Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Derik,
On your way up to Amsterdam, why don't you stop in Brussels for
a while? Wednesday August 25 would be great for example; of course I understand
if you want to go straight to Amsterdam.... I can be no match to Kim.

Saturday 28, we have a great milonga organized in the city: that
would be another opportunity to discover the place. how much more time
will you spend in Europe?
 
 

Georges

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Hey Derik,

How's it going? We just had a milonga last weekend here in Houston.
The
first in a long time, and the first which was unassociated with
any event,
such as an instructor coming into town.

The milonga was held at a place called Valentino's. It's a REALLY
nice place
which has that look of a tango dance hall. There is a big wooden
dance floor
with great big columns. Kind of like Steven's of Hollywood, but
on a larger scale.
They were closed for renovations, so the management had no qualms
about
letting us dance there for the night.

With some luck, this could become a regular thing, but who knows.
We're
still trying to figure out where we will be at the end of the YMCA
contract.

Hope you're doing well.

--Ron

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Georges:

Sounds great. Will see what I can do. I have a rent car for tomorrow
but might not be able to drive up in time for Wednesday.
Will check on an overnight train maybe on Tuesday if there is going
to be a tango event on Wednesday for sure. Let me know
what time it is etc. I really need to tango. By the way, there is
a girl named Martine who is from your tango group in Belgium
who I danced with in Paris briefly. I asked her if she knew you
and she said not yet...lol. I told her to look for you when she
got back to Belgium last week.

Down here in Monaco there has been no tango at all, but there was
some wild Catalonian "rumba" dancing from Spain in our
group by a Spanish girl who started dancing at a restaurant here
in the mountains, called "Le Ferme" (the farm...everything farm
fresh and hand made on the premises....including all the vegetables,
the meat, and even the cheeses). Anyway, when some real
gypsies came by our table, who sounded exactly like the Gypsy Kings,
to sing for us, she jumped up and started to dance their
dance (not the South American rumba, but the gypsy rumba). It blew
the Gypsies away and they danced with her...lol.. God,
it was incredible!. I have not developed the pictures of that evening
yet, but it got so wild that the restaurant owner's wife came
out from the kitchen "playfully" with a shotgun when her husband
joined in. It was not tango but it was close...lol.

My French cell phone is

06-85-67-27-71

and it is the same. I think that you still dial Paris to reach me
even though I am here in Monaco. I will also be checking my
E-Mail and the web page. I will try my best to get to Brussels on
Wednesday. Kim and I are meeting on Thursday or Friday
for a tango lesson on Friday. She will be coming in from the countryside
somewhere, so she will not be in Amsterdam until just
before the weekend. I will let you know exactly how I am traveling
by tomorrow. If you have any ideas on a train or a good
fast auto route from Monaco to Brussels, let me know. I will be
checking on these tomorrow in the morning on Tuesday.

I will be in Europe for a few weeks I think. It is rather open. I
am meeting with several European E-Commerce web page
clients while I am here and continuing to work for all my USA clients
as well. Doing everything by American Express,
MasterCard and Visa on my website, so in I can basically work anywhere
that I can log onto the Internet. There are lots of
companies here in Europe which are now getting into E-Commerce.
See you soon.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

PS - What ever happened to Anne-Sophie? I have not heard anything
from her here either. Did you finally see her in Brussels
and dance tango?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Ron:

The milonga at Valentino's sounds great. Wish I was there to dance
tango with all the group. I am glad that we are finding
some new places to dance that are cool. Please say hello to everyone
for me.

Life here in Monaco is tough. All the women hear keep forgetting
to wear their tops. They do exactly as they like and we men
just have to adjust...lol. I think it is great.

Well, time to go out to the Casinos to see what is going on. If I
see James Bond, I will say hello.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Georges:

Well, I am booked on the overnight train tonight from Monaco to Bruxelles
via Lille. I gave up on the idea of renting a car
because I would rather tango than drive...lol. I will be here in
Monaco on my cell phone all day if you need to reach me at:

06-85-67-27-71

What is you phone number in Bruxelles so I can call you when I arrive.?
I know that you have to work, so just let me know
your schedule. I will be checking my E-Mail also today before I
leave at 18:37 this evening Monaco time, so I should get your
messages here as well.

Looking forward to seeing you and all the tangueros tonight. I guess
that I will have to get used to not wearing a bathing suit all
the time...lol.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

http://www.rawsonweb.com/tango/Design/Assets/Images/wtderikbeacha.jpg
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Georges:

Kim and I are having a great time here in Amsterdam. We have been
dancing tango
every night, and even went camping so that we could go to a milonga
in the South of
the Nederlands in a city called Nijmengen I think. It was beautiful.
About 650
tango dancers from all over Europe all daning under a full moon
on a wooden stage
over a lake in the woods.... incredible. Anyway, needless to say,
I am still here in
Amsterdam...lol. Today Kim has to concentrate on a new job so I
am hanging out at
sidewalk cafes, listenting to tango tapes and working on my laptop
computer.

Hope everything is going well in Bruxelles. How was your milonga?
Were there a lot
of people there. Please say hello to Ann and Marisa for me. Will
be here on the Net.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Ron:

Wow! What can I say. Amsterdam is fantastic. Kim and I have been
to a tango event
every single day. Last night was at a beautiful restaurant with
a balcony overlooking Rembrandt Square. Each milonga is is a beautiful
place and the people
are a blast....fun..fun...fun. Please say hello to everyone in Houston
for me.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Derik,

Glad to see that your painting Europe red (so to speak).

We held a good-bye party for Tim Bugh two Mondays ago. It's sad to
see him
leave, but as you know, when somebody of his caliber leaves town,
ALL of us
tangueros "move up a notch". It was held at Taco Milagro. Lots of
food for
everyone. He had a few last dances with Jasmine before he took off.
Everybody
had a really good time.

Last Saturday, there was a mass birthday party for all tanguero/as
who had
a birthday in August. That doesn't include me, but that was no reason
not
to go. I played some tangos on the piano, while Ev sang along. We
did
"El dia que me quieras", "Volver", and "Tomo Y Obligo". Let's see,
on El Dia
que me quieras this whole group of people joined in and sang along.
Not the
Mormon Tabernacle choir, but they were definitely having fun.

I drove up with Raphaele, who says that she caught the eclipse and
missed
running into you, due to some mix up. But she DID get to dance tango
on
the banks of the Seine. How about that?

There are currently no weekend tango plans for this Saturday, but
then
again, it IS Labor Day weekend and people will be out of town. I
can
see that you're currently enticed by the local European beauty,
and
we may never get you back.

Welp, gotta drop off the ol' rent check.

--Ron
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Anne-Sophie:

How are you? I am here in Amsterdam dancing tango of course...lol..
Georges Crauser and I met in Bruxelles last week. We
danced tango with a great group of people and we talked about you
and where you were. I am sorry that we missed each
other over here. I danced with Marisa who is an organizer of the
milongas in Bruxelles, and another girl, Ann, who is a
television producer. They were both great dancers. It was good fun.

There is a lot of tango over here in the Nederlands and Belgium.
I am dancing every night and all of the cities in Europe, no
matter how small seem to have tango groups and they put on tango
events constantly and people show up from all the
surrounding countries...lol.. Last weekend, I went to Njimengen
in the South of the Nederlands and we danced at an open-air
stage with 650 people on a lake out in the woods under a full moon.
It was like a dream. I took the picture of the event
below. We all camped out nearby and everyone danced until dawn.
Now, I am really beginning to believe that there is more
tango in Europe than there is in Argentina and the US...lol.

