"I was up dancing tango"

I'm dragging today. Another Tuesday night milonga means a late night before and early morning work day. I go through this every week. And I don't plan to change a thing. It's worth it. It's worth every yawn, worth every "could you repeat what you just said? My brain wandered off." It's worth every, "you look kinda tired today."

"I was up dancing tango." (I try to stifle the glee I feel every time I tell someone at work that.)

So many great things about last night's milonga. A tanguero finding *his* tango. Dancing the heck out of a milonga - I mean *flying* the milonga. Lovely. New people. Old friends. Tanguera bonding. Putting down roots in this amazing community of warm, kind, big-hearted tango dancers. What could be more welcome than a solid, weekly milonga venue with good friends, good food and live music from Glover? I can't think of thing.

No se pierdan ni un compás de este tango
que va cautivando rebelde y dulzón.
Entre vueltas y requiebros galantes
imaginemos hoy vivir el tiempo de antes;
ese tiempo feliz
del chambergo bien gris,
el piropo locuaz
y el farol de arrabal.
No se pierdan ni un compás de este tango...
Así, al escucharlo, ¡qué lindo es bailar!

Don't miss a single beat of this tango
captivating, rebellious and overly sweet.
In between turns and gallant compliments
let's imagine today living in a foregone time;
that happy time
of the real gray broad-brimmed soft hat,
the loquacious compliment
and the suburb’s lamppost.
Don’t miss a single beat of this tango…
So, in listening to it, how nice it is to dance!

---Muchachos, comienza la ronda (Hey guys, the round begins!)
Music by: Luis Porcell
Lyrics by: Leopoldo Diaz Velez

Comments

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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