25 Tango Lessons

Andrea discovered Argentine tango in her 20s. Over the next decades it gradually changed - and in many ways became - her life. Just about everything in tango is a microcosm of life at large, and just about everything learned on the dance floor is a life lesson as well. This book is a collection of some of the most interesting and valuable things this passionate and complex dance has taught Andrea over the years she has been practising and teaching it.

A woman’s story of learning to dance, and becoming comfortable in her own skin and in the arms of others: “Witty, incisive [and] vibrantly intelligent.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Tango was an unlikely choice for Meghan Flaherty. A young woman living with the scars of past trauma, she was terrified of being touched and shied away from real passion. But by her late twenties, she knew something had to change. So she dug up an old dream and tried on her dancing shoes. In tango, there’s a leader and a follower, and, traditionally, the woman follows. As Meghan moved from beginner classes to the late-night dance halls of New York’s vibrant tango underground, she discovered that more than any footwork, the hardest and most essential lesson of the dance was to follow with strength and agency; to find her balance, regardless of the lead. And as she broke her own rule—never mix romance and tango—she started to apply those lessons in every corner of her life. Written in wry, lyrical prose, and beautifully enriched by the vivid history and culture of the dance, Tango Lessons is a transformative story of conquering your fears, living your dreams, and enjoying the dizzying freedom found in the closest embrace. “Like Sweetbitter, this is a memoir of a young woman trying to make it in contemporary New York City. Like H Is for Hawk and Julie and Julia, it is also portrait of obsession...Flaherty is self-aware and writes beautifully.”—New York Journal of Books “Flaherty's writing contains moments of real beauty.”—Newsday

From its earliest manifestations on the street corners of nineteenth-century Buenos Aires to its ascendancy as a global cultural form, tango has continually exceeded the confines of the dance floor or the music hall. In Tango Lessons, scholars from Latin America and the United States explore tango's enduring vitality. The interdisciplinary group of contributors—including specialists in dance, music, anthropology, linguistics, literature, film, and fine art—take up a broad range of topics. Among these are the productive tensions between tradition and experimentation in tango nuevo, representations of tango in film and contemporary art, and the role of tango in the imagination of Jorge Luis Borges. Taken together, the essays show that tango provides a kaleidoscopic perspective on Argentina's social, cultural, and intellectual history from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first centuries. Contributors. Esteban Buch, Oscar Conde, Antonio Gómez, Morgan James Luker, Carolyn Merritt, Marilyn G. Miller, Fernando Rosenberg, Alejandro Susti

Carla weaves her fascinating life's experiences with secrets and lessons of Tantra and Tango on a tapestry of the myth of Adam and Eve. Her wisdom touches the core of the art of intimacy.

Ted Shawn (1891-1972) is the self-proclaimed "Father of American Dance" who helped to transform dance from a national pastime into theatrical art. In the process, he made dancing an acceptable profession for men and taught several generations of dancers, some of whom went on to become legendary choreographers and performers in their own right, most notably his protégés Martha Graham, Louise Brooks, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. Shawn tried for many years and with great frustration to tell the story of his life's work in terms of its social and artistic value, but struggled, owing to the fact that he was homosexual, a fact known only within his inner circle of friends. Unwilling to disturb the meticulously narrated account of his paternal exceptionalism, he remained closeted, but scrupulously archived his journals, correspondence, programs, photographs, and motion pictures of his dances, anticipating that the full significance of his life, writing, and dances would reveal itself in time. Ted Shawn: His Life, Writings, and Dances is the first critical biography of the dance legend, offering an in-depth look into Shawn's pioneering role in the formation of the first American modern dance company and school, the first all-male dance company, and Jacob's Pillow, the internationally renowned dance festival and school located in the Berkshires. The book explores Shawn's writings and dances in relation to emerging discourses of modernism, eugenics and social evolution, revealing an untold story about the ways that Shawn's homosexuality informed his choreographic vision. The book also elucidates the influences of contemporary writers who were leading a radical movement to depathologize homosexuality, such as the British eugenicist Havelock Ellis and sexologist Alfred Kinsey, and conversely, how their revolutionary ideas about sexuality were shaped by Shawn's modernism.

From the Oscar-winning blockbustersAmerican BeautyandShakespeare in Loveto Sundance oddities likeAmerican MovieandThe Tao of Steve, to foreign films such asAll About My Mother, the latest volume in this popular series features a chronological collection of facsimiles of every film review and awards article published inThe New York Timesbetween January 1999 and December 2000. Includes a full index of personal names, titles, and corporate names. This collection is an invaluable resource for all libraries.

An ultra-useful guide that brings together all the information necessary to enjoy the waterfront, in a compact, well-organized form - Phillip Lopate, author of Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan Use this guide to discover the beaches, boardwalks, historic sites, and marine attractions, as well as the limitless opportunities for waterside fun, dining, and adventure in the five boros of New York. Designed for travelers and locals, alike, Going Coastal New York City offers the best, most comprehensive information on what's happening along New York City's over 500 miles of coastline.