I returned to Medici’s in Manoa last night for my second visit to this weekly milonga lasting just 2 1/2 hrs. Could be the shortest milonga on record. I returned having promised to do so after dancing with a charming young man there who has great potential and enough vocabulary to keep me interested. But, alas, he was no where to be seen. So as there were-as per usual–more women than men, I tied on my lead flats and began to dance. I had a couple of okay tandas and was chatting with a new friend, Sue, when I saw him thru the window on his way in. I pulled out my follow heels and took a breath, but someone else came along first…..and second. That’s when I realized there is such a thing as a Tango Two-Step. For me that’s when your lead has very limited vocabulary and is highly predictable. If he’s a smooth dancer and confident, it can still be a nice dance….but this isn’t often the case. It’s okay–just not anything to get excited about and you really don’t mind if that doesn’t happen again. Worse yet is the beginning dancer who overconfidently tries to lead figures he has no control of and can’t figure out how to get out of. Ayeyaeeyaeee! That’s when, after one interminably long song, one says “Yes,” smiles and sits down. Ugh. Then Pugliese begins to play and one cannot allow such an opportunity to pass. So I go to Mr Puerto Rico and present my cabeceo. Ahh. Nice. I could have gone home after this tanda most happily, but stayed to the end. And the end was spectacular: a milonga tanda. Fantastico, but oh dear, my hoped for partner was taken–So, anxiety and frustration mounting, I screw up my courage and ask the hostess of this milonga–a lovely dancer. She accepts and it’s a delightfully fun tanda! We laugh and hug, enjoying the moment.  This moment is topped only by what happened next: My PR guy asks if I might teach him to milonga! I’ve been resisting these requests as I don’t want my tango to become more business than pleasure. But, he’s just watched me dance milonga and is so excited,  my answer in this case: “Yes! Love to!” He enters my number in his phone along with my name and promises to send his schedule so we can make an appointment. Could this be the start of a new tango chapter….?  Time, as they say, will tell.