Tangobunny's Blog

Actually I did dance all day yesterday-nearly. Went to Alex’s noon practica-arrived late, for the second hour. But it was good an I danced plenty-leading a lot. I didn’t think I’d get a dance with Alex, but I did–a milonga, near the end of the time. I didn’t offer to lead, as I have sometimes when we have danced milonga-I just followed. It was a great set, and after the last song Alex said: “That was perfect!” And it was-an absolutely marvelous, creative-full of surprises and complete connection-just great! Definitely a acne worth $8.00 -the price of admission-and then some. I left happily on errands, stopping off in Beavercreek to visit dear friends and returning to SE PDX to grab a bite before heading to Ventura Park near my daughter’s place where Alex’s Krebsec brass band was playing at 6:30pm. The’d just begun as I walked across the grass -music filling the air with typical umpaas. A happy sound! The crowd was big but no one was dancing yet–so I started. Others cmd along by and by and soon there was a crowd up front of the 300 in the audience-all moving and grooving to the drums and tubas, trumpets and Alex’s tenor sax. Lots of children danced freely and one little boy, maybe 3 yrs old, was really into it-hands in the air, fingers moving in joy. It was a great evening up til just after 8pm. and I was on my feet and moving most of that time. Next-home to change and head to the evening milonga at the Norse. The music was 50/50–50% alternative. But of that 50% only 25% was nicely danceable. Ah so. DJing alternative is a special art, and only a few excel. My favorite dances were with Aja, a dear woman with whom I enjoy dancing milonga. And-a fun set with Michael H. who always laughs in delight and we play on the dance floor with a very nice connection. The milonga ended at 12 so I was home by 12:30…..a sweet-good tired flooding my limbs…..because I danced all day!

I’m housesitting and doggie sitting for my daughter in Kirkland, Washington. I’ve done this before and so, before this visit, knew about tango venues nearby and across the water in Seattle. So far this trip I have only managed to get to LaVida for one milonga and tonight for an hour of their weekly practica. But tonight was one of those magical nights you didn’t see coming and certainly didn’t expect. Come to think of it, that happens with some regularity in the Tangoworld, and with some regularity we are continually connecting “beneath the surface” with stunning individuals we’d never have met outside of this world. Such was the nature of a comment my friend German made on Skype the other day. He’s from Buenos Aires, but currently teaching in Russia. So he said he’d been talking just the day before with a mutual friend, Chino, about me. So of course I said, what did you say? And he said, “Just that it’s amazing that because of tango, we are now friends.” And not just casual friends, but “heart connection” friends. So it was tonight that magic just descended again–and by the time I left I’d not only had sweet milonga set with Kris (who runs this practice) but had connected with three lovely women and one charming young man. I know I will see again two of these women. One is from Tokyo–where I will go in October–she will be there too–on business–It’s inevitable–we’ll connect there–maybe I’ll meet her 85 yr old mother? This lovely Japanese woman is married to an American and has 3 young children but travels to Japan a lot for business –and–to see her mom. The other young woman has only been dancing tango a few months but is very good–already dancing intermediate level. She’ll move quickly because she’s gifted and young and motivated. She wants to connect again–so… That’s our Tangoworld….connecting and connecting, like no other world I move in. No wonder it’s spreading exponentially!

Okay-so the reality I experience at the PDX Marathon this weekend is not much different than other tango venues in the homeland. There are variations of course, based on the day, but generally-it’s a venue populated by lovely dancers mostly aged 25-40. It’s a young crowd seeking young, likeminded folks. I, and the very few like me, who are distinctly the elders and female, have a rough time getting the dances we seek–some days. This being true I decided to learn to lead, a solution for my desire to dance more than I was getting. Now I lead fairly well-enough to dance every tanda if I want. But I don’t. I really need both. I prefer to lead milonga, because so few fellas can actually lead milonga, misunderstanding the dance to be just a version of their normal tango–but it’s definitely not that. So I like to lead and find women coming to dance with me for milongas occasionally. I enjoy this a lot. What I don’t enjoy is being passed by again and again by fellas who dance at my level, presumably because I’m an elder. I get it–the human nature part–but it sucks. This ageism in Tango I do not find on the salsa floor. When I go dance salsa, I am asked to dance as much as I want to dance. I enjoy salsa and will go to dance it occasionally. Yet, it’s Argentine Tango I love….listen to every day, picture in my creative imagination as I listen to the music…For years now, when I shop my first question is: will this garment work for tango? You might say Tango is a big part of my reality. But I don’t enjoy the sometimes cliquish quality of a tango crowd, though I do appreciate folks needing to reconnect and socialize. The thing is, I know tango venues can be friendlier, because in other places in the world, they are. There an elder female or male are welcomed and appreciated (even admired) for their dancing expertise. Here, I’m afraid, the old “American competitive spirit” prevails, as well as an underlying but powerful worship of youth. You can see it clearly sometimes on the floor….when the dancers seem to be dancing from the ego rather than the heart and joy of the dance. Over the last 10-11 years I have seen many individuals come and go in the tango community. Some leaving because they’ve been hurt, feel excluded or wounded. Some because they just don’t enjoy the ambiance of exclusivity. My favorite dance partner stopped coming completely about two years ago. Big loss to me and many others. I’m not leaving any time soon. And I could probably be a little more assertive in my appreciation of others. So for now, I’ll try to do that, and maybe keep my lead shoes on for good measure.

I will go to Japan late October/November this year. I have a friend there, a former student and his family. And I’ll find tango there – – – probably. Best guess!

