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Photos: first Tangueria of 2012

Peter — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:44:57 +0000

My first Tangueria of the year: meeting a lot of friends, taking pictures of some of my favourite models, and some nice dancing to the music of DJ Stephan. Life is good.

Full album here: Tangueria

Photos: Gran Milonga in Brugge

Peter — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:04:28 +0000

In the beautiful foyer of the 1869 Brugse Stadsschouwburg, there was an equally classy milonga, organized by Pasos de Brujas. The planned demo by Alma & Aldo had been cancelled, but we were lucky to have Sonja & Sven and their mentors Marisa & Oliver in the milonga, who gave us a double demo.

DJ Marie-Jeanne entertained the dancers with a mix of classics and some alternative tango, in an absolutely stunning venue.

Full album is here: Flickr – Tango in Brugge

Most popular milonga.be photo of 2011

Peter — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:52:40 +0000

Thousands of pictures of people dancing on milonga.be and the most popular seems to be one of a lady waiting for a dance! Not sure what the message is there. Should I take more pictures of people that are not dancing? Or do a lot of the female voters sympathize with the feeling in the picture?

If the lady in the picture would step forward, that would be nice because I have no idea anymore who she was, and the ring itself is not enough information.

For info, this is the rest of the top 5 of 2011:

Photos: Tango for Life 2011

Peter — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:47:40 +0000

The first edition of Tango For Life was a big success. In an authentic chappel dozens of tango dancers were being rented for a tanda at a time to raise money for StuBru’s Music for Life.

At the end of the evening, the organizer Ivo was auctioned off for a multiple of the normal taxi price.

The full album is here: Tango for Life

Most popular photos of 2011

Peter — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:50:37 +0000

Just like last year, I would like you to help me choosing the best milonga.be picture of the past year. For that, you should go through the list of all milonga.be favourites and ‘favorite‘ and ‘comment‘ (see further) on pictures that you like! I will give you the top 20 and the most popular photo in the beginning of January!

Some more details on how to improve the scores of the pictures you like:

If you DO NOT have a Flickr account

go to the overview page and click on each photo you like to see them in full size. Every click counts as 1 view!

post the link of a picture you like a lot (like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pforret/6447405305) on your Facebook profile or Twitter feed. Your friends might click on it and every click counts!

you can see the counted views on the right of each picture

Pro tip: if you really want to influence scores, get a (free) Flickr account. You just need a (free) Yahoo account, and it’s easy if you already have a (free) FB or (free) Google account. Did I mention it was free?

If you DO have a Flickr account (now we’re talking)

for every photo of the overview page that you really like, press the Favorite button on top. Favorites count more than just 1 click!

If you want to explain why you like the picture, leave a comment. Comments are worth even more than Favorites!

I’m not telling you how much more favorites and comments count in the scores, but: it’s significant!

Extra tips

Check if the picture is from 2011! I won’t take older photos into account!

if there are pictures of mine that you really like, but that for some reason, I did not put in the Milonga.be Favs group, let me know, I can add them. The top 20 will ONLY contain pictures from that group!

All the numbers I will use to calculate scores are only on Flickr: views/favorites/comments, everyone can see them. Don’t send me emails with URLs, don’t try to bribe me. If you want a certain picture to score higher, use the tools above to improve the score!

To start with: here are 50 popular photos from 2011:

Photos: El Pibe Sarandi in BRYC

Peter — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:43:05 +0000

Last weekend Brussels welcomed El Pibe Sarandi, a Buenos Aires maestro with more then 50 years of tango experience. Benedicte and Jens-Ingo invited him to the Brussels Royal Yacht Club. He gave a demo together with Benedicte of his smooth milonga style.

The BRYC is a beautiful place to dance; check out the collection of flags on the wall!

This is the BRYC album.

Photos: Bruxelles Aires at Kafka café

Peter — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:00:56 +0000

After I had met them at Musicometro, I was curious to see the Bruxelles Aires Tango Orchestra at the Kafka café in Brussels. And indeed, the cosy setting adds to their cabaretesque performance.

Check out their next concerts:

More photos here: Bruxelles Aires album

Maryline & Vincent @ Garage 29

Peter — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:05:27 +0000

It’s always a pleasure to see Maryline & Vincent perform, and so I didn’t want to miss the demo they would give after their workshop at Garage29.

It was also the first time I went to this … garage, and I rather liked its character. The light was a bit difficult on the dancefloor, but thanks to the softboxes close to the bar I could actually take some nice portraits.

DJ Andres, aided by the cutest cortinas, kept spirits high and we danced until way after we were supposed to leave. The two cats that live there, allowed us to stay, although slightly reluctantly, as cats do.

Full album here: Garage 29 at Flickr

Brussels Tango Marathon: the last days of summer

Peter — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:27:44 +0000

I don’t know how many candles they have burnt to accomplish it, but the organizers of the BTM, Elfje, Emilie, Laura and Oliver, got more summer in 3 days than we have gotten the three months before. With a lot of visitors from all over Europe, excellent food and fine DJs, this made it an exceptional event, and a comfortably warm ending of a less-than-warm summer.

Also check the full Brussels Tango Marathon 2011 album.

Photos: Bruxelles Aires in the metro

Peter — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:21:37 +0000

This weekend, in order to promote public transport, there were a number of concerts in metro stations all over Brussels: Musicometro. I had the pleasure to meet and accompany the Brussels tango quartet Bruxelles Aires, performing in Brussels Central.

An acoustic set in a big metro station is not an easy thing, but the four musicians did a great job in engaging the public and drawing quite a crowd. I certainly intend to go see them when they play in the Kafka cafe.

