Alberto's milonga

Haven't been dancing as much lately. I need to find more dance partners since Martin and I only practice one night a week now. I have two that I am considering but haven't had a chance to ask them yet. Feeling rusty and like I need more practice time during the week to work on things. Didn't help that I was sick today so missed class. Sunday's milonga was good, but I didn't get a chance to dance with B or S. All my dances were good dances though, which was nice!

Here are some videos of Lisette Perelle and Jorge Torres from Sunday's milonga:



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Good tango practice despite...

What is up with the ultra slippery floors at some tango venues? Martin and I practiced Tuesday night in Palo Alto, but it was almost like a game of trying to dance without going splat on the floor. It was so slippery, that when we took a break, it was almost amusing watching people step onto their foot and then watch it slide an additional 2-3 inches back hehe. Looked like people were almost ice skating! My feet were going into overtime trying to use the bottom of my foot muscles to try in vain to grip the non-cooperative floor. Anyway, we still got to work on some moves and technique. I have been working on my embrace this week, specifically my right arm with the right amount of resistance. Not too much... not too little. It is always dynamic though, although mine is often fixed and needs to be more dynamic. I guess it's something you begin to feel in time... when it should be more and when it should be less. It really changes the dancing though, and I am liking how much more glue-ey and sticky the dancing can be when utilizing this. You really feel each other and can push off each other and it's actually more fun and interactive seeming. Leslie played more tango songs than usual which was nice, but seriously, how can people dance on that kind of a slippery/slidey floor? Towards the end of the night I changed into my street shoes with rubber soles and danced a few songs in those. Now those shoes gripped the floor and worked out alright for the rest of the night, although didn't rotate and turn as much as my tango shoes.

Good, good tango

Milonga Sunday night at Alberto's was really good. I'd been missing it so I soaked it all up! Got a lot of dances in (pushed my feet a bit too hard). The highlights of the night were dancing with Martin, S, and O. There was also a new guy to Alberto's, J, who dances a lot in SF but is getting tired with the commute so he tried out Alberto's for the first time. It was nice dancing with him as well.

Class last night was really good as well. It's great because a lot of the guys who used to be beginners a few months ago have really put in the time and effort and it is more enjoyable dancing with them now because their progress is evident. I don't have to worry about them stepping on my toes anymore!

I probably won't be dancing again until Sunday night if I get back from out of town in time, but I'm very happy with how things are now with my dancing and who I get to dance with. J got the first package of custom made tango shoes so it should be any day now that package #2 arrives that contains my pair of custom tango shoes. All my bets are on this pair of shoes, so I will be deeply crushed if they don't end up working out.

Tango & Taiko

Martin and I had a really good practice last Thursday at Starlite. The highlight was dancing to Oblivion. Martin's musicality was really good (which it usually is), and it was awesome dancing together, feeling the surges of the fast-paced steps, intertwined with slow drawn-out sensitive moments. At one point I said "oops" as I messed up and Martin said, "Aww, I was just getting into the zone". Oh well. It was still great, and as well as we dance together he said after practice how amazed he was at me. I'm still having feet/shoe issues, but thankfully at least I can wear my new dance sneakers in class. My custom shoes should arrive sometime next week so I am holding my breath for that! Looking forward to going to Alberto's milonga tonight. It must be a month since I've been there. I hope all the regulars are in attendance so I get to dance with them :)

Taiko was good today, although I'm not looking forward to missing another class next week since my quartet will be gone in Sonoma for the weekend. I just have to set aside some time to practice and memorize the two pieces. Today, I actually participated in most kiai's, which was fun, liberating, and also hard! Definitely lots of things to focus on, including having fun.

Some pics from BsAs

Privates and class last night were good. Felt good to be dancing again! Here are some pics from my recent trip to Buenos Aires:

Where Have I Been?

Well I've been to Buenos Aires and back. It was a great trip... a bit surreal. Things are so much cheaper in BsAs... the hotel, food, clothing, tango. I ended up buying 2 pair of tango shoes from shops, but only 1 I can wear sometimes. The other pair is closed-toed and after wearing them all night at a milonga, the next day my toes and toenails were very sore and bruised. Then I bought one pair of custom shoes. These will arrive in a week or two and I have all my hopes placed on that pair of shoes. If those don't work for my feet, I may have to quit tango as there aren't shoes I can dance in comfortably. I did buy a pair of sneakers which have been very comfortable that I can wear in classes thankfully. They did not have black, so I might buy a second pair in black next month.

I guess after dancing 9 days straight in BsAs I might be a bit burnt out on tango, or have just lost that drive. I remember when I first started dancing back in December I couldn't get enough, going 4 or 5 days a week. That continued until this last week. Since I've been back (one week) I've only gone to practice tango once last Thursday at Starlite. I was maybe going to Palo Alto milonga last Friday (miss dancing with my old favorites), but had a long day sight-seeing with family friends that were visiting from Japan, so decided to stay indoors and watch season 1 of 24 (very addicting show!) Today will be back to normal: privates, practice, class, practice. Should be good.

I'd love to go back to BsAs in a year or two, but next time not just for tango. There is so much more to see.