About Gabriel and Analia's last visit in April 2012.
Private classes were sold out and people bought a total of 200 workshop classes. In one week Gabriel and Analia danced in four different milongas each with a distinct character, electrifying with elegance and impeccable precision. Each performance was completely improvised to a set of different themes bringing out tango at its best. The comments were unanimous about the elegance and beauty of the art presented. A soccer professional commented: "the greatest thing I ever saw coming from Argentina since Maradona."
The tango that Gabriel Misse presented to us was possible because of the brilliant technique at its core. Gabriel has this technique through 26 years of rigorous training starting from early childhood. Learning from the legendary milongueros who have formalized the dance, his life has been entirely dedicated to tango. That's why his enrosques, agujas, lapises and all the other beautiful personal details and embellishments in his footwork have the brilliance they have.
I sincerely hope that tango danced by Gabriel Misse as an art form stays with us generation after generation. There are many difficulties though. One difficulty is that it is rare that talented kids starting at age six dedicate their entire lives to tango. That is why there are only a handful of tango dancers that have mastered tango at the level of Misse. Although it is still very rare, there is a place in the world that a kid at the age of six might have the opportunity to dedicate an entire life to tango. This unique place is Buenos Aires.
Stories about Misse are everywhere. In one private class we met a peculiar situation. One person who came for a two hour private class said that he never danced or took a tango lesson in his life. He explained his interest in tango coming from a story about Misse in one of the recent books he was reading. Roughly, it is the story of a man, never having danced tango, going on to secure a third position in Tango Mundial after continuously training with Misse for four months. Clearly the man was intrigued. Then there were all the newspaper articles about Misse that he wanted to meet Misse and try his lessons. (For every year in the last ten years Misse appeared in the cover of New York Times Arts Section promoting Argentine Tango.) So when he found out Misse was in town, he ran to take lessons from the master of tango.
After private classes and workshops were concluded people were very happy about the immense value that Misse added to their technique. Many local teachers of tango have taken private classes and participated in the workshops. Overall people are left content and perhaps a bit overwhelmed. I am personally very proud of having him in Chicago.
One person commented "To me his delivery was one of the best. A tango lesson is not a place for hand holding, excessive cheering, and other forms of political correctness. If you've come to learn, leave your pride and prejudice at the door and show some humility. Gabriel was one of the nicest, approachable, friendly, and respectful teachers I ever had a pleasure to study with. And his wealth of knowledge is immense". I would add milonga is the place where people go for having fun.
I have taken private classes with Misse as well. From my personal experience of almost ten years in tango, I can say that without the right technique it is impossible to dance tango. The technique that Misse teaches is the technique of tango. And like all good things it takes hard work. If one masters that, certainly the possibilities are limitless. Any interpretation of tango needs to have the technique of tango at its core.
Over and over again Misse said: "Please do not copy me or dance like me. Learn the technique and create your own tango."
There are great violinists. Heifetz, Milstein, Kogan to name a few. Each one of these masters of violin when playing the same notes has a different sound. We call this interpretation. When a student of violin plays the same piece the sound would be different compared to the masters. Then we don't go along and say that the student created his own interpretation of playing the violin. We say that the student must practice. It is preposterous to imagine telling Heifetz, Milstein or Kogan what they should respect about violin or music.
It is commendable that Gabriel Misse stays true to his art. And again I sincerely hope that tango precisely the way danced by Misse stays with us forever just like any other classical art. It goes without saying that every artist must master the necessary technique to their art.
Today tango has sufficient structure and a base for technique comparable to classical dances. It is very clear when one thinks of ballet. Tango is actually that clear. Yet it is very hard to find a good teacher who can teach the right technique from the beginning.
One of the great suggestions of Misse is: "When you take a class from someone watch carefully their footwork, balance, precision, elegance. Make sure the teacher knows and understands the technique and has the balance required, has precise and elegant footwork. These are the bare minimums."
If I were to take a tango class from someone, the first thing I would check out is their pivots and enrosques. A pivot is as basic as it gets and enrosque is one of the ancient tango steps. An elegant, clean and effortless enrosque requires some training and technique.
I started dancing tango in 2003 in Chicago. After dancing and practicing continuously for four years, the first time I ever heard anything about a technique in tango was in 2007 from Paola Bordon. She has put an enormous effort to promote tango. I thank Paola for introducing Gabriel Misse to Chicago and being a great host. It was a pleasure to have one of the greatest tango couples Gabriel Misse and Analia Centurion.
Baran Kovuk
Private classes were sold out and people bought a total of 200 workshop classes. In one week Gabriel and Analia danced in four different milongas each with a distinct character, electrifying with elegance and impeccable precision. Each performance was completely improvised to a set of different themes bringing out tango at its best. The comments were unanimous about the elegance and beauty of the art presented. A soccer professional commented: "the greatest thing I ever saw coming from Argentina since Maradona."
The tango that Gabriel Misse presented to us was possible because of the brilliant technique at its core. Gabriel has this technique through 26 years of rigorous training starting from early childhood. Learning from the legendary milongueros who have formalized the dance, his life has been entirely dedicated to tango. That's why his enrosques, agujas, lapises and all the other beautiful personal details and embellishments in his footwork have the brilliance they have.
I sincerely hope that tango danced by Gabriel Misse as an art form stays with us generation after generation. There are many difficulties though. One difficulty is that it is rare that talented kids starting at age six dedicate their entire lives to tango. That is why there are only a handful of tango dancers that have mastered tango at the level of Misse. Although it is still very rare, there is a place in the world that a kid at the age of six might have the opportunity to dedicate an entire life to tango. This unique place is Buenos Aires.
Stories about Misse are everywhere. In one private class we met a peculiar situation. One person who came for a two hour private class said that he never danced or took a tango lesson in his life. He explained his interest in tango coming from a story about Misse in one of the recent books he was reading. Roughly, it is the story of a man, never having danced tango, going on to secure a third position in Tango Mundial after continuously training with Misse for four months. Clearly the man was intrigued. Then there were all the newspaper articles about Misse that he wanted to meet Misse and try his lessons. (For every year in the last ten years Misse appeared in the cover of New York Times Arts Section promoting Argentine Tango.) So when he found out Misse was in town, he ran to take lessons from the master of tango.
After private classes and workshops were concluded people were very happy about the immense value that Misse added to their technique. Many local teachers of tango have taken private classes and participated in the workshops. Overall people are left content and perhaps a bit overwhelmed. I am personally very proud of having him in Chicago.
One person commented "To me his delivery was one of the best. A tango lesson is not a place for hand holding, excessive cheering, and other forms of political correctness. If you've come to learn, leave your pride and prejudice at the door and show some humility. Gabriel was one of the nicest, approachable, friendly, and respectful teachers I ever had a pleasure to study with. And his wealth of knowledge is immense". I would add milonga is the place where people go for having fun.
I have taken private classes with Misse as well. From my personal experience of almost ten years in tango, I can say that without the right technique it is impossible to dance tango. The technique that Misse teaches is the technique of tango. And like all good things it takes hard work. If one masters that, certainly the possibilities are limitless. Any interpretation of tango needs to have the technique of tango at its core.
Over and over again Misse said: "Please do not copy me or dance like me. Learn the technique and create your own tango."
There are great violinists. Heifetz, Milstein, Kogan to name a few. Each one of these masters of violin when playing the same notes has a different sound. We call this interpretation. When a student of violin plays the same piece the sound would be different compared to the masters. Then we don't go along and say that the student created his own interpretation of playing the violin. We say that the student must practice. It is preposterous to imagine telling Heifetz, Milstein or Kogan what they should respect about violin or music.
It is commendable that Gabriel Misse stays true to his art. And again I sincerely hope that tango precisely the way danced by Misse stays with us forever just like any other classical art. It goes without saying that every artist must master the necessary technique to their art.
Today tango has sufficient structure and a base for technique comparable to classical dances. It is very clear when one thinks of ballet. Tango is actually that clear. Yet it is very hard to find a good teacher who can teach the right technique from the beginning.
One of the great suggestions of Misse is: "When you take a class from someone watch carefully their footwork, balance, precision, elegance. Make sure the teacher knows and understands the technique and has the balance required, has precise and elegant footwork. These are the bare minimums."
If I were to take a tango class from someone, the first thing I would check out is their pivots and enrosques. A pivot is as basic as it gets and enrosque is one of the ancient tango steps. An elegant, clean and effortless enrosque requires some training and technique.
I started dancing tango in 2003 in Chicago. After dancing and practicing continuously for four years, the first time I ever heard anything about a technique in tango was in 2007 from Paola Bordon. She has put an enormous effort to promote tango. I thank Paola for introducing Gabriel Misse to Chicago and being a great host. It was a pleasure to have one of the greatest tango couples Gabriel Misse and Analia Centurion.
Baran Kovuk
Gabriel Misse
Acclaimed tango dancer, Gabriel Missé is one of the greatest milongueros of this generation. He began his studies of Argentine Tango at age 6 with masters such as Antonio Todaro and Pepito Avellaneda. He has performed with important artists and musicians like Julian Plaza, Colangelo, Oscar Basil, Alberto Castillo, Roberto Goyeneche, Mariano Mores, Armando Manzanero and in the highly respected “Tango x 2” Company. Further Gabriel has also choreographed the show Tango Danza.
Gabriel has been member of the jury at the World Tango Championships of Buenos Aires.
Every year Gabriel is invited to perform and teach at many festivals in Europe, Asia and North America.
Analia Centurion
Analia Centurión has been dancing classical ballet and modern dance since the age of six. She began to her tango training at the age of 16.
She has extensive experience performing and teaching tango in Argentina, North America, Europe, and Asia. Some of the tango shows she has performed in include Mora Godoy Tango Company and Juan Carlos Copes Company. In Buenos Aires she has performed at famous Tango Houses as Piazzolla Tango and La Ventana among others.
Analia was the director of "Fusión Tango", a tango company whose members were children and young adults.
She has extensive experience performing and teaching tango in Argentina, North America, Europe, and Asia. Some of the tango shows she has performed in include Mora Godoy Tango Company and Juan Carlos Copes Company. In Buenos Aires she has performed at famous Tango Houses as Piazzolla Tango and La Ventana among others.
Analia was the director of "Fusión Tango", a tango company whose members were children and young adults.