tangophilia blog

Commentary and announcements about tangophilia and Argentine Tango.

Tango y Independencia

I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July y un feliz Nueve de Julio!

I had a terrific time at the Chicago Tango Week. It’s a fun event, well-organized, and the teaching staff were superb. I not only had the pleasure of DJing the Closing Milonga till 4:30am Monday morning, but also was fortunate to be able to partner with Melanie Klarics of Chicago for an impromptu demonstration at the Saturday night milonga. You might want to put it on your schedule for next 4th of July weekend.

This weekend is a full one!

Tonight, I’ll be the featured guest at Mister Diplomat at the Dirty South Improv Comedy Theater in Carrboro. The show is FREE, is apparently standing room only, and the line starts a little after 8 for the 9:30 show. Here’s how they describe the show, “Diplomat features true stories told by one of the performers, a local celebrity or special guest. Anecdotes inspire a world of absurd scenes, fully improvised by the most aggressive improv comedians in North Carolina.” I’m expecting it to be a lot of fun! After the show, I’ll be heading straight over to ….

…Eduardo and Dan’s milonga at Metro 8, from 9:30pm - 2am, no cover charge, but please purchase food and drink to encourage the restaurant to keep supporting tango. This milonga will be held on second Fridays through the summer, then likely go into hibernation for the fall, so don’t miss it.

Also this weekend…

Of course, since a lot of people, including myself, are going to be at the Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne Weekend in Atlanta July 17 - Sun July 20, I’m going to be cancelling the 3rd Saturday Milonga at Helios Annex. However, there is an alternative event that night that you might want to attend…

Saturday, July 19th at the NC Museum of Art is a Music/Movie Combo, entitled “Paris Dreams", featuring Les Primitifs du Futur, an ensemble that evokes “the romantic sounds of pre-WWII Parisian dancehalls. It’s a magical, transporting swirl of Gypsy jazz, tango, waltz, rhumba, and other dance rhythms that will banish your every care. These wonderful musicians make beautiful traditional and original music on accordion, sax, xylophone, guitar, even the musical saw and theremin!". Following the music will be two classic short films of French cinema, “The Red Balloon” and “The White Mane".

For something more literary, our local tanguero and author Lewis Shiner will be doing some signings of his new novel Black & White (LA Times Review), a page turner that deals with Durham’s historic Hayti neighborhood. He’ll be conducting signings tonight (July 11) at 7pm at The Regulator Bookshop on Ninth Street in Durham, Sunday 13 July at 3pm at Malaprops in Asheville, and Wednesday 23 July at 7pm at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. I also wanted to personally applaud and thank Lewis and his publisher, Subterranean Press, for releasing his publications online under a Creative Commons license, in DRM-free electronic formats. Bravo and congrats!

Coming up on the travel and events calendar:

Finally, for those of you that have been asking about the music in classes, I apologize for not having CDs in inventory lately, but fortunately, Amazon has started offering more and more tango music. For example, Carlos Di Sarli - RCA Victor 100 Anos is the CD that I use for all the foundations classes. Even cooler, Amazon started offering DRM-free MP3s, of great orquestas like Carlos Di Sarli. Enjoy!

Posted By: jason @ 20080711 12:10
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First Tango in Le Paris

Would you like a fun opportunity to give back to the community?

Le Paris Spa is hosting a special Tango Night on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 at 7:00pm to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  There will be demonstrations of Argentine Tango, and after the main events, social dancing for the rest of the evening.  So tell all your friends to join you on that Saturday evening for Tango!

Tango Benefit Show and Social Dance:

Entrance fee: $15 for single, $25 for couples
All proceeds will go toward supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Highlights: 

  • 15% of the value of all Le Paris Spa gift certificates purchased on that evening will be donated.
  • 15% discount off all retail products.
  • Silent Auction Including:
    • L’Arc de Triomphe Package from Le Paris Spa
    • 3 Gift Certificate to Ideas Coffee House
    • Gift Basket and Concert Tickets to Durham Symphony Orchestra
    • Tangophilia Gift Certificate
    • An Autographed Duke Basketball

Please call Le Paris Spa @ (919)806-0353 to make your reservations.

