I remember how thrilled Mateo was a year ago, returning from Poreč and giving me a detailed report about his first tango festival there, the famous Mediteranean summer tango festival.
Mateo's report in short: it was amazing on and off the dancefloor. Diabetes-level of sweetness all around, fun, sun, sea, beautiful ladies from all around the world, partying on a boat and all that tango. A year ago tango meant almost nothing to me. So I had been happy for him but never imagined I would've enjoyed it too. Now I remembered the stories from a new perspective; a perspective of possibility that I too might enjoy tango craziness over-load. Early June, but July was already announcing itself with rising temperatures and less classes to attend in Ljubljana. Everybody in our tango community was talking about this year's Poreč. The talk revolved around the topics of:
Poreč was in the air but I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I felt no pull towards it in my belly, so I remained passive and observed the hype. Soon Mateo asked me if I was coming. I said I didn't know. Gradually over the next days I went from »I don't know« to »maybe,« and then to »probably,« followed by »most likely.« I was included in several Facebook chats where Poreč was discussed. When I finally decided that I would go, everybody has already hooked up with somebody to share apartments.
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The first show Mid-April I was co-leading a training course in educational game design in Egio, Greece. We were a fun Erasmus+ group of almost 30 people.
Prior to my departure to Greece, I asked my co-trainer Eleni if there would be any tango dancers in the group. I learned that Georgia, one of the organisers, was a tanguera. I chatted Georgia up on Facebook. She told me she had been dancing since October 2014. I was happy to learn that. She would be better than me, yet still a beginner. We made a deal to dance and practice while I would be in Greece. Knowing I would not go without tango for two weeks made me feel good. I was still constantly checking with Life if tango was to become an integral part of it. The training course started and the nights were flying by. It was already the 6th Day of the training course and still no dancing. That evening we had an International evening. Some months later I heard a more appropriate name for it: International drinking night. And so it was. I was sitting outside on a terrace by the pool, drinking and joking around with my new friends. Georgia leaned out of the window from the bar inside and asked: »Hey! Are we gonna dance tango or what?« It was the first class of Advance course at our tango school. We were introduced to a new teaching duet, Sanja and Peter. I could tell from early on that I would like them. Sanja was a young lady petite, full of energy, giving her all to teach us something while offering lots of entertainment bits to loosen us up. Peter was her counterpart: tall by all standards, an air of coolness about him, not bothering to speak unless necessary.
We discussed the dissociation of the upper part of the body to the waist and legs. The teachers instructed us to work with our partner. One partner would plant her feet in the ground firmly, while having a soft, fluid upper body, especially the back and shoulders, while keeping the core (belly) strong; the other partner would give a push to her shoulder. As we were doing this exercise with Barbara, my impression was that she got it easily. My impression also was that I got it. I was not new to physical movement practices and my tai ji and kung fu experience would surely be helpful. We had just finished with the final class of Beginner's course, led by Janko and Mateja, when Janko put his hand on my shoulder and said: »I have one advice to give you now. You want it?« Janko had just recently became a father. His hand was warm and friendly, as was his intention.
»Yes, of course!« I replied hastily. »OK. You see all these ladies here at the milonga,« Janko pointed at the women at the venue, »each milonga, you have to do them all. The pretty, the young and the old and the fat. Every single one of them. You have to dance a lot. This is how you will get good.« I nodded my head and hoped I didn't look too terrified. I didn't feel shy about asking these women to dance. I just felt that I had nothing to offer them. This was my math: a tanda consists of 4 songs. Each song is about 2 minutes and a half, sometimes more. That's a minimum of 10 minutes for a tanda. What do I do for 10 minutes?! Maybe if they played only introductions to songs, like they play trailers for movies, I could perform 4 times 30 seconds of interesting dance. I confessed my concerns to Mateo. He let me in on a secret: »There's a trick. You don't ask for a dance at the beginning of the first song. You go in on the second or even the third song. In this way, should the dance with a particular woman prove to be an unpleasant experience, you only have to endure some 5 minutes or so.« I though the advice was pure gold. I just had my big problem cut in half! But a half of a big problem is still a considerably large problem... ... Argentinian Tango course for beginners was coming to an end. Next week we would begin with advance course. Advanced, after just two months? I didn't think so. I was definitely in my infant phase, learning how to walk and all.
That Friday's evening we had a class in musicality. Something changed in me. I was no longer in my head, controlling my feet and the rest of my body. I was with music and with Barbara, my dancing partner. Taking away the ambition to master a new move has freed me. I was rejoined with an old friend, the music. Funny enough, I had never particularly liked tango music. It bothered me with it's rustic sound design. It bothered me even more that I could not distinguish between songs, nor could I remember and recognize any of them. To me it was all the same, tango music. As the common belief has it, it supposedly induces dancers with passion. And we all know what Buddha's thoughts on that were... But that Friday the music spoke to me, moving me and my partner, effortlessly. |
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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