Category: passions

inspiring activities

Zouk in Rio

On By taniacreationsIn Orble Post, The Dancing Bug1 Comment

On top of Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro / Dancing with the Statue in Copacabana Beach in Rio 

I have been in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I went dancing two nights in a row and it was a blast!

I was a bit anxious as Rio is the land of Zouk, the land of Jaime Aroxa, Carlinhos de Jesus, Alex da Silva, among so many other great dancers. 

I have to thank LDA and say that my technical level was quite good compared to the other dancers on the floor, I was at least on the same general level.

In fact, I was asked to dance non‐stop during the whole night and thankfully almost every partner said good things about my dancing and danced with me more than one song. 

The first night was a mix with Salsa, Forró, Soltinho, Gafieira, Zouk and Samba‐Rock. The salsa level was not as high as in Australia, so my intermediate was enough to have fun.

Soltinho is a sort of Cha‐Cha danced with rock music, very entertaining. I watched and said: ‘I can do this.’ So when asked for a dance, I just did.

At the end of the night, I decided to go home as I was about to puke on my fellow dancers. I did so many spins, hair flicks, dips, and moves that my balance was gone. When I looked at my partner and started seeing two of them with about three hands up, it was time to go.

The second night was amazing, zouk only. I almost killed myself dancing, or was killed… I’m not sure. Both nights I saw people watching me dancing, but I only danced with great dancers, so they were watching the couple, not me specifically.

The great news is that I didn’t have to ask anyone to dance with me! It is such a great feeling to actually be asked to dance… over and over again!

The technical level of the followers were about equivalent to our Australian zouk ladies (including students) but the Brazilians do have a natural “ginga” (specially people with African ascendence). Ginga is what we call the natural ability to dance and swing the hips.

The leaders were above the level I experience generally in Australia, not exactly in terms of steps they know, but more on the capability of leading.

That is because the dancing crowd is probably larger. Leaders are used to leading people they do not do classes with, and therefore do not know what they are trying to do.

The result is the creation of excellent leaders. They do not lead too many dips and tricks, just the perfect balance, and they use the music excellently. 

Seriously I felt like I was in heaven! The other great thing is that no‐one dance with you only one song. Usually they dance at least two, often 3, 4 or 5!!! So you have time to get used to the person’s style and leading and it is extremely enjoyable.

This is an idea that at least in salsa, we should adopt in Australian dance floors, it is a simple idea and it makes the world of difference in the feeling of the dancing. 

It was funny to see a few faces I knew from Australia and meet a few other teachers and instructors that visited our Aussie congresses.

The night was unforgettable and I only stopped once I could not put my feet down on the floor anymore.

122 Orble Votes

Countdown for Sydney Salsa Congress 2010

On By taniacreationsIn Orble Post, The Dancing BugLeave a comment

It is the countdown for the Sydney Salsa Congress. Only a few days to go!

From 28th to 31st Jan 2010 do not call me, actually, pretend I’m off the face of the Earth because this Congress is where I’m gonna be…

It is the most amazing Latin Dance event in Australia, getting big on the Brazilian Dance styles too. It is considered the most successful congress in the world for integrating all the famous and trendy dance styles in the Latin World. 

The Sydney Salsa Congress is on its 6th edition and I have two years of built up energy to spend. Last year I fractured my arm after falling off a horse. This year I’ve been a good girl and saved myself from any misadventures. 

I have attacks of tachycardia when thinking about this event.

It promises 4 nights and 3 days of full‐on FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

Having participated of a few of the past congresses already I know what to expect: 

  • Workshops, so great I will push myself to the point far beyond exhaustion, with a merry, very, happy face…
  • Shows where you get to the point of drooling on the delicious, sometimes incredibly technical, sometimes profoundly passionate, all the times amazing, shows.
  • Parties that go until late, now sporting two rooms: on for the Latin styles and the other to the Brazilian dances. I keep running from one to the other, trying to get a lot of all. 

By Monday‐after‐event all you can hope is to be alive, although unable to be on a vertical state… and so happy, with a sense of accomplishment, full of memories that each part of your sore body will remember forever… Join me!