I will try to get to Washington D.C. soon so that we can dance. Please
say hello to everyone for me, and tell them to say hello
every once in a while on the tango chat. Will be here in Amsterdam
dancing away and working on websites....lol. Looking
forward to seeing you soon.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Ron:

Derik here still in Amsterdam. Yes, I am having a great time here
in Europe. Will be going to Paris Monday to do websites
and of course to dance tango.

Wish that I could have been in Houston to wish Tim Bugh well in his
new job out in California. I am sorry that he had to leave
our Houston tango group, but somehow I have a feeling that I will
see him while I am traveling...lol. Moving up a notch can
only be a good thing for us guys I hope...lol.

I would have loved to be able to join in all the singing. That sounded
like a lot of fun. I am sure the Ev did a great job. Who
knows, we maybe seeing the beginning of a new tango musical group...lol.

Raphaelle and Georges and I missed each other in Paris by one day
because I had to be in Rheims, France with the film crew
Saturday afternoon and they came in that evening. Georges said that
they have a fantastic time. Please say hello to Raphaelle
for me. Also, I missed Liz, who said that she was coming to France
after her Alaska camping trip, but then I think that she had
to cancel Europe because of some business that she had to do in
Houston. Gee, I just keep missing all these women travelers
from the US, including Anne-Sophie. I guess I will just have to
make do with the European women over here...lol.

I am having fun over here and I am enticed, but I am doing the best
I can. On Wednesday at practica there was Gertrude from
Amsterdam, Barbara from Zurich, Mutta from Amsterdam, Pattie from
Amsterdam, and Christine from Malta and more, all
great dancers. Just had a wonderful time at the practica last night
on Friday. I danced with Jacqueline, Yvonne and Erica, so I
am dancing my tail off. Jacqueline does special events for a large
bank here and is a good friend of Kim's, Yvonne is an
actress and Erica works in computers on the Internet. Also been
taking classes from a nice Argentine man and his wife, Lalo
and Margaurita.

Well, I am off to work on websites tonight. Gotta earn a living.
Maybe will tango, but I am trying not to overdo it...lol....not
really. Been in Vondel Park all day here in Amsterdam laying out
in the sun and working on my laptop. What a life. The
weather here is perfect. Exactly the same as in the South of France.
It is unusual for this time of year in Amsterdam, but none
of us are complaining. Vondel Park is the equivalent of Central
Park in New York but the scenery is far better. Thanks for
keeping us all up-to-date on the activities in Houston. Please say
hello to everyone for me. Below is a photo of us all camping
at the tango event in Njimengen.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Derik,

This is Anna Critchfield. You mentioned that you would come to Washington
D.C. in one of your letters. That would be great! Hope I will be in town
then. I am leaving for Europe on September 9 until September 20. Regretfully,
I don't see any opportunity for tango on my trip. But maybe I am wrong
(hope...). Is this Anne-Sophie Ville you referred to in your letters? If
so, it is small tango world! I saw her last night, Sunday, at Pines of
Florence where she organizes dinner and milonga every Sunday. So looking
forward to see you there one Sunday night.

Ciao

Anna

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Anna:

I am in Paris today and I am looking for tango here of course...lol.
I have already met a Russian couple, two women from
Dallas, Texas and of course Natalia from Poland, who works in the
restaurant across the street. We are all going to go dance
tango at the next tango event here in Paris, if I can find one...lol.
I am searching the Paris tango websites right now for
information, because the dancing on the banks of the river Seine
was only for July and August, unless it is still going on
unofficialy...lol.)

Please let me know if you are headed toward Paris and I will keep
you up-to-date on what is going on in the tango world here
at least.

Yes, your are right, Anne-Sophie is the very same Anne-Sophie that
you saw last last. Please tell her hello for me. Looking
forward to seeing you soon in Europe.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

http://www.rawsonweb.com/tango/Design/Assets/Images/wtderikbeacha.jpg

Dear Kim:

How is it going in your new job? Hope that the 2 hours each way driving
back and forth to work at your new job does not
wearing you out for tango events. Please say hello to everyone for
me. I already miss Amsterdam, except the food here in
Paris is really great...lol.

I wish that I could be with you tonight for the Tango Passion event
in Amsterdam. Please tell me all about it when you come
back if you are not sleeping and driving...lol..

I also wish that you could be here in Paris for tango. I will give
you a report on all that happens here. I have already
assembled a whole group of people who are going. Now, I just have
to find out where..lol. Will be here in Paris working on
websites.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

http://www.rawsonweb.com/tango/Design/Assets/Images/wtderikbeacha.jpg

Dear Ron:

Well, it is a tough life. Today I am in Paris looking for tango.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

http://www.rawsonweb.com/tango/Design/Assets/Images/wtderikbeacha.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear Derik,

I won't be in Paris, because I am taking a Mediterranean cruise.
After that I will spend a couple of night in Nice. So have a happy
tango evenings.
See you back in Washington or in Houston.

Ciao

Anna

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 

Dear All:

Well today I am sitting at a sidewalk cafe 3 blocks away from the
Ritz
Hotel next to the Louvre Art Museum working on web pages, watching
the parade of people from all over the world walk by. I am having
"snails" (les escargots) and drinking a nice carafe of red wine.
The
weather here is incredible....just like the South of France. I am
in my
shorts....lol.

Last night I danced tango with Natalie from Poland in a wonderful
place
called Latin Bistro in the Hotel de Ville area of Paris, an area
similar to the
Montrose (it is a gay and lesbian part of town). There were two
men
dancing with each other of course, but all the other couples were
men and
women. The area of Paris is 5 minutes away from here via the Paris
Metro for $1.00 and cost $5.00 for the evening plus whatever you
eat or
drink. We spent a grand total of $12.00 somehow and had plenty of
red
wine.. It was fantastic.

The Latin Bistro (in the Latin Quarter of Paris) is a nice room with
a great
floor upstairs inside a cinema. There were about 30 couples dancing
and
we all sat at small tables around the dance floor. This practica
is a regular
weekly event every Wednesday through Sunday, so you can dance tango
there every night. Natalie and I are going again tonight of course...lol.

The dancers at the club were good but about the same as in Houston.
Some were great and others were terrible. All in all it was a wonderful
evening. The two women from Texas were "no shows" due to "jet
lag"...lol...they just arrived from Dallas, and the Russian couple
went off to
a Jazz place because they did not get my message in time, but other
than
that, it was fun, fun, fun.

Also, I got to practice my French, since Natalie does not speak any
English at all. She is a former French teacher from Poland and now
a
translator here in Paris working in French, Polish and Russian.
I was
amazed at how well I could communicate with her. I was even telling
jokes about our tango group in Houston in French and she understood
me
and laughed. We had a very animated conversation in French almost
all
the time, except when dancing of course...lol.

Natalie wants to come to Texas and learn to speak Texan and then
later
perhaps she will try to learn to speak English....lol. Anyway, we
may be
seeing her soon in the States, because she says that she needs to
speak
both English and Spanish and the only way to do it is to go live
in the
countries where the language is spoken. She understands that English
is
the language of business and that after English, then Spanish is
the next
most universal.

