“Meet-in-the-Middle”
National Argentine Tango Festival
Mt. Vernon, MO 65712
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Written by Bernadine Hickelstein
WELCOME TO Mt. Vernon!
Mt. Vernon is purdy near to bein' in the middle of this great Country of ours – hence, the name for our Tango Festival – “Meet-in-the-Middle.” Some people, who aren’t familiar with us, drive into this town for the first time and wonder, “What on earth do these people do here all year.” Well, I reckon that we’re afixing to tell you:
Mt. Vernon is right proud of its apple-butter making days, its ole’ fashioned pie suppers, its berry festivals, its farmer’s market and its City-Wide garage sale! Many of these are held just outside the historic Carthage stone courthouse that was built in 1901 – a site you can jist imagine by lookin' out them windows where our milongas are held. We’re also hostess to the Missouri Rehabilitation Center, the VA Outpatient Clinic, and the Missouri Veteran’s Home. Outside of that, we’d have to say that we purdy much represent small-town, rural America. We’re just good, ole’ (note we didn’t say “old”) honest, down-to-earth people who finally got the whittlin' and tobacco-spittin' stopped on our city sidewalks. Well, actually, the whittlin' stopped when we wouldn’t let 'em spit tobacco no more!
Right around the 4th of July, we have the Red, White, and Boom celebration. It’s there that we enjoy them free fall express skydivers; we have some poor ole' soul sing the Star Spangled Banner; we have a little gospel trio entertain us; sometimes we even have “The Creek’s Arising” band show us what blue grass music is posed to sound like, and then we top it off with the Celebration Community Choir. Now you cain’t beat that!
As part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center has an 899 acre farm. Well they call it that even tho it don’t have no farm animals or nothing excitin' but it does serve a 22-county area that’s located just four miles outside of town. Our Mt. Vernon Municipal Airport is located right there on that acreage.
Every year, on the weekend following Thanksgiving, all the towns-folk who want to open their homes up for a Christmas Homes Tour on Saturday can do so. That’s when we have the Christmas Parade, we have entertainment, and we have carriage rides around the town. We call this the Village of Lights Festival. That’s when we have open houses at the local businesses and then on Sunday, we have open house at the local churches. Even Santa Claus has been spotted about town!
We’re known for being hospitable and down right friendly (the tobacco spitters might disagree, tho). We invite people to come in off the road and just rest their feet for a spell. Take last year, for instance, when The Great Race was going on – that’s the Country’s longest runnin' and the richest vintage automobile rally anywheres. Every year more than 100 of them vintage automobiles participate and we invite them to stop by and see us. These rally-racing street legal vintage cars drive somewhere between 170 to 480+ miles every day on sporty back roads, over all kinds of ground, and in every kind of weather imaginable. It’s sum kinda timed endurance rally-race where even the smallest error or mechanical malfunction can ruin a team’s chances of winnin'. Well, those guys liked us so much that last year the cars began arriving on the west side of the square at 9:30 and over 100 of them kept on comin' and they averaged staying for about 30 minutes a piece!
And there’s somethin' else you need to know about us: We feed you all purdy good while you’re here, which you’re afixin' to find out! Anyways,
You might even want to consider staying since you’re already here. After all, where else can you buy a two-bedroom house with two indoor toilets and still tango for $95,000! Can’t beat it; that what I say!
WELCOME To Murray’s Vintage Venue!
Many have said that Murray’s reminds them of the baseball movie, “Build it and they will come!” Perhaps. Karen Whitesell, the owner, prefers, however, to think of it as a vision and a dream that she simply made come true because of her love and passion for the Argentine Tango.
She first became captivated with Argentine tango through “60 Minutes” showing Buenos Aires and the culture of tango. “The old dancers are dying off,” said the commentator. Karen vowed to commence to study this dance before they passed away; and, while sadly, many talented Milongueros have passed on, youth has stepped in and insured its survival for many years to come.