Sponsored by:

  • Le Paris Spa
  • Tangophilia
  • Ideas! Coffee House
  • Durham Symphony Orchestra 

Address:
Posted By: jason @ 20071102 15:31


Argentine Tango and Modern Dance at American Dance Festival

Jason Laughlin & Gulden Ozen will be dancing to Astor Piazzolla’s music ("Tango Etude" and "Oblivion") performed live by "The Free Spirits" of  the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra as a part of the American Dance Festival’s "Acts to Follow" series on Saturday June 30th, at 8pm, at Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University, East Campus.

Jason & Gulden have performed with members of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra three times since 2000 and their continued collaboration has led to this performance of live music and improvisational tango as part of Acts to Follow. In 2006, Jason & Gulden appeared in Acts to Follow in a collaborative piece called “Intersection", an improvisational fusion of tango and modern dance, performed with Choreo Collective.

There’s more to Argentine culture than tango, of course, and the American Dance Festival is also featuring an Argentine Festival:July 5-7. From their website: The international explosion of modern dance has reached far into Argentina. This season ADF will present five works, including four U.S. premieres and one reconstruction, by some of Argentina’s most heralded young dance artists. Krapp, the dance theater company that made is first ADF appearance in 2004, presents OLYMPICA, a new work, that explores the complexities of success. Other works include Susana Tambutti’s highly acclaimed solo, The Stab (1985), Edgardo Mercado’s Plano Difuso (2006), Compañía Contenido Bruto’s Kevental (2006), and Gabriela Prado’s & Eugenia Estévez’s Llueve (2004). This festival within a festival will include two performances at 7:30 and 9:30 pm each evening.

Posted By: jason @ 20070622 0:18
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Memphis, TN: Tango Fundamentals series starts March 27, 6:30-8pm, at Quetzal

A new beginner’s series will start tuesday March 27 , 6:30-8pm.
4 weeks of Tango Fundamentals

The class will be followed by a supervised practica, 8-9:50pm
All levels are welcome.

Registration and info: georgeta@tangophilia.com, or
919-357-6886

Join in for dance, music and a friendly atmosphere.

Quetzal Internet Cafe
668 Union Ave
Memphis, TN , 38103
Map:http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=668+Union+Ave,+Memphis,+TN+38103

Posted By: georgeta @ 20070313 12:19
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Memphis, TN: Tango classes resume at Quetzal

A new beginner’s series will start tuesday August 8, 6:30-8pm
The class will be followed by a supervised practica, 8-9:50pm
Please note the change from mondays to tuesdays
Join in for music , for dance, for a relaxed atmosphere
Registration and info: georgeta@tangophilia.com, or 919-357-6886, or 901-528-1684 ( leave message)

Posted By: georgeta @ 20060807 21:23
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Memphis, TN- Summer break until August

Dear Tango aficionados:

We’ll take a summer break as I will be traveling and dancing in Europe.

ALL Tangophilia tango activities in Memphis ( both Harbor of Health and
Quetzal Cafe venues) will resume in August.

Wishing you a great summer and prepare your calendars for more tango
activities to come.

I am looking forward to seeing you all in August

Georgeta

Posted By: georgeta @ 20060619 10:54
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Memphis, TN-Mud Island – one more location for Tango lessons

Tangophilia is pleased to offer a new series of Tango Fundamentals lessons on one more location in Memphis, TN, on Wednesdays from 7-8pm at Harbor of Health Wellness Center on Mud Island. This series will start June 7, 2006 and will run for 4 weeks.

All the administrative issues, including registration and class fees are handled by Harbor of Health. For registration, please contact Harbor of Health by June 5, 2006( see contact info below). Registration is not limited to the club members; anybody can register for the Tango Class!

For issues regarding the type of dance and our teaching philosophy and class details, feel free to contact Georgeta by E-mail ( georgeta@tangophilia.com) or by phone ( 901-528-1684 leave msg, or 919-357-6886).

Harbor of Health Wellness Center has a beautiful brand new hardwood floor, and a modern, elegant and pleasant environment. It is also the only place to dance on Mud Island. Come join us in learning how to dance Argentine Tango and discover a dance like no other.

