It takes energy to dance this badly . . .

I had the best partners last night at tango class - gentle, helpful, patient . . . Amongst them they probably led 12 crosses... I "got" 3 of them. Of the ochos - I did "catch" most of the back ochos - and almost none of the forward ochos. My axis was wobbly. I kept forgetting to keep my knees bent. I also kept watching my leads' feet. To be fair, one of them was wearing shiny bronze shoes. I can't be responsible for staring at shiny things - it's genetic. Impssible to resist.

*sigh*

Sometimes I think, my God this is the greatest thing ever - I could do this for hours and hours. Other times I think, how can I suck so badly at something I like so much?

----

I'm not sure if my Note from the Universe is helpful or not...

Sometimes when you're ready for a change, Mari, and you kind of know it
but won't admit it, when it comes, not only are you surprised, but it hurts.

Yeah, I know that doesn't help much, unless you remember the "ready" part.
Because there is simply no change that might ever transpire in time and space
that happens before you're fully able to use it for your own growth and glory.

Love watching you create,
The Universe

----

Next milonga in T minus 62 hours.

Comments

Golondrina said…

Hi. I know this post was written some time ago but just wanted to say 'sit tight'. I generally tend to come back from tango, either buzzing happily or skulking in feeling low because I just wasn't on form that night. It definitely has a polarising effect! Hope you are feeling on the Up now!

April 12, 2009 at 2:09 AM

Mari said…

Thank you so much for that comment. It didn't get the notification of it until today for some reason but it's every bit as relevant now as it was then!

October 7, 2009 at 1:14 PM

Ganchos . . . again . . .

(Image courtesy of Emilie Boudet: http://www.emilieboudet.com) From the Facebook comments on my "Expressing the music or dancing for tables" post: "But adornments can become problematic when they interfere with something I'm trying to do. (I have enough trouble as it is). Some of these are basically harmless and don't really bother me that much. Like some ladies insist on doing a gancho whenever I lead them to step over my leg. I'm mostly amused by this. Some girls just like their ganchos and will seize any opportunity to do one." Predictably, I have several problems with the above behavior. First of all, they aren't "their ganchos" ! The gancho for the follower is led. It is my (nearly fanatical) opinion that it should never be an adornment or something the follower just decides to do on her own . As someone who is now attempting to learn to lead, the last thing I want to see, or heaven forbid feel, is a stiletto heel near my crotch ....

"Proper" Tango Shoes

Periodically someone, usually a man, will be bring up the topic of "proper tango shoes." If he's referring to the problem (and dangers) of trying to dance in flip-flops, or mules, or platform shoes etc., those are definitely valid, and very helpful points to be made. The likelihood of damaging your feet is very high without the proper support of high quality shoes. My problem comes with the idea that the *only* proper tango shoes have 4" stiletto heels on them and fetish-worthy embellishments. (Okay, I'm pretty keen on the embellishments myself.) "goofy ballroomy shoes are a turnoff... get rid of them..." - Alex Tango Fuego (granted this is from 2007), http://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-dance-or-not-to-dancebrutally.html And, in the comments on a blog post, Anonymous said... " This is a controversial one. If a follower isn't wearing tango shoes then it's usually a good sign she's not particularly good." From Ms. Hedgeh...

Expressing music or dancing for tables?

Too much of a good thing? As sort of a follow-up to my thoughts on technique, I've run into a little snag I'd like some feedback. When I get compliments about my embrace, I'm absolutely elated. When someone compliments the way my walk feels, I feel accomplished. Compliments about my musicality - ditto. When I start getting lots of compliments about my foot work, however - I get worried. I shouldn't right? A compliment is a compliment, and should be taken graciously. It's certainly meant as a positive thing. It's a good thing if a dancer's feet are pretty - why else would everyone wear those silly, yet gorgeous, shoes? But like Richard Dreyfuss staring down his plate of mash potatoes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I can't help thinking it means something. Something not good. I don't mean like a backhanded compliment - but more like a fear that my priorities have unintentionally shifted. Maybe it's a community thing. Online I very often r...

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