A printed version of this page has no headers, footers, menu bars or this message.

Argentine Tango

Distinct from other forms of tango, such as ballroom tango and ballroom Argentine tango (which one might see on television in shows like "Dancing with the Stars"), Argentine tango is a social dance that is based on walking, with no set choreography and a distinctive embrace. The Tango St. Louis Facebook page posts resources in the St. Louis area, including information about the free lesson (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.) and milonga (7 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) held one Sunday a month at the Focal Point in Maplewood and a calendar of other milongas and group classes.

The Midwest Tango Festival was held in late fall (the first two in St. Louis; the inaugural event was November 30 - December 2, 2012).

The Webmaster started learning tango in Fall 2012 with Mauro Peralta (and Claudia Cortes) at Central Studio; see videos of Claudia and Mauro's performances at the 2012 Midwest Tango Festival: "La Cicatriz" (Juan D'Arienzo) and Vals "Viejo Porton" de Rodolfo Biagi (here is another video of the same performance). Two other performances (filmed by Alison Carrick) from a milonga at Central Studio on April 20, 2013 are here and here. At the Gala Milonga during the workshop weekend in St. Louis (April 8-10, 2016) featuring Melina Brufman she performed the following with Mauro: "Cachirulo" (Aníbal Troilo), "El Adiós" (Osvaldo Pugliese) and "Viejo Portón" (Rodolfo Biagi). Mauro moved to Austin, Texas in December 2016 and returned to live and teach in St. Louis in December 2019, then leaving again for Cleveland in November 2021. He now lives and teaches again in Austin.

English Country Dancing

Full of geometric figures, English country dancing appeals to the mathematically inclined, among others. Two groups with regular dances in the St. Louis area are the St. Louis English Country Dancers (second Friday of each month) and the Childgrove Country Dancers (third Friday of each month). An excerpt of a video produced by Henri and Jacqui Morgenstern of Michigan is included on their web page English Country Dancing an Introduction (scroll down a bit - longer video available on DVD).

New Zealand

I was born and raised in New Zealand. There are some web sites for information about New Zealand.

• newzealand.com - This site promotes New Zealand in various ways: as a travel destination, as a place to do business, and for its unique way of life.
• Onesport - Keep up on NZ sporting events via TV One's web site.
• Stuff - The website of a number of New Zealand newspapers.
  • Taranaki Daily News - The home-town newspaper
• The New Zealand Herald - New Zealand's largest circulation newspaper
• Te Ara - The Online Encyclopedia of New Zealand
• Te Papa Tongarewa - The Museum of New Zealand

Cricket

• Cricinfo - for up to the minute cricket, including live text commentaries.
• Web site of New Zealand Cricket
• Web site of Central Districts Stags Cricket
• If you would like a primer on cricket, start with the Wikipedia article

Football (Soccer)

• ESPN Soccernet - one source (among many) for information about the beautiful game
• Web site of FIFA
• Web site of the English Premier League
  • Web site of Liverpool Football Club (2019-2020 Premier League Champions; 2022 FA Cup Champions) - Liverpool played AC Roma in St. Louis on August 1, 2016!
• Web site of U.S. Soccer
• Web site of Major League Soccer
  • Web site of the St. Louis City SC
• Web site of National Women's Soccer League (we had an excellent team, the St. Louis Athletica, in the now defunct Women's Professional Soccer league, here until a cash-flow crisis resulted in the club folding - the league itself folded two seasons later amid a law suit between the league and one of the team owners.).
• Web site of New Zealand Football
• Web site of the A-League
  • Web site of the Wellington Phoenix
  • Web site of the Auckland FC (inaugural season 2024-2025)

Rugby

• Web site of the All Blacks, the national rugby team of New Zealand (named for the color of their outfits)
• Web site of the 2023 Rugby World Cup
• Web site of Taranaki Rugby. On October 6, 2024, Taranaki won the Ranfurly Shield from Tasman by the score of 42-29 in the final challenge of the season, thus securing the shield until the 2025 season. In 2023 Taranaki won their second national provincial championship title (under the moniker ""Bunnings Warehouse NPC"") with a thrilling 22-19 win over Hawke's Bay in the final. On September 19, 2020, Taranaki won the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury by the score of 23-22, holding off a furious comeback by the holders. Eight days later they surrendered the shield to Otago 30-19 in their first defence. In 2014 Taranaki won their first national provincial championship title (under the moniker ""Mitre 10 Cup"").

If you're looking for links to the other usual local sports teams (the Cardinals, the Blues, the Billikens, etc.), I figure these are easy enough to find yourself.