Georgeta

Harbor of Health
718 Harbor Bend Road
Memphis, TN 38103
info@harborofhealth.com
Wellness Center: (901) 522-1559
http://www.harborofhealth.com/index.htm

Posted By: georgeta @ 20060522 21:06
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Memphis,TN- No class Apr3. Next series starts Apr 10

A new 4-week series of Tango Fundamentals will start monday, Apr 10
Location and time: our usual tango place: Quetzal Cafe, 6:30-8pm
Click on Classes for more info.

Due to the instructor’s travel, there will be no class monday Apr 3.

I am looking forwad to seeing you all on the dance floor, Monday Apr 10

Posted By: georgeta @ 20060331 0:37
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Memphis, TN- March 24th , 7pm. Intro lesson at Harbor of Health

Friday, March 24, 2006, 7-8pm. Intro lesson at Harbor of Health.

This lesson is intended to provide you with the basic concepts of Argentine Tango dancing, and to offer you a “feel” of the typical steps and techniques encountered in social dancing.

Come to Harbor of Health Tango lesson and bring some friends over. This “Tango in a nutshell’ will give you the opportunity to decide if you want to explore this fascinating dance in more depth. Once you’ll get to know it, chances are you will never give it up.

For more info email: georgeta@tangophilia.com or call 919-357-6886

Harbor of Health is located in Harbor Town on Mud Island, across from Miss Cordelia.
http://www.harborofhealth.com
ph:901-522-1555

Club members and non-members are equally welcome.

Posted By: georgeta @ 20060321 14:54
Comments Off | Category: General, Announcements

Regional Tango Weekend featuring Alex Krebs

Our 3rd Regional Tango Weekend in 2005 will be bringing together many tangueros from the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states including some fellow instructors from different cities and states. Many of our regulars will be back, too! Please do not miss the early registration deadline, May 4, in order to get the discount pricing for the weekend’s festivities.

We are fortunate to have found an opening in Alex Krebs’ schedule to be able to bring him back to North Carolina! Alex will be teaching six classes during our Regional Tango weekend! Learn more about Alex at
Tango Berretin.

The weekend will also have two milongas with different flavors

  • Friday night, May 13, we’ll start with workshops and later continue on with our first Regional Milonga of the weekend at the Triangle Dance Studio! Our DJ will be Jason Laughlin.
  • Saturday night offers a catered Thai dinner followed by demos and a great milonga with traditional, contemporary and alternative tangos by one of the best DJs in the US: Alex Krebs!

Saturday’s Regional practica will allow you to practice with many different partners with different backgrounds from all over our region and beyond. Jackie Ling Wong, a favorite DJ and instructor from the Massachusetts/Connecticut area, will be our DJ for this practica. Learn more about Jackie at http://www.tangopulse.net.

The Practica/brunch on Sunday is a great way to keep practicing with a wonderful group of people while enjoying the home-made food at Triangle Dance Studio!

May 13, Friday

  • 7:00 - 8:15pm Class 1: Close embrace technique and combinations (All Levels)
  • 8:30 - 9:45pm Class 2: Musicality - Beyond the Basic rhythm (Int.)
  • 10:00pm - 2:00am Regional MILONGA 1

May 14, SATURDAY

  • 11:30am - 12:45pm Class 3: Milonga Traspie explained (All Levels)
  • 1:00 - 2:15pm Class 4: Musicality - Dancing to the melody (Int.)
  • 2:15 - 3:00pm Lunch Break (group lunch provided at TDS, RSVP required!
  • 3:00 - 5:30pm Regional Practica
  • 5:30 - 8:0pm Break
  • 8:00 - 9:30pm Group Dinner
  • 9:30pm - 3:00am Regional Milonga

May 15, SUNDAY

  • 11:30am - 1:30pm Regional PRACTICA/BRUNCH
  • 1:30 - 2:45pm Class 5: Musicality - Adding dynamics to your dance (Int.)
  • 3:00 - 4:15pm Class 6: Refining your dance (Int.)

