Genre: Review

Bailarín y Enseñante de Tango Argentino

Facundo de la Cruz

iG: @facundodelacruztango

www.facundodelacruz.com

Descripcion Breve

Facundo de la Cruz es un talentoso representantes de una generación de jóvenes bailarines que se dedican al arte y la tradición del tango de salón. Proveniente de la provincias de Córdoba, ha perfeccionado su baile durante mas 15 años, principalmente en Chubut (Patagonia) y en Buenos Aires. Su  exploración  independiente  de  la  esencia  del  tango  salón,  la  elegancia,  la conexión y la musicalidad, le ha permitido crear un producto de danza que es único y tradicional. Después   de   ganar   varios   títulos   en   reconocimiento   de   su   talento   en diferentes competencias en Argentina, se ha trasladado  a Buenos Aires en el año 2011 para participar en el ambiente de la capital donde el tango ejerce su mayor influencia sobre el mundo.

2017 paso a formar parte de la compañía más importante del mundo FOREVER TANGO SHOW,  compañía que realiza giras por todo el mundo y se ha destacado en Broadway, Las vegas, como en los teatros mas importantes del mundo durante los últimos  28 años.

Logros y Títulos Obtenidos

2012 CAMPEON MUNDIAL DE TANGO SALON*
2012 Campeon Metropolitano de VALS*
2011 Campeon 1 festival argentino, categoría TANGO*
2011 Campeon 1 festival argentino, categoría MILONGA*
2011 Campeon 4 campeonato cordobés, categoría TANGO*
2011 Campeon 4 campeonato cordobés, categoría MIOLONGA*
2009 Campeon subsede Patagonia sur cat. TANGO SALON*

OTROS

2012 3º puesto Categoría milonga Campeonato Metropolitano de C.A.B.A*
2012 4º puesto Categoría Tango Campeonato Metropolitano de C.A.B.A*
2009 Sub Campeon subsede Patagonia sur cat. MILONGA*

*Logros obtenidos con la bailarina Paola Sanz.

Experiencia Profesional (Exhibiciones, Seminarios Dictados, Giras)

AERGENTINA INTERIOR DEL PAIS

·    Santa Cruz (Caleta olivia)
·    Chubut (Trelew, Rawson, Pto. Madryn, Esquel, Gaiman, Comodoro Rivadavia)
·    Neuquén (Neuquén, San Martin de los andes)
·    Rio Negro (Gran Roca, Bariloche, Viedma)
·    Buenos Aires (C.A.B.A., Tandil, La Plata, Mar del plata, Punta Alta)
·    Mendoza (Mendoza)
·    Córdoba (Córdoba, Embalse, Rio Tercero, Rio Cuarto, Villa María)
·    Tucumán (San Miguel de Tucumán)
·    Catamarca (San Fernando del valle de Catamarca)
·    Salta (Salta)
·    Jujuy (San Salvador de Jujuy)
·    Entre Rios  (Los Conquistadores)
·    San Luis  (villa Mercedes, San Luis capital)
·     Corrientes  (Corrientes capital)

INTERNACIONAL

·    USA – San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Rafael, Newport Beach, Irvine, Oakland, Chicago, Indianapolis, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Tampa, New York, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Lexington.
·    ITALIA – Roma, Pescara, Trapani, Genova, Milan, Calabria, Salerno
·    GRECIA – Atenas
·    BULGARIA  – Sofia, Sozopol
·    ESPAÑA – Granada, Sevilla, Madrid
·    FRANCIA – Paris, Toulouse, Martigues, Aix les bains, Aix en Provence
·    COREA DEL SUR  – Seul
·    INGLATERRA   – Londres, Cambridge
·    SUIZA – Zurich
·    POLONIA  – Lodz, Bielsko,
·    ALEMANIA  – Berlin, Hamburgo
·    AUSTRIA  – Vienna
·    RUSSIA  – Kazan
·    ISRRAEL – Tel Aviv
·    CHINA – Shanghai
·    TURQUIA – Estambul
·    CANADA – Vancouver, Edmonton.
·    URUGUAY – Montevideo
·    MEXICO – Ciudad de Mexico.
·    COSTA RICA – San Jose, Peninsula Papagayo