The restaurant where Natalie works is very local French, the type
of
place where they ask you if you know someone before they let you
in.
You pretty much have to be a local Parisian or know one to get a
table..
It is like a hide out for all the people here in Paris in the French
media.
Last night I met an Argentine lady who is a regular customer who
was a
famous chanteuse at the Follies Berger in her younger days. She
wanted
to know all about our tango dancing of course. Also, I think a few
Hollywood types snuck in, because I saw some familiar faces from
the
movies like people who play small parts etc. Anyway, it is quite
a place
and if they know you they even give you a free glass of wine and
an
aperitif every time you drop by to say hello. All in all kind of
fun place in
the neighborhood here near the Ritz Hotel.

Anyway, that is the latest from Paris. Georges Crauser from Bruxelles
is
in Italy on vacation this week, but he will be back this weekend
in
Bruxelles and maybe will take the TGV train to Paris to dance tango,
so
maybe Derik, Georges and Natalie will be here dancing this weekend.

(By the way, Georges, I was in Bruxelles last Tuesday on my way from
Amsterdam and I had lunch with Jacques de Sellier at a small cafe
just
down the road from his new house. We had a lot of fun visiting and
he is
going to say hello here on the World tango chat)

Also, Georges, here is a big tango event right next door to Natalie's
restaurant, "La Soldiere", at 32 Rue de La Soldiere this Sunday,
so who
knows, we all maybe there. Check the following website for a complete
listing of all Paris tango events. It is very well done:

http://perso.club-internet.fr/tango/

Well, back to work on my laptop..lol. Everyone have a great day.

PS - Kim. I think I have the picture that Jacqueline took of us.
It is
below. I will mail it back to you. I think that I forgot to give
it back.
Also, I will mail you some copies of the pictures I have. How was
Tango
Passion last night?

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Derik here still in Paris. Danced on the river Seine. Wonderful.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hi there, tangueras and tangueros!

My name is Peter Koch, I live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and I am an tangoholic! I had my first tango early this summer at a beginners course and I am on tango ever since. Contact with other tangoholics gives mee the feeling I am not alone out there, so I thank you for listening. The first time I saw a room full of tangodancers I really thought I discovered a Underground of the Human Soul.
I thought I witnessed something I only know from dreams. I learning fast now and constantly meeting nice people. Some of them you know already, hi Derik, hi Kim, hi Jacqueline (other girl on the photo of Derik shot with the tent at the background).
Last week I went to see Tango Pasion! in Amsterdam and it was a great performance. Even greater was the fact that my tangoschool (Academia de tango) had arranged a little salon in the space normally used for coffee and drinks, and some dancers gave a little performance and danced with the amateurs who dared to fall into their arms. Well, I didn't of course, but it was all so great that I went to the theatre the next day and asked if I could just go in to watch the little workshop. I got in, it was even greater than the night before, I danced and went home on my bike whistling tango tunes.

I will sent a picture next time, I don't know how to do it yet. By the way Derik, it not a coincidence you only post Amsterdam pictures with you and women on it.. huh... I remember Remco being there and me too!! Well, what do you have to say for yourself?

Peter

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hi there, tangueras and tangueros!

My name is Peter Koch, I live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and I am an tangoholic! I had my first tango early this summer at a beginners course and I am on tango ever since. Contact with other tangoholics gives mee the feeling I am not alone out there, so I thank you for listening. The first time I saw a room full of tangodancers I really thought I discovered a Underground of the Human Soul.
I thought I witnessed something I only know from dreams. I learning fast now and constantly meeting nice people. Some of them you know already, hi Derik, hi Kim, hi Jacqueline (other girl on the photo of Derik shot with the tent at the background).
Last week I went to see Tango Pasion! in Amsterdam and it was a great performance. Even greater was the fact that my tangoschool (Academia de tango) had arranged a little salon in the space normally used for coffee and drinks, and some dancers gave a little performance and danced with the amateurs who dared to fall into their arms. Well, I didn't of course, but it was all so great that I went to the theatre the next day and asked if I could just go in to watch the little workshop. I got in, it was even greater than the night before, I danced and went home on my bike whistling tango tunes.

I will sent a picture next time, I don't know how to do it yet. By the way Derik, it not a coincidence you only post Amsterdam pictures with you and women on it.. huh... I remember Remco being there and me too!! Well, what do you have to say for yourself?

Peter

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Peter:

Glad to see you here. I am still in Paris dancing away. Life is good. Will say more
soon. Picture was messed up. Sorry about that. At least the girls looked good.
Please say hello to everyone for me. Thank you for the long E-Mail and the great
report on tango in Amsterdam.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hi Derik,

Just thought I'd check in to see how you are doing. It's been a while. I see you've found another
enthusiast in Peter. A few Wednesdays back I ran into Anna from D.C. She was
in town for a few days and we danced. She's a great dancer!

Dancing tonight (Sunday) was kind of slow for some reason. Nonetheless, I got to
dance with some of our best tangueras. Not too many people tonight though.
I thought I had missing the daylight savings switch-over at first because nobody was
there. Anyway, as you know, we will have Cafe Express for only a few more Sundays
before the place closes down. We still haven't found a replacement for
Sunday night yet. We've got too, though. People LOVE Sunday nights.

I am excited because I will be going to the Luciana Valle workshop this next
weekend up in Austin. Chris and Gabrielle should be there too. I hope to learn
a lot of new stuff, work on my posture, etc.

I'm hoping we'll having another milonga at Valentino's some time soon. Were you
at the milonga there or were you out of town at that point? Valentino's is such a
nice place to tango. It has the right look. Victor is planning to hold a
milonga on the last Wednesday of each month. The theme is a "Birthday Milonga"
where the participants celebrate a tanguero/a's birthday during that month. He has
not had one yet, so we'll see how things go.

Hey, I just put a sound card in the computer and am listening to the little ditty
that goes with this page. It has a lot of static. Do I need more RAM?
(I've got 48MB). Pretty soon I'll have a website and I'll put up a picture
so that people can know who I am.

Have fun. (Although I know you don't need ME to tell you that.)

--Ron
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Peter,

Glad to see another tanguero joining the group. I like the phrase you used:

"Underground of the Human Soul".

Later,

--Ron, (Derik's friend from Houston)

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Ron and Derik,
This is Anna from D.C., just to say hello. From Lester's e-mail, I see that
Houston's tango life becomes very active. So far, I probably will not be travelling
to Houston until November. But here, we have lots of tango events to keep me busy.
Ron, I've enjoyed dancing with you. Hope to dance with you again. Derik, what
part of the world are you in now? Here is my new updated web page:
http://www.zebrasys.com/anna where I dance with my partner at the tango show
sponsored by Cache boutique. So I had to wear their red dress.
BTW: I like this "Underground of the Human Soul" pretty accurate
description of a milonga party.

Hope to see you all in nearest future

Anna
 
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hi Derik,

how are you doing? Where are you at this moment? Still in Europe? And still dancing?
This week I hope to take a Susana Miller class with Aby (the guy with the spot-pants...:) remember?_
Anyway, not dancing much, but having a lot of fun with my new job.
Bye!

Kim

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Kim:

Glad to see you back in the world after starting your new job, a Tango Vacation...lol
I am glad that you are enjoying your work and that you love it.