Pricing:

The Early Registration Deadline is Wednesday , May 4th. To qualify for the Early Registration Discount, payments should be received on or by this date whether you mail a check or use Paypal.

This event is part of a series of events being held for our second Regional Weekend of 2005.

Visit these pages for more information about the Regional Weekend events with Alex Krebs.

To register or purchase tickets for these events email gulden@tangophilia.com or tel: 919-361-5145 or 919-423-7681 before sending any payments. We will do our best to maintain gender balance at our events. Registrations are not completed until you receive confirmation from us!

Payment may be made by cash, check, credit card, or Paypal. To pay with a Credit Card, you MUST pay via this site by clicking prices below to add them to your shopping cart. Transactions will be processed via Paypal. We cannot accept credit card payments via email, over the phone, or in person.
Checks should be made out to JASON LAUGHLIN and mailed to 5814 Henner Pl, Durham, NC 27713.

Refund Policy

  • Before the early registration deadline: We can refund the full payment.
  • Before the date of the event (class, practica or milonga): We can refund 50% of the payment for events that you will not be able to attend. For a refund, you must contact us at Tangophilia at 919-361-5145 or 919-423-7681 24 hours before the date of the event.
  • NO REFUNDS will be given if you cannot attend the event but tell us on or after the date of the event.

Accommodation

We have limited availability for accommodation with the local tangueros. Please let us know as soon as possible if you’d like us to find you a local host.

If you’d like to stay in a hotel we recommend the La Quinta in RTP based on the very positive feedback we’ve heard from past Regional Tango Weekend participants.
La Quinta Inn and Suites Raleigh Research Park

1910 West Park Drive
Durham, North Carolina 27713
Phone: (919) 484-1422
Fax: (919) 484-1423

Prices

After Early Reservation Deadline:

  • Package 1 (All Events Plus Meals – includes 6 Classes + 2 Milongas + 2 Practicas + Saturday lunch and dinner + Sunday Brunch):

    • Tangophilia or College Students: $175
    • All Others: $200
  • Package 2 (Friday and Saturday Events, No Meals – includes 6 Classes + 2 Milongas + Saturday Practica only):
    • Tangophilia or College Students: $135
    • All Others: $155
  • A La Carte:
    • Tangophilia or College Students:

      • Per Class ($20 each): Fri1,Fri2,Sat3,Sat4,Sun5,Sun6
      • Friday Milonga: $12
      • Saturday Lunch: $8
      • Saturday Practica: $12
      • Saturday Milonga With Dinner (Catered Thai Dinner, Soft Drinks, Dessert and Wine): $40
      • Saturday Milonga Only (including Dessert and Wine): $15
      • Sunday Practica With Brunch: $18
    • All Others:
      • Per Class ($25 each): Fri1,Fri2,Sat3,Sat4,Sun5,Sun6
      • Friday Milonga: $15
      • Saturday Lunch: $8
      • Saturday Practica: $15
      • Saturday Milonga With Dinner (Catered Thai Dinner, Soft Drinks, Dessert and Wine): $45
      • Saturday Milonga Only (including Dessert and Wine): $18
      • Sunday Practica With Brunch: $20

Posted By: jason @ 20050425 23:48
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New Options for Private Tango Lessons

We’re offering some new payment and scheduling options for private tango lessons that we hope you’ll find both convenient and affordable.

The highlights are as follows:

  • Base pricing is simplified a little bit.
  • We’ve clarified the payment options for Pay As You Go or Prepaid lessons.
  • You can now create private small-group lessons for up to 6 people.
  • We are making available some lunchtime time slots for private lessons during weekdays.

You can view the details on our private lessons page.

Posted By: Jason @ 20050322 0:56
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Full Schedule for Regional Weekend in Wilmington

January 28-30, Tangophilia will be moving our Regional Weekend of Argentine Tango to Wilmington, NC. So far we’ve got over 40 people attending this event, traveling from as far north as Virginia Beach, VA and as far south as Tampa, FL.

Here’s the schedule.