On New Year’s Eve I landed in BsAs, tired but ready to see the new year in with music and dancing. Sadly though, all my friends were out of the city on holiday! Grabbed a taxi at the airport to my hotel for the first two nights, Casseron Porteno, another tango hotel. This one is a little larger than Luna Llena, my regular and favorite place, but in somewhat ill repair. My room had a hole in the floor, next to by bed! Just a tad scary….but I didn’t fall through! Not once!  I was starving and eager for a tasty meal by the time I landed at the hotel, but there was nothing open nearby with any chance of getting a table at 10pm. Luckily the housemother invited me to share supper with her and her family(husband, young child and a young woman, possible a cousin or niece). Their hospitality was impeccable–perfectly Argentinian. We saw just a few fireworks, though they were popping all around, as the buildings and trees blocked our view. Altogether a very soft landing. There is much more to say about the January, spent mostly in Argentina. But for now, I’ll just note that it was a trip not so much about dancing-tho I did dance some, and it was great. It was a visit more about the people. And that has set the tone it seems for the year. I’ve danced very little comparatively. And after a small surgery in March, I danced not at all for more than a month. Now, in  the latter half of April I am beginning again to go to the milongas and practices; not every day or even most days, but once, twice, maybe thrice this week—and not for too long, and not so many dances. Strangest thing tho, on Monday two different woman came and asked me to lead them in a milonga, and today at the noon practice, one woman asked to make an appointment for a milonga set at the next Thursday eve. dance (sadly I can’t go as I have another commitment). But it’s strange….I seem to be becoming noticed for my milonga leading. Well–that’s okay, I guess. I love leading milonga and always have fun. But some of these gals can’t follow me very well…? Can’t seem to move fast enough or feel my lead–on occasion. Of course I am learning too. Always learning. Today I had a small success leading in a practice a new step I’ve learned off the Nell cd. It worked and it was fun–a nice combination involving a sacada.  Everything changes…all the time, so why should I be surprised when my experience dancing tango or my feelings about the dance should change a bit?  Maybe I’m just sad because one of our regular older guys just died——and he was not that much older than me, and it’s easy to feel a bit queazy…….Time passes quicker than we notice.  I’m glad I made a yummy apple pie for my teacher Alex today. Nothing says I appreciate you like a homemade apple pie!

Everything changes in the Tango World, the sub-culture I seek out in each city I visit. On my last visit to Buenos Aires in January of this year I saw this again. There were new milongas, and some I’d frequented the year before were now gone. One, Milonga Bicycleta, was tiny the year before; now it’s very popular indeed. Pepa and Chino’s Sunday milonga at Villa Malcolm has also exploded in popularity, due mainly to Pepa’s lead in soliciting a series of great dancers for the exhibition. The same changing scene can be observed and experienced in Portland, my local tango barrio. Here one can dance every day if one chooses at a milonga or practice in addition to many classes being offered. Tonight is the first Tuesday of the month and I may choose between a class from my favorite beloved teacher, Alex Krebs, a regular Tuesday practice with traditional music, and a new once-a-month totally alternative milonga located in a bike shop. The hunger for tango experiences is growing all over the world. Its a great time to be involved in tango. I only wish I could be in three places at once tonight, but since I cannot……..I think I’ll choose the bike shop venue and go exploring!

No tango today–save in my imagination. Enjoyed watching several pieces on Facebook, especially a recent post of friend Bruno in BsAs. Mostly immersion in film today–with rain pouring outside and daughter Pamela holed up in office laboring away, gson Josh laid up with cold and must decline invitation to go out to movies. So, Amazon Prime and I hunker down for a double feature, the second of which is Stranger in the House with an amazingly handsome older French actor, Jean Paul Belmondo(does he dance tango?–if so he’d be perfection). It’s a fabulous film with great writing/directing and acting. Oh to speak French and really catch all the nuances! But, saving that miracle, watching this actor work is a rare treat. I’ll be back for more.

Wednesdays are for dancing……hoping tomorrow that is the case…it’s been too long and my feet need the treat!

My tango teacher, Alex, sent an invitation to me and my friend, Stan, to dance in a program in December. It’s something about “Generations in Dance.” We’d be dancing one song on a  stage with two other couples, all representing deferent generations. The last time Alex asked us to dance, Stan declined and never said why. That was for a milonga and we would have been the only ones dancing, which is really a lot of pressure for folks who dance for their own pleasure and not to perform.  So, I didn’t expect he’d do this one either–but was really hoping he would because it’s really an honor. This time he said yes, I’ll do it! Wow. Now, thats exciting!

I didn’t go to dance last evening at the outdoor, salmon bake milonga in Kirkland. It has been unseasonably hot in the west-even the great Northwest where most of us don’t have air conditioning. So, I went to the movies, where they do have AC and enjoyed Jersey Boys. These were the songs of my adolescent days and lonely nights, so I loved the film and the cool airstream. Afterwards I cheerfully strolled over to the outdoor milonga where much to my surprise, I encountered several Portlandia amigos. Mostly I sat on the sidelines and just took in the scene and soaked up the music . . . how I love that music! “It’s a lovely event,” One said, with obvious sincerity. “Yes,” I agreed, “It is . . . lovely.”  Where else do you tango outside , by the water with a sunset that lingers on and on. Lovely. And the sprinkles of rain helped wash away the heaviness of what remained of that often accompanies such moments.e hot afternoon. I’d left my dance shoes in the car so as not to be tempted onto the floor, and when one amigo looked as if he was about to propose bailer, I simply said, “I’m not dancing  tonight (showing my street shoes), just enjoying the view.”  I’d hoped to catch shapes, images, expressions to inspire something in me. But that didn’t happen, not really. I saw stumbles, mistakes, awkward moments, and heard loud, embarrassed laughter that sometimes accompanies such moments. Strolling back to my car during the last tanda I felt grateful for the Jersey Boys film and the promise that “There’s always another milonga.”