a part of Transcendence mini-series I returned to Barbara on the balcony. I was glad to see we were at peace with our little dispute. We were in the same 'boat' anyway, two beginner tangueros, trying to comprehend the tango universe, its social component perhaps being the most slippery surface of all. I enjoyed how we grew and developed together. In our duet, she was the cool one, I was the ambitious one. That much was becoming clear.
Finishing her glass of wine, she said she wasn't going for the Saturday's milonga tonight. She left soon. My thoughts were back with Agnieszka. It would take me 45 minutes to get ready and be on the dance floor with her. But I just couldn't see that happening. Our transcendental tanda was so far out I could not possibly hope for a dance like that anytime soon. It would be like expecting fireworks on January 3rd. Sh*t like that don't just happen. I had already decided it was time I took a little break from tango. So I texted her back I wasn't coming due to my need to slow down a bit. She only replied with a sad face smiley. And sad, I was. Actually, I would be lucky to only be sad. Sadness is a clear and simple state. Mine was far more complex.
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a part of Transcendence mini-series After that evening, I did my best to avoid Agnieszka. But I need to tell another story, just to give proper background.
The following days I wouldn't want to be my employer. In my mind I kept replaying that tanda. It was with me when I read e-mails, when I did counseling work for my clients, when I gave lectures. It was like music in the background, but more in the front than background music was supposed to be. My general productivity was way below low. Coming Friday I went to the regular Tabor milonga. I was relieved to learn Agnieszka wasn't coming. Barbara, my dancing partner, had come before me and had already danced a few tandas by the time I arrived. a part of Transcendence mini-series We embraced. The softness of her embrace was made even sweeter by the softness of her sweater, made out of wool of the softest sheep, I'm sure.
We took a couple of moments to get cozy in the embrace while I continued to chew the crisps. There was no way of hiding it, so I thought best be done with it fast. The movement of my jaw moved her cheek. She laughed at the fact she was about to dance with a hamster. I felt relieved when the crisps were finally on their way south. Something about the music was off, but in a good way. My body naturally reacted to it with the smallest movements inside the body, followed by subtle movement of the feet, changing the standing leg. When this started to happen, Agnieszka responded with the same inner movements. We were playing a game! The music was so unpredictable it leaved me absolutely no extra head space for any tactics or planning. So for a while, we were just standing on the spot, having fun with what I could only describe as 'micro tango.' I'm sure that nothing could be seen from the outside. It was like a private joke. a part of Transcendence mini-series Mondays are happy days too, for one simple reason: there's a tango class with Tango Utrip school in the evening, followed by a practica.
I have been attending the classes regularly ever since they started in September. I haven't written anything about them so far, because there wasn't really a story to tell. Which, now that I come to think of it, is not entirely true. I have come to realize that a beautiful tanda is just like a summer romance: one never knows when and where it will happen. It takes you by surprise. And lately these 'summer' tandas keep popping up unexpectedly. Which, like with romance, is the best anyway. Without expectation, everything's possible. |
AuthorBlaz B, social tango dancer since February 2015. I'm sharing these posts to inspire future tango beginners, to encourage today's beginners and to possibly entertain those dancers, who have already become regulars at tango heaven.
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