Saturday evening thoughts about Friday night tango

Image by hanspetermeyer.ca via Flickr

Saturday evening. Generally a time of rest for me (sort of), after dancing Friday evening. I need the evening off because after 5 hours of dancing, this 50 year old's body usually has a deliciously sore feeling. Also, my dancing soul has been thoroughly nourished. Though I am a dance-aholic, I'm OK with taking the evening off.


But I'm not here to talk about Saturdays; I want to make a comment on last night's tango experience.

I spend most of my Friday's with the crew at ValDance.com. It's the heart of my week. Friends gather for happy hour beforehand, often at Hank's Bar and Grill. We usually take in the 1 hour beginner or intermediate workshops on whatever is being offered (swing, rhumba, waltz, foxtrot, chacha, etc); then we dance dance dance until ValDance closes down and it's time to move on to another dance venue.

Good stuff. A lively crew; a good mix of music; lots of great dancing!

Last night was "tango" night. At one time the ballroom tango was interesting to me... and then I made my voyage to Buenos Aires, following a trail left by Sally Potter and her Tango Lesson movie. That ruined ballroom tango for me. As I stepped into what tango can be, I didn't want to go back to the ballroom version.

So instead of workshopping ballroom, I took tickets – and practiced. Away from the class, in the foyer of the hall, I practiced Argentine tango. And whenever the talking stopped in the hall, and the music played... magic. And that was good.

I'm not a fan of "moves." Less and less of a fan of moves for the sake of moves. Which is one reason I like Argentine tango over ballroom: the emphasis moves away from dramatic gestures towards simplicity and connection. Sometimes it's enough to hold a woman close. To pause. And just walk. And walk. To pause again. To breathe. And walk some more.

We didn't walk much in the foyer as the rest of the ValDance.com crew were learning to sway and sweep etc. Instead, we took the opportunity to practice some of the minor moves that make navigation with tango – Argentine tango – a pleasure, and so much more than navigation. We did some work on timing, bringing our feet and ankles together at the just-right moments. And a few embellishments. Simple stuff. The stuff of elegance. Almost meditative.

A nice way to warm up for an evening with a fair number of tango tunes. When the dance started we got travel 'round the floor in our own time. Feeling the music between our bodies. Walking. Pausing. Stepping quickly when the candombe rhythms emerged. Slowing when it receded. An ocho here, a gancho there. But mostly the simplicity of the walk, slow or fast, with the music moving through and between our bodies.

Tango. Love it. Love that I followed Sally's lead, and the fantasy I had about going to Buenos Aires and learning to dance there. Love that I got to come home to a local version of Sally's BsAs salon with Kirra and VancouverIslandTango.com. It just keeps getting better, the more I dance, the more I feel the music and the presence of my partner.

¡Muy bueno!


6 March 2010
hanspetermeyer

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