Hollywood Dance Center

OSCAR CASAS & ANA MIGUEL
in Los Angeles March 1 – 13

For a little preview go to http://www.youtube.com/user/twototango2?ob=0&feature=results_main  You’ll see not only great performances, but hours and hours of great instruction.

Then come learn a tango (and milonga) that’s POSSIBLE! Something YOU can dance on the social floor. And learn it from great social dancers.

Don’t miss Oscar–a master teacher & Youtube tango phenomenon! (Almost three million hits.)

Performance:
MILONGA LOS AMIGOS IN PASADENA, Saturday, March 10th (Fred Astaire Dance Center)

Oscar & Ana wowed Los Angeles last year! They are teachers who LOVE teaching. They are total professionals as well as super-nice people. Their performances are spontaneous and completely improvised. They embody the sheer joy of dancing tango with connection and musicality. These two are PURE FUN! Book your private lessons NOW–they will fill up.

Oscar Casas teaches regular classes at El Beso in Buenos Aires when he is not traveling the world to teach and perform. He was born in Parque Patricios, a well-known tango barrio in Buenos Aires. His parents were avid tango dancers, and in the 1950s and ’60s they organized three different milongas per week, which regularly drew in 400-500 dancers. He was very much influenced by his father, both by osmosis and discussion. Oscar has a distinct style both in his dance and his teaching. He is very milonguero, and is respected by the old guard in the milongas of BA. He is also extremely popular with young tangueros. He teaches with energy and humor, emphasizing concepts, specializing in improvisation, always interpreting the music and respecting the character of the different orchestras. Oscar is especially interested in the dynamics and cadencia of the dance. Everything he teaches is applicable to crowded milongas. 

Ana Miguel was born into a family of tango musicians in the neighborhood of Almagro. She learned tango in the Escuela Municipal de Danzas José Neglia. Ana started teaching with the famous Argentine instructor and performer Pocho Pizarro. From 2005 to 2008, she performed in the show “Bacanazo” which was held in the Empire Theatre and the Roman Theatre in BA and she also performed as part of the show at Esquina Carlos Gardel from 2006 to 2010 in BA.  She is a great teacher in her own right, meticulous and detailed in her explanations. She follows with energy, dynamics and creativity.

CLASS SCHEDULE: All classes at Hollywood Dance Center, 817 No. Highland Ave, Los Angeles 90038.
Free parking on both sides of Highland and in any of the spaces behind the studio & adjacent buildings on that block. Access those spaces from the alley just west of Highland between Waring Ave. & Willoughby Ave. Do not park in the Frazee Paint lot.

BE PREPARED FOR LOTS OF TANGO TECHNIQUE, LOTS OF CREATIVITY, LOTS OF MILONGA AND LOTS OF FUN!

Thursday, March 1st: Intermediate & Advanced Level
8:15 – 9: 40 pm: Turns in the Axis of the Woman.  Calecitas with female decorations and male stops.  Essential for navigation and dexterity in limited spaces.  This type of figure shows the lines of the body in addition to using the pauses.
9:50 – 11:15 pm: Cadenas (Chains).  These circular, chained movements are used to carry out double-axis turns of 360°.  Cadenas can make the couple look very elegant.

Friday, March 2nd: Advanced Beginners & Intermediate Level
8:30 – 10 pm: Demystifying the Two Systems: Parallel and Crossed.  How to change from one to the other for fun, surprising results.  Technique of projection and pivot for the man and the woman.  This class enables the dancers to communicate spontaneously and improvise.
10:15 – 11:45 pm: Men’s & Women’s Technique Applied. A class full of movements that are commonly seen on the dance floor.  Both the man and the woman will practice and execute the movements to perfection. Understanding the different possibilities of time and space will result in immediate improvement of your dance.

Saturday, March 3rd: Intermediate and Advanced Level
5 – 6:25 pm: Serpentinas (Streamers).  An old movement that creates spectacular results.  Simple but impressive, Serpentinas take the couple to another level of sophistication in the dance.  
6:35 — 8 pm: Barridas and Contra-Barridas Milongueras (Sweeps and Counter-Sweeps).  Simple and easy to execute, these movements are pretty when used in the pauses or slow passages. This movement requires a special technique and is best danced to smooth or dramatic orchestras.

Sunday, March  4th: Intermediate and Advanced Level
2 – 3:25 pm: Colgadas Milongueras. Explore the axis. Demystify the colgada technique in an understandable way. From milonguero to nuevo, a colgada is, after all, a simple movement.
3:35 — 5 pm: MILONGA LOCA! Traspie and Fun Variations. See why Oscar and Ana are always laughing when they dance milonga. It’s fun!

Thursday, March 8th: Intermediate & Advanced Level
8:15 — 9:40 pm: Use of the Floor Through a Comfortable and Secure Embrace. Knowing how to use the floor gives us a better balance for our dance. From the embrace comes the proposal of each movement. In this class you will see sacadas, enganchadas, common volcadas and changes of direction. But the technique will serve you with any figure.
9:50 — 11:15 pm: The Center of a Dancer’s Body. The understanding and use of our center, which is related to the embrace, permits us to study and execute “boleos del piso” (fish tails), serpentines with or without changes of weight, ganchos milongueros on the floor or within the embrace, embellishments of the woman, etc. These movements are made in close embrace. They were created by the milongueros of the 1940’s and ’50s to decorate their dance musically.

Friday, March 9th: Intermediate Level
8:30 — 10 pm: Different Energies (Rounded or Sharp) and Their Applications. Techniques of accumulation and release. Energy is an ingredient of the dance that is visible, tangible and concrete. Energy is not a philosophical idea in tango; it is a reality, necessary for the dancer to express passion, musicality and connection with his/her partner. If the dancer truly wishes to express himself he must apply this concept of energy. It is useful to think of the body as a musical instrument.
10:15 — 11:45 pm: MORE MILONGA!

Saturday, March 10th: All Levels
2 — 3:30 pm: The Porteño Way of Walking (With and Without Adornments). To understand why certain tango walks look tango, it is useful to observe the way a porteño (a person born in Buenos Aires) walks on the street as he goes about his daily business. Analyzing the mechanics and nature of this way of walking will help the leader develop a posture that will clarify his intentions while leading. This posture, characteristic of the porteño, translates into a distinctive look in the dance, simplifying the lead, while at the same time making it clearer and more effective.

Sunday, March  11th: Intermediate and Advanced Level
2 – 3:25 pm: Pasadas and Tomadas. These movements are used for musical expression and communication in tango. The proposed invitation of movement generates a follower to develop a creative and totally interactive conversation between the dancers. Imagination and improvisation are two of the factors necessary for this concept.
3:35 — 5 pm: Volcadas Milongueras. The exploration of axes and the circularity of the movement can be manipulated into lineal or circular volcadas. Discover the forces that create a volcada at any given moment.

PRICES: $25 per class, 5 – 8 classes for $22 each; 9 – 15 classes $20 each. Payment by cash, check or Paypal (call Linda to arrange).  Linda’s class cards are not accepted for visiting teachers. PRIVATE CLASSES: $120 (no studio rental fee)

FOR MORE INFO. AND RESERVATIONS: Call Linda Valentino at (323) 653-5883.
http://www.apurotango.com/visiting-teachers/40-oscar-casas-a-ana-miguel
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