Camille Cusumano

See more details under Events, to the right:

In the eight years of my tango addiction, I have tangoed on many types of floors and surfaces, indoors and outdoors, from Paris to Prague, New York to San Francisco, Buenos Aires to Montevideo. But I have never danced on virgin redwood. Such was the case this past weekend at the lovely 124-year-old Weller House Inn in Fort Bragg (Mendocino), California. The dance salon is on the third and top floor of the inn with a high, sloping attic ceiling—also of virgin redwood!— that made the acoustic so pure, so dreamy, I kept looking around for the live acoustic performers. Every milonga has its magic, wherever two or more are gathered in its name. (I am fond of paraphrasing the Bible.) But this floor has to be one of the most superlative. I had no idea, although inkeeper and tanguera, Vivien LaMothe, has been staging events at the inn for several years now.

What drew me up to Mendocino, hallowed ground with which I’ve had an intimate relationship since 1982, was Facundo Posadas and Christy Cote’s workshops. I am working on my lead now (heaven help you all). And no one teaches body mechanics and technique more clearly, more generously, more patiently than Christy. And Facundo—is there a more charmingly disarming milonguero from Argentina? I have thought not, since the days when I still lived in Buenos Aires and got lucky at  Sunday night’s La Milonguita, where Facundo invited me to dance.

Since about 2005, when I discovered the small tightknit tango community up north, I have been enamored of every single one of its dancers. There’s a tip for those of you who feel intimidated by our big, crowded milongas in the Bay Area. Mendocino milongueros will embrace you in more ways than one, no matter your level. When local teachers Howard & Irene moved to Santa Fe last year, they handed off the teaching to Walter & Raquel, wonderful—buenisimos—dancers, both of them. And why not stay at the Weller House Inn while up there? (see info below). Vivien has a stellar lineup of tango events each month (check her calendar).

Come the Saturday night milonga, I got lucky again, when Facundo invited me to dance to Pugliese—on that floaty virgin redwood. It was awesome and as usual very relaxing. A dancer of his stature could easily make you feel on edge. Not so with Facundo. There is something humble and earthy about him. We didn’t finish the tanda though, but for good reason. Vivien brought up a tray of her homemade flan. So we dove for the ramekins. I can report that caramelized sugar is an excellent enhancement of tango.

Had I not gotten to dance with Facundo, luck was all around for me that evening anyway. I danced with every leader (some twice and thrice) in the room before the night was over. For me, greedy tango glutton, that alone is the mark of a successful milonga.  I went to bed that evening sated, with my usual tango “facelift.”

During breaks between classes, I had a chance to chat with Ching-Ping Peng, Facundo’s partner since 2007. Facundo’s longtime previous partner, Kelly, succumbed to breast cancer a few years back. I was lucky to catch Facundo & Kelly dancing in 2005, during my first visit to Buenos Aires. Like Facundo, Ching-Ping, from Taipei, is down to earth and warm. She told me how she has lived in New York, upper West Side, for 20 years. She had been a member of Cloud Gate Dance Theater, an acclaimed modern dance troupe, when in 2007 she “suddenly fell in love with Argentine tango—and in a flash abandoned a five-continent career in Chinese dance.” Sound familiar? Read more about Facundo and Ching-Ping here.

You’ll learn that Carlos Facundo Posadas (his full name) had a maternal grandfather born in the U.S. who came to Argentina as the chauffeur of a wealthy Mendoza vintner. And that Facundo is the grandson/nephew of Don Carlos Posadas, author of more than forty tangos.

Come Sunday night, it was time to head back to San Francisco. I should have been satisfied, not just with all of the above, but with the blood-oxygenating walks at Glass Beach and MacKerricher State Park. But no. There was the Sunday night milonga in Elk, just three miles off Hwy 128 on my way home. So I hit it and again danced with every leader there, including Raquel, who is among the best. Each time I tried to leave, the DJ (irascible Walter) put on Biaggi or some music that made me turn around and stay until the end. I got on the dark road after 10 pm, but the scent of tango and the redwoods and the will to live for my next tanda saw me safely home by 1:30 am.

THE WELLER HOUSE INN – You must try a Tango Getaway. Ask Vivien about Dancer’s Dorms, for ladies and gents, $50/person if 4 per room, $65/person if 3 per room

Otherwise, weekend room rates range from $160-$210 for two, including classic hot breakfast. All guest rooms have private bath and/or shower.The added inducement about the Weller House is its location on a quiet rural street in Fort Bragg, about ten miles north of the more touristy town of Mendocino (a lovely village packed with  jaw-dropping gorgeous old Queen Annes, Victorians, and other gingerbready architecture, the legacy of the 19th-to-early-20th-century lumber barons). The Weller House is rife with romance—near the Skunk Depot (a train that goes through redwoods to Willits) and it has a room in the Water Tower with an ocean view. Just as breathtaking is the inn’s decor—from Mediterranean to French, British to Asian inspired. There are fireplaces, pressed-tin walls, stained glass windows looking out to the Victorian gardens and fountain, a Jacuzzi in one room. Contact Vivien LaMothe for reservations and information: 707-964-4415; viv@whi-tango.com; wellerhouse.com.