Yes, I am still here in Paris and having a wonderful time dancing tango every night
at the Bistro Latina. It the perfect place to dance tango. The Bistro is owned by
Argentines and it is in the Latin Quarter within walking distance of the Louvre
Museum and my hotel which is nearby. I am just off the rue de Saint-Honoree about a
block from the Louvre and the Ritz Hotel. This is Fashion Week so all the models and
fashion designers are here and they all show up at the Bistro. Last Saturday night
I danced with a beautiful French woman from Beijing, China who does fashion accessories.
We had a great time. Also she has a very beautiful friend, Sandrine, another French woman
who is also from Beijing and is head of the tango group there. Sandrine is a writer
and anthropologists and she is in China studying and writing about Chinese religions.
Well, it is never dull in tango...lol.

Also, the week before at the Bistro, I met a woman named Frances, who is with a
software company in London and in the tango group there. Her French boyfriend,
Jean-Pierre and I went to all the tango dance classes here in Paris together. He and
I were trying to improve our dancing skills for the women here. Now Frances and
Jean-Pierre are in Sydney, Australia on vacation and they are going to a big party
that Vanessa is throwing down there. Vanessa is from Paris, danced tango with us in
Houston, Texas and now is working in Sydney, so it is a small world. Hello...Vanessa.
How was the party?

Please say hello to Susana Miller for me. Tell her Derik from Houston. You will
love her. She is very Argentine, very laissez-faire with lots of energy. I thought
that I was not learning much, but after her classes, which were circular and went on
forever (she would start to demonstrate a step and then stop in the middle of it and
start another step before you could remember the first one) but then I finally did
get the idea of what she was saying.

The most important thing for me after her class was to take some time out to
consolidate what I thought I had learned afterwards in a practica that very same
weekend on Sunday night after 8 hours a day with her on Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. I was exhausted but I finally put all her steps together with a dance
partner at the end....I think it was Camelia the Romanian girl who also was quite
confused, even though she was a professional ballet dancer in Romania. Anyway, it
I think you will have a great time with her if you concentrate really hard...lol.

Yes, I remember Aby. Please say hello to him for me. I remember the spots...lol.

By the way, Georges from Bruxelles wants to go to Nijmegen this November. What do you know about the event. I told him
that we were all there this last September. Georges are you here?

Well, I am just now off to dance some more tango tonight. Will be back with a report
and now have some pictures scanned to put up as well. Great to hear from you. Come
to Paris.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Anna:

I am here in Paris still. I think red dresses are cool. Hope to dance with you again
soon. Off to tangop tonight....more later.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Derik here still dancing tango in Paris. Will post some pictures of the Bistro
Latina soon.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Derik,
Nice seing you in Paris at the beginning of the month, and what a surprise. Are you still over there at le Latina every evening ? By the way, le Latina is not in the Quartier Latin but in Le Marais, The Quartier Latin is only on the South-East side of the river. But is doesn't really matter, it is the old center of Paris anyway. Hope to see you again in Houston, there has been a lot of Tango recently with Christopher coming last week-end from California for nine hours of workshop at Valentino. See you,
Bertrand (and Maud)

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

I recently started taking traditional Argentine tango lessons. I am somewhat surprised that it is not as dramatic as I expected it to be. When I think of tango, I think of dramatic turns and twists. Which is the original tango, the one with the dramatic movements or the more subtle one?

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Traditional Argentine Tango New Student,

Welcome to the tango abyss. Argentine tango is the only dance that requires literally falling passionately in love with the dance and music in order to express this feeling in your dancing. I enjoy all kind of dancing: folk, country, ballroom, latin, freestyle. And of course, it helps if you are crazy about the dance, but it is not a requirement. Good technique, rhythm, and enjoying your partner and the motion could be enough to express the nature of the dance. Not Argentine tango. One can do very simple steps and look like tango, and very fancy tango steps and still miss the dance.

Before I started seriously taking tango lessons, I already was very familiar of how tango should look like. I watched again and again videos of the tango shows from Argentina, I saw live tango performances (like Tango x2) that were brought to Washington. I recognized that those dramatic head turns of the ballroom tango have nothing to do with the Argentine tango. I also recognized that the tango can be humorous, serious, dramatic, or tragic, but it is always passionate, because the passion comes from inside. I take tango for a year and a half now. I dance socially and do tango shows, but I know I still have plenty to learn. I have tango ups and downs. Sometimes I think I’ve “got it,” and the other times I think that I will never “get it.” But I still go to milongas (tango parties) and continue my affair with the tango. See http://www.geuni.com/wbtango/main.html about the symptoms of tango junkie.

Please do not get discouraged by this letter. Continue your lessons and come to milongas. Contact Lester Buck buck@compact.com to put you on the mailing list of Houston tango events (I assume that you live in Houston). Have a great tango experience. If you have any questions, please feel free to write: anna_rc_1999@yahoo.com

Anna Critchfield
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Anna:

Thank you for being here and for your great comments. I am still here in Paris dancing tango every night and working my tail
off on E-commerce websites. Have been quiet lately because I have been trying to catch up with my work after all the vacation
time and tango related travels...lol.

Dear Betrand and Maude:

It was really a wonderful surprise to see you here in Paris at Bistro Latino. We are all still going strong here and dancing tango
Wednesday through Saturday. I have been working, but I still get in my tango every night if I can. Yes, you are right Bistro
Latina is on the right bank and it is not in the Latin Quarter at all....lol...except in my mind...lol Sorry about that. Houston
sounds like it is having a lot of activities from Lester's E-Mails. Wish that I could be there for them all. I am missing tacos and
hot sauce so I will be back soon. Nijmegen is coming up soon again I think in Holland, there is a Tango Festival here and one
coming up in London, so things are popping here too..

Dear Georges:

Ran into a guy from Bruxelles at Bistro Latina this last Wednesday. I was with two really nice women who are in the fashion
industry here and he came over to join in after he saw me dancing with them...lol. His name is Luigi Rossi and he says that he
works for your father on the European Commission in Bruxelles. Luigi says that his job there is to protect all of us here in
Europe from bad foods imported into the Common Market (like big Mac Hamburgers, I assume...lol). Anyway, Luigi says hi.
Also, I asked him if he knew Marisa and he does. Luigi liked dancing tango here with the two girls that I was with..lol.

Dear Ron:

How is it going in Houston? Julie's reading of her book "Paper Tangos" sounds like a hoot. Please tell her that I miss her.

Dear All:

Well, back to work...lol. I am sitting at a sidewalk cafe on the rue de Rivoli across from the Tuilieres Gardens in the Louvre
Palace and the sun is shinning. Have my laptop my cell phone and a glass of red wine. Life is good. Below is me dancing on
the banks of the River Seine here in Paris. You can see the tour boats on the river and an island in the river behind them.
Notre Dame is on the next island down the river. During the summer we can dance all night until dawn. Now most of us are at
Bistro Latina every night because it is now brisk cool fall weather and the river is a bit chilly at night. I will post some pictures
of Bistro Latina next.

PS-

Wow! Derik got into big trouble last night, Sunday,..lol. I went to the oldest dance hall in Paris with my friend Jean-Pierre
who has a girlfriend in London and she dances tango there and here in Paris at Bistro Latina. She was in London, so he and I
went with a group of French tango dancers. We all were having a great time dancing and things were relatively calm..lol. then
Derik asked a beautiful blonde French woman to dance....... Well, she was probably the best all around dancer that I have
danced with ever, absolutely incredible. The moment we hit the dance floor there was a break in the tango music and suddenly
I found myself doing this wild American swing dance with her and she was fantastic. She could do anything and was totally
original all the time, a natural.