Teatros y Eventos Destacados

·        Théâtre du Châtelet Clases y show , Paris Francia
·        Teatro Sadler’s Wells, Londres Inglaterra (junio 28 y 29) 2013
·        Teatro Provincial, Mar del Plata.  Puente cultural C.A.B.A. a Gobierno de la Ciudad, NH Gran, la Rambla y el Hotel Hermitage como sedes
·        Porte de Versailles à parís Feria del libro, Paris Francia, salón du libre,
·        25 Festival Internacional de Granada, España
·        Marathon des Mots. Toulouse Francia (junio 26 y 30) 2013
·        Festival De Martigues, Martiguez Francia (Julio 22 al 30) 2013
·        Demostracion 7 ème édition du Festival International de Tango
Argentin à Aix les Bains en Savoie France.(Agosto 01) 2013
·        8 y 9 th festival Tango Ritual Istambul, Turquia (Noviembre 7-11) 2013/14
·        Festival Tango Salon Extremo, Argentina (Agosto 8 a 16) 2013/14
·        Midwest Tango Festival , Indianapolis USA, (Noviembre 28 a 30) 2014
·         Łódź Tango Salon Festival, Lodz, Polonia (29 sept al 03 de oct  2016)
·        Jurado en UK Tango Festival & Championship. Años 2014 y 2015
·        Chicago mini Tango festival, Chicago, USA, años 2015 y 2016

TALLERES, Shows, EVENTOS Oficiales

Secretaria de cultura de la Ciudad de Rio Tercero CORDOBA
Secretaria de cultura de la Ciudad de Rawson CHUBUT
Secretaria de cultura y turismo de la Ciudad de Trelew CHUBUT
Secretaria de CULTURA de la C.A.B.A.
Secretaria de DEPORTE de la C.A.B.A.
Secretaria de TURISMO de la C.A.B.A.

ESCUELAS DE ARGENTINA

Escuela Carlos Copello, (Carlos Copello)
Escuela Zarasa Tango (Julio Balmaceda y Corina De la Rosa ).
Escuela Argentina de Tango (CABA)
Milonga Parcultural, “Ensayo PRE Mundial” ( dirigido por Facundo De la Cruz )
La Nacional, clases Regulares (mi refugio milonga)
Escuela DNI tango.

La Baldosa Milonga.

ESCUELAS INTERNACIONAL

(Clases regulares, preparaciones, capacitaciones para profesionales,  por periodos de dos y tres  meses)

El Barrio de tango (Roma, Italia)
Cuartito Azul (Zurich, Suiza)
Buena Onda Tango escuela.( Milan, Italia )
Tango Mio Hollywood  (Los Angeles, USA )
Downtown Dance (Los Angeles, USA)
Cielito Lindo (Houston, USA)

Esmeralda Dance studio (Columbia, SC, USA)

Referencias

ENTREVISTAS/interview

LA Milonga: tapa, entrevista paginas 4 a 7 y 19
https://issuu.com/lamilongaargentina/docs/126_ago16_b/10
http://www.lamilongaargentina.com.ar/index.php?is=37849161

Punto tango:
https://puntotango.net/2015/10/06/entrevista-a-facundo-de-la-cruz-y-paola-sanz/

Tangauta: tapa, paginas 16 a 18
http://www.eltangauta.com/ed_digital/images/ElTangauta220.pdf

ARTICULOS/articles
http://tangueando.net/facundo-de-la-cruz-and-paola-sanz-june-2015
http://dancetabs.com/2013/07/sadlers-sampled-youth-ballet-hip-hop-contemporary-tango-showcase-london/

VIDEO

2022 con Noelia Hurtado
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CdD8Ev4K8Hx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

2019 Forever Tango con Florencia Blanco
https://www.facebook.com/facundodelacruztango/videos/1000386170167872/

2012 Mundial de tango Paola Sanz
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tcCWurFXXOA&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Eq-i97J56M

2022 con Ines Muzzopappa
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tOOhvQaQ2rA&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

If you come to Valencia and dance Tango, don’t leave without visiting the milonga

http://tangoenvalencia.minglanillaweb.es/milongas.html

Join our welcoming group of dancers at our weekly London classes in The Pill Box Kitchen, Bethnal Green

I was the official photographer at Catania Summer Tango Week 2019, an event enchanted with great artists and lovely dancers.

I told in pictures hours and hours of tango lessons, milongas, so many dancers, and the incomparable performances of Rino Fraina & Graziella Pulvirenti, Mariano “Chicho” Frumboli & Juana Sepulveda, Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Anne, Nick Jones & Diana Cruz.

