tango chose me

I climbed the stairs from street level to El Beso at around 10:30 pm on Thursday; I should have known better. It was a great night with the Lujos milonga and excellent dancers, including some of the old milonguero, but everyone was leaving when I got there. I should have known better with this being my 4th trip to Buenos Aires in three years; the had started at 6:00 pm. Some of the wonderful milongueras I had studied with were heading out the door after already dancing for a few hours, so I missed tandas with some of my favorite partners in Buenos Aires. And I missed a wonderful tanda with my primary teacher because of a communication mix-up using the cabaceo. I thought she declined a dance with me, when, instead she declined a dance with someone seated nearby and wanted to dance with me. I should have known better; after all, haven’t I been dancing for a number of years? Haven’t I been successfully using the cabaceo for a while? Oh well, they say … everything for a reason. Chill — relax and enjoy! It was 45 minutes before I got my first dance. But meanwhile I watched, I listened, I observed and absorbed. It was probably a good thing.

The dance floor was packed. After warm greetings from a number of teachers and friends, I was seated and immediately noticed something unexpected. There was a pulse on the dance floor I hadn’t remembered, perhaps something to do with the embrace, the steps, the music and the overall energy of the room .. tbc