After going completely crazy on the dance floor for about two or three dances, the tango music finally returned and we went
into a tango dance. She said that she did not know the tango at all, and she was right, she did not know a single step...lol. By
this time all the French tango dancers were already mad at us for having such a good time dancing swing, so I suggested that
we go to dance tango in the bar area where there was a lot of space to practice, because everyone was complaining that it was
almost impossible to dance tango on the main floor, due to the crowds.

In the begiining, I think that the French were horrified at my idea of dancing in the bar area instead of the main floor, but we still
danced there and she learned the steps immediately because she knew how to follow and listen to the music. She was great.
The two of us had the bar area all to ourselves and the music was wonderful. We were both very happy to let all the others
dance on the main floor. Of course, the next thing we know, is that all the French start doing what we are doing and they all
move into the bar area with us..lol and the floor there suddenly becomes as crowded as the main dance floor..lol. They are all
over the place, but we continue as best we can and still have a great time. I danced tango with Anne-Marie the entire night,
and after the tango music was over at midnight we also went into rock and roll and disco music. She was drop dead incredible
at dancing that as well, the kind of dancer that you just want to watch all the time, a lot like Madonna, very original, beautiful
and completely wild. She was spectacular.

When the evening was over, she asked me where she could dance tango more because she wanted to learn, and, of course, I
suggested the Bistro Latina because all the tango professors go there, so she took down the directions and the address etc. and
said that she would be there. I thought that all of this was great, so then I went to find Jean-Pierre, who had given me a ride to
the place in his car and who also had some detailed information on tango places that she might like in Paris.. I brought him over
to talk with her and introduced him. She was now sitting at a completely different table that was empty and a guy who I had
seen earlier came over to her and sat down with her, I presummed to asked her to dance, but she did not..

Jean-Pierre and I came up and said hello, and then Jean-Pierre turned to me and said, "Derik, there is a problem...lol". I said
to him "There is?...What?". Jean-Pierre says, "She says that she does not want to know anything about any tango places in
Paris and does not know what we are talking about.....and also, this guy is mad at you." I say, "Why?" Jean-Pierre says, "this
guy says that he is her husband and that they have been married only 6 weeks. I say, "What?" Then, Jean-Pierre says to the
guy "Derik is a nice man and she did not tell him that she was married....lol." Then, I say to the guy "I did not know." and I
apologize to him. In the meantime, she, of course, is ignoring all of us...lol. All of us men are standing there apologizing to each
other and somehow, I think to myself that I will see her again soon perhaps at Bistro Latina, because, of course, I gave her the
address earlier. Wow! What a drama...another tango drama. I love Paris! French women are a trip. Anyway, Derik is still
alive and Jean-Pierre says that he perhaps will bring a weapon to tango next time just in case...lol. Never dull...

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Trying again with the picture.

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Anonymous New Tango Dancer from the posting dated 10/27/99.

There is a lot of misinformation on the tango, mostly due to Hollywood and ballroom
tango, which usually grab the spotlight. I think this happens because they are very
flashy. Argentine tango, on the other hand, is not so flashy but IS very passionate.

This is my take on the tango. My history of tango is half historical and half urban
legend. Anyone else can feel free to correct me on my historical goofs.

The tango that you are seeing here in Houston is milonguero style. It is the original
tango that was danced on crowded floors at the turn of the century. There wasn't
a lot of kicks and twists because the floors were so crowded. And you held your
partner close because you might never get to dance with her again. (Reportedly, there
wa a 3-1 ratio of men to women at the time. Ay Caramba!)

A lot of the passion comes from the closeness of the dancers, not just physically,
but mentally (for lack of a better word). Each step originates in the leader and
finishes in the follower, so the attention that each dancer must pay to the other is
very great. The closer the connection, the better the dance. But also the closer
connections lead to a high degree of passion.

There is another (actual several) style of Argentine tango, with ganchos and secadas and
vueltes, etc. At some point, the men decided to include these moves to "show off
the woman" and to intimidate other men from trying to stealing the woman from them.
Kind of a pecking order type of thing. And then of course, they had dance contests
where tangueros would try to outdo each other. Of course, elegance was key.
This style is probably more along the lines of what you expected to see. It can still
be learned, but you must be patient.

Milonguero style is less flashy, sure, but it teaches you some basic fundamentals
which are ESSENTIAL regardless of style, such as posture, timing (stepping with the
beat), paying attention to the partner, etc.

I personally enjoy the whole repertoire of moves, including the dramatic ones.
However these moves are often misunderstood. One can learn a flashy move such as a
secada and look horrible doing it. Why? Because it was done without adhering to
the music or because you didn't respect your partner or because you didn't understand
your own balance or your posture sucked. In short, it was unpolished. You can
learn the essentials without milonguero style, but milonguero seems to be on the
agenda. It is better to do a few of them correctly than to do all of them poorly.
However, I want to do them all!!! BwahHaHaHaaaa...!!!!!!

Let me say that although the moves look dramatic, the best execution is not an attack
as much as it is a well-timed subtle maneuver. (sp?) And the flashier moves are often the
most subtle. It's strange how the eye is not drawn to the guy flailing around all
over the stage, but instead focuses on a guy that moves less but is in total
control of his motion. I recently saw a tanguero from Tampa where my eyes were
GLUED to him. I couldn't look away. There wasn't a move he did that I couldn't do,
but my Lord! how he controlled the dance! Not only did he look good, but so did his
partners. Controlling one's motion is what make the tango so difficult, and lord
knows I need help with that.

As Anna says, be patient. Someone else said it: Tango is not so much a dance as it
is a discipline. Just like anything else good, you need to put forth the dogwork. I
have truly enjoyed the fruits of my own hard work and hope to reap more.

Stick with it!!!

Hope to see you at the practice, Mr. Anonymous. :-)

--Ron
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

My Goodness Derik,

I slip away from the chat for a few months and I discover a veritable treasure trove of adventure in your postings!! I am so relieved to hear you escaped execution by a jealous french husband!!

I envy the fresh exciting tangos experienced in foreign lands with complete strangers. There is nothing like them and it has been a long time since I had one (with you I believe). I will be in London for the Millenium celebration and will venture to Paris, but only for the day. I don't know if you will still be there, but it seems doubtful we could connect for meaningful tango in broad daylight!! Wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know I'm reading and wishing you the best. Take care, and maybe NEXT time you and Ron are in Washington we'll connect.

Janell

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Janell:

Wonderful to hear from you again. Well, guess what? I am back in Houston...lol.
Had a lot of good offers for website business here because it is the XMAS shopping
season. Also since XMAS is coming, I decided to come back for awhile to see my family
and there are no jealous French husbands here in Houston right now....lol. I just
got back last Tuesday night and went right from the airplane to tango on Tuesday
night. It was great to see everyone here again. Julie Taylor brought a wonderful
man from Buenos Aires here to teach us milonguero style tango...what an evening.
I lasted until about midnight and then jet lag got me..lol.