All the photos are here:

• Wonder Milonga with Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Anne performance 
• The Tango Lesson: Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Anne
• Dreamers Milonga with Mariano “Chicho” Frumboli & Juana Sepulveda performance
• The Tango Lesson: Mariano “Chicho” Frumboli & Juana Sepulveda
• Sunset Milonga with Nick Jones & Diana Cruz performance
• The Tango Lesson: Nick Jones & Diana Cruz
• Moonshine Milonga with Rino Fraina & Graziella Pulvirenti performance 
• The Tango Lesson: Rino Fraina & Graziella Pulvirenti
• Various pictures

I love this magic event!

P.S.: I wrote (in italian) a note with my personal opinion on this event.

The sunset milonga on Maria’s rooftop overlooking the Stono River would begin about eight. I left home early and got some sushi at Publix to go with champagne I had grabbed from the fridge on my way out. While there, I stopped by their pharmacy for an overdue pneumonia shot. I waited by the pharmacy counter in a chair next to a small table. A smiling portly pharmacist, armed with alcohol swabs and a syringe, sat companionably on the table. As he asked me to bare my bicep, the table collapsed with complex splintering, spilling him and his accoutrements onto the floor. Somehow, amidst mutual embarrassment and abject apology, I got my shot, signed some paperwork, and was back on the road lickety-split.

Crossing the salt marshes to the mainland, time on my hands and with queasy twinges needling my bicep, I paused at the trailhead of a nearby county park. The sun, still high, was sinking fast. The intertidal landscape of shallow ponds bounded by expanses of shimmering sea-grass reflected a cloudless blue sky. Egrets, seagulls and a great blue heron foraged on crab-pocked mudflats exposed by the ebbing tide. I walked along a causeway, binoculars at the ready. A commotion in the distance caught my eye. A red-tailed hawk was harassing a bald eagle perched on a tree stump, highlighted in constitutional splendor by the setting sun. The eagle repeatedly rose from its perch, twisted in mid-air, and then settled back. The hawk’s last dive dislodged the eagle and forced its retreat into the sea-marsh, where I lost sight of it.

In Carl Jung’s synchronicity, concurrent unrelated events create meaning that enriches the unconscious. But I wasn’t thinking along these lines when I arrived at the milonga for my sunset tango with Maria. Champagne in hand and snacking on sushi and pizza, we toasted the transient magnificence of a sky criss-crossed with orange jet contrails, a sky transformed from uniform blue to a cloud-flecked palette of lavender and deep red. We took selfies against the backdrop of the setting sun, then waltzed across her rooftop to the ecstatic strains of Pugliese’s “Desde el Alma.”

I was unprepared for what happened next. A concussive crash, shattering of wine glasses, and alarmed cries disrupted my seductive immersion in Tango. One of the guests, portly and unsmiling, renowned for his grasp of milonga etiquette, was sprawled on the floor by the drinks table. He was gasping, like a fat spot-tail bass threshing helplessly in the scuppers of a jon boat trolling the salt marsh. We helped him up as he gesticulated at the splintered remnants of the chair that had let him down. His mortification was extreme. I quietly overlooked his piqued Facebook comments next day about etiquette infractions at Maria’s rooftop milonga.

As a metaphor of things gone wrong, any kind of collapse fits the bill. I wondered why these particular metaphors had been visited upon me. After all, at each of them, I had simply been an unwitting witness of scripts I hadn’t written. I decided that Carl Jung merited further study. Meanwhile, I contemplated the rooftop milonga, which was illuminated by candles ranged along the parapet, and suffused with melodic invitations to closer connection. I refined my discreet nuanced cabeceos. My unconscious, by definition a closed book, forged ahead, reveling in the joyful buzz of Tango when invited eyes said yes, open to whatever comes next.

If you don’t understand French, BTT means “All-terrain Ball” (I am not sure the translation is very useful but you can’t get it wrong now!). For the little story, the first edition of the BTT took place in the streets of Paris. It was an open air event and that’s explains the name. Dancing without caring where you will dance. Later, the BTT moved to the venue of the Roots tango festival “La parole errante” (this time, the translation is welcome but I let you google it) just one week before this other event. Th two events decided to share venue and floor for the best.

