Faustam fortuna adiuvat
The official blog of Fausta's Blog Talk Radio show.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Cyd Charisse
UPDATED
Musical star Charisse dies in LA Here's the BBC video tribute, which states that she took up dancing after a bout of childhood polio. She was a most exceptional dancer, in that she had perfect technique and extraordinary sex appeal.
Here she is in the perfect pas de deux with Fred Astaire, from Silk Stockings:
Dancing in the dark 'til the tune ends We're dancing in the dark and it soon ends We're waltzing in the darkness of why we're here Time hurries by, we're here and gone.
Looking for the light of a new love To brighten up the light, I have you, love, And we can face the music Dancing in the dark.
What though love is old What though song is old Through them we can be young Hear this heart of mine Make yours part of mine Dear one, tell me that we're one
Dancing in the dark 'til the tune ends We're dancing in the dark and it soon ends We're waltzing in the darkness of why we're here Time hurries by, we're here and gone
Looking for the light of a new love To brighten up the light, I have you, love, And we can face the music Dancing in the dark.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in the Tango for Parkinson's fundraiser. I ended up learning the first steps and danced for a total of four hours. It was so much fun I could have stayed for an additional four hours if I hadn't had family obligations.
Loved every minute of it.
I learned a couple of things:
You're never too old to tango, but you probably can be too young for it.
You don't get tired while learning the tango.
Never judge a guy by his cover: Young long-haired hippies, chubby old guys, nerds with thick eyeglasses and shy guys with thick foreign accents all are stars of the tango ballroom.
The most beautiful woman also does the best tango. Yes, life is so unfair.
Argentine tango is challenging because you need all your concentration.
You have to concentrate in what you're doing but at the same time you have to be totally focused on how the guy leads you.
Regardless of its image as sex-in-the-ballrom, acquiring the body memory to get to that point requires all of your mental skills. Tango might have originated in the brothels of Buenos Aires but it takes a sharp mind to get it together.
It does take two, but you have to practice your technique on your own, too
I took a couple of pictures with my new camera phone; once I figure out how to download them I'll post them here.
For those of you who want to know, I was wearing the right shoes. See below.
Here's a Reuters report on tango tourism in Buenos Aires
Here's Sally Potter:
That clip is from Potter's movie The Tango Lesson, which is the fantasy of every middle-aged woman who's had to do extensive structural repairs to her home - she gave the keys to her contractor and left for Argentina to learn the tango while the work was being done (and the work was miraculously finished - and done the right way - when she got back):
This week's shoes, for tango practice: Two of the girls who danced very well wore dansneakers
I wore the classic Capezio character shoe with a Dr. Scholl's innersole for the whole four hours, and could have lasted another four hours. There were at least ten other women (including two instructors) wearing these:
If I ever progress beyond the clunky-beginner stage I'll be looking at these, or perhaps something from FeatherLite:
What best way to start the weekend than to listen to Wednesday's podcast - my special guest was the very handsome and talented Carlos Eire, along with the equally handsome and talented Val Prieto and Siggy (who I assume is handsome, since I've never actually seen him, but who is nonetheless talented).
This would be a great weekend to read Waiting for Snow in Havana, Carlos's magnificent memoir:
Recently I've been doing the Shimmy, but after one would do well to have The flamenco mistress as a role model for women of a certain age, or maybe even a little older...
I beg to differ, Fausta. The redneck would double-tap the terrorist, keep his gun out and ready to fire until his wife pulled out her own weapon (just in case the SOB had friends), then reload while she covered him.
Fausta was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico and is a long-term resident of Princeton, New Jersey. She discusses New Jersey, taxation, current events, and how news are reported in the French and Spanish-language media at Fausta's Blog.
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