105 Orble Votes

Brazilian Dance at the Sydney Salsa Congress 2010

On By taniacreationsIn daily adventures, Orble - Aussie Folly, The Dancing BugLeave a comment


Brazilian Dance styles are invading Australia and the Sydney Salsa Congress 2010 will have a Brazilian Room every night of the event.From 28th to 31st January 2010.
Samba, Gafieira, Lambada/Zouk, Forró and Capoeira are spreading and thousands of dance fanatics are getting into their groove.
If you have never been to the congress you are missing out on the biggest event of Latin Dance in Australia, one of the top 3 in the world.
It is an amazing experience, more than 5,000 dancers in the parties, more than 80 shows and 75 workshops.
Three days of dance classes and four nights with shows then parties that will go into the night.
The energy is fantastic and there are different options of tickets. You can choose from one night to the full passes for the whole event.
I’ll see you there!


97 Orble Votes

To be Brave Enough to Write…

On By taniacreationsIn daily adventures, Orble - Aussie FollyLeave a comment

and more incomprehensible Australia…

Here I turn to the “masters” and to me they are the writers of this genre, this style of writing about day to day, making fun of day to day incongruous occurences, back in Brazil: Mario Prata (my personal master), Luiz Fernando Veríssimo, Arnaldo Jabor, among so many others.

From them I take the strength and the courage to say what I think: in capital letters and a large font.

After all, we would all be doomed without courage. Mario Prata would never have released a book about a pimp and his prostitutes, would he? Anjos de Badaró is a great book!

And the daily columns in many newspapers and media would be doomed to monotony, to what is agreeable to all and absolutely no fun!

I say all this because I was criticised for my last article {link}, because there are parts of Australia I find amusing. I will confess all I wanted to do was to hide and cry.

Instead, here I am again, smiling and all.

To prove my love for my Aussie Land here I will write a few new incomprehensible details. 

Good details, but still incomprehensible!

The ridiculously organised crowds: New Years Eve in Sydney is a good example. There is no shoving, no screaming, no mess. The people bring the sleeping kids in arms and prams, and they manage to be 1 millimetre away from you without touching anything. When the inevitable happens everyone always say sorry.

The signs in car parks in shopping centres that advise you to “lock your car” were one of the first things to get my attention when I first arrived here. 

It crossed my mind simply: how come you have to remind people to lock their cars in the car park? We would never consider otherwise back home.

The buses’ timetables: I would be dumb stricken to see written that the bus arrives at exactly 10:17. All I could think was: impressive! 

I know it is not totally perfect but just by having a time table that states time like 9:23; 10:17; 11:54 is a serious indication of what we can expect: precision. In my homeland I would go to the bus stop and someone would simply say it all in a few words: the bus comes around once per hour. The acceptable margin of error would be one: one hour more or less. 

No doubt one of the best nonsenses I have ever experienced was to be given money back from taxes by the Australian government. Only if you come from a land where a lot of corruption happens you would truly appreciate what this means. I would never believe it possible if I hadn’t seen it in my account myself. 

I can now criticise Brazil with confidence, because saying you don’t like a part doesn’t mean you do not love the whole. I love the Brazil I carry with me, I’m proud of being Brazilian and having been born there. I love Australia, the new home. I have worked hard to be its proud citizen, even if I do not like Vegemite!

98 Orble Votes

Incomprehensible Australia

On By taniacreationsIn daily adventures, Orble - Aussie FollyLeave a comment

I love this Aussie Land, especially Sydney that is now my home. I’m very glad to be a new Australian Citizen. 

Although I have multiplied my Brazilian love to include my new nation there are some things around here that do not make any sense to me… 

Foodwise: 

Avocados are not for sandwiches. I try to explain to the natives that that is not how you are supposed to eat it, I think when avocados arrived with no instruction manuals someone thought the nice green colour would do well with the bacon in bread. But they are actually much better as Avocado Frappes, Mousses and blended avocados with sugar (not salt!); Mouth watering hum? 

No Australians ever agree with me.

Vegemite: 

Most South Americans have tried the bread with the chocolate colour paste expecting a sweet sensation on the taste buds. Only to be almost knocked out of the chair by something salty, strange and very strong. 

‘What kind of pie is this?’ I ask.
‘Cheese pie.’ Says the nice lady.
‘Ok, may I have one, please?’
One minute later I’m back:
‘Sorry, I believe you sold me the wrong pie. This is meat.’

‘Of course it is, they all are! It’s a cheese meat pie.’

It was the traditional meat pie with a thin layer of cheese between the filling and the pastry. 

In Brazil a cheese pie is made of cheese and pastry only, no meat. It’s a cheese-cheese pie. 

In transport: 

The changes of drivers in the middle of the bus route do not make any sense to me. 

The first time I saw it I thought I had gotten the wrong bus and it was the final stop. I stood there on the tip of the bench, all packed, ready to go. But no one else moved, not even to look to the front. So I waited while the driver packed and left with money box and all, and a new driver got comfortable, set up the bus, restarted it and we all got ready to continue the trip. I find it hilarious every time. 

