want to do!
Booking secured on
payment: Send a cheque to 6 Lammas
Road, Burnham, Slough, SL1 6LG, payable to Amir Giles
Dates:
26th Oct and 30th of Nov
Course cost:
£15 for one workshop or £25 for both!
Hours:
Intro to Tango: 12 – 2pm
Sequences for
Jango / Tango 2.30 to 4.30pm
Venue:
Old Actonians Sports Club, Gunnersbury Drive, Ealing, W5 4LL
5.
Future Jango Dates….
With everything that is
going on it can be hard to keep track. This little list is as much
for my benefit as yours!
You can also stay up to
date with all workshops and classes around the country by checking
my teaching and travel schedule on
Google Calendars.
September 27th
– Jango / Tango Saturday Workshop
Oct / Nov –
Mondays starting 6th Oct, Int Jango
Course in Twickenham
Oct / Nov
– Thursdays starting 2nd Oct, Tango Course in Earls
Court
Oct 26th –
Jango / Tango Sunday Workshop
Nov 30th
– Jango / Tango Sunday Workshop
Amir
07881 622 909
amir@jango.co.uk