Friday 28 January 2005
8:00 - 9:00pm Introductory Lesson (taught by Tangophilia instructors) for newcomers and beginners
9:00pm-1:00am Milonga

Saturday 29 January 2005
11:00am-12:30pm Workshop - “Navigational tools, musicality and
creativity on the social dance floor” for dancers with some experience
(taught by Tangophilia instructors)
12:30-2:30pm Group Lunch at the Vi�t Bistro, College Rd.
3:00-6:00pm Regional Practica
8:30pm-2:00am Catered Dinner + Demos + Milonga

Sunday 30 January 2005
11:00am-3:00pm Tango Brunch/Practica
3:00-5:00pm Tango Workshop for Local students

Posted By: Jason @ 20050124 1:44
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Classes Cancelled Wednesday 19 Jan 2005

Due to the weather in Durham, we’ve decided to go ahead and cancel the Foundations and Intermediate Tango Classes and Practica this evening. No reason to risk people slipping around on some snowy and icy roads (and even if you’re fine driving on it, there are plenty of other people around you who aren’t ;-)…). The 2nd classes of these series will be held next Wednesday, Jan 26th, and the classes will be extended one week to end on Feb 9th. Stay warm.

Posted By: Jason @ 20050119 14:49
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Dance Gumbo Tonight

We’ll be dropping by Jack Wolf’s Dance Gumbo tonight to encourage them to play some more Argentine Tango in the mix. The Dance Gumbo is an event DJ’d by Jack Wolf in which you can expect the widest variety of dances throughout the evening. Jack will play EC Swing, WC Swing, waltz, cha-cha, zydeco, tango, salsa, merengue, and other dance music to keep the eclectic crowd moving. The dance will be held at Triangle Dance Studio. There’s some kind of intro lesson at 8pm and dancing starts at 8:30 and continues well past midnight.

Posted By: Jason @ 20050107 18:59
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Tango All-Night (and an Afternoon)

This weekend, don’t forget two great opportunities to tango! Friday night, come to the All-Night Milonga at Casa de Tango, and plan on dancing until 5am!

If you’re looking to kick-start your tango or brush up on some details, then you can come to the Sunday afternoon Foundation Workshop at Montas. Register by Friday for a discount!

Posted By: jason @ 20040624 23:34

2nd Regional Practica and Workshops with Jak, June 11-13

There’s going to be a lot of activity this weekend! This weekend features a series of Workshops with Jak Karako being held Friday,
Saturday,
and Sunday. Saturday, June 12th also features our Second Regional Practica and a
Milonga and Dinner at Tallula’s. Sunday starts with our Tango Brunch at Casa de Tango.

Visit the detailed event descriptions to learn more and to register for these events. The events are priced as two separate groups of events: the workshops in one group, and the Regional Practica, Milonga and Brunch are another group. Keep in mind that if you wish to register for the entire weekend of events, you should register for both groups.

Posted By: jason @ 20040607 1:24

Two New Foundations Classes in June

Two choices for Argentine Tango Foundations classes start this week. This Thursday, June 10th, catch the Foundation Series at the Durham Arts Council or show up Friday, June 11th for the Foundation Series at Ninth Street.

Posted By: jason @ 20040607 0:21

Night of the Living DJs this Saturday

We won’t be hosting the All-Night Milonga this month, but there’s still plenty of dancing to be done at the Night of the Living DJs organized and hosted by Jack Wolf! I’ll be DJ’ing a mix of classic and modern Argentine Tango, milonga, vals and latin from 9-10:30pm on the downstairs of Triangle Dance Studio.

Posted By: jason @ 20040527 17:06

Weekend with Fabian Salas and Carolina del Rivero

DSCN5978crop.jpg
The special weekend with Fabian and Carolina happens in less than two weeks!

Don’t miss this opportunity to study with masters of Argentine Tango. Fabian Salas is one of the individuals most responsible for bringing about a renaissance in Argentine Tango, changing how people dance, study, teach and understand the Tango.

The weekend of May 14-16 includes the following events:

Posted By: jason @ 20040503 5:04

New Class Series Week of May 3rd

The week of May 3 has two new intermediate series starting.

Monday nights will focus on Single Axis Turns and Colgadas. These are techniques in which the leader will step around the axis of the follower and/or invite the follower off-axis away from the leader while counterbalancing her weight.