Photos: Final Milonga @ Kiosque of the season

Peter — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:49:22 +0000

Just when the logistics of organizing the Milonga @ Kiosque had become a routine, we were taught a lesson by the forces of Random Error and Elaborate Sabotaging. When we arrived, the gates were not open, so we had to carry everything by hand to the Kiosque, and when we had done that and tried to get the music going, we discovered that all options for electricity had been removed. So we had to scramble to find a battery and candles powered solution. This last edition can easily be called the most low-tech, tenebrious and romantic milonga of the summer.

DJ Mala and DJ Philippe, aided by a speaker with 4 AA batteries, made people dance to the light of a dozen candles big and small. Judging by the smiling faces, we didn’t do a bad job. But we might have some extra grey hairs since Saturday.

Photos: Milonga @ Kiosque #5

Peter — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:14:55 +0000

DJ Philippe did an interesting educational experiment last Kiosque: he had printed out all composers, orchestras and singers, and kept us informed during every tanda who was playing. It was a nice touch to a cosy milonga.

There was rain announced, but our own guardian milonguero from above kept it dry. We had cake and drinks and danced until the end!

Photos: El Flaco Dany in Brussels

Peter — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:00:17 +0000

The legendary Flaco Dany visited Brussels and we saw him at a very unique location: the Brussels Royal Yacht Club. It had been years since there was a milonga in this place.

Dany gave a demo of four milongas, and I don’t mean slow ones, in a row and, together with Lucia Mirzan, showed everyone how he earned his reputation.

And then there was lots of dancing next to the canal, with the excellent music of DJ Jens-Ingo.

Photos: Marathon del Chocolate

Peter — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:55:50 +0000

This weekend saw the first edition of the Brussels Marathon del Chocolate. Sidar, Andrej and a busload of friendly volunteers made it a smooth, cosy and welcoming couple of days. DJs from all over Europe, and dancers from all over the world came together for dozens of hours of dance pleasure and here and there even a couple of hours of sleep.

Organizing an event of that size takes a lot of work, and taking care of hundreds of small and big details. The organizers can take credit for getting most of those details right the first time. The chocolate theme gave the marathon its own clear identity, and through the pre- and after-party there was interaction with the Belgian local crowd, so that new friendships could be born.

I was there to take pictures, under my ‘Tango Paparazzo‘ alter ego. It was nice to see a lot of friends back, dancers, photographers, nice people. With experience of several marathons in the past, I can say: this was a good one!

My photos can be found on Marathon del Chocolate, and for those of you who have Facebook, also check out:

Photos: Milonga @ Kiosque #4

Peter — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 08:40:50 +0000

The fourth edition of the Kiosque milonga was a delight. Apart from some sporadic drizzle, it was a perfect outdoor dancing occasion. DJ Mala not only took care of beautiful music, she also made a delicious Баница for the dancers.

We saw some new faces, visitors from the Marathon del Chocolate, and others who just happened to pass by, and it was good to see
everyone having fun.

Kiosque #2: the photos

Peter — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 07:33:48 +0000

It was kind of an unusual Kiosque this Saturday. When we arrived to set up the milonga, there was a guy sleeping in the kiosque. As we started making a bit of noise, he got up, apologized and moved to a tent just outside the kiosque to resume his sleep. Because it started raining around 5pm, lots of non-tango people came to look for shelter under the kiosque roof and watched intrigued as the first tangueros arrived and started dancing.

We know the weather was sub-optimal, so we really appreciate everyone who came and shared the experience with us. It was a memorable evening, with DJ Mala under an umbrella, with home-made banitsa, the sound of the raindrops mixing with Lomuto, and Biagi inspiring people to keep warm by dancing.

Kiosque #1: the photos

Peter — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:45:37 +0000

DJ Jens-Ingo’s debut at Milonga @ Kiosque was a clear success. His musicality, combined with the bursts of sun and a cool breeze, made for a crowd ful of smiling dancers:

Next edition: July 16 with DJ Mala!
See all photos in the Kiosque album

BTF2011: La Nuit des Maestros

Peter — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:40:14 +0000

One of the traditions of the Brussels Tango festival is the “Nuit des Maestros” concert on the Grand Place.

Moira & Gaston

Cecilia & Serkan

Paula & Pablo

Maria Belen & Diego (El Pajaro)

Jenny & Frank

La Grande Place

Hostess Francesca Vanthielen

Soledad Orchestra (Russia)

The album: Brussels Tango Festival 2011

Photos: Tango Tinto in La Tentation

Peter — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:52:41 +0000

Thursday brought us a concert by the Argentinian/Italian group Tango Tinto, in the magnificent La Tentation. Tango music to dance to, and that’s what everybody did with pleasure. Thank to Monik & Dante for the organisation!

her is the album: Tango @ La Tentation

Brussels Tango Festival: projection of the best pictures 2007-2010

Peter — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:16:02 +0000

During the first evening of the Brussels Tango Festival (BTF), there will be a projection of photos from the previous editions. I have been going through my BTF archives from 2007 until last year and I selected some of the most beautiful, memorable or funny pictures. Quite a task and I’m still busy doing it.

Here are some samples:

Moira & Gaston – BTF 2010

Alfredo Marcucci – BTF 2009

“I believe I can fly” – BTF 2009

Franco Luciani – BTF 2009

Celine & Damian – BTF 2008

“Moral Support” – BTF 2010

If you want to see all pictures of the previous editions of the BTF, check here:
BTF 2010
BTF 2009
BTF 2008
BTF 2007