I am planning on going back to Europe but it may not be until after the Millennium
because I am supposed to go to Singapore and board a cruise ship there and sail to
Bali (sp?) for the new year with all the alumnae and schoolmates from my high school
years in Switzerland. We will all be out at sea and hopefully self sufficient if
something happens when it becomes the year 2000....at least that is the theory. I
will of course be dancing tango on deck during the great moment..lol. Anyway, that
is the current plan, but if it changes I will definitely let you know. Would love to
meet you anywhere for tango. I will never forget that "body glove" dress with the
slit up one side that you were wearing the last time we danced tango here in Houston
when the Tosca Texas Tango Orchestra was playing here. (By the way, they are going
to play here again soon for their 3rd CD release party in the next week or so)
Hopefully I am becoming a better dancer, but as Anna says, some days we all wonder
if we can dance tango at all...lol. I am looking forward to seeing you again
soon, dancing and enjoying another wonderful adventure. Until we tango next...

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All here in Houston, Texas:

Derik here. We will be dancing tango this Saturday night from 7:00pm on at a nice
little Cafe called Cafe Masison. It is located in Houston at Shepherd Square at the
corner of Westheimer and Shepherd in the Randall's Shopping Center just to the right
of the big Randall's Store. You will see and hear us us dancing outside in the
covered sidewalk cafe area where they have all the tables outside. We will be
dancing tango there every Satuday eveining until further notice.

Also, part of the parking spaces in the front will be opened up for us so we can
dance under the stars at night during these beautiful sunny and clear fall weather
here in Houston. If it rains we will jist dance inside the covered sidewalk cafe
area. With all the high traffic in this centrally located, exclusive and popular
shopping area, we hope not only to have fun dancing tango, but also attract more
wonderful dancers to the tango. This event is free, except we may "pass the hat"
for Charlie, an employee, who will stay on his own past the normal closing time at
8pm to keep the place open for us. It should be a lot of fun. We shall see what
happens. See you there at 7pm this Satuday night.

Derik Rawson
rri@neosoft.com

PS - If you have any questions, send me E-Mail at rri@neosoft.com or send E-Mail to
David Locke at dlocke@bindview.com who is on the Houston Tango Association Board and
was with me today looking at the space.
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Kim:

Was on the beach in Galveston, Texas until the early hours of the morning camping
out in the back of a Galveston artist's truck watching the meteor shower in the
night skies and also a beautiful moonset at 2am. As we all lay there wrapped up in
soft bedrolls and pillows under the clear skiies, I thought of you and dancing tango
during the total eclipse in Reims, France this past August. Wish that you could have
been with us. We did not dance tango, but it was still fun. We saw some beautiful
shooting stars and meteors in the night skies.

Last night I danced tango at Azukar (mispelled, but means sugar in Spanish) with a
"salza queen", Diane. She is going to teach me salsa if I help her to learn tango.
Tonight we are dancing tango at Cafe Maison next to Randall's at Westheimer and
Shepherd from 7-10pm in the sidewalk cafe area in front and in the parking lot. The
weather here is like spring now, sunny, dry and warm...like California, so it should
be fun. Will give you a report.

I enjoyed your E-Mail and I am glad that you love your new job and that you are now
getting to dance more tango. Cannot wait to come back to dance with you again.
My milongero style is improving slowly, but needs a lot of work. Hopefully, I will
be getting better and better as time goes on. Trying to practice more. Please say
hello to everyone in Amsterdam for me...

Derik
rawsonweb@compuserve.com

PS - Are you going to Nijmegen in November? Georges Crauser says that he is going.
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

We had a great time dancing tango at Cafe Maison on Satuday. The weather was perfect
and we danced outside under the stars. We will do it again next Saturday and every
Saturday as long as the weather is great. We had a nice crowd.

We taught tango to some new people and from that came many offers of new places to
dance, so we will probably have a dance club downtown for tango in addition to Cafe
Maison very soon. Thank you to all the people that came. Each Saturday we will try
to make it better and better. Life is good...

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
rawsonweb@compuserve.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Wow! Yet another beautiful perfect warm weather evening dancing under the stars at
Cafe Maison sidewalk cafe yesterday on Saturday. It is like spring here in Houston.
Thank you to La Nina...lol.

Lots of new people to dance tango and even more offers of places to dance. Also,
thank you to the guitar player who showed up and played "live music" for us, and a
specical thank you to the staff of Cafe Maison who were lots of fun. Also thanks to
Azelia from Argentina and to all women who came to dance and the Dallas represenative.
See you all next week Saturday again.

Thanks Tammara for being a wonderful tango dancer. See you on Tuesday at Barbara
King's Dance Studio at Glenmont and Rice from 8:30pm until 10:00pm. Looking forward
to dancing with you again. Life is good...

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Tango tonight Wednesday December 1st at Brazil!...live music at a late night cafe.
See you there at 9:30pm. Brazil is at the corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy near
downtown Houston.

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Derik here at Brazil Cafe at 11:00pm. We are getting ready to do some serious tango
dancing here in a few moments. Antoine from Montreal is here with his brother who
dances tango and plays the bandondeon, so we have bass, bandondeon, guitar and sax..
..whoweeee ...lol. I am dancing with Ryan the belly dancer who has just bought some
new killer tango shoes and Eve from Montreal who dances with Antoine's brother. Boy
are we having fun,

Gotta go dance....

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Derik here at Brazil Cafe at 11:00pm. We are getting ready to do some serious tango
dancing here in a few moments. Antoine from Montreal is here with his brother who
dances tango and plays the bandondeon, so we have bass, bandondeon, guitar and sax..
..whoweeee ...lol. I am dancing with Ryan the belly dancer who has just bought some
new killer tango shoes and Eve from Montreal who dances with Antoine's brother. Boy
are we having fun,

Gotta go dance....

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Derik here at Brazil Cafe at 11:00pm. We are getting ready to do some serious tango
dancing here in a few moments. Antoine from Montreal is here with his brother who
dances tango and plays the bandondeon, so we have bass, bandondeon, guitar and sax..
..whoweeee ...lol. I am dancing with Ryan the belly dancer who has just bought some
new killer tango shoes and Eve from Montreal who dances with Antoine's brother. Boy
are we having fun,

Gotta go dance....

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Derik here at Brazil Cafe at 11:00pm. We are getting ready to do some serious tango
dancing here in a few moments. Antoine from Montreal is here with his brother who
dances tango and plays the bandondeon, so we have bass, bandondeon, guitar and sax..
..whoweeee ...lol. I am dancing with Ryan the belly dancer who has just bought some
new killer tango shoes and Eve from Montreal who dances with Antoine's brother. Boy
are we having fun,

Gotta go dance....

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

We had a wonderful time dancing tango tonight at AZUKAR on Hillcroft near the
Southwest Freeway. It is a beautiful club inside and I persuaded the disk jockey to
play 5 tangos and 1 salsa or other each time, so we had a lot of tango dancing tonight.

Camelia from Romania was wild tonight because she is through with her finals from
medical school and was definitely in the mood to tango...and we did. She is a
fantastic dancer. I was mesmerized. Wow! What a beautiful woman and full of
Romanian passion, warmth and drop dead gorgeous besides....lol. All the guys in the
club were asking me, "Who is she?" What an evening... Tomorrow we are going to dance tango again at Cafe Maison next to the Randall's at
Westheimer and Shepherd from 7-10pm and give more free tango lessons. See you there.

