Omar Vega - A Blue Moon Tango Celebration.

Hats off to Valeria Solomonoff. The second of her monthly "Blue Moon" Milongas for 2009 fell on February 13. Omar Vega would have been 50 years old that day. Rising to the co-incidence Valeria took a laudable step in respectfully dedicating the evening's event to his memory. She did not stop there. With the help of Yesim Sezer (La Turca) and Diane Ramo (great friend and supporter of Omar's work) she conducted a free one hour pre-milonga milonga class based on Omar's teaching style and philosophy. Thanks to Dance Manhattan for donating the class space and to Sergio Seguraose (from the school of traditional tango) for managing a fine multimedia presentation highlighting Omar's spectacular dancing and insightful instruction. Gayatri Martin and Diane were also instrumental in organizing the event.


The mood was Joyful and celebratory with just the slightest touch of the bittersweet. Here, moist eyes and mirthful laughter mingled with the open smiles and the inevitable whispers as the iconic Omar stories flowed. Stories like, well, maybe not on this forum, but they all rang solidly true to his character. Beside being a Magnificent dancer Omar was a very straight shooter, true to himself and always genuine in the pursuit of his passions. Whatever his failings there is much to admire and learn from this man's story.

Concluding the class, Valeria admitted that her only fear had been the specter of low attendance. She needn't have worried. This is New York, Omar's second home and the master's heart would have been warmed by the multitude of his friends that came out to play. The event's page on facebook is also popular.

I took very few pictures relying instead on Dance Manhattan to documented the event. What little I captured brought home to me the emotion shared by all who attended. It was a very special night.

While being mesmerized by a projected performance, a long time dancer and dear friend acknowledged that she had never, allowed herself to appreciate Omar's talent and style, unable to able to see past his 'reputation', that is, until that night. To my mind, that realization alone made the entire event a resounding success.



I don't quite know what it is about Omar's aura, but whenever I saw him at a milonga or now on print or screen, my mood elevates. It might be his profound love of milonga, a aspect of the dance he personifies (along with Ruben) to me, and energizes me in a very fundamental way. It might be the way he chose to live his life the best he could on his own terms. Regardless of what it is, in life and in memory his spirit remains potent.

Thank you Valeria and all involved.
TT

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