Milonga!

Día 26

Friday evening I went to a milonga at the Tango Festival expo center. A live orchestra was playing pieces from the 40’s - 60’s era. Tango music has to be energetic, so unlike most classical music, it doesn’t put me to sleep. The musicians – mostly strings and an accordionist, wore white face, and had painted black  superhero eye masks around their eyes. The floor was open to any dancers, many casual in jeans, a few more elaborately dressed, including one woman in a leopard print dress.

            When a friend, admitting she didn’t know the steps, declined to dance with an Argentinean, he turned to me. I jumped on the chance, promising I knew little, by which, I pretty much meant I knew how to walk backwards. This man was extraordinarily patient, and spent about an hour teaching me. At first, he thought I was stupid (“It’s not that hard, I’m not lying” he insisted while explaining a move), until I told him I just didn’t speak that much Spanish. One main thing he tried to get me to do was relax; turns out, I dance best with my eyes shut.

If you know the basic technique, tango becomes largely about sensing the intentions of the leader. That’s a large part of what I like about social dance – like biking and ice skating, it’s all very natural.