I discovered the BTT in 2017. I was in Paris for another tango event. A friend invited me there during the dinner break. I joined, forgot about the first event and stayed until the end of the BTT. The atmosphere was special. I had a crush. I decided to come back the next year. In 2017, I danced on a wooden floor and had a great time. In 2018, no floor was available because of the national day with all traditional ball. We danced on the free floor and that was still fine. I felt very glad of the experience as it was like going back to the roots of the event. So if I had only one sentence to describe the BTT, I could say -“With or without a floor, you will ask for more.”

Let’s begin with the non-dancing part of the event. It takes place outside in the garden. To describe it, the first comparison which comes to in my mind is a “school celebration at the end of the year” (as a good memory). You have stands with home made food and drinks, big tables to sit and share time with people, a tiny swimming pool for kids in the middle, a place to drop clothes you don’t use anymore, etc. Knowing that, I arrived on Saturday 2 hours before the start of the music. I bought some pie and salad, sit and ate with a German dancer that arrived also early. Like me, he just wanted to enjoy the sun, chat a little and feel this calm moment before the event. When people arrive slowly, you have time to cheer them without the pressure of the dance.

The BTT is not just tango. You can find other activities as theater, yoga, other expression art. The combination of this activity is an opening comparing to the monomaniac aspect of several events. There is more often folklore and yoga in events but tango stays as the main element. In the case of BTT, you can see it as 50/50. You can find also various tango clothes/shoes sellers.  If you are bored with Paris, you have other options to be busy and make shopping.

The BTT is not a classic milonga, nor a classic event. The whole place is set as simple as possible – floor, DJ in the middle, big stairs to sit and that’s all. You can find few strange decorations – I still try to understand what is the meaning of some object set there. What can I tell about the tango now ? I am sure you already heard a lot of stories about tango in Paris and the atmosphere in the milonga. I already guess which kind. Just forget everything you imagine. Organizers are giving a place where dancers can create their event. Everyone can find his place and have a nice moment. I liked this impression of freedom when I discovered it. I didn’t ask the organizers if it is what they try to create but I feel it like this.

I travel once per year in Paris. The BTT is the place where I can meet dancers from Paris that I like. They have different profiles. They don’t go in the same milongas in general but they gather to this place. Some are not regular and are just here by chance as a girl I didn’t see during 5 years and didn’t know how she arrived here. Others are following all the editions. The event is also a mix of dancers from Paris and travelers. I had always at least one good surprise with a foreigners.

Thanks to Petar Pavlov for the pictures of the edition 2018. You can find the whole album at the following link – https://www.facebook.com/petar.pavlov/media_set?set=a.10155381974827133&type=3. He has a lot of nice albums on other events, don’t hesitate to visit it. Remember that you will have a group picture from the front and one picture from the back because the organizers are shy and can’t kiss when people are looking at them.

In general, I only write reviews about event that I really enjoy. You can see that the objective of the blog is to share the good energy and take time to thank the organizers when they succeed to create a special tango time. I published only one preview in the past. It was for Fata Morgana adventure. I was enchanted by the concept of the event and I wanted to attract people that would not be afraid by the atypical but lovely concept. Now, it is my turn to take the role of organizer with Ines, Nadira and Nicolas. I am preparing the Fritkot Tango marathon for this summer and it is also time to draft a preview for it.

In fact, it is not really a preview. I don’t want to present what we will offer during the marathon. First, it would be boring and in some way hypocritical to draft a preview about my own event. Second, I would just repeat what you can read on facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Fritkot-Tango-Marathon-1990378994589836/ and what you can find on our website – https://sites.google.com/view/fritkot-tango-marathon/ (I hope you already read it). Here, the idea is more to share the concept of the marathon and also to show a little how we arrived to this concept.

Before thinking about a concept, you need to know if you really want to organize a marathon. You also need to find several friends with the same wish. For my part, I discovered the tango marathons with the delightful last edition of the marathon del chocolate in Bruxelles. Since then, I traveled in Europe in various type of events (marathons, encuentros and festival). Visiting all these events already set in my mind what I like and what I really dislike. I organized some little parties at home trying to create a special atmosphere – a meeting with friends coming from different cities who don’t necessarily know each other. Last summer when I entered in a group organizing milongas (taking part of one milonga and creating 2 new ones), I found people who also wanted something bigger.