Another incongruous thing is the same route number for buses that go to different destinations. I have found myself in North Sydney more than once having taken a “175” that usually goes to the city. I think they like to create crazy people, several times I thought I was losing my mind. 

Another absurd is to be able to go to the city using one bus and not being able to catch the same bus to go back to the same stop because the bus will only stop there if someone is there trying to catch it, as some of the express lines do.

Lose-trolleys: the champion non-sense: 

Supermarket trolleys: the ones from Australia are the drunkest ones I’ve ever seen. In my motherland the two back wheels of the trolleys are locked, that means you have much more control over the thing. I know there is always someone that will think the trolleys are much better here, but to that I can only answer: “are you serious?!!” 

114 Orble Votes

My Father’s Secrets

On By taniacreationsIn daily adventures, Orble - Aussie FollyLeave a comment

‘Come on! Smash it again! Do it harder!’

This is what my father heard when he arrived at his new fraternity house, where he was going to live while studying for his bachelor’s degree. 

He went to the backyard to find four blokes trying to get the pasta out of the pressure cooker after leaving it cooking for a long time.

To be the eternal hero of the house and to be protected above everyone else, it took him only one phrase:

‘I can cook.’

And he truly does like a master! I love the story of how he was inspired into learning.

It was one of his first fishing trips without his mom, with all the mates camping next to a river. He arrived to find his cousin holding a pot of boiling water, over the camping fire, while his uncle holding the 5k bag of rice pouring the grains directly into the water. Even being only a teen he knew one thing:

‘This is not how my mom cooks rice!’

They made an agreement with the troupe in the tent next door to clean fish and all they needed and be their slaves for the rest of the trip if they cooked for them, and that’s how they ate that week.

That was when he decided to learn how to cook and survive anywhere. During Uni he cooked everything, his only rule was that any strange meat had to be dead and clean! 

He never questioned the origin of the meat or the talking about missing cats, chickens and ducks in the neighbourhood. 

The downside was sometimes to be awaken at three am by a bunch of hungry guys whose sobriety was highly questionable. 

From my dad I learned most of my secrets. My sister and I cook as he does: no recipes, using all the leftovers in the fridge, creating food out of thin air in fifteen minutes. 

That is the result of countless Friday nights seated while he pampered us with delicious food as well as from family meetings and weekend’s lunches and dinners.

We learned from him a lot of other things like the power of common sense, how to enjoy life, how to be calm and rational in difficult situations. 

He passed to us the best Guardian Angels on Earth and Heaven. Dad is the kind that gets his Angel to send a mechanic, in the middle of nowhere when the car breaks down. 

I also learnt with him how to live happily every day. What I didn’t really learn was a secret he keeps from his time at the Uni. Once he started telling me some story but finished mid sentence:

‘Youngsters are naughty, some of the things that I’ve done…’

I’ve been trying to get the full story out of him for years but all I get is him to blush, start laughing and playing “mute”. He doesn’t say a word. I think I will never get this secret out of him!

105 Orble Votes

Sexiest Man on Earth

On By taniacreationsIn Bachateros, The Dancing BugLeave a comment

Juan Juiz & Tania at Sydney International Bachata Festival 2009

August 6, 2009 

 According to Juan’s girlfriend, Josie, this is what he is: “the sexiest man on Earth“. 

This was no longer a secret as we all found this out in a full house at Brisbane City Hall on the Saturday night performances at the Brisbane Salsa & Brazilian Dance Congress in June 2009. The tell-tale was Luda Kroitor from Dancing with the Stars 2008 (Australian edition).

The funny thing was that one of our male friends told me: “If I were a girl I’d do him”   that is the kind of power he exudes.

You want to know how? It is just by loving life! That is what you see in sexy guys. They are in love with life and love being in their own skin. 

The same is valid for dancers, when they love the dancing, more than anything, is when they look “on top of the world”.

There is a thin line here though: narcissist and self absorbed and loving to show off their dance doesn’t make anyone sexier… can you see the difference? 

It is not about how you look. It is how you feel. It’s about people that dance the same way when alone in a room, on a stage, or at a packed dance floor where no one can see anyone.

Sexy dancers are the ones that are totally in connection with their partners when doing a couple dance (Salsa, Bachata, Zouk, Forró), not with themselves. 

They look at their partner’s eyes now and then (no freakish starring, please) and really dance with them even when doing individual steps like styling or shines.

