Welcome to Lizzy's Log

This blog started accidentally and rapidly took on a life of its own. Lizzy is a social dancer, inhabiting the space between dance and dreams.


22 Apr 2010

Deep, dark magic

Shrewsbury Milonga came and went. The magic of the night carried us away and Eduardo and I had no time to do the interview (A glimpse of his cellar) . We decided to catch up by phone. Eduardo promised to wear his best shirt. Assured, I waited by the phone at the allotted time. True to his word he called. I started at the beginning ofcourse..

Liz: Eduardo, when do you remember first hearing tango?

Ed: As a kid, it was in the air you know, from when I was small it was the music of the city. We breathed, the air was full of music. Tango is a celebration.

Liz: and the celebration, what is it that you do?…

Ed: I call them to dance. Sometimes it’s the beat, sometimes the melody,the violin, the piano.You can just be taken by the atmosphere of the track…I start with a playlist but I get possessed and it becomes very fluid. I assess the dance floor, it intrigues me, like reading a novel entering the spirit of the night. I use that to create a dialectic between the dancers and myself. It’s an arrangement. You have to dance a narrative through the whole night. I don’t like the rigidity of a concept I don’t use a structured way

Liz: So you don’t play cortinas? (giggle)

Ed: No I don’t do cortinas. Often when I dance I pay no attention to the tandas.When something comes on that grabs my attention I want to dance. I don’t listen to whether its number one of a tanda or number three. It's irrelevant.

Liz: So what inspires you?..

Ed: When people enjoy themselves, letting themselves go, not caring about what other people think... I like the natural..

Liz:...and what music sets your skin tingling and your feet swimming?

Ed: Ah that is the essence of my craft. To delight, to excite, and entertain I keep a night of total surprise. When people come and want to know what a track is or have my playlist its like a child trying to pull apart a spider to see how it works. What makes the spider has gone already and nothing is left of the spider.To have that moment when you hear a strain of music and it intrigues you is my craft, to give it away, is to spoil the anticipation and the pleasure. Like a magician sharing the secret of conjuring. I wear no suit no hat, my way is unconventional. Some people curse me.