Derik
rri@neosoft.com

PS - Jean-Pierre in Paris. I told Camelia about all our tango adventures in Paris
tonight and she loved the stories, particularly the one about the jealous French
husband. She said that she wished that she could have seen us trying to get out of
the club in the Bastille area still alive...lol. Camelia knows the restaurant "Le
Train Blue" where we met in Paris before each tango lesson and I also told her about
our favorite, Mirella Raftu, our lovely Romainian tango professor who went to dance
with me that night on the River Seine. Camelia says that Raftu is definitely a
Romanian name..lol. How are things in Paris?

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Well, tonight at Cafe Maison turned out to be great again. We had perfect weather and
there was no rain again for the past four weeks. Beautiful Rolanda showed up and
danced with all the guys. She was the only woman.....and she loved it. We took turns
dancing with her. What a dancer....fantastic. Camelia was still at a birthday party
when we closed at 10pm, so she could not make it and I think the others were out at
Discover Dance on Memorial. We had a good group, drank some wine and bascially
enjoyed the evening. It was a lot of fun.

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Alexander:

I received your E-Mail about tango in Bangkok and I am sending you the E-Mail address
of a beautiful blonde French anthropologist who lives in Beighing, China. I met Sandrine
in Paris at the Bistro Latin. She is head of the tango group in Beighing (sp?) Perhaps
she will know exactly where to tango in Bangkok. She speaks English. Let me know what
happens.

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Well, it was another great tango week here in Houston last week. Tuesday I danced
tango with Liz who came down to Houston from Alaska. Wednesday, I danced tango with
Ryan, the belly dancer. Thursday I practiced tango steps with some of the guys.
Friday I got deathly ill from a cold and missed dancing tango with Camelia...damn..lol.
Saturday, I recovered and danced tango with Carolena from Argentina (who had the exact
same cold as I....), and now of course I am flat on my back with the flu...lol. I
hope that you are feeling OK Carolena...... Life is wonderful.... Tango until you
drop.

Derik
rri@neosoft.com

PS - Ryan, I hope that your knee is OK. I think I will be back dancing by tomorrow
hopefully.

PPS - Cafe Maison was great yet again. We have had 5 weeks in a row of perfect
weather to dance outside and many new people were there this last Saturday. About
equal numbers of men and women. We had a great time. Welcome Stephana and Robert,
Dan and Denise. I hope that no one ends up with this terrible flu that Carolena and
I got. Oh well... If so, I apologize... Felt terrible Friday then great Saturday
then out of it on Sunday. It was difficult to tell if it was just a cold or what.
Also, some other people do not seem to have it at all...weird....lol.
 

Ryan and I danced
tango Wednesday night

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hello Tango affectionados...I am on my way to Paris from the 28th Dec to 10th January and would love advice on the best tango salons/bars/dances for that week. I got the Bistro Latina identified but was hoping to hit a few different scenes...Got any thoughts? I have lession lists, but would like to know the BEST. Also anyone know of any performances there? THANKS! terracycle@AOL.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Derik:
Happy Christmas to you and all the Houston Tango friends from down under (or close)!
Georges in Punta del Este

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Georges:

Happy Holidays. Great to hear from you. How is the wonderful event going? Best
wishes to you and your families down there. Wish that I could have made it. Did you
see Julie Taylor?

Derik
rri@neosoft.com

PS - Camelia (long live Romania...)and I are going to dance tango to a "live" tango
orchestra this coming Wednesday when she comes back from Seattle amd Los Angeles
this December 29th 9pm-2am at Brazil Cafe at Westheimer and Dunlavy. Camelia is as
beautiful as ever. We will be thinking of you.

How is tango in Bruxellles? Antione says that Laurie and Jacques have been working
together at the company headquarters there. Small world....lol. I showed Antoine a
picture of Jacques and I, taken when I was visiting him in Bruxelles the week that
you were down in Italy. By the way, Antoine and Laurie are now married.

Antoine will be playing in the orchestra this Wednesday, so I hope to see Laurie too.
Also Antonioe's brother, who has a tango orchestra in Montreal came to Houston and
played bandondeon with the orchestra a few weeks ago. He was fantastic and a great
tango dancer besides. He brought his girlfriend, Eve, with him and she was also a
wonderful dancer and beautiful as well. We had quite a time.

My latest tango adventure last week was dancing at Cafe Brazil last Wednesday with
Ryan, the belly dancer, who now has some new tango shoes. We danced Argentine tango
to the orchestra while, she, Ryan, balanced a sword on her head, like she does when
she is doing a belly dancing. Wow! What a trip! It worked! Ryan did forward and
backward ochos without dropping the sword once! ....it was pretty cool....lol. She
is a great tango dancer, with a good ballet background so she can do just about
anything... Julie Taylor would have loved it. Never dull here in Houston.

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Terracycle:

The guy to get in touch with is Jean-Pierre Lemonnier. He has a list of all the
tango events in Paris and goes to everyone...lol. He works for Credit Lyonnais and
is in charge of all their bank buildings in France. He works in their main office in
Paris. Jean-Pierre is going skiing in Italy with his girlfriend. Frances, from
London, who also dances tango, so I am not sure if he will be at Bistro Latin this
week. If you are there you can ask around for them and tell them Derik said hello.

In general, you will find a lot of tango people at Bistro Larin and the owner and
his family have a lot of the tango event newspapers and magazines out in public view
for everyone to take home with them. Most all the tango events in France are in
these publications. Bistro Latina is definitely the place to network. Please say
hello to Julietta for me....say Derik from Houston, Texas. She is the owner's
daughter and works there...and dances tango. Julietta and her family are from
Argentina.

Hope you have a great time in Paris. Please give us a current report here later if
you can. Happy Holidays....

A bientot..

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hello Derick,

Anne-sophie from Washington DC here.... yes, it has been a while now.... When are you coming back to DC so that we can dance again???

I have been very busy with Tango here; classes, milonga, and now I am organizing a trip to go to buenos Aires for the CITA... very exiting...
But that means that no trip to Houston yet!!! well hopefully soon

A friend of mine is going to Austin next week ... any good advice on where to go? He will probably send you an email as well. Let me know. Or if any body on the list has info, I'll be glad to pass it on.

Thanks and see you soon in DC or anywhere else...

Anne-Sophie
www.geocities.com/tanganso

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hi Derek,

I'll be in Austin Sunday evening January 16th leaving Friday January 21st. Can you (or anyone else) tell me where I can tango?

Thanks!

John Petracek
john.petracek@tivoli.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear John Petracek:

Here is what is going on in Austin this weekend.

Paul Montpetit and Laura Eva Steinmander Workshop (Second Weekend)

Presented by DANCE INTERNATIONAL in Austin.

Saturday, January 15 from 2:00-3:45 pm with a milonga until 5:00 pm
Sunday, January 16 from 2:00-5:00 pm

This workshop will be held at Dolores's Dance Studio, 8611, Green Valley
Drive
(Park on Hyridge)

For more information call Mari Beth Tackett at (512)374-9971 or Stewart
Yaros at (512)323-2623.

Also there are two more workshops coming up the following weeks:
 

Pablo Pugliese Workshop

Presented by LEARN TO DANCE in Austin.

Friday, January 21 from 7:30 to 10:00 pm with a practica from 10:00 until
1:00 am.
Saturday, January 22 from 11:00 am to 5:30pm with a milonga from 9:00 until
1:00 am
Sunday, January 23 from 11:00 am to 5:30 pm.