If you do partner dancing, have you ever gone for a whole night of dancing with one person? If not, you have to do it. Find a way! It is one of those “dreams come true” experiences of life. 

I’ve done it a few times and I wasn’t romantically involved with these partners, and it was simply divine. I imagine that if there is a romance it must be even better.

For a night of dancing with just one parter, the rules are:

  1. It doesn’t need to be the best dancer on earth or the prettiest woman or the most amazing guy, or Brad Pitt, or anything of the sort. 
  2. Don’t wait for heaven on Earth to make it happen. Do it now! All you need is a dance partner. Someone that moves like you do. Even if the guy doesn’t know all the moves or the girl is still learning, it doesn’t matter, as long as you like dancing with each other. Don’t wait for all the conditions to line up. [I once danced a whole night with a guy that danced something, God knows what, but it wasn’t salsa. Everyone else was dancing salsa and it was a salsa night, with salsa music. It was the best salsa night of my life even though I never did one “cross-body-lead”!]
  3. You dance with each other the whole night, all dances, all songs, all styles you are keen, and all songs that you like. One or two dances with someone else may be permitted, no more than that. You can rest when necessary or when melting, but not often.
  4. Undivided attention. Put phones away, other people at bay.

The “high profile” people will have to deal with the disappointed crowd. I know that there are more ladies than guys in the dance scene, and because of that, the men start thinking they are god’s emissaries to the dance floor. 

They feel the power, they love having all the ladies asking them to dance. But they will have to get over it, they will have to say no on this special night, find an excuse if needed; and dance with one partner. I promise it will be well worth it.

You know that sensation that we have of reading each other’s minds? For example, when he is thinking of turning his hips that way hers are already on their way? He is still thinking which side he is going to lead her next turn but she already knows his decision? 

This is the goal. This is what you achieve at the end of the night. You lose the anxiety of knowing who you are going to dance with next, what kind of moves they will do, which song, and just enjoy dancing.

You will feel, on this night, that you have turned into the sexiest man or woman on Earth!

Written by – ‘Louca por Bachata’ Tania

NOTE: Juan Juiz did not persuade Tania to write this article, neither he asked to be called the sexiest man on earth, but… He did like it though :0)

Temporary Insanity

On By taniacreationsIn Orble Post, The Dancing BugLeave a comment

Junaid at his competition, with four layers of spray tan and all / Junaid and his Coach in his normal state performing at LDA Ball

When asked why he did it he told us: ‘I was fat and ugly’. These were his words, not mine. I’m pretty sure his mom would strongly disagree.

The fact is that my dance partner and friend Junaid decided to go for a Body Building contest… with all that comes with the package.

It is like when you look a pair of jeans with diamond buttons. It is so unachievable you simply don’t consider it seriously. When people like me, reasonably fit, with a few love handles, my honest share of cellulites and a normal body see a body builder we think “oh cool” and move the conversation to the next topic.

We see what is there but we have no idea of the lunacy behind.

I’m talking here about the competitions with no drugs. Just powders. At least that was what I saw my partner eating in all rehearsals: some powder with water, broccoli and chicken. The kind of actions they take are totally insane, If you want to know details and timetables or the processes get a trainer, here I’m just going to highlight a few of the crazy stuff I witnessed and that he told me about.

Most of it, he told a bunch of friends and me around a table, eating cake, after the competition.

First, I think the whole process takes around 7 months.

That means seven months of very hard work and some kind of crazy diet.

At the beginning there was weight to gain so every time I looked at him, he was eating. We didn’t see each other frequently, only at rehearsals, but even then, if we had 5 min of break, he had to get one of his powdery shakes, eat something from a container before and after the rehearsal.

He had to train everyday, Train is lifting heavy weights for more than an hour if I’m not mistaken. It got worse as the time went by.

Near the competition he was training twice a day on weekends. Hours and hours mornings and nights. Why? I have no idea!

After he gained weight and muscles for a few months, he then had to loose weight again. It was time to start a new diet. No sugar, and no oil at all, no fruits, what I would certainly classify as “no life”.

Our rehearsals suffered a bit, he was all the time hungry and tired. But I had to excuse him, if I was doing what he was I would have either died or killed someone by then.

I imagine a dialogue:

‘Who did she kill?’

‘Some guy on the street’

‘Why?’

‘For a bar of chocolate.’

‘WHAT?!’

‘The guy refused to give her the chocolate and was doomed!’

And if I was doing what they called dead‐lifting 190kg, I would certainly have had the power to kill someone for the chocolate!