FREE TANGO CLASS AND PRACTICA

This may be the best tango deal in town. Maestro Ivan Shvarts trained in Buenos Aires with several excellent tango teachers. I am assisting him and we’re having a ball. Although his class is promoted as tango for seniors, the classes have great talent in ages ranging from 30s to early 90s. You will never guess who’s over 80. Ivan brings in fantastic talent almost every week. Occasionally, we have a beautiful Argentine singer Roberto Traina, 80, sing original tangos to us each week after class. Kate Bernier accompanies him on piano.

WATCH A CLASS HERE!

AND HERE – TOM & CAMILLE!

Come join us – drop in – no need to have danced before. We’ll have you up and moving in one class.

“Tango Curiosity, developed by Ivan Shvarts, is the first program of its kind specializing in tango for Bay Area Seniors. Dedicated to teaching authentic Argentine tango for all skill levels and ages, Tango Curiosity currently offers classes in San Francisco, Emeryville and Redwood City.”

4321 Salem St, Emeryville, CA 94608, – Every Friday
1:00 – 2:15   Class all Levels and ages
2:15 – 3:30   Practica, No partners needed

home made lunch $3 at 12:00 for members, membership is Free

Emeryville Senior Center
4321 Salem St.
Between San Pablo & Adeline
of 43 rd. St.
Emeryville, CA

Art deco veterans building,
original hardwood floor 3000sq.f
tangocuriosity@gmail.com
www.tangocuriosity.org

GREAT NEWS! Many of you have asked and now the answer is YES! I’m teaching every Wednesday night at La Pista, 7:30 to 8:30 or later.

Beginning Lesson: $10 – 7:30 to 8:30 and sometimes later if the floor is not reserved – come by.
La Pista, downstairs studio – the door is on the ground level to the right of the main entrance.
766 Brannan
Between 6th and 7th
Nearest Bart: Powell
San Francisco, CA

I am teaching with Tom Lewis and Mila Salazaar at La Pista – info below.

It’s listed a series but drop-ins are welcome and will be taken good care of. The class is perfect for beginners and advanced beginners.

We work on technique – how to walk in tango with a partner in open or closed embrace, how to transfer your weight, and

how to be happy in tango!

Buy signed copies of Tango, an Argentina Love Story or The Last Cannoli.

$15 per book, shipping and handling included. Please email your mailing address to me after you have paid: ocaramia@me.com. Allow seven to ten days for delivery. Special, overnight delivery is available upon request, for added cost. Email your request: ocaramia@me.com.

You may also pay by check. Mail to: Camille Cusumano, P.O. Box 475099, San Francisco, CA 94147. Be sure to include your mailing address, specify how many copies of each book, and to whom you wish the books dedicated.

number of copies

one copy $15.00 two copies $30.00 three copies $45.00 four copies $60.00

At a cocktail reception and  award ceremony with Mike Rayburn entertaining.

Wells Fargo recognized me and three other Californians for doing something different and impressive—for following our passions—after age 50.

Who says quitting your day job is not advisable? I did so in 2005 when I fell head over stiletto heels in love with tango and went to live in Buenos Aires. Now I’m being rewarded by WF with a sum of cash and a party for 100 of my friends and family.

We are called Second-Half Champions.

The event took place on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 in Walnut Creek, CA at:

Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Drive
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Whether you are just getting started and want to take the plunge (into the inkwell) or need encouragement and confidence, I offer workshops to suit your and your writing group’s needs. Here is a list of several workshops I teach. Contact me for details and rates – ocaramia@earthlink.net or ocaramia@mac.com:

WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAY

1. A Thousand and One Words - Find your Writing Setpoint – Just as with body weight, we all have a writing setpoint—a natural length that suits our message and determines our ideal genre. 1,000 words is the mean, from which you assess your need to unpack and flesh out or shrink wrap and tighten. It is the naturally manageable increment to bite off and chew, whether you’re writing a short story/feature or a saga. We’ll meet four goals in this class: embracing your personal setpoint; understanding when to unpack or shrink; preserving the narrative arc, no matter what length; and writing with full confidence. All levels writers welcome.

2. Travel Memoir Writing - With the travel-writing market evolved beyond the go-here/see-this approach, personal experience and artful story in travel is more and more in demand. As a magazine editor, I successfully moved from the traditional how-to travel writing to publishing my personal experience travel stories in books and as essays in publications. I’ll help participants understand how they can do this, too. Even if you are still writing for the traditional travel outlets you can infuse your story with sparkle – snap, crackle, and pop. We’ll look at how you can satisfy the reader’s needs and still craft a story with your personal style.  All levels welcome.

3. Tap into your Autonomic Writing System - Much can be said about the Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind approach to unlocking the writer within. Now is the time to circle back to the discipline and the practice of craft—without killing the golden goose. This class is designed to tap into the autonomic system of writing—where words begin to flow and to arrive on schedule, like breath. All the while, we consider craft. The goal of this workshop is to have participants leave inspired, enthused, excited, perturbed, riled up, having tapped into their own autonomic writing system; and ready to face the empty white page, armed with their own art and skill. All levels.

4. Writing about & from loss - Many of my students found me through my memoir, TANGO, which is my writing about my own loss (and finds) through tango and Zen practice. I’ve worked with aspiring writers who were ready to face the blank page as a place of refuge after tremendous losses and grieving. When we sit down to write about our lives, pain, grief as well as bliss and contentment rise to the surface. Putting down the words gives a sense of meaning to life in dark times.