One of the first big question was: is it really necessary to organize something when there are events every week ? It seems not really necessary. However, the multiplication of the events is not synonym of the multiplication of the quality. I visited various events where I was really disappointed. With the availability of our venue, we had to face a super busy agenda. August is like hell. There are so many interesting events before and after that we already know we will enter in a competition for participants with events we like (Entre amigos, Big pop, Tango8, Sueno…). I also discovered after the opening of the registration that we had an event in another city of Belgium the same weekend (Boca). August or not, we decided to go for it because at some point if you don’t move, you will  never move.

So we drafted all together some sort of concept note for the marathon. First, we had a big brainstorm, after everyone threw his ideas on paper and to finish we discussed to find the good middle. On the atmosphere side, it was clear for everybody. We were all on the same line. For the other details and new ideas to make the marathon different, better, smarter or whatever, it was a moment of long discussion and compromises.

The first concept was as follow: friendly/family event of 200 people maximum, funny party, serious on dance but not serious for the atmosphere, price as low as possible to avoid to exclude dancers, free bar except for alcohol, snacks and food but no dinner, no VIP and no free entrance for local people, strict balance leader/follower, good level of dancers, variety of ages, Belgian design and style, eco-friendly, no profit and in case of excess money investment in the promotion of next event and organization of local milongas/events. Maybe the marathon that everybody dreams about… Of course, later you have to face the reality and we had to rework it a little. So the concept has changed mostly on the number of participants and the price.

With some details it gives the following (skip if you are bored to read):

• friendly/family – the most important where we all agree. We want an event that our friends will enjoy and that unknown people with a similar state of mind will join. We want an event where everybody will feel included and not as it happens sometimes an event where several groups are just sharing a common space. We have several ideas to make it happens including the overall environment, the programme, our home/handmade special stuff and of course the selection of the participants on the social aspect.
• 200 participants – the initial number changed to 250 due to the venue but it stays a maximum. If we have a little less, we will be happy. In big events, you see people but you don’t have time to meet them. One tanda here, one tanda there, and the end of the weekend arrives without letting you a possibility to take your time. Also a smaller event can give more opportunity to go outside of your usual circles.
• funny party – look at the name of the marathon, it is this kind of spirit. Relaxed and not so serious. Tango is already too serious.
  price – to travel you need money and some events are now really expensive (some with a good quality but some other where you are wondering where your money has gone). We wanted to find a good deal with the quality and to let the opportunity to the maximum of participants to join.
  bar and snacks – at the end we have a classic bar and free water/coffee/tea but we set a good variety of snacks and surprises.
  strict balance – this is an important point. We all know that it is something that followers enjoy but as a leader I like balanced event too. I will not find a line of followers sitting and I can enjoy the dances when I want. Often first edition have a little unbalance but it is something we will really avoid.
• good level of dance – we didn’t advertise on it as it was simply natural for us. We organize a closed event where we want good embraces and good navigation. So there will be no (eternal) beginners. I think it will appear logical for all dancers. After there is a subtle mix to find in the dancers. Everyone should be able to find dancers he likes.
• variety of ages – our organizers has already a variety of ages and we want the same for the marathons. Age doesn’t matter
• Belgian design and style – it goes with the title of the marathon. We prepare several things on this theme. We love a dance that was born in Argentina but the dance evolved a lot all around the world. We didn’t want to just identify our marathon to the… Argentinian folklore.
• eco-friendly – of course but a little paradoxical as a lot of people will fly to Brussels to take part in the event…
  no profit / investment in other events – we all have jobs so we just organize it because we like it. If we have some extra (what doesn’t really happen for a first edition), we want to invest in more local events or a next edition if our participants like it.

I was speaking about balance but like all tango events we had to face the nightmare of the waiting list. We know leaders are not stressed and wait till the last minute to register. With the first check of the registration list, we had already an extra of 40 followers that ended on a waiting list… sigh… To try to resolve it, we published last week a video with a (great) support of Roberto – https://www.facebook.com/SZemotion/. He did an amazing job with Ines even if I heard something about mental torture. Preparing a video requires a lot of work. To get quality, you need to dedicate time and energy not only when you shoot it but also when you work on your video back at home.  It can be funny when you watch it but keep in mind people worked behind. A little like a marathon where you will enjoy a weekend but organizers worked weeks to prepare it.

Images from Hyde Park Sunset Milonga on 22 April 2019