At a certain part of the journey, they give up eating any sodium. It means salt. For a Brazilian like me that would be it. After months of training that would have made me give up for sure. If not that, it would be the water business.

There is a phase they have to drink 10 litters of water per day. Junaid told me that one of his friends was found by his girlfriend sleeping seated at the toilet so he wouldn’t have to wake every twenty minutes bursting to go.

‘How did you deal with the cravings?’ I asked my dance partner.

‘I made a list. An enormous list! Every time I had a craving I put it down on the list to eat after the competition. I got a few things crossed from the list today: cake, cheese, more cake, chocolate, more cake, cheese, ham and of course, more cake.’ He told me the at the brunch we organised for him after the competition.

One of his fellows competitors said the only thing he never craves is ice cream, because he was a recurrent body builder and after one of the competitions he devoured a bucket of four litters of ice cream and could never see the stuff again.

To do something this extreme you have to really embrace it. I’m not very good of hiding what I think so during the talk I ended up confessing that I think that underwear they use are simply atrocious.

He said he knew and since he was embracing the thing he ended up buying 3! The 3 colours they had and spent the next half hour showing us his pictures of him with the blue, the red and the black. He also had to tell us which one he was on the pictures.

You see, they go through four layers of spray tan plus something that is called slap tan and spray on cooking oil. This means you cannot recognise anyone unless you are a dentist and recognise the teeth. They are all so coloured they are completely different from their regular state. 

He told me also that during the spray tan, being his first time, he used the thong back to front or something like that. The girl at the tanning saloon found it very funny. I didn’t get the picture and certainly didn’t ask for more details! 

‘What is this slap tan?’ I asked, curious with the strange name.
‘That is how I call it. It is something that only is absorbed by the skin if it is applied with slaps. That means my friend had a hell of a time slapping me with no retribution from my part.’

‘Oh!’

From all this, my loony dance partner said he believes he can do anything he wants, anything at all. I bet he can. If all this is not a case of temporary insanity, I don’t know what it is!

Junaid in his normal state performing at LDA Ball

113 Orble Votes

It is time for the June Parties

On By taniacreationsIn daily adventures, Orble - Aussie FollyLeave a comment

It is time to meet friends, try delicious food, enjoy the colours and atmosphere.

The “Festas Juninas” are folk celebrations that take place everywhere in Brazil, from parties that engage whole cities to small family parties.

My Family’s Traditional Yearly June Party, in 1981!

They happen through the month of June in commemoration of the saints’ days: St John, St Peter and St Paul.

They are about dancing, dressing in funny folk costumes, eating delicious food, drinks to warm up the heart and a lot of excitement.

BraCCA organizes its annual party in Sydney (Arraial do BraCCA) so all can experience a little piece of Brazil. The best part is the food, I felt like a child in a candy store last year. 

Everywhere I looked I saw something that I wanted to eat or drink: party pastries, churrasco (barbecue meat), delicious sweets and cakes, cheese bread, Guaraná, sugar cane juice, coconut water, Feijoada (black beans) and other scrumptious dishes.

It is a great opportunity to meet new and old friends, there is music all day and the traditional dancing for kids. 

If you want to have a full Brazilian experience without having to cross the ocean you have to come to this event!

81 Orble Votes

Latin Dance Section at Radar Magazine

On By taniacreationsIn Orble Post, The Dancing BugLeave a comment

Radar Magazine is opening a new Latin Dance Section from the August edition.

I’m very excited as I’m the writer and reporter.
If you don’t know Radar you have to see it.

Radar is a magazine about the Brazilian culture for the Australian market. It is special. It has an amazing quality in all senses, good printing in a glossy paper, with a layout that is almost sexy, the pictures are artistically chosen and distributed, the writing is not only journalistic, it is almost literary, like chronicles of life’s best.

All done in two languages: English and Portuguese. 

I fell in love with the magazine when I first read it, and contacted them saying: I want in.

That is how I ended up writing for them about the Sydney Salsa Congress and a few tourism pieces. 

The Latin Dance Section will have one or two pages full of pictures and information from the scenes in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
The intention is to draw the attention of the Latin scene to the magazine so we are doing this as a trial.

Therefore I would love to receive any information about the Latin dancing that you have, parties, pictures, festivals and any special news that you can share. I intend to make this section so good people will salivate looking at it. 

Write me to talk about your Latin dance experience or invite me to your event, I’ll do my best to be there and include you in my article.

Contact me through this site.

To know more about my writing check my other blog: writtenlife.me

105 Orble Votes