For more information call (512) 450-0200, email: info@learn2dance.com, or
check their web site at www.learn2dance.com
 
 

Daniel Lapadula Workshop

Presented by Victor Collins at Barbara King's Houston Center of Dance.

Friday, February 4, from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. Beginner and milonga.
Saturday, February 5, 2:00 to 5:00. Beginner/Intermediate.
4:00 to 7:00. Milonga.
Sunday, Februrary 6, 7:00 to 11:00 Milonga at La Bella Terraza. $10.00

$90.00 until 1/31/00. $110.00 after 1/31/00.

For more information call 281-443-3322, or email argentina2000@hotmail.com

Hope this helps. Please let us know how it goes. Thanks for posting here. You are
welcome anytime.

Derik
rri@neosoft.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Anne-Sophie:

Great to hear from you. I really missed seeing you this summer in Belgium. Georges
Crauser, who is back in Bruxelles now from Puente del Este in Uraguay (sp?) also
missed seeing you. I showed him your videotape hello and he really wants you to come
to Europe....lol. I would love to dance with you again too in Argentina, Europe,
Houston and/or Washington D.C. I am looking forward to seeing you.

Your trip to Argentina sounds great. When are you going?

Please tell your friend to make sure to go hear the Texas Tango Orchestra called
"Tosca" when he is in Austin. Janelle has their CD and she heard them play "live"
here in Houston at one of our tango events. I think that they are still playing at
the Colony Club in Austin on Sunday nights. Monica, who is head of the Austin Tango
group and is herself from Argentina, organizes the Sunday evening dance and practica
and she can be reached on the Austin Tango Connection webpage. The page should also
list all the current Austin tango events as well. The web page for Austin is:

http://www.mods.com/austintango/

Hope this helps. Really need to dance with you again....

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear John Petracek:

Here is the info on the Sunday practica in Austin, Texas ...

Sunday Practica
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Austin Tango Connection hosts a
practica (practice session) at Tapestry
Studios, 507-B Pressler.
Following in the century-old tradition of
the tangueros in Buenos Aires, we
present the practica as a time and place
to review basics, work on new material
we have learned, constructively share
exercises, comments and tips with other
dancers, and practice what we know
before taking it to the social dance floor.
All Argentine tango dancers, students,
instructors, and enthusiasts are invited.
The cost is $4/person to cover studio
rental.
 
 

For more information on the Austin Tango Connection, send e-mail to atc@mods.com,
or call 512.480.9899 (English) or 512.794.2922 (para información en español).

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear All:

Been dancing tango almost every night now. Wow! What a trip. Met a wonderful
dancer from Virginia, Kerry last week. She danced every tango step immediately and
by the end of the evening she was even leading me into ochos....lol...a great woman.
Also, last Sunday was the Russian New Year celebration at City Streets (not on the
exact date, but still fun). We took over a huge nightclub and had over 1,000 people,
and there was a lot of tango dancing!!! The Russians love tango! Ryan also did
some great belly dancing and she brought all the belly dancers who learned tango. It
was a wild evening. Everyone from our tango group was there.

Below is a picture of Ryan at Cafe Brazil from a few weeks ago, showing off her new
boots that she bought, before she bought her new tango shoes. Ryan is definitely
into costumes and shoes.....and swords...lol.

Derik
rri@neosoft.com

PS - This weekend we are all going to the Daniel Lapadula Tango Workshop this Fri,
Sat and Sunday being hosted here by Victor Collins, who is also from Argentina and
teaches tango. That should be fun. The Austin workshop was great. I did not make
it because I had to be here for business...darn it...but everyone said that they
learned a lot and met a lot of people from everywhere. I wish that I could have
made it.
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

hello, tango-lovers. I am a student architectiar and i am going to design a tango school with also a bar with lots of wine and some snacks, tapas probably, and also a small cd shop with tango music. Well not only tango, also cuban and some gypsian music. The size of the building and much more is given, the subject is free. And it happens to be my passion: Tango! I'am a starter so there's a lot I don't no. What I am looking for, is pictures of real tango bars where's live music and people are dancing, and all the information about the historie and hopefully impressions of the live style of a tango addict. The building is not going to be for real of cource but i would like to design the place as it would be in my 'dreams'. And it has to be a real concept. So please help me out, for my project as wel for me personal. Iám going to take lessons pretty soon! OK forgive me my mistakes, I am Dutch, not a good typer and internet came in my live only two months ago. I will certainly visit this site again, never the less a concert in Houston is for now: out of the question. (student). But for school i will be in New York for six month. I have to wait approximately 14 months, but anyway i am lookong forwart to it. Thank you for reading and perhaps i will recieve the information i desperatly need.
Greetings Sanne.
sanneramaker@hotmail.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Hi Derik,

Hope you are doing well, I am. Dancing a lot right now. I took lessons from another
teacher and I am totally into dancing again! My milonguerostyle is improving too,
just like yours. No big adventures further, bye

Kim

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Sanne,

I am going to BsAs in March. Hope to bring back a few pictures of real tango bars. I'll e-mail them to you if you can wait that long.
Regards
Anna (anna_rc_1999@yahoo.com)

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Kim:

Great to hear from you. The workshop sounds like a great idea. My milonguero
style is improving too...I hope...lol. Glad that you are back into dancing again
and have found a great teacher. Looking forward to dancing with you again and
seeing you up East when you come over to the US.

Derik
rri@neosoft.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Ana:

How are things is Washington D.C.? Please say hello to all the gang for me. Are
you going to the Tango Congress in Buenos Aires?

Derik
rri@neosoft.com

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear Derik,

Yes, I am going with Anne-Sophie's group. I subscribed for 36 hours worth of
lessons, not counting milongas and shows every evening. Hope I have enough stamina
for that. The D.C.'s tango life is very busy now. The Forever Tango cast appeared at
some milongas, we have a series of Valentine's parties and some Argentine teachers
are conducting workshops. I don't have enough hours in my day to attend all of them.
Plus, I am saving my energy for BsAs. Plus my partner finaly recovered from his foot
injury, so we resumed practicing for the shows. Are you planning to come to Washington
in near future? I don't think my work will send me to Houston any time soon. But I
will give you a full report about the tango Congress after I come back.

Anna
 
 

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

dear derik
i am sick of tango.i need little ability. but i dance in my dreams wonderfull is it really good for me ?
my friend is a man is it usefull to dance man a man

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

dear derik
i am sick of tango.i need little ability. but i dance in my dreams wonderfull is it really good for me ?
my friend is a man is it usefull to dance man a man

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Dear Houston WORLD TANGO:
 

Dear ?:

Men are generally the best teachers for men in tango and vice versa, because the men
and the women have different steps. This is why you see men dancing with men and
women dancing with women. Usually they are practicing their steps so that they will
be good dancers for the opposite sex.

Also, sometimes men and women dance with each other and the women lead the men, so
that the women will better understand the leaders problems and the men will better
understand the follower's problems. The truth is that dancing tango is simple a
conversation where the leading and the following constantly changes back and forth
between dancers. Just as in a verbal conversation, one needs to wait one's turn to
talk and only talk after having listened closely to what their dance partner is
saying. People that dominate conversations and people that give-in with little or
no resistence are bad dancers. This is true for men and women both. It is the back
and forth communication that is what makes the dance work. Just as in life, when
you are in tune with your partner life is wonderful...my opinion...

Derik
rri@neosoft.com
 
 

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