Tangomarkkinat 2013 online voting

Online voting has started today. You can vote from outside Finland: go to http://yle.fi/musiikki/tangomarkkinat/2013-05-13/aanestys-205-66 . The 182 men and 124 women who entered all had to sing "Satumaa", and the video at the top of the page is a compilation of some of the hopefuls. Juries winnowed them down to 60, and the public will select 8 men and 8 women. A jury will select a further 8 men and 8 women, and these 32 will compete at the semifinals in Turku on 15th June.

To vote: select Naisten sarjan äänestys. for the women or Miesten sarjan äänestys. for the men. Click on the picture or the name to listen to the entries; then click on the word "Aänestä" whích appears in the red box under the clip, to the right.

Familiar names include Heidi Pakarinen, Sari Hellsten, Johanna Pakonen II (somebody has already commented "good as your namesake"), and Kai Gideon, who first entered the Tangomarkkinat in 1997.

Tangomarkkinat 2013 latest

The programme for this year's Tangomarkkinat has been published. It will start at 17:30 on Wednesday 10th July 2013. Highlights are: Kaija Lustila appearing twice on Thursday afternoon; Johanna Debreczeni, Johanna Pakonen, Marita Taavitsainen, Mervi Koponen, and Amadeus Lundberg on Thursday evening; the 100 Years of Finnish Tango concert on Friday evening; Arja Koriseva on Friday evening; the Tango Heat concert on Saturday afternoon; Lea Laven and Katri-Helena on Saturday evening. Nothing is happening on Sunday. Kaija Pohjola does not seem to be appearing this year. Mira Kunnasluoto has not put in an appearance for a long time. There will not be a semifinal for the singing competition. Instead there will be separate finals for men and women.
Entries are being accepted for the competiton right now. Internet voting will start on 20th May. See the complete programme here: http://www.tangomarkkinat.fi/keskiviikko.html

Tangomarkkinat 2013

The Tangomarkkinat organisers have just announced that this year they will revert to appointing a Tango King and a Tango Queen. There will be separate competitons for men and women. I have to thank Terhi Matikainen for drawing my attention to this. It's a pity they ever changed the system - we have been denied Queens Kaija Lustila, Suvi Karjula, and Terhi Matikainen.

Tango in 2013

The theme of this year's Tangomarkkinat will be "100 years of Finnish tango". It will be held on 10-14 July 2013, but details of who will be appearing have not been published. Tango in the Snow will be held in Tampere on 9th February. Details in English are here: http://www.hurmio.fi/lumitango/snowtango2013 . Of course the event depends on a good layer of snow on the ground, and I will be keeping an eye on the Tampere web camera before deciding whether to go.

Seija, the landlady in Seinäjoki, sent me the latest record by Arja Koriseva and Jouni Somero. It is called Joulukirkossa (Christmas in the church) and features Christmas carols sung by Arja accompanied by Jouni on the piano. One of them, Taivas sylissäni (Heaven in my arms) is composed by Carola Häggkvist. Could she be the same Carola Häggkvist who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden in 1991? Indeed she could, and I have to thank Heidi Pakarinen for this information.

The Muistojen polku (Pathway of Memories) tango concert which took place during the 2012 Tangomarkkinat was broadcast on Finnish tv on 31st December. It was introduced by Marko Maunuksela (Tango King 2010) and a small lady reminiscent of Charlene Tilton. She was Natali Lintala, the daughter of Lasse Lintala, the founder of the Tangomarkkinat. Natali remarked that she wasn't born when the Tangomarkkinat started. Performers included Jari Sillanpää, whose version of Ecstasy was much better than that of Mikko Vihma in the 2012 semifinals. Also appearing were Arja Koriseva, who sang the old favourites Kultaiset korvarenkaat and Rannalla; Kari Piironen, Seija Tuupanen, Jenna Bågeberg, and Amadeus Lundberg.

Tansii tähtien kanssa final

 The final was held on 2nd December 2012. Helena Ahti-Hallberg made a big impression.

The winner was Krisse Salminen and her professional partner Matti Puro. She got 40 for pasodoble, 38 for waltz, and 40 for a humppa-inspired freestyle.

The runners-up, Antonio Flores and Disa Kortelainen, got 38 for rumba, 36 for tango (the music for this was the Finnish classic Satumaa), and 35 for freestyle. You will recall that Matti Puro won last year, partnering former Miss Finland Viivi Pumpanen. A professional winning two years in succession is probably some kind of Strictly/DWTS world record.

Tanssii tähtien kanssa

Tanssii tähtien kanssa is now in its third week. Judge Helena Ahti-Hallberg has put on a bold front as usual.

　
An unexpected public favourite has been Ristomatti Ratia, who managed to amass a mere 4 points and still managed to stay in the show: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh2gj2jUDTM His score improved to 11 points in the third programme and the public vote still saved him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8DdhpK5gSg Another novelty routine from the same show is Risto Kaskilahti and Susa Matson's quickstep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ZJsmG-RXc&feature=relmfu Note the brief snatch of letkajenkka at the start of their routine. My particular favourite at the moment is Krisse Salminen. She is a stand-up comic and I feared she would treat the programme as a basis for silly jokes, but she has been displaying seriousness and talent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaU8MDF5Ywo

Tansii tähtien kanssa

A new series starts on 16th September! The only competitor I have heard of is Krisse Salminen, who you will remember interrupted the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest from Helsinki with highly humorous jokes and annoyed the hell out of Terry Wogan. Should be good!

Another dance-related programme on Finnish tv at the moment is Tanssi peppu pieneksi, which is actually an American programme so I shouldn't be mentioning it, but I will. Its original title is Dance Your Ass Off (their spelling not mine) and the plus-size competitors are judged not only on dancing ability but the amount of weight they manage to lose. It is all very jovial, with no unpleasant comments about the competitors. Furthermore, the competitors are not given unrealistic targets, as the hostess, the judges, and the professionals are all a bit on the cuddly side themselves.