Karen, like many, began her mission in 1997 traveling to Buenos Aires with Daniel Trenner for complete tango immersion. Then home to week-long marathons in Miami, Stanford University, Arizona State, Santa Fe, New York City, and weekends wherever tango could take her, Denver, Atlanta, Portland, Austin, St Louis, Tulsa… and the list continued. She studied with the best—and we do mean the best! In fact, over 40 masters of tango from Buenos Aires and as many from the US. Unfortunately, her travels could not last forever; it was time to return home, create her own tango community, and share her experiences with others.
As a well respected artist, Karen searched for the ideal building to live in, dance in, and continue her stained glass artistry. In 1999, she discovered that perfect building in Mt Vernon, renovated the second floor, and in 2000 moved from the farm and hosted her first Milonga. The ground floor started out as a public laundry for the town people who didn’t have washing machines but now it’s her stained glass art studio. She shares this beautiful social dance venue through regularly scheduled classes and guest instructors from Buenos Aires and other tango centers of the world.
Although many other tango events have been held at Murray’s, this is the all inclusive Milonguero “Meet-in-the-Middle” Marathon weekend! If you purchased, the Marathon weekend package, all MEALS, and snacks are included! That means, good food, cookie breaks, country breakfasts, and cool and refreshing lunches. It means scrambling down the stairs – twice -- to meet the ice cream truck, or running across the street for a chocolate attack to Turner’s Ben Franklin for homemade fudge! It means a prime rib dinner with Karen’s secret spinach-dip pasta and midnight snacks and Champagne Brunch on Sunday morning! It means Ozark hospitality at its finest. It also means an exciting schedule of workshops and milongas taught and D-Jayed by the most respected United States Milonguero instructors. Talk about a treat!
For those who just can’t get enough, the Town Hall – otherwise known as The Horseshoe Theatre – is home for a one night outstanding, show-stopping, performance.
Expectations and “Other Stuff”
FLOORCRAFT
Please remember this is a “Milonguero” Marathon. The style we are presenting in this workshop is sometimes called “Apilado” which is a Spanish slang word for lookin' like you’re “all piled up” and it’s sometimes called the “Milonguero” style and some argue that it’s the “close embrace” style. Well, we ain’t going there; cuz we could argue that until doomsday and get absolutely nowhere! Any way you look at it, any way you cut it, slice it, and dice it, it’s mostly moving around the dance floor in one big hug! The Argentine Tango is an authentic dance that represents both the Country and the Culture of the Argentinean people. Therefore, we ask that you please follow the same guidelines that you would find in very crowded Buenos Aires, Argentina dance hall where the predominant style danced at that salon is Milonguero.
We’re askin' that folks please respect the floorcraft cuz it’s important. Here’s what that looks like: it means that you dance in the line of dance, counter clockwise, movin' all the way down the dance floor into the corners, every time, and that you please be respectful of those around you. How are you respectful? It means that you probably shouldn’t be passin' others; that’s really not too cool. If the floor is full and you feel like you’re stuck in place, then you can jist do them rockin' steps. You can do various kinds of turns and you can do some nice embellishments. For the most part, it means you choose either the outside lane or the inside lane and stay within that lane – at least during that dance. Now, if the guy has plum passed out, then just go ahead and step over 'em and move on! BUT….. understand, that if you’re doing some fancy decorating stuff, and you’ve got a whole bunch of space in front of you, that probably means that there’s a whole bunch of people all backed up behind you and you know what, if there’s some more advanced dancer behind you, he’s just apt to “nudge” you a little with his elbow. Don’t take it personal and get all heated up and mad for it doesn’t mean nothin' bad, cept that you need to close up the gap and get on your way!
If you’re one of those that insists on doing high boleos, gauchos, and all that other fancy leg-kickin' stuff, I reckon that’s okay, but I’m affixin' to tell you that you need to get yourself into the center of the dance floor and do your thing there in the middle or wait until later in the night or mornin' to do your show-off stuff. Otherwise, you need to git yourself over to the Horseshoe Theatre and be part of the show.