Wednesday nights will focus on Calesitas and Volcadas in which the follower is invited off-axis towards the leader.

If you’re looking for a Foundations series to join, it’s not too late to join the Friday Foundations Series at Ninth Street Dance. The next Thursday night Foundations series at Montas Lounge starts on May 13th.

Posted By: jason @ 20040503 3:29

Regional Practica, Milonga and Brunch This Weekend!

This weekend is North Carolina’s first Regional Practica. People are coming from all over the southeast to practice their tango skills and share their tango knowledge. Later that evening, come participate a special Dinner and Milonga at Cafe Parizade, then enjoy a tango brunch at Casa de Tango on Sunday afternoon! Click through to the pages for pricing and registration. Questions? Email us or call 919-423-7681.

Posted By: jason @ 20040409 11:23

New Classes This Week

Starting Tonight (Wed, March 3), at 6:30pm a new Foundations Series at Triangle Dance Studio.

Due to last week’s snow, we rescheduled the Foundations Workshop at Montas Lounge to this Friday, March 5th (Corrected to March FIFTH, not SIXTH, sorry for the confusion - Jason). The workshop runs from 6-8pm, and the prices have dropped! Register online now!

Posted By: jason @ 20040303 1:48

Carolina y Diego in the Press

The weekend events with Carolina Zokalski and Diego Di Falco had some great mentions in the local press this week!
(more…)

Posted By: jason @ 20040124 3:12

Weekend of Tango in Tampa, 13-15 Feb 2004

We’re going to be escorting a small group of people down to Tampa, Florida for the 7th Annual Weekend of Tango in Tampa organized by Victor Crichton. The weekend will be held 13-15 February, 2004, and will feature full sets workshops by Carolina Zokalski y Diego di Falco of Forever Tango, as well as Fernanda Ghi y Guillermo Merlo of Tango Dreams! In addition to the Friday and Saturday milongas, the weekend culminates in a huge show Sunday night at the historic Centro Asturiano in Ybor City. The evening includes a full dinner, dancing in a grand ballroom with live music, and a full show (almost 2 hours!) of dance performances, a live tango orchestra, and tango singers.

This will be our 4th visit to tango in Tampa, and our 3rd specifically for this event! We highly recommend it as an opportunity to study with wonderful instructors, meet and dance with new people, enjoy a spectacular show, and of course, escape the NC winter! Details for the Weekend of Tango in Tampa are available at Victor’s Tampa Tango website.

Posted By: jason @ 20031230 4:06

Information about CITA, 14-21 March 2004

Here’s the scoop on the 6th annual Congreso Internacional de Tango Argentino (CITA) which will take place in Buenos Aires during the week of March 14-21, 2004.
(more…)

Posted By: jason @ 20031230 3:48

Changes to Classes

We’re making some changes to the classes in 2004. The Foundations and Intermediate Classes are being reorganized to make classes more convenient for students and help students retain material by providing more continuity from week to week. Read on for the details!
(more…)

Posted By: jason @ 20031225 3:43

Mailing List Changes

There are going to be a lot of changes made in 2004, and some of them
are starting now.

One of these changes is in the organization and usage of the tangophilia
announcements list. I’m going to be moving the tangophilia
announcements list (tangophilia@yahoogroups.com) off of the Yahoo Groups
service and onto my own server. Some of my reasons are the increasing
limitations that Yahoo is placing on the Groups service, as well as
Yahoo’s tendency toward more and more marketing messages to people that
don’t manually opt-out of all the marketing preferences that Yahoo likes
to push.

My other reasons are to be able to provide more relevant information to
the people that want it. While some of you may want to see
announcements on everything tango related, some only want to see info on
classes, or else just music events, or just workshops. Some of you are
subscribed to multiple lists and see some duplication, while some of you
miss out on a lot because you rely only on one list. My solution is to
move the list to my own server, and to provide other lists that are more
tailored to specific interests. You can sign up for the all-inclusive
list or opt to subscribe only to those lists that are most relevant to
your interests.
(more…)

Posted By: jason @ 20031224 1:10