is it ok to teachers to lure students into their classes at practicas?

Is this the culture we want to cultivate? I’m very sad.

Once in a while I see something on youtube that really draws my attention. This clip at Festival Tango Lisbon was one of them. Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa. Good to see that the festival is inviting milongueros

That walk at the beginning is simply sublime and reveals something elusive to a lot of dancers. Corina must be a dream to dance with…

Hopefully I’ll write much more

Si soy así,
¿qué voy a hacer?
Nací buen mozo
y embalao para querer.
Si soy así
¿qué voy a hacer?
Con las mujeres
no me puedo contener.
Por eso tengo
la esperanza que algún día
me toqués la sinfonía
de que ha muerto tu ilusión.
Si soy así
¿qué voy a hacer?
Es el destino
que me arrastra a serte infiel.

Donde veo unas polleras
no me fijo en el color…
Las viuditas, las casadas y solteras
para mí todas son peras
en el árbol del amor.
Y si las miro coqueteando por la calle
con sus ojos tan porteños y su talle cimbreador,
le acomodo el camouflage
de un piropo de mi flor.

Si soy así
¿qué voy a hacer?
Pa’ mí la vida
tiene forma de mujer.
Si soy así,
¿qué voy a hacer?
Es Juan Tenorio
que hoy ha vuelto a renacer.
Por eso, nena,
no sufrás por este loco
que no asienta más el coco
y olvidá tu metejón.
Si soy así,
¿qué voy a hacer?
Tengo una esponja
donde el cuore hay que tener.

Watching amazing dancers on the dance floor can have several effects. One of them is to make you realize how much you still have to learn, practice and internalize. On the other hand, it is very easy to be blown away and feel bad about sharing a dance floor doing your own thing, cumbersome in comparison. You feel limited by your abilities and less able to give another great dancer a great time.

As a leader, no matter whatever other might say, I always feel guilty about a less good dance. A missed connection, literally. One thing I’ve been dealing with is also to realize that a lot of great dancers on the dance floor are professionals. I want to dance better and better but it is also important to keep things a bit in perspective.

While this frustration may be very hard on you on the spot, at the milonga, it is also a source of energy to work hard and let go of less good feelings afterwards. We need to enjoy the journey.

No matter how much you know that you shouldn’t be affected, sharing a dance floor with people doing beautiful open moves can be tough. Yes, we want to think that is all about musicality, small and beautiful. But it still gets to you. And you want to be able to do it.

Maybe to not do it so much afterwards?

Today I got a thank you in the middle of a tanda. That was good to tame the ego. Far too high lately.

Mostly walking…

Some of my friends keep telling me, when I ask about their tango, that they haven’t had an amazing dance for a long time now. Women. I always wonder about this. I still remember one amazing dance that I had when I was even more padawan. It was everything people normally mention and more.

But the thing is, I’m constantly having a great time out there. I can honestly count with one hand the nights that I’d rather forget. I can always remember something cool about a dance or having fun while dancing with my friends. I do not enter a milonga looking for the magical tanda or dance. I honestly don’t. Come to think of it, I haven’t really put much thought into as to what I think when I enter a milonga venue. I guess I feel the place, the vibe of who’s there and look more or less forward to dancing with who I see.

I don’t practice to get tango highs. I practice because I’m actually having fun by challenging myself and improving with dance partners. I do practice to better express tango the way I feel that tanda or day. I’ve found that being overly self-conscious doesn’t help so I’ve been looking more forward to improving rather than worrying about plateaus or current stages.

I wonder if I should be looking for the tango bliss more.

Recently someone commented on my dancing: “Your upper body does something and your legs do another”.

I’m still trying to figure out if it was a compliment or what. I do know what she means (!) but I also know why I do it and why I love doing it…