For all you advanced leaders out there, we’ve got a mixed skill level here, so just be mindful of what it was like when you started! Give these guys a chance; cut ‘em a little slack now and again. And, it won’t hurtcha none if you go ask these new beginning followers to dance. It’ll mean so much to them and it won’t ruin your reputation a bit, certainly not for a dance or two. Matter of fact, fellers, it’s gonna really test your ability to lead! Dance with somebody shorter, taller, fatter, skinnier, older, younger, uglier, purdier, smarter, dumber or a different color than you… but jist get yurself outside yur comfort zone, it’ll do you some good, I’m a telling ya! Dance with people you don’t know or probably won’t never see again.
For all you beginner’s and intermediate’s who thought it was safe to hide out in the middle: It ain’t gonna happen folks, I’m a here to tell you, now! Stay out of there! Dangerous stuff can happen inside that circle! One of them precarious 4” stiletto heels can (at best) hit you smack up side of the head. You figure out fer yourself where the worst is! Nope, instead, find you some safe, kind looking soul – and there are some – and simply walk…. To the beat…… around the room, all the way to the corner, counter-clockwise and you’ll do jist fine! I promise you!
OTHER STUFF
:ATTIRE: There is air conditioning. Following are some thoughts as guidelines -- not rules:
FRIDAY: Casual - Dockers, pants, short sleeved shirts as examples
SATURDAY: (Day) – Sports Casual (walking shorts, Tee Shirts, etc.)
SATURDAY (Evening) – Dinner Milonga – Dress-up – Tango attire (Often in the Summer time, people wear cotton shirts and change more often particularly if they perspire a lot – deodorant and soap is a good thing round here!) Dance shoes are always preferred. Rubber soles and tennis shoes are good fer plowin' but they ain’t worth a hoot to dance in!
SUNDAY: Day – Sports Casual to Casual - As you can see, the only dressy time is really Saturday evening and that’s because it is a true milonga, with a sit-down dinner and a wonderful concert and orchestra that has followed an outstanding performance at the theatre. It’s the time when we folks in Mt. Vernon put on our Sunday-go-to-meeting duds!
ASKING SOMEONE TO DANCE:
CABECEO: The proper way in Buenos Aires to ask someone to dance is through The Cabeceo, so be mindful of this. Either a man or woman can look the person they want to dance with in the eye, smile, raise their eyebrow and, with a slightly tilted head, glance or nod towards the dance floor. If the other person smiles, and nods his head up and down like, this means “yes,” and the man will then come across the floor to fetch the woman and go to the dance floor. [This way, if you’re rejected, you don’t feel so bad cuz it’s less noticed by others.] If you’re not getting the reaction you want, it could be because the person didn’t notice your request, they just plain couldn’t see you, or, of course, that may be they just don’t care to dance with you. Unfortunately, that sometimes happen and we suggest that you don’t choose to take it personal. Also, occasionally, the request/response is meant for the person next to you and it can be a little embarrassing if, when the man comes across the room, you get up and it was meant for the woman seated next to you. Best way to handle that is to smile and just go ahead and go get a drink or proceed to the toilet and no one will be the wiser! Otherwise, you can just ask someone to dance, and hope for the best, unless you start tellin' how to dance. Now that’s bad!
TANDAS AND SAYING “Thank you.” Typically a “tanda” is a set of 3-5 songs danced fairly close together. It’s common that a couple will dance the entire tanda. In-between each tanda is a “Cortina” (a break with a different kind of music), this is mostly used for the purpose of changing partners). If either the man or the woman says “Thank You” after any dance, it means “I don’t care to dance with you any more.” If ‘you’ want to continue dancing the tanda, then ‘you’ shouldn’t say “thank you” until the end of the tanda. If the other person says, “thank you” then you should respect that wish and thank him/her for the dance. You never have to dance with anyone that you don’t want to and you’re always free to say “thank you” at any time.
“Enjoy!”
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Whitesell
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Murray's Vintage Venue
202 South Hickory
Mount Vernon, MO 65712, USA
phone 417-471-1001
e-mail to webmaster:
Jim Quarles