[HouTango-L] Recommendations: Aurora Lubiz and Jorge Firpo at Metatango

[A. Lester Buck III]

As the Metatango 2004 Festival cranks up this coming week, I wanted to
pass along two personal recommendations for Aurora and Jorge, one from
Prof. Julie Taylor, tango scholar extraordinaire, and the second from
myself, as I wrote back in July 2002 for their appearance in the World
Tango Festival in Buenos Aires.


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Prof. Julie Taylor writes from Buenos Aires:

Subject: Aurora Lubiz and Jorge Firpo
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 23:57:46 -0600

Lester, I hope you can forward this to Texas Tangueros! I suddenly
realized the Firpo/Lubiz team is about to take off for Houston!
I hadn't realized it was so soon, and thought I should write to
say how excited I am for the tango community in TX!  I am sure
that everyone involved in this event is of the highest quality,
but for Jorge Firpo and Aurora Lubiz, I can provide specifics,
as they have been my teachers for the last few years.   Let me
just say, that they are breathtaking in performance, and  they
are wonderful, wonderful teachers.  The milonga with Jorge is
like a dazzling museum of rhythms. . . you just have to fall
back and wonder where they all come from.  And Aurora is the
most insightful teacher for women's technique that I have ever
come across.  These are just two of their many facets. . . Since
working with Jorge and Aurora, I've had fantastic experiences --
like being cast in films and dancing and teaching with the best
dancers in Buenos Aires. . . I still have to work at it, but ----
it's all a joy. DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER NOT TO MISS THIS
TERRIFIC OPPORTUNITY!   Hope I'm not being heavy-handed, but it
would be worse if I don't even try!  ENJOY abrazos tangueros Julie


J. M. Taylor
Department of Anthropology
Rice University
6100 Main Street
Houston, TX 77005

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And here is what I wrote two years ago:

On a personal note, I can vouch for the quality of one of the
instructor couples.  On the home page,
http://www.worldtangofestival.com.ar/, there is a picture of a tango
couple, but with the heads blurred so as not to make them too
recognizable.  This couple is Aurora Lúbiz & Jorge Firpo, and they
have a short bio on the instructor page.  On one of my visits to
Buenos AIres, my former girlfriend Lorena Teston and I were looking
for a tango class (for me, not for her!) one weeknight and she knew
Aurora & Jorge, so we went to their class.  Since they didn't know me,
I was sent to the beginners section of their three levels of class,
but Lorena managed to get me into the intermediate class.  Jorge was
quite a good instructor.  Oddly enough, Lorena still thought of them
as very traditional instructors but they were also moving toward
teaching a milonguero/close embrace style, responding to local demand
I suppose.  When class was over, the thirty odd students from the
separate classes collected into a central courtyard.  Aurora & Jorge
told us that were doing a full blown tango show several times each
week, and they gave away a ticket to the show.  I have to admit that
tango shows, per se, don't normally get me too excited, since I would
rather dance myself than sit and watch someone else.  Nevertheless,
Aurora & Jorge then said they wanted to perform one song from their
show just for their students.  Well, I was speechless when they were
done.  Part of the effect was being so close, no more than ten or
fifteen feet which, of course, never happens in a theatre.  They were
simply amazing!  Easily the best tango dancing I have ever seen.  I
would have gone to their show, but I was heading home before they
performed again.


And now, two years later, Orlando Budini and Metatango has brought
them to Houston!!  Don't miss Aurora and Jorge at Metatango.  They are
terrific teachers and performers - be sure to experience both.


All the details about Metatango 2004 are at their website:

http://www.metatango.com/


Best regards,

Lester