in memoriam - info

my infatuation into an obsession. I believemy frank approach on our first encounter– when I admitted my inexperience(which some told me should prevent mefrom taking his workshops) – lead to anendearing relationship. While I often heard“seasoned” attendees at tango festivalswhere Gavito was teaching complain abouthis ‘lectures on true milonguero style’, Inever tired of listening to him; Gavito’spassion for the romanticism of tango wasevidenced in his words as well as his dance.My only point of difference with him is thatI still haven’t learned to sit – rather thandance – in anticipation of or in ecstasy fromthat perfect tango. When I do have thosemoments, I know Gavito is present in myheart and soul … and feet.Phoebe J. GrantIt was 1996. We had been dancing tango fora few years, and struggling like everybodyelse. Up to that point, Chicago had been atango orphan . We had had a few visitingteachers like Daniel and Maria, and thefamous Northwestern University TangoFest, but instruction-wise, we were lacking.Then Forever Tango came into town andwith it came this guy Carlos Gavito. Wedecided to take a class with him just tocheck it out. One class was all it took forus to get completely hooked. His elegance,his attitude, his almost cockiness weredrawing. When he walked, he seemedto just float and move effortlessly withMarcela, his partner. Suffice it to say thatafter that moment my tango life changedradically. I started to take at least oneprivate class a week and to soak in as muchmaterial as possible from this seeminglyendless source of knowledge.His teaching style was aggressive andimpatient. There was nothing relaxed aboutit. He came to teach, and you were thereto learn. But he also was giving and wouldnot let you be mediocre. He demanded alot from those he felt were serious abouttango, and I was one of them. He taught mea lot more than just doing steps; he taughtme to love and respect tango. We talkedat length about the tango culture and thetango codes. Today when people ask mewhy I am such a traditionalist, the answer isbecause I learned it from him.Perhaps the best lesson he taughtme was done one night at my home afterdinner over a couple of drinks. He leanedover and said, “Tango should be about thewoman NOT about you. If you make herlook good, you’ll look like a million bucksyourself.”The second best lesson was when hewas angry at some other students, and heturned to me and said, “al tango hay queesperarlo, hay que tener vivencias antes deentenderlo (one has to wait for tango, youmust have lived and had many experiencesbefore you can start to understand it).” It isa process that can not be rushed.In my humble opinion, Gavito was thebest tango dancer I ever saw. His walkingtechnique was unique, and he couldmanage to make any woman look like thebest dancer in the world. I feel very luckyto have had such a master for a teacher.We truly lost a great master. I’d like toclose by raising my glass and saying, “CiaoCarlos”.Fred RomeroFaces and personalities usually go byunnoticed in a crowd. Suddenly someonedistinguished captures your attentionfor a moment. And for a long time youmemorize that face, look and walk andbelieve that you would recognize thatperson anywhere.Being in “Tango…Nada Mas” for thefirst time we noticed a photograph of acouple in gracious tango posture. It seemsthat the image in my memory gets evenclearer in my mind through time.One night after a couple of years ofclasses and milongas Bob Dronski called at11:00 pm, “Gavito is in town and will giveworkshops!”It was a big thrill for us. We werealmost as excited as we were at ourfirst visit to a milonga. The three daysof workshops went fast. We were veryfortunate to have a chance to try andunderstand Gavito walk, Gavito cross,and Gavito lead. The Maestro shared hispassion, love and “una emocion”. Thosewere the hours when we learned someuniversal rules of movement that we willuse for the rest of our tango life.Gavito was not only a perfect dancerbut also a very good teacher. We didn’tget to know him personally, but fromthe stories told by our teachers Bob andKathleen we understand that his entirelife belonged to tango. He was one of thebrightest flames of the tango fire and burnthimself up in this passionate dance.The maestro, the legend… we areproud and honored that you shared yourtalent with us.Ellen and OlegThe first time I saw Carlos Gavito wasin the Forever Tango show in Chicago inthe mid ‘90’s. I had been studying tangofor a short time and was so inspired bythe sensual elegance of his tango with hispartner Marcela Durán. I felt the purposeof the tango music in the way he expressedthe musicality in his connection to andinteraction with Marcela. Needless to sayI studied as much as I could with the manwho exemplified the essence of tango.Dan ByrnesA number of years ago Facundo and KelyPosadas were in town. Les and I were givingthem a ride home after a workshop. Kelyand I were sitting in the back seat talkingabout Gavito, his dancing, his workshops,etc. The three of them had grown uptogether, so they knew Gavito VERY well– his charming ways, his love of the ladieset al. With a twinkle in my eye I leanedover to Kely and said in a conspiratorialtone, “We think Gavito also is a ‘bad boy’.”(“bad boy” meaning a flirt, a girl in everycity, etc.). Kelly took a second or twoto work through the translation of “badboy” and then laughed. She translated theconversation to Facundo up in the frontseat. He also laughed and totally agreedthat Gavito was indeed a “bad boy” in thebest sense of the phrase.Jan Carpenteraugust